Chapter 34：The Job Offer

The ceremony was over in the next one hour and Dawn had to bear the torture of sitting there under Azura's scrutiny. Little did she know that Azura was the leader of the Neotides. 

Cole was hopping with joy when she came to him after the function ended. "Dawn!" he hugged her tightly. Then he looked at the two girls who were staring at Dawn with jealousy. "This is my sister," he exclaimed with pride exuding from his face. This information immediately brought a smile to their faces. "She is now a graduate." 

Dawn chuckled. "Let's go for lunch. It is held in the hall." 

The expressions on their faces eased. "Congratulations," the girls said with a grin.

"Thank you," Dawn replied politely. For that brief moment she had forgotten all about meeting Azura. She continued to talk to them for a while when someone from behind nudged. As she caught the whiff of his scent, Dawn's body became taut with tension. 

"Hello Dawn," a gentle voice came from behind. "If it is okay, can we talk for a minute?" 

Cole and the two girls looked at him incredulously without blinking their eyes. The chief guest had come to talk to Dawn. 

"Can I steal your sister for a moment?" Azura asked as he extended his hand to shake with him.

Cole nodded with excitement evident in his eyes as he took his hand. He was too moved to utter a word. 

Azura looked at her in a pleasing way and said, "Shall we?" 

She bit her lip and meekly followed him. Throughout the hall as they walked, the students glanced with murmurs but Azura was least bothered. He picked up a glass of wine for himself and orange juice for her on the way. When they reached outside in a secluded balcony, Azura gave her the juice.

"Thank you," she said softly, accepting the glass. Inside she was very uneasy. 

Azura tilted his head and said, "Why are you so uncomfortable?"

She moved her chin up to see in his light blue eyes, "Are you also a werewolf?" as if to confirm her last 0.1 percent doubt. 

"Yes," he chuckled. "And a bitten one."

Dawn gulped. The man in front of her looked so much in control of himself – nothing like her. 

Seeing how quiet she was, Azura leaned near her ear and whispered, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He chortled. "However, I am here to give you a proposition."

That statement made her all the more jittery than she was. Was he there to kill her or to imprison her and take her away to some werewolf territory? She waited for him to speak further with bated breath. 

"Well, I did my homework before meeting you. Since I had given a grant to your University, the Dean asked me to pick up one of the Univ students for my Company. They said that I don't have to go through the process of Campus interview and that I could pick anyone, provided they haven't signed any contracts or bonds with other companies. When I saw you I thought what could be better than having a fellow werewolf? My Company is looking for a trainee in the finance department. You have done extremely well in the exams with a major in finance. So I wanted to offer you the job in my Company as a Junior Market Analyst. Your Dean had praised you a lot," Azura said in flow. He sipped his wine and waited for her answer. 

An was an extremely controlled man, no one could know what he had in mind because of an extremely guarded exterior.

Shock registered on Dawn's face and she couldn't even hide it. Her mouth fell. "Job? In your Company?" Why would a man of his stature come to her and directly offer a job? He could have asked people working under him to approach her. Her face was blank with confusion and her brain couldn't process the information fast. 

"Mmm hmm," he replied with a smile. 

"Why me?" She asked a second later, obviously flattered. 

"Like I said, your profile fits my Company and you being a werewolf is a brownie point," he replied tilting his head. "You will be relocated to the headquarters in Bainsburgh, America. Your salary is going to be $50,000 for the first year and then will increase according to your performance. The job comes with all its perquisites of a house, a car and other allowances, which my people are going to let you know." The way Azura listed all the privileges nonchalantly he didn't realize that she was getting extremely enthusiastic. 

A smile wormed on her lips, which soon turned into a grin that stretched from one ear to the other revealing her pearly white teeth. "Bainsburgh?" she asked. 

"Yes." Azura frowned. "Why?"

That was her hometown. She couldn't believe that she was being offered a chance to go back to her city. Her stomach clenched. Her mind attempted to glean more information. But how could she tell that to him? She didn't want to reveal anything. "Oh! It's nothing. I was just happy that you have given me this opportunity to work with you. However, I would like to think about it. Can I get back to you within a week?" she asked as politely as she could, failing to control her excitement. If all went well, she would join the job in a month's time.

Azura looked at his wine glass. He gulped it down his throat. He wanted her to be there within a week. He narrowed his eyes and said, "No, Miss Dawn. I want you to join this week. There is a long line of applicants for this position and we are in a hurry. I will be leaving England in two days. I have come in my private jet. So if you like you can accompany me." On the inside he was eager for her to be there but on the outside he tried his best not to show his keenness. 

Dawn's eyes became wide at the offer. It was so tempting but there were too many things that she had to take care of and one of them was Quetz. "I am sorry but I can't join in two days. That is very less time. There are many things that I have to deal with. I would need a minimum of two weeks." 

This didn't fit well with Azura. He shook his head, "Nope! The maximum I can give you is one week." He bargained. "As for moving from here and relocating in Bainsburgh, my people are going to help you."