"I need to re-evaluate our selection criteria in the college . What kind of people have we put there, students and teachers both? This guy didn't know anything nor did he have the right att.i.tude . I abhor arrogant p.r.i.c.ks," Hui was irritated beyond measure .

The company was expanding and as promised to the college which he had sponsored, he wanted to give the first opportunity of jobs to the alumni from that college . But since morning the quality of candidates had been steadily decreasing rather than increasing . And the last guy simply took the cake away in terms of idiocy, brashness and more .

Eric tried to calm his boss down . He knew that Hui couldn't tolerate ill-behaved people around him .

"Let's take a look the next one . Then we shall break for the day . I will have a word with the dean tomorrow myself, highlighting these issues," he told Hui in a placating tone .

Hui nodded shortly and buzzed the reception to send in the last candidate for the day .

A bespectacled short girl with an unruly curly mop of hair, stepped into the cabin . She didn't meet the eyes of the interviewers and took the seat which was offered, quietly . Her hands were twitching nervously around the folder which she was holding .

"Hi, Ms . Vaughn . My name is Eric and I am the COO at Earthly Matters . I can see from your resume that you have been a top scorer and an accelerated learner all throughout your academic life . I would you like to tell us a little about yourself which is not mentioned here," he started in a soothing voice .

Jessica cleared her throat a couple of times before speaking meekly, "hi, I am Jessica . I am 21 years old and have done my dissertation on finding new ways to contribute towards Earth conservation . Conducting experiments, and trekking are my hobbies . I am a huge fan of Mr . Ying Hui and have been following his lectures and discoveries for the past five years . "

At this, Hui looked up from the resume that he was reading .  

"So, what was the result of your dissertation?" he asked her, a hint of challenge in his voice .

He was still smarting from the rude answers which the previous guy had given .

"Build a forest within the city, every 20kilometers apart . Adapt the vegetation or plantation as per congenial to the environment of that area . Barring the wild animals, everything else will be nearly the same as it is in the forest . I am aware that for any ecosystem to thrive, the food chain needs to be complete, but I also believe that we need the greenery around us in a much larger amount than it already exists," her voice had steadily risen as she spoke about her idea .

Hui personally thought that her idea was seeped into idealism rather than reality but he appreciated the sentiment behind it .

"So tell me what has fascinated you about Mr . Ying's research work which you said you have been following so keenly?" Eric tested her claim by throwing that question at her .

Her eyes lit up as if she had suddenly discovered a delicious treat . She launched into a detailed technical narrative about Hui's earliest discoveries to his latest methods for extraction of rare elements from other metals . By the time she finished speaking, Eric had nearly snoozed off . But Hui had come alive . He couldn't believe that he had someone sitting in front of him who knew about his stuff almost as much as he did .

Jessica suddenly realised that the room was completely silent . The COO's head was lolling on the side and Mr . Ying was staring at her in what she a.s.sumed was boredom .

"I… I am sorry . I guess I got slightly carried away . Like I had mentioned, I am a huge fan of your work," she said, in an embarra.s.sed manner .

Hui cleared his throat loudly to get Eric's attention .

Leaning forward in his chair, he said, "Ms . Vaughn, I am pleased to inform you that we shall be happy to take you on board . The HR team would reach out and discuss the role and monetary aspects . Is there anything that you wish to ask us currently?"

Jessica gave a disbelieving smile and said, "thank you, thank you so much . I just …uh, I am sorry but I wanted to enquire whether the person before me was also selected or not?"

Hui frowned at her but before he could say something rude, Eric intervened .

"I am sorry, it's against our policy to discuss about another candidate . May I know why are you so interested though?" he said politely .

Jessica blushed at the question and stammered her reply, "actually, err… that is to say, he is my boyfriend . Well, he is way better than me in all senses but he had decided that he will join wherever I was offered a job . He is very protective, you see! Honestly I wasn't expecting to be selected today . But now that I have made it, I just wanted to confirm that you have offered him a job here as well or not . " 

Hui looked at her in surprise . She was clearly unaware of her own intelligence . But how was that possible? Didn't her results speak for themselves?

"So you are trying to say that you won't join us if your boyfriend is not offered a job here?" Eric asked her .

She looked torn between her loyalty towards the boyfriend and the opportunity to work with her IDOL . But she nodded her head in agreement, miserably .

"We would be announcing the results for the rest of the candidates next week . You managed to impress us enough to get a spot offer but the others haven't been evaluated fully yet . We will keep you posted . Thank you for coming in today," Eric told her smoothly .

With a polite nod, she got up and bid them farewell .

"I can't believe that she is dating that klutz . But the more surprising part is that she actually believes that he is better than her… what a moron?" Hui said the minute she left the room .

"It is not as simple as it looks . She may be a genius but she is also a girl, and a normal one who needs validation . It seems that she would be the perfect prey for a guy like him . When I had shortlisted his resume, it was on the basis of the fabulous resume which he had sent . But now that I compare the two resumes, I can see remarkable similarities . I even suspect the reason for the boyfriend to come up with that clause of joining work together . He would probably be the kind to piggyback on others," he theorised .

"Well, I am not going to hire a moron just because the girl is too blind to figure out otherwise . Let her go," Hui said .  

"Don't be too hasty… maybe there is a better way to handle the situation . Her clause doesn't stipulate what kind of job offer do we make to the guy, right? I personally don't think that we should let such a good resource walk away from our company," Eric replied with a wink .

Hui pondered over his statement and gave a reluctant nod .

Eric hid his gleeful smile . In the past twenty minutes, while Hui had realised the girl's work competence, Eric had discovered her potential as … . well, too soon to put a name to it . She was a little younger that he ideally would have liked her to be, but hey, age was a number . Also, such a young girl would have nearly zero emotional baggage from the past, current useless boyfriend notwithstanding .

Interesting possibilities…