Hunter is my stepfather.

I should be mortified. I should be repelled. I should be ashamed. When I first saw him swagger into the conference room, I was in shock. Every emotion in the world shot through me at light speed. But when I’d recovered, when I’d caught my breath, I realized that nothing had really changed. Mom has never in her life put anything before Sencorp and her rise to the top. Could it really be a coincidence that she married the one guy known for saving failing companies?

I’ve already heard the buzz around the office about how big of an advantage it is that they are married and that Hunter is Co-CEO, rather than just having him brought in as a freelance King Midas.

Mom is cynical enough to have foreseen that and married him for that sole reason. There is no way that Hunter would have fucked me like he did if he loved my mom.

And seeing him in that suit and tie--seeing him boss me around--I just want him even more than I did this morning.

So nothing’s changed about my feelings toward him. Nothing has made me want him any less. It’s just going to be a lot harder and more dangerous to have what I want with him.

But Mom was never willing to sacrifice anything for me, so why should I sacrifice for her? Hunter is mine.

I sit back down at my laptop and get to work. This internship has turned into a game of Survivor, and as much as I would have hated to lose this internship, now that Hunter is my boss, nothing will stop me from staying here. I need to work hard if I want to stay under him--under him metaphorically and literally.

Every few minutes another intern exits the conference room. Some come out angry--others in tears. Hunter is firing interns without mercy, though some do emerge from the room with relieved expressions or wide smiles on their faces.

I see Haley burst out in tears--she’s gone. She looks at me with sudden hatred, but she doesn’t say a word as she gathers up her things and storms toward the elevator. I’ll never see her again, so I don’t really care if she hates me.

Maria is the next one to come out. She lets out a huge sigh, then smiles up at me as she approaches.

“What was your idea, Elise?”

“To fire a bunch of corrupt old geezers,” I say.

“Nice,” Maria says. “Mine was to move manufacturing to Vietnam.”

I nod. “Vietnam was my second choice.”

“What did you go with?”

“Estonia.”

“Vietnam will be cheaper in the long run,” Maria says.

“Estonia costs more now, but the risk of delayed orders is lower. Sencorp is teetering on the edge; one delay could push it right over.”

“So...your stepfather. What do you think?”

My throat goes dry. “I don’t know,” I say. “I mean, like, whatever.”

Maria laughs.

I try to keep my emotions in check, but I can feel my face burning.

“Oh, come on,” Maria says, squeezing my forearm. “It’s not creepy if you think he’s hot! It’s not like you’re actually related.”

“He’s our boss,” I say, pretending to focus on my screen. “It’s best to not get distracted.”

“So you admit he’s distracting? Did you see the tattoos coming up through his collar? I bet he’s got ink all over. I’d love to get those clothes off him and see it all--”

“Maria, ewww,” I say. But images of Hunter’s naked body flash through my mind. I know what all of his tattoos look like. I know what they taste like.

“Sorry, Elise, I’ll lay off.”

“Thanks.”

The last of the interns steps out of the conference room. It’s Hugo, and he’s got a smug grin on his face.

Hunter walks out after him. His sleeves are rolled up, revealing his tattooed, muscular forearms. I notice Maria is nearly drooling as she rakes her eyes up and down his strong frame.

Normally I’d be jealous, but I know Maria has no chance with him. When Hunter looks over at me, the lust blazing within his eyes confirms it.

“Did you see how he just looked at me?” Maria whispers.

I nod, keeping my lips sealed. Let her think he was looking at her and not me. I really don’t care.

I make it through the rest of the work day--skipping lunch--without running into Mom. Hunter disappeared after hearing all the interns’ pitches, and I don’t see him again. I hope he’s not avoiding me.

I stay “late,” which at Sencorp is normal and expected. I go through all the files Hunter opened up for us, and more and more I can attribute a huge part of Sencorp’s problems to one man: Gideon Fleischmann.

He’s on the fucking board of directors, though, so I’m not sure I should put him down on the list of people to sack. I can’t imagine Hunter actually meant that I should list everyone I suspected.

As the last of the sunlight falls behind the Manhattan skyline, I see Mom approaching, and I decide to write Gideon’s name on the list just in case. I can always remove it later.

“You think staying late cancels out arriving late?” Mom asks, her expression neutral.

“No,” I say. “It doesn’t cancel it out. I won’t be late again.”

“Because Hunt will fire you if you’re late,” she says. “Don’t think you get special treatment, Celia. This isn’t some little summer vacation in the city, you actually have to--”

“I know, Mom,” I say, grinding my teeth. “Trust me, I know. You think I’m going to act spoiled and entitled because you’re rich? I’m not like that, because you didn’t even raise me.”

She rolls her eyes at me.

“I’m not trying to guilt trip you,” I say. “Just trying to explain why you don’t have to worry about me being a spoiled brat. Dad did a good job raising me.”

“Well,” she says, “your stepfather will as well, just remember that.”

I let out an audible scoff.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mom asks.

“Do you really have to call him ‘stepfather’ to me?”

“I married the man, why wouldn’t I call him that?”

“Because you and I both know this is a marriage of convenience. It’s about the company--it’s always about the company with you.”

She presses her lips tightly together and stares me down. I can tell she’s considering how she should handle this with me. She doesn’t know me well enough to trust me with any secrets.

She says in a measured voice, “Hunt and I have known each other a long time, Celia.”

I laugh. “If you really loved him, you’d just have said as much. I’m not going to tell anyone else, but I know this is fake, Mother.”

“Legally, there is nothing fake about it.” She leans in closer to me. “All of the ways this marriage benefits Sencorp are intangible. We’re not exploiting any tax loopholes, we’re not committing insurance fraud, we’re not--”

“Not having sex,” I cut in.

Her face flares red with anger, and she backs away from me suddenly. She takes a few deep breaths, and then says, “You’re still a child, Celia.”

“No one calls me that.”

“I’ll call you what I want, Celia.” She turns her back to me. “I want to have dinner with you and your stepfather. You two need to get to know each other outside the office.”

I look down at the desk, avoiding my mom’s gaze. Hunter and I have already gotten to know each other quite well outside of the office.

“I thought you didn’t want me getting any special treatment from him,” I say.

Mom turns back toward me. “Fine, Celia, the reason I need you to get to know him--at least a little--is to keep up appearances. If a child like you is suspicious of our marriage, then think about who else may be doubtful. We need to be seen together, as a family.”

I hate the way she’s using him, and I’m angry at Hunter, too, for going along with something so damn stupid. Is Mom blackmailing him? Why would he ever go along with something so ridiculous? And if he hadn’t, I could have my way with him without all of these complications.

I’m tempted to refuse the dinner invitation, but I can’t turn down a chance to be near Hunter. So I simply nod.

“Do we need to go home and change?” I ask.

“No,” Mom says. “We’ll go straight there.”