You'd think that the third time I found myself sitting in the lobby of Mirage Talent, I'd be less nervous, but that wasn't the case. My plane was leaving in an hour and I'd gotten a call from one of the receptionists saying that I needed to come in for a third interview, at which time a decision would be made. I wasn't just nervous, though; I was pissed. After all the shit DeVon Ricci had pulled and all his talk about honesty, he was jerking me around, asking me to come in again rather than just telling me what he and Mr. Duncan had decided.

“Mr. Ricci will see you now.” The receptionist's tone told me that she'd had to repeat herself. She waited for me to stand and then followed me to the elevator. “He said to go ahead in without knocking.” She gave me a polite smile. “Good luck.”

I scrubbed my palms against my hips as I waited for the elevator to reach the next floor. I didn't like the idea of walking into Mr. Ricci's office without knocking, especially not after what I'd found in my hotel room. For all I knew, he'd be in there with one or both of those women again, maybe doing more than he'd been doing before. Snapshots flipped through my brain of DeVon fucking those two women in a variety of positions. Then they disappeared and it was just him, waiting for me.

“Damnit,” I swore softly. I didn't want to think about Mr. Ricci that way, even if I didn't get the job. My friends often told me that I had shit taste in men, but even I wasn't dumb enough to fall for someone like that.

When the doors opened, I lifted my chin and walked out, exuding my usual confidence. If I couldn't get rid of the nerves, I could at least pretend I didn't feel them. I didn't even hesitate as I opened the door. Hesitation would've made me think twice, and I didn't want that. I had to pretend I was even more confident than I felt.

The room was fairly dark, thanks to the curtains being drawn, but this time, the chair behind the desk was empty. The whole room was empty. I didn't let it stop me. I walked over to the chair where I'd sat before and took a seat, crossing my ankles and waiting.

After a few seconds, I heard a toilet flush and a door to my right opened. Mr. Ricci appeared, his face impossible to read.

“Ms. Jensen, so glad you could come again.”

Like I'd really had a choice if I wanted the job.

“I would tell you to sit down, but I can see you already helped yourself.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to retort that if he'd really been that concerned about me sitting on my own, he should've been here when I came in, or waited until he really was ready for me to have the receptionist send me up. I didn't say either of those things, however. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd pushed my buttons.

We sat in silence for a few minutes and I wondered if he was waiting for me to break. I thought I'd proven before that I was patient.

“Congratulations,” he said suddenly. “You're hired.”

I stared at him for a second, confused. “Excuse me? I'm hired? What about that third interview your receptionist mentioned?”

He met my eyes and I felt a little thrill go through me. “That was last night.” His lips curved into an enigmatic little smile.

Now I was really confused.

“At my house,” he explained without waiting for me to ask. “You passed all the tests.” He pressed his fingertips together in front of him. “I liked how you called that prick of a waiter an asshole. After all, he almost fired that poor actress wanna-be simply because she spilled some food.” He chuckled, as if the entire thing amused him.

“Your house?” I said, my voice sounding faint in my ears. He'd played me? “That whole thing was a set-up? You were behind it all? Made her bump into me?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I had to see what you would do in a situation like that.” He added, “You did well.”

I scowled. He'd embarrassed me, almost ruined my new dress, and all for what? What kind of interview was that? She was just applying for an associate position in the legal department, not trying to become CEO. Suddenly, what he'd said clicked. I tried not to sound as pissed as I was, and it wasn't easy. “You said I passed ALL the tests. What else was there?”

He looked pleased that I'd asked. “Taylor, of course. He's another wanna-be actor I hired to try to seduce you.”

My stomach dropped even as my temper flared. He'd hired Taylor to try to seduce me? How fucking humiliating! If a guy wasn't attracted to me, that was fine, but to have someone be hired to pretend to be into me...It was one thing too many.

I stood and turned towards the door, fully intending to storm out and slam the door behind me for good measure. I was almost close enough to reach the doorknob when he stepped between me and the door. I had too much momentum and ended up only a few inches away from DeVon when I stopped.

“If you leave this office, you go home,” he warned. I could feel the tension between us thicken, making it hard to breathe.

“Fine,” I snapped. I tried to reach around him, but he was blocking the doorknob.

“Let me explain.”

I looked up at him, only now realizing just how big he was. He had to be at least six three, if not taller, and I knew that under his expensive and well-tailored suit was a lean, but defined chest. He was way too close, but I wasn't going to back down. “There's nothing to explain. You're a narcissistic prick.” And there went the job offer, but I didn't care. I'd only said the truth.

His eyes hardened, turning cold. “We all look after ourselves first. Even you.”

My fingers curled into fists as I resisted the urge to slap him. How dare he tell me what I would and wouldn't do! “Not if it means hurting someone else.”

He laughed and the sound was bitter. “You can stop pretending. You already got the job.”

“I said I'd be honest, remember?” I snapped back. “And you can shove your job. I can find an associate's position somewhere else.”

One side of his mouth tipped up in a smile. “I'm not offering some little position in the legal department. Do you really think I'd go though all of this if you were just going to work for Duncan?”

I took a step back. Being too close to him was messing with me. I had no idea what he was talking about.

“You'll be working for me.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “As your assistant? No thanks.” I stepped to the side and reached for the doorknob again. He'd moved just enough so that I could reach it.

He grabbed my arm and it was like a jolt of electricity went through me. I'd never had my body react to a simple touch that way and I told myself it was just because tensions were running high.

“You wouldn't be my assistant, Krissy.”

I swallowed hard as he said my first name. I liked the way it sounded more than I wanted to.

He continued, “You'd be an associate, but one who was being groomed to become a partner in a few years. Your starting salary would be a hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year.”

He let go of my arm but I didn't move. I was too shocked to do anything but stand there. He walked back to his desk, nothing in his demeanor to hint at what had just happened.

“Be here tomorrow at nine a.m. We'll discuss closing your affairs in New York then.”

I opened the door and walked to the elevator without a word. What the hell had just happened?