1
Olivia
Once you hit rock bottom, nothing matters. Nowhere else to go but up is a lie.
You can always fall harder, faster, farther, straight to hell.
“Tell me why you’re doing this?”
His question catches me off guard. It shouldn’t, but I don’t have an answer that he’ll want to hear. The truth isn’t pretty. It’s rough and torn around the edges, much like I am.
Broken.
Worn.
Abandoned.
“I need the money,” I say.
He’ll probably cross me off his little list.
He scribbles something down on his notepad that is situated across his lap. One leg is folded across the other.
He’s laid back, comfortable. Hell, the man could be a model.
I’m trying not to bring up my lunch.
His eyes narrow. There’s some thought fleeting through his head. I have no idea what it is and whether it involves this interview or he’s wondering what he should order for his next meal.
Jace Barone.
Billionaire. Owner and director of Barone Industries.
He owns a bunch of subsidiary companies, but Barone Industries is known for its massive reach into technology for medical, professional, scientific, and innovative purposes. At least that’s what I read in the brochure on my way up to his office.
His smile is tight-lipped. He’s barely looked at my resume, unimpressed.
“You have children at home?”
Excuse me?
What kind of question is that for a job interview?
I purse my lips together. It’s none of his business. “No.”
“But you’ve done this before?” Jace asks.
He closes his leather binder containing his notepad and fiddles with his pen, tapping it against the black leather grain. “Usually, the interviewee explains why they should be chosen, what they have to offer, aside from looks.”
How dare he!
I want to wipe the smug look right off his face.
“Listen, I’m sorry. It was a mistake coming here,” I say and stand. It wasn’t entirely my choice, but I’m here, and I need a job, but I can’t be an assistant to an asshole billionaire. I have no experience, and he’s highly unprofessional. Shockingly, he hasn’t been sued.
His interview skills are significantly lacking and make me more than slightly uncomfortable.
“Sit back down,” Jace growls at me.