But this? It might be a direct line to the secrets about my father. He’d discovered something that had gotten him in trouble.
And, selfishly, I was more than curious what they were doing down there. My dad had worked on some amazing projects, and I couldn’t lie, that intrigued me.
Declan leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and making his fingers into a temple under his chin. “Listen, it’s business. You need a job and I need to fill this slot for the internship. It’s a whole program Dark Enterprises does and…” He shrugged, the most human gesture I’d seen him make so far. “It makes sense. I’d rather hire someone who I know has a good head on her shoulders than pick from a pool of people I don’t have the time to interview at the last minute.”
A good head on her shoulders. Well, that sounded like Declan Dark had just complimented me. It also sounded like he thought of me like a little kid, which irritated me.
Maybe I should have worn the hooker heels.
Samantha, I chided. You’re not here to turn on your boss.
My boss. Well, that sounded like I’d already made the decision.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you always interview the potential interns?”
He straightened. “No.”
Fuck, yeah. I’d caught him off guard.
“Then why are you interviewing me?”
Declan’s gaze locked on mine, strong as steel and dark as night. His eyes were navy, so deep they were almost black.
“Because I want you for the job,” he said simply.
Chapter 5
New cell phone. Or cell phone number?
More fancy-pants Samantha Thompson work clothes, I typed into my phone.
What else? I stared at the mountains outside the window in the backseat of the Uber I took to the hospital.
I still couldn’t believe I’d given up my summer to work for Dark Enterprises.
But damn, when Declan had looked at me the way he had, it was hard to say no. Especially when the words, “I want you” came out of his mouth. Sure, they were followed up with “for this job” but it did a great job convincing me.
Xander had agreed that it was a good move to say yes. But I almost wondered if it was because he also had a secret crush on the drool-worthy billionaire.
That traitor.
I abandoned the list on my phone when the hospital came into view and blew out a breath.
If Xander was a traitor, so was I. I’d checked out Declan more than once, and that whole butler scenario in my head was really just so I could imagine him in his powerful suit surrounded by the billions that drove him.
Starting Monday, I had a new job at his office, but I doubted I’d see him. Whoever those other people were who were supposed to be interviewing potential interns would probably show up and make me work on spreadsheets.
“It’s probably better that way,” I told myself.
“Excuse me?” the driver asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing. You can let me out right here.”
I pulled a few bills from my purse and passed them over, hoping the generous tip would earn me a favor.
“Do you think you could come back in an hour?” I asked. “I need a ride back home.”
He eyed the bills, then nodded. “No problem. One hour. Right here, okay?”
“Perfect.”
I got out and breathed in the moist air. The drizzle hadn’t stopped all day, making me long for the mountains, nature, anywhere but inside a stuffy office.
I’d tried more than once to convince Xander that we needed to invest in a cabin closer to the mountains, in a pile of trees, but he insisted he needed to be near the city.
The city he barely engaged with, I always reminded him. But I understood why he wanted that proximity. Just as looking at the mountains fueled me, kept me sane, the city did the same for him.
I supposed it made him feel less alone when he was cooped up in the apartment choosing not to be a part of that world.
I could understand that introverted behavior—I just wanted a better view while doing it.
I followed the same path into the same hospital I visited several days a week—more if I could manage it—and to the third floor, where my father was.
The nurses always smiled at me and told me Dr. Patterson was looking good today, and I always appreciated their intentions.
But every time I saw my dad, he looked the same.
Pale, frail, and only a shadow of the man I knew he was. My father was a ground-breaking scientist and a wonderful person. He’d been a great husband when my mother was alive and the best single parent he could have been to me. It was hard not to be able to see that anymore.
“Hi, Dad,” I said softly, a catch in my voice that surprised me.
When would he finally wake up and be able to return my greeting? When would he be able to tell me the truth about what had happened that day of the accident?
I pulled over the chair from the corner and settled it next to his bed, close enough I could reach out and take his hand.
No response.
I spoke to him regardless. “So, I got a job today. At Dark Enterprises. Crazy, right? I bet you never thought I’d follow in your footsteps this quickly.”
Because I wanted him to hear my voice, I kept talking, telling him all about my hooker heels and my plan to figure out all the secrets of Dark Enterprises.
I told him about the cameras and the internship and asked him for the millionth time what he’d found out that had been so important.
Xander had hacked his email
