The Internship

The Interview

Paige

His smirk deepened, he stared deep into my soul like he already knew every secret I tried to hide. “Wondering where you know me from, Paige?”

That voice... Deep, rich, with a touch of accent that made my skin tingle. It sounded exactly like the man in my dream this morning. The one whose thumb was in my mouth. The one who called me a good girl while his body pressed against mine.

I was still holding him. My arms were wrapped tight around his large chest. Heat rushed to my face. I pulled back fast, but his hands stayed on my waist. Not tight enough to hurt, but firm enough that I couldn’t step away easily.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I thought you were going to jump out the window. You looked so… lost. I didn’t think. I just ran.”

He looked down at me. He was tall. Much taller than me. His shoulders were wide and his body looked strong under the expensive black shirt. His dark eyes locked on mine like he could see straight into my head.

He let out a low chuckle.“You ran across the room to save a stranger. That’s heroic.” I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or sarcastic.

His thumbs moved in small circles on my waist. “Most people would have walked out and closed the door.”

I swallowed hard. My heart was beating so fast. “Anyone would have done the same.”

“No,” he retorted. “They wouldn’t.”

He finally let go of my waist, but he didn’t step back. The space between us felt so small. I could smell him so much it made my head feel light. I took one step back and tried to breathe normally.

“Please sit down, Miss Hilton,” he said, nodding toward the two big chairs in front of his desk. His voice was polite now, but there was still that edge underneath.

I sat down and crossed my legs. My hands shook a little as I placed them on my knees. He walked around his huge desk and sat in the big leather chair. Even sitting, he looked like he owned the whole room. Which he did.

He rested his elbows on the desk and leaned forward. His eyes never left my face. “You look like you had dreams about me last night,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

My breath caught. How did he know that?

“I… no,” I answered carefully. “What do you—”

“I’m asking if you dreamt of me, Miss Hilton.” His voice dropped lower..”

Heat flooded my cheeks. I looked down at my hands. “No, Sir, I did not.” I lied. So many thoughts ran through my mind. How did he know? Who was this man?

“Then why did you write about it?”

What?! His question pulled me away from my thoughts.

“I don’t—“

“You wrote about it in your Blog, miss Hilton.” He raised his brow as if stating the obvious.

Shit! That was when it finally came clear to me. I had a mini blog I wrote about my experiences, but made sure to add its fiction so no one could trace the stories back to me. Sometimes I exaggerated the stories for that purpose.

How did he? Why was the CEO of Sterling Corp reading my blog? How’d he find it?

“I don’t have all day, miss Hilton.”

“How’d you find my Blog?” I heard myself ask when I finally found my voice.

“It’s simple, you’re going to be my PA, I needed to do a thorough research.”

I bit my lip, trying to calm my racing nerves. What was it about him that made my body so hot? “You do that for all your employees?”

I had no idea why I asked that, but then again, I had no idea what I’d been doing since I got here.

He let out a soft chuckle, flashing his white teeth. And damn! Those teeth. “No, just you.”

“Who are you?” I whispered.

“Xavier Gordoni. I own Sterling Corp.”

“Sorry, I meant why do you know so much about me?“ I reached for the face towel in my bag and wiped the sweat across my forehead.

He leaned back in his chair, watching me like a cat watches a mouse. “Cause you, belong to me.”

My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” His eyes moved slowly over my face, down to my neck, then back up.

I stood up fast. “This is crazy. I came here for an interview, not… whatever this is. If this is some kind of joke—”

“Sit down.” He commanded. I found myself sitting again before I could think about it. “Good girl.”

Those two words sent a shiver down my back. They sounded exactly like the dream.

Xavier continued, “Six months ago you died in a crash. You came back different. With something extra inside you. Something that used to be mine.”

I stared at him. My hands felt cold. “How do you know about the crash? That wasn’t in my application.”

“I know everything about you, Paige Hilton.” He tapped one finger on the desk. “I know the fire that’s now burning in your blood. The fire that calls to me every night.”

I shook my head. “This is too much. I should go.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” His tone stayed even, but his eyes burned. “Not until we finish this.”

He stood up and walked around the desk. He stopped right in front of me and leaned against the edge, arms folded across his broad chest. “Tell me something, Paige. Do you have a boyfriend?”

The question surprised me. I looked up at him. “That’s none of your business.”

“Answer me.” His voice got deeper. “Is there a boy who touches you? Who kisses you? Who tries to f**k you at night?”

My face burned hotter. “No. There’s no one…” I moved back. “This is unprofessional.”

A satisfied look crossed his face. “Good. Because if there was, I would remove him from the face of the earth.”

“You can’t say things like that,” I said, but my voice came out weak.

“I can. And I will.” He tilted his head. “No man will ever put his hands on you again. Your body is mine. Your pleasure is mine. Your screams in the dark belong to me.”

I pressed my legs together. My heart raced. Part of me wanted to run out of the office. Another part, a bigger, scarier part, wanted to hear more.

Xavier kept talking. “Since that crash, you feel empty at night, don’t you? Like something is missing. That’s because I’m not inside you yet. That’s because I haven’t claimed what’s always been mine.”

“Stop,” I whispered, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t. “What is this.. you’re not…”

“You don’t want me to stop.” He smiled again. “In your dream this morning, you sucked my thumb like you were starving for it. Your hips pushed back against me. You were so wet I could smell it. Your body is honest even when your mouth lies.” He paused… “isn’t that what you wrote?”

I covered my face with both hands. “This is insane. You’re insane.”

“Maybe.” He reached down and gently pulled my hands away from my face. His touch was warm and oddly soothing. “But be rest assured, I’m never letting you go.”

My eyes stung with tears I didn’t want to cry. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“You will.” His thumb brushed my lower lip, just like in the dream, but he didn’t push it inside. He just traced it slowly. “In time, you will.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “For now,” he continued, walking back to his chair, “we’ll pretend this is a normal interview. Tell me why you want to work at Sterling Corp.”

I blinked, trying to switch my brain back to normal. It took me a few seconds to find my words. “I… don’t think I want to anymore.”

“You do.” He sounded so sure.

I lifted my head and met his gaze. “Remember what I said about not letting you go.” He placed his palm over mine giving it a squeeze. “Take a moment.”

I did. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I obeyed everything he said without hesitation. Who was this man? What was going on? why was my mind numb in my own body? And why couldn’t I leave?

No. Not that I couldn’t, I didn’t want to.

I took a deep breath and faced him again. “I want to build something real. After everything that happened six months ago, I need to stand on my own. I need to prove I’m more than what people did to me.”

Xavier listened intently. His eyes never left mine. When I finished speaking, he nodded once. “You don’t need to prove anything to anyone. But you will work here. You start tomorrow.”

I laughed nervously. “Don’t I need to go through the full interview? Tests? Other people to meet?”

“No.” He waved his hand like it was nothing. “The position is yours. You’ll work directly under me.”

My stomach flipped. “That’s not a good idea.”

“It’s the only idea.” He stood up again and walked over to the window. This time he didn’t look like he wanted to jump. He looked like a king looking over his kingdom. “You’ll be close to me every day. I need to watch you.”

I stood up too. My legs felt shaky. “Mr. Gordoni, I think I should leave. This doesn’t feel right.”

He turned around. In two steps he was in front of me again. Not touching, but close enough that I had to tilt my head back to look at him. “Why do you keep fighting this?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Because it would be a lie. My body was on fire. My n*****s were hard against my blouse. There was a deep, aching throb between my legs that I couldn’t ignore.

Xavier’s eyes softened just a little. “That’s what I thought.”

He walked to his desk and picked up a black phone. “Sarah will give you everything you need, ID card, laptop, office space. You start at nine tomorrow.”

I took a deep breath. “I haven’t said yes yet.”

“You will.” He smiled. “Because deep down you know running from me is pointless. I’ll find you. I always do.”

I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me at the door.

“Paige.”

I looked back.

“Dream of me again tonight,” he said. “And when you wake up wet and aching, remember that only I can fix it.”