His Forbidden Karma

Karma Hart had spent six months preparing to meet Damian Blackwood. She had memorized his public speeches. Read every article written about him. Studied the history of Blackwood Holdings until she could recite its major acquisitions from memory. Most importantly, she had learned one thing about Damian Blackwood. He hated liars. Unfortunately for him, Karma had become very good at lying. She stood outside the enormous glass doors of Blackwood Holdings, staring at her reflection. Cream blouse. Black pencil skirt. Hair pulled neatly back. Professional. Harmless. Exactly what she needed to look like. She took one slow breath. Then another. You are not here for him. She repeated it silently. You're here for the truth. Her father's name had been dragged through the mud seven years ago. His company had collapsed. Their home had been taken. Her mother had spent years pretending everything was fine until one morning Karma found her sitting at the kitchen table, staring at an unopened envelope and crying. The envelope had carried one name. Blackwood Holdings. Everyone had told Karma the same thing. Her father had made bad decisions. His company had failed. The Blackwoods had simply taken advantage of an opportunity. Karma didn't believe them. Because her father had spent the last night of his life telling her something she had never forgotten. "The Blackwoods didn't just take my company, Karma." "They took everything." She had been seventeen. She hadn't understood. Now she did. And today, she was walking straight into the lion's den. Karma pushed open the doors. The receptionist looked up. "Good morning. How can I help you?" "I'm here for an interview with Mr. Blackwood." The receptionist glanced at her screen. "Karma Hart?" "Yes." "Eleventh floor. His assistant is expecting you." Karma smiled politely. "Thank you." As she walked toward the elevator, her hands remained perfectly steady. Inside, however, her pulse was hammering. The elevator doors opened. The eleventh floor was almost painfully quiet. Dark wood. Glass walls. Expensive furniture. Everything about the place screamed money. At the end of the corridor stood a pair of enormous black doors. Karma stopped in front of them. She had imagined this moment hundreds of times. In some versions, she slapped Damian Blackwood. In others, she exposed him in front of the entire board. Once, she'd even imagined walking into his office and pouring coffee over his head. Reality was considerably less dramatic. She knocked. "Come in." The voice was deep. Calm. Controlled. Karma opened the door. And for one dangerous second, she forgot every word she had prepared. Damian Blackwood was standing beside the floor-to-ceiling window with his back toward her. Black suit. White shirt. No tie. One hand rested casually inside his pocket while the other held a glass of water. He turned. Karma immediately understood why people described him as intimidating. It wasn't his height. It wasn't his money. It wasn't even the cold expression on his face. It was his eyes. They didn't simply look at people. They studied them. "Miss Hart." His gaze moved over her once before returning to her face. "Sit." Karma walked toward the chair opposite his desk. She sat. Damian remained standing. Interesting. He wanted control of the room before the interview had even begun. Karma crossed one leg over the other. "Thank you for seeing me." "I haven't decided whether I'm going to." She smiled. "That's reassuring." Something flickered across his face. Not quite amusement. Not quite irritation. Interesting. Damian finally sat down. He picked up her résumé. "Twenty-four years old." "Correct." "Graduated with honors." "Yes." "Three years of administrative experience." "Yes." "Excellent references." Karma nodded. He turned another page. Then stopped. "You left your previous position unexpectedly." Karma kept her expression neutral. "I wanted a new challenge." "That's a convenient answer." "It's also the truth." Damian looked up. Their eyes met. The room suddenly felt smaller. He placed the résumé on the desk. "Tell me why you want to work for Blackwood Holdings." Karma had prepared for this question. "I admire the company's growth." "That's not what I asked." She paused. Damian leaned back. "I asked why you want to work here." Karma smiled. "Because you're offering the highest salary." Silence. Then, unexpectedly, Damian laughed. It was brief. Low. And annoyingly attractive. Karma hated that she noticed. "At least you're honest about that." "I'm very honest." His smile disappeared. "No, Miss Hart." He picked up her résumé again. "You've lied to me three times in the last sixty seconds." Karma's heartbeat skipped. Only once. She wouldn't give him anything else. "Have I?" "Your previous employer said you resigned because of a family emergency." "I did." "Your résumé says you left because you wanted a new challenge." "I wanted a new challenge after the emergency." Damian stared at her. "That's lie number one." Karma tilted her head. "What are the other two?" "You said you admire this company." "I do." "You've never purchased a single Blackwood product." Karma blinked. That was absurdly specific. "And the third?" Damian's eyes narrowed. "You walked into this building already knowing exactly where my office was." Karma said nothing. He leaned forward. "Most candidates get lost." A slow smile touched her lips. "Maybe I'm better prepared than most candidates." "Maybe." His gaze remained fixed on her. "Or maybe you researched me." Karma's smile didn't move. "Would that be a crime?" "No." Damian leaned back. "But it would make me curious." "About what?" "Why." The word settled between them. Karma could hear the faint ticking of the clock behind him. She had come here expecting an arrogant billionaire. She hadn't expected him to be perceptive. That made him more dangerous. And, unfortunately, more interesting. Damian closed her résumé. "I'll give you the position." Karma frowned. "Just like that?" "Three-month probation." "And after that?" "If you're competent, you stay." "And if I'm not?" "You won't be." She almost laughed. "That's quite the assumption." "It's an observation." He stood. The interview was clearly over. Karma rose as well. She reached for her handbag. Then Damian spoke again. "One more thing." She turned. His expression had changed. There was no trace of amusement now. "Don't lie to me again." Karma held his gaze. "Then don't ask questions you don't want honest answers to." For the first time, Damian looked genuinely surprised. Karma walked toward the door. Her fingers touched the handle. "Miss Hart." She stopped. "Yes?" Damian's voice was quiet. "Welcome to Blackwood Holdings." Karma smiled. "Thank you." She opened the door. Then stepped into the hallway. The moment the door closed behind her, her smile vanished. She reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone. One message waited on the screen. UNKNOWN NUMBER: Did you get the job? Karma typed back. KARMA: Yes. Three dots appeared. Then another message. UNKNOWN NUMBER: Good. Now find out what happened the night your father died. Karma stared at the screen. Her stomach tightened. She looked back at Damian Blackwood's closed office door. She had expected to find answers inside that building. She hadn't expected the first question to be about her father's death. And she definitely hadn't expected Damian Blackwood to look at her like he already knew exactly who she was. Karma slipped the phone back into her bag. She walked toward the elevator. Behind the closed office door, Damian Blackwood returned to his desk. He picked up Karma's résumé. His eyes settled on her photograph. Then on the name printed beneath it. KARMA HART. His jaw tightened. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk. Inside was an old photograph. Seven people stood outside a country house. One of them was Karma's father. Damian stared at the photograph for several seconds. Then he whispered, "You're supposed to be dead." The elevator doors closed. And Karma never heard him say it.