Page 159 of A Deal with the Bossy Devil

That wasn’t what I was thinking.

“Well, Ria, I’m glad you asked,” Alba went on.

“She really is,” Jamie said to me. “You can tell.”

“What if I told you that if—and onlyif—you’reexceptionally talentedenough, that one very well-known law firm in particular would also be willing to cover the costs of your undergraduate degree?”

Alba reached into her bag again as my pulse continued to thunder, pulled out a sleek business card, and slid it to me across the table.

Sunny Kanun.

Senior Partner.

Kanun, Barr, & Lee.

“Your interview’s tomorrow afternoon. Details are on the back,” Alba said. “Don’t be late. Or do. I honestly don’t think it’ll matter.”

Silence settled between the three of us as Alba and Jamie waited for my reaction. Finally, I picked up the card, stripped the towel from my damp hair, and declared, “I’m going to kill Adrien Cloutier. For real this time.”

“Yes!” Jamie jumped out of her seat. “But do it with mascara on, yeah?”

“He’s still at the office,” Alba said easily. She placed her all-access pass on the table as Jamie dragged me back into the bathroom, demanding to know where I’d put my hairbrush.

I didn’t even try to put up a fight.

37

For the secondtime in the span of two months, I managed to sneak up to Adrien Cloutier’s office without a single person trying to stop me. Even though I’d stomped into the building looking more than a little unhinged.

Adrien started when I barged in, his head snapping away from his monitor when his door hit the wall. His eyes flared when they landed on me, and he shot to his feet. “Ria? You’re here. Hey. Wh—uh’re you here?”

Was he having a stroke?

“I’ve been trying to reach you about your jet’s extended warranty,” I responded sweetly before slamming the blue folder onto his desk. “Why do you think?”

He cleared his throat, hands fumbling with the hem of his pants before settling awkwardly on his hips. “Funny.”

He had the audacity to sound like he meant it, too.

“What the fuck is this?” I pointed an accusatory finger at the folder.

He shrugged. “You’re the one that stormed in here with it.”

“I told you to leave me alone.”

Something unpleasant—almost regretful—flitted across his face. “Which is exactly what I did.”

“Thisis you leaving me alone? Recruiting my sister to trick and goad me into this Kanun firm nonsense is you leaving me alone, Adrien?”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “In my defense, she wasn’t supposed to tell you I was behind it. The school and job stuff was all supposed to be presented as her own idea.”

Like I’d have ever believed that. Like this whole thing didn’treekof him.

His gaze flicked down my body as I stood there and glared daggers at him, seething.

“You look nice,” he said. Soft color was starting to bloom over the tips of his ears, cheeks.

That was Jamie’s fault, not mine. The coat of mascara had turned into winged liner, then blush and concealer and lip tint. And don’t even get me started on the clothes. She’d practically wrestled me into the pushup bra.

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