Page 16 of By His Rule

“And does Kian know?”

“I haven’t told him, if that’s what you’re asking.”

A memory of the last time I saw Kingston’s younger brother plays out in my mind like a high-definition movie.

He tried hitting on me and I gave him the cold shoulder and told him where to go.

No woman in their right mind tells any of the Callahan brothers where to go.

“But he would be my boss,” I reason.

“No, Martin will be your direct boss. You won’t have many, if any, dealings with Kian.”

I never told Tate about our interactions at her wedding, but she’s more than aware of my opinion about the likes of Kian Callahan.

“Martin is lovely. I think you two could work together very well.”

“I have to do this, don’t I?”

“Do you have any other options right now?” Tatum asks smugly, already knowing that I don’t. “Exactly,” she adds when I don’t respond.

“I’m hungover, Tate. I can’t go to an interview with alcohol oozing from my pores.”

“Go and get yourself a strong coffee, have a hot shower, and pull out that killer dress we bought that day,” she demands, making me think of the little black dress I treated myself to for a special occasion.

“That’s too much.”

“Lorelei,” she says seriously. “You have an interview at Callahan Enterprises. That fourteen-year-old girl deserves for you to go in dressed to the nines and be ready to impress. Make her proud, Lor. You’ve got this.”

I suck in a deep breath, trying to find that little girl with stars in her eyes that lives inside me, but she’s harder to grasp than ever right now.

“I’ll call you later,” I say, hanging up before Tate can say anything more. I walk toward my closet and pull the doors open.

Have I got this? Honestly, I have no idea.

But I owe it to that little girl to give it my very best shot.

Consequences be damned.

4

LORELEI

“Lorelei, this is Martin, our finance manager,” Rebecca says as we approach a man, who’s probably in his fifties, standing at the entrance to a meeting room.

Attempting to swallow down my apprehension, I hold my head high and reach my hand out to shake his.

“Hello, nice to meet you.” Thankfully, my voice is firm and steady. The complete opposite of how I’m feeling.

From the second the Callahan Enterprises building came into view from the Uber that I splurged on, I’ve been a nervous wreck. To the point that I almost talked myself out of stepping through the entrance.

I’m never going to live it down if I fuck this up.

Kingston already knows, and no doubt Kian will be right behind him.

How am I going to be able to face them if I get rejected from their company?

I already feel small when I’m around them. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel after that.

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