Page 12 of Vengeful Mafia Prince

"Yes, there's something important I wanted to share with you," she tells me, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "I received word from the head of your father's— from the head of the company that they're looking to hire a full-time production assistant in the marketing department at the end of this semester. One of their workers is going off on annual leave, and they need someone to replace her."

"Oh!" I exclaim, my eyes widening. This is the first I've heard of it.

"And they're looking to hire from inside the company," she continues. "I have it on good authority that whoever does betterat this internship is going to land the position. So, functionally, it's between you and Johnny."

I swallow hard. Oh. As if things weren't already complicated enough. We work together, we slept together, and now we're competing against each other? And he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who's going to play nice when it comes to getting what he wants, either.

"How many more weeks do we have left of the internship?"

"Eight," she replies. "You have two semesters, he has one. So it should be easy for you."

Should be. Fuck.

My head is spinning. I know this is the chance I've been waiting for to prove myself to my father, once and for all, but the thought of going up against Johnny—cool, calm, collected, confident Johnny—feels damn near impossible.

"Thank you for letting me know," I reply, keeping my voice steady as I rise to my feet. "And thanks for your time."

"I'll be in touch if there's anything else you need to know," she replies.

I nod and head for the door. My mind is a mess as I try to make sense of things. I thought studying business and getting the internship would be the best way to prove to my dad that I knew what I was doing, but now... now, I can see a way to make it happen long-term. Beyond an internship, beyond a degree, I could join the company properly, carry on with my studies on the side, develop a career as I develop my degree…

"Hey, daydreamer."

My head snaps up when I hear a familiar voice, and there, in front of me, relaxing on a stone bench in the large quad of Gregora University, is Johnny. He looks like he belongs there, exuding the same old-school charm that this place always has.

"Oh, hi," I blurt out. "Were you— were you here to meet with Professor Van Ark?"

"I was," he replies, rising to his feet and tugging his heavy black coat around his shoulders. "I'll walk you back to your car. Here, with me." He speaks with confidence, leaving me no room to argue, even though I know I should. I follow him, rushing to keep up with his broad strides.

"So, she told you about the open position at the company, right?" I ask him. He glances over his shoulder and flashes me a grin. There's a look on his face that I haven't seen before. Something... ruthless.

"Yeah, she did," he replies. "Thought she might skip on mentioning it to you, though."

I frown. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she knows I'm going to get it."

My lips part with shock. This cocky side of him, I've seen it before but never quite as blatant as this.

"What are you talking about?"

He shrugs. "Just that they wouldn't have had to bring in another intern if you could do your job."

My heart stops. Why is he being so cruel? Only the other night, the two of us were tossed up in his bed together, his arms around me, his hands all over me. He even drove me back tomy place the next morning so I could get changed and go to work without anyone noticing anything had changed. But here, on the campus of this ancient college, it feels like something is different.

"Why the hell would you say that?" I shoot at him. He rounds on me, stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Listen," he growls. "What we had the other night, it was fun, don't get me wrong. But that's all it was to me. Fun. You understand? This is something bigger. I'm going to get this job, and I'm going to make sure they don't have any other choice but to pick me."

With that, we reach my car. My heart is thundering in my chest. The way he's talking, it leaves no room for argument, and that scares the hell out of me.

"You don't get to make that call," I protest, and he flashes me a grin. It doesn't reach his eyes. He's like a shark, cutting through the water, stalking his prey.

"I don't have to," he replies. And with that, he turns on his heel and leaves, vanishing into the crowd of students emerging from the lecture hall just off the main quad. As the sound of footsteps fills the stone corridor, I muster up what little courage I have left and climb into my car.

I'm not going to let him take this from me. I'm not. I've worked too hard to get where I am, and I refuse to allow some guy to steal that. His mind games aren't going to work on me.

If it's war he wants, it's war he's going to get.

---