Page 7 of Corrupt Game

Thank fuck I hadn’t been wearing jeans and a t-shirt before barging into the company.

My slacks and blouse weren’t what I’d normally wear to an interview, but for today, they would have to do.

The pumps I had on today were more for comfort while driving than for any aesthetic value. I had worn them because they made less noise if I had to follow Ian Holdt down an alley.

Maybe I’d watched too many spy movies. But I wanted to make sure I was prepared.

The shoes would be acceptable in a passing kind of way. It was probably why the receptionist had given me such disdainful looks.

I was nothing like the other girls in the room. They were all young and innocent. It wasn’t like I was that much older than them, but in life lessons, I was several milestones ahead. When it came to life though, I was always ahead.

Each one had on makeup and dressy business attire meant to draw attention to their chests.

My makeup was subtler, and while I had no problem showing off my tits when the situation called for it, only the top button of my blouse hinted at what was underneath.

If I were being hired completely for my looks and not for what I could bring to the table, it wasn’t a company I would enjoy working for, anyway.

Why on earth did I care if this company cared about my brains? It wasn’t like it would be an actual job that would go on my resume for future employment options.

“Nervous?” The girl next to me gave a sympathetic smile.

I lifted my head, and smiled at her. “No. You?”

“A little. This is my dream job. The personal assistant to a CEO like Ian Holdt could be the key to opening doors for the rest of my career.” Her enthusiasm raked me like nails over a chalkboard.

“That’s your highest dream or goal? To work for some overbearing prick that doesn’t care about you?”

The woman’s mouth dropped and looked over my shoulder. I jerked my head toward the door, which was open.

Ian Holdt had heard my comments and stood there with that smirk on his face. “Ms. DeLandro?” His voice had me jumping to my feet, undermining my declaration of only moments ago. “Would you step into my office?”

I gulped nervously and walked, clipboard in hand, toward the absolutely captivating man in the doorway.

I had to keep my damn trap shut.

“Please take a seat.” He shut the door behind us and pointed toward the empty chair across from his desk.

What if he planned to dispose of me like he’d done to my brother?

At least the receptionist and the others left in the lobby had seen me enter. Then again, I was the competition in their eyes. They probably wouldn’t care if I was chopped into little pieces and my body fed to the fishes.

“May I?” He held out a hand for the application I still clung to as he propped an elegant hip against the corner of his desk.

“Um, sure.” I handed it to him.

“How did you know my name? I hadn’t given it to the receptionist.” Paranoid, I wanted to put him on the defensive.

He perused my application, not focusing long enough to actually read anything. “All possible personnel are run through a facial recognition system as soon as they enter the building. We can’t take the chance that someone with ill intentions will try to circumvent the safeguards in place.” He raised a brow as if to bring about a confession over my intentions.

“I see. Do you have a lot of corporate espionage?” I wanted answers, but didn’t want to give myself away too early.

“Not generally. We do our best to keep that from happening.” He set the clipboard on the desk as if he didn’t need to see my answers.

“Tell me, what made you want to work as a CIA in this field?”

“This field? I’m going to assume you mean as an analyst for engineering companies.” I smiled and relaxed just a little bit. This was something I could talk about all day. “Research, compare data, and then decide what is important and what isn’t. I get to bring all of the important details to the company’s attention. I know the basics of what your company does, but there are few divisions that will be new to me. I’d love the chance to learn more about them, so I can provide you with the best form of data available.”

His eyebrow lifted.

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