Page 5 of Bratva's Intern

“You think that’s going to make me change my mind? Nope.” She rose to her feet and stretched, all grace and perfection. “I should get ready for my date.”

“Yeah, you do that. It usually takes you two hours anyway.”

“But it’s time well spent, isn’t it?” She blew me a kiss and disappeared into her room, leaving behind the faint scent of vanilla.

I grabbed the remote and sank into the couch. My feet throbbed, and my stomach growled, but I ignored both. A giant can of Pringles would do for dinner. Unless Jess returned home after her date, in which case she always brought me leftovers from ordering more food than she could eat because she wasthatkind of friend.

As I scrolled through the streaming app, my phone buzzed inside my bag like an annoying bug. I ignored it. It rang again. And again.

“Fine,” I muttered, dragging myself off the couch andfishing the phone out. The screen flashed Unknown Number. Against my better judgment, I swiped to answer.

“Hello.”

“Mr. Holloway? Wren Holloway?” The voice on the other end was deep and clipped, oozing authority. Had Jessica given one of Hugh’s friends my number?

“Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”

“This is Archie Mayfair. I’m calling on behalf of Maxim Morozov.”

I froze.TheMaxim Morozov? My stomach flipped. Anyone who studied real estate like I did knew who Maxim Morozov was—only one of the household names in luxury properties.

“All right, who’s playing pranks on me?” I racked my brain, skipping through names of my college friends. “Dennis, is that you?”

“I am not sure who this Dennis is, but, Mr. Holloway, congratulations. You’ve been selected for an interview with Morozov Property Holdings.”

“An interview? For what?”

“Your interview is on Thursday at ten sharp. Don’t be late. Mr. Morozov hates tardiness.”

“B-b-b-but, I don’t understand. An interview for what?”

“This is an internship opportunity. I don’t have to tell you what difference this internship can make to someone like you, do I, Mr. Holloway?”

I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Words didn’t come. Was this real? I hadn’t applied for anything with Morozov. Hell, I didn’t even know they had internships. If he was indeed who he said he was, and I had serious doubts, this was huge. Like fucking titanic huge. This could make the difference between me leaving college in a year, struggling to find a job, and making contacts that could be useful then.

But… I never applied for an internship. Why were they calling me?

“Are you sure it’s me you want?”

Such an idiot. Even if they had the wrong person, I shouldn’t care. It wasn’t every day an opportunity like this dropped in my lap, but with so many scams happening, I couldn’t help being doubtful.

The only luck I’d had in my life was a full scholarship to Corthall College—a scholarship that had surprised me almost as much as this internship opportunity. I hadn’t applied for it then either. I was hardly an exceptional student to have attracted anyone’s attention. In fact, I was barely scraping through college on Cs and C minuses. Each year, I waited with bated breath for someone to inform me that my sponsor had withdrawn their financial aid.

“Rather, the question is, Mr. Holloway, do you want it to be someone else?”

Before I could respond, the call disconnected. I stared at my phone in stunned silence. My heart raced as panic and excitement duked it out in my chest. This had to be a mistake. I wasn’t Morozov material. My grades were mediocre, and my work experience consisted of flipping burgers and mopping floors. What the hell would they want with me?

“You all right?” Jess breezed into the living room, wearing a white terrycloth robe knotted loosely around the waist and a charcoal mask spread across her face. She walked over to the outlet and unplugged her phone charger.

“Umm. I don’t know. The weirdest thing just happened.”

“What?”

I checked the call history of my phone to ensure I hadn’t imagined the conversation.

“Someone called me just now. Said I have an interview at Morozov Property Holdings the day after tomorrow.”

“You applied for a job there?”

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