Page 9 of Savage Temptation

“Nice to meet you, Miss Harden. My name is Tracy Parker,” she greeted, holding her hand out for me to shake. “Your name is quite ambiguous, you know? They’re expecting another man. I’m glad we have a lady applying today. We could use more in this men-driven business.” I smiled at her remark, treading behind her into the place where my fate would be sealed.

There was no mistaking who Mr. Dornier was. As soon as I was in the conference room, my eyes landed on an extremely handsome man with a steel-bending presence. His hair was as dark as night, sprinkled with a couple of silver streaks on the sides, matching the ones in his dark beard, granting him the elegant and refined look of a silver fox.

From this distance, it was hard to perceive the correct color of his irises. They weren’t brown or green, but they held me pinned in respect, and to be honest, a little fear. His stare was stern under a furrowed brow of confusion. Together with his pristine gray suit and impeccably white button-down, he had me almost ready to salute.

There was another man sitting next to him, his presence much less overwhelming. Both of them rose once I was in front of them, respectfully greeting me.

“Miss Harden,” Mr. Dornier said, with a curt nod in a deep voice laced with an under-toned French accent, before sitting back down and pointing to a vacant chair right in front of them. “Please, take a seat.”

The brunette who had met me by the door took the seat at the end of the table, leaving an empty one between her and Mr. Dornier. That could only mean someone else was missing.

Four people interviewing me? This just got a lot more nerve-wracking.

“My name is Adrian Dornier, CEO and founder of AD Architects.” As if I didn’t know that already.

I was practically fan girling internally to finally be meeting a living legend in flesh and bone.

Before he could say anything else, the double doors behind me burst open with a loud noise, banging shut right after, rattling the frame with its force.

I kept my focus on Mr. Dornier since his eyes were still strained on me, unaffected by the intruder. It would only be disrespectful to break my attention, but God did I want to. I was dead curious to see who would have the nerve to burst in here like that.

Mr. Dornier’s expression grew darker. He was beyond pissed, annoyance clear in every faint wrinkle on his forehead.

“You weren’t going to start without me, right?” A deep male voice said from behind me, his tone connecting instantly with my gut. I’d heard this man before; both his voice and that presumptuous tone were now branded on my mind forever.

His tauntingly slow footsteps resounded in the room as he walked over to us, finally coming into my line of vision.

Holy shit on a stick! It’s him!

My heart sank to my feet as soon as I saw his face, fluttering in my stomach on its way down.

Adonis held nothing on him, but then again, Lucifer probably didn’t either.

“Just my fucking luck!” He cursed as soon as his eyes met mine, all my hopes deflating together with my heavy exhale as soon as I saw him.

“Liam!” Mr. Dornier’s harsh voice resounded through the room. “Language!”

“You?” His voice was low and heavy, his eyebrow raised in suspicion or maybe annoyance. I couldn’t help but shut my eyes trying to find the motivation to face this interview. I could sense it was about to be nothing short of a total disaster.

His eyes dipped towards my chest making my cheeks flush all shades of red, the intensity in his stare burning me to my core. Having him look at me that way shouldn’t harvest this kind of reaction. I should feel offended, yet somehow, all that invaded me was a strange pride and a need for more.

“Good morning,” I muttered in a flat tone with a fake smile, hoping my voice would break his reverie. With a small shake of his head, he finally broke contact with my steep cleavage, averting his gaze to the rest of the people sitting at the table.

“Is my schedule right or have you moved things around?” He asked Mrs Parker, flipping the pages of the thin stack he held in his hands. “I thought we were starting with a Mr. Harden.”

“This is Miss Jamie Harden, Liam,” Mr. Dornier clarified. “I understand you know each other?” Somehow the implication in his question didn’t seem innocent or platonic.

I opened my mouth to refute, but Liam was quicker on that trigger.

“No! Miss Harden over here bumped into me this morning and spilled my coffee. I’m starting to wonder if it was as much of a coincidence as it was made out to be.” His eyes practically pierced through me, waiting for an answer or reaction to his accusation. “Seeing that you’re here and all…”

A sarcastic, disdainful grin spread on his face as he took the fourth and final vacant chair on the opposite side of the table, right next to Mr. Dornier and in front of me. The derogatory tone under his insinuation was clear to everyone in this damn place, making me shift in my seat as exasperation crept up my spine.

What could I say to that? And why on earth would I ever feel the need to purposely bump into such a self-centered prick? He thought a little too highly of himself, that was clear.

All I could do was sarcastically chuckle as if I was silently asking everyone here if this guy was for real. Other than that, what was brewing to come out of my mouth wasn’t at all suited for Mr. Dornier’s ears.

It was best to say nothing.

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