4. One Interview Away

Ruby was still wrestling with the broken strap of her heel when Mr. Garrison's shadow fell across the lobby floor. She froze, fingers tangled in fraying leather and muttered a curse. She had been dodging her landlord for a solid week, but luck had finally run out.

"Miss Costa." His voice carried the weariness of a man who'd been avoiding this conversation as much as she had. "I've been trying to catch you."

She straightened, abandoning the shoe. "Mr. Garrison. I know what you're going to say, but…"

"Let me guess. Your employer hasn't paid you yet. Payroll problem. Check's in the mail. Did I miss any?"

She bit her lip. Those were three of her prepared excuses. "I lost my job. I know that doesn't change what I owe, but I'm looking for work. I just need a little more time."

"Three days. That's what you get. Either the rent is paid in full by Friday or I’ll throw you away."

She forced a smile that felt like it might crack her face. "Understood. I won't let you down."

He grunted something noncommittal and disappeared back into his ground-floor apartment, leaving Ruby alone with her broken shoe and her rapidly imploding life.

She climbed the three flights to her apartment. The door stuck as always and she had to shove it with her shoulder. Inside, the place was small enough to see almost all of it from the entrance, a living room that doubled as a dining room, a kitchenette with cabinets that never closed properly, a bathroom a child would find cramped and a bedroom that barely fit her twin mattress.

Ruby collapsed onto the couch, which wheezed beneath her. The armrest had split months ago. She stared at the ceiling's water stains there since she moved in and tried to calculate how many meals she could skip before Friday.

A hundred dollars in savings. The math didn't math.

A month had passed since that night at Secret Sin Oasis and Ruby still couldn't shake it. It was absurd. She could be doing the most mundane things and suddenly she would remember his hands on her waist. His mouth on her throat. 

She was exhausted all the time. The job hunt had been its own special hell. Every interview followed the same script, a firm handshake, a polite smile, a series of questions she answered with practiced enthusiasm and then the inevitable follow-up email days later. “Unfortunately, we've decided to move forward with other candidates. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.” Her inbox had become a graveyard of rejection letters. 

The worst part was the loneliness. Bianca had been calling and texting relentlessly since that night and Ruby had been avoiding her with the same determination she used to dodge Mr. Garrison. She couldn't face her best friend. Because facing Bianca meant explaining why she had fled.

The doorbell rang just as Ruby had given up on job applications for the day. She groaned into the couch cushion, wondering why the world couldn't grant her a single moment of peace. The bell rang again, followed by a familiar voice muffled through the door.

"Ruby! I know you're in there."

Bianca.

Ruby shuffled to the door. Bianca stood in the hallway clutching a pizza box and a bottle of cheap wine.

"You look terrible," Bianca announced, pushing past her. "When was the last time you ate something that wasn't instant noodles?"

"I had toast this morning."

"That's not food." Bianca deposited the pizza and wine on the coffee table and turned. "You've been avoiding me for a month. A month! I've left you approximately eight hundred messages and you've responded to exactly none. So either you're dead and this is a very detailed hallucination, or you're shutting me out completely."

Ruby's lower lip trembled. The tears she'd been holding back for weeks finally broke through. "I lost my job."

Bianca's expression softened instantly. She crossed the room and pulled Ruby into a tight embrace. "Oh, honey. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was embarrassed." Ruby's voice was muffled against Bianca's shoulder. "Everything fell apart at once. I'm about to be evicted. I have three days to come up with money I don't have. I've been to a dozen interviews and no one will hire me. I'm exhausted all the time and I can't stop thinking about…" 

Bianca arched an eyebrow. "About the stranger from the club?"

Ruby's silence was answer enough.

An hour later, Ruby was curled up on the splintered couch in her unicorn onesie with half a pizza gone and the wine bottle significantly lighter. She had told Bianca everything. Bianca listened without interruption, which was unusual for her. When Ruby finally fell silent, she leaned back and let out a low whistle.

"Okay, first of all, Lorenzo is still a bastard and Noemi is still a nightmare and none of that is new information. Secondly, you should have called me weeks ago instead of trying to handle all of this alone. That's what best friends are for, you idiot."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Thirdly…" Bianca reached into her bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I found you a job."

Ruby blinked. "What?"

"The Morelli Group is looking for a new personal assistant for the CEO." Bianca thrust the paper into Ruby's hands. "Triple your old salary. You could pay rent, buy actual groceries, maybe even afford a couch that doesn't look like it survived a war."

Ruby stared at the letterhead. Morelli Group. The name was unmistakable, everyone knew the empire that owned everything from tech startups to luxury hotels. The CEO, Luciano Morelli, was so wealthy and reclusive he was practically a myth.

"Bianca, this is for the CEO's personal assistant. I'm an intern who just resigned. They're never going to hire me."

"They might. You're qualified, you're desperate and apparently you give excellent interviews when you're not throwing up from stress." Bianca grinned.

"When's the interview?"

"Tomorrow."

Next morning.

Ruby stood before the bathroom mirror, palms pressed flat against the sink. The reflection staring back at her looked presentable enough, high-waisted black trousers, a cream blazer Bianca had lent her, hair pulled back in a low bun. Professional.

The reflection couldn't show the trembling in her hands, three hours of sleep and the hundred dollars in her bank account.

"You can do this. It'll be fine. It has to be fine," she whispered.

She had spent half the night researching the Morelli Group. The company was a behemoth, but the CEO, Luciano Morelli, was notoriously private. There were barely any photographs of him online. He was known for being brilliant, ruthless and impossible to work for. The last three personal assistants had quit within a month. But the salary was triple what she'd made before. 

Ruby grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

The Morelli Group headquarters was a tower of glass and steel that seemed to pierce the clouds. Ruby stepped out of the cab, smoothed her blazer, squared her shoulders and took a step toward the entrance.

"Well, well. Look what the wind blew in."

She froze. That drawl had once made her heart flutter. Now it made her stomach clench. She turned slowly.

Lorenzo stood a few feet away. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your concern."

His eyes swept over her with exaggerated slowness. "Let me guess… You're here for an interview? Please tell me you're not here for an interview."

"And if I am?"

He laughed, cruel and delighted. "Oh, Ruby. Do you have any idea what kind of company this is? They don't take strays. You couldn't even keep an internship without spreading your legs for the boss's son. What makes you think you'll survive five minutes here?"

"Interesting," she said, tilting her head. "For someone who claims I'm beneath him, you seem awfully invested in my failure. Tell me, does Noemi know you're this preoccupied with your ex? Or is the pregnancy already getting boring for you?"

Lorenzo's smirk flickered. "Careful. You're an unemployed, unqualified nobody. The CEO here isn't some lovesick puppy you can manipulate."

"Which means I might actually have a chance." She crossed her arms. "Now if you'll excuse me."

His expression hardened. "Good luck. You're going to need more than luck, you're going to need a miracle and I'm going to enjoy watching you walk out with nothing."

Ruby watched him disappear into the glittering lobby. What is he doing here? The question gnawed at her. He had never mentioned any connection to the Morelli Group, never seen him near this building in all the years they'd dated. If Lorenzo were connected to the Morelli empire, he would have broadcasted it from every rooftop.

“It doesn't matter. He doesn't matter.”

She took a deep breath and walked inside.