4

"Next." The attendant stepped out and gestured toward her.

It was finally Mia's turn. She smoothed the crease from her bodycon dress, figuring that if her résumé didn't impress the interviewer, she would.

She rose from the plush waiting room sofa, leather bag on her shoulder, folder in hand, and walked toward the door with as much confidence as she could fake, heels clicking against marble.

The moment she stepped inside, her eyes found the two men in the room, and her stomach dropped. She recognized him instantly.

"Have a seat," Felix said, gesturing to the chair across from him.

She forced herself to breathe normally. Mateo, at least, seemed absorbed in the paperwork in front of him.

"You're Mia Scott?" Felix read from her folder.

She nodded, her eyes flicking toward Mateo, half expecting her name to mean something to him already.

"Fresh graduate, I see," Felix said.

"Yes."

"Great. But we need to make sure you understand what the role actually involves."

She nodded again.

"As the CEO's personal assistant, you'll need to get close to him. Not just professionally."

"I'm sorry, what do you mean by personally?" she asked.

Felix cleared his throat and gestured to Mateo, who finally looked up, a smug edge to his expression that made her stomach twist again.

"So, Mia," Mateo said, voice low and even, "why don't you tell me why I shouldn't call the police right now and have you arrested for theft?" He set the paperwork down and crossed his arms.

Her whole body went cold. "Theft? Me? I'm sorry, I don't think we've met." She scrambled for anything that might get her out of this.

"What's going on?" Felix asked, glancing between them.

"She's the one who robbed me at the club last week," Mateo said, eyes locked on hers.

Felix's eyes widened. "Oh my god. Now that you say it, she does look familiar."

"Someone call the police," Mateo said, rising slowly and circling the desk toward her.

Mia's throat went tight. "I... I needed money. Please, I'm begging you. I couldn't find a job, I couldn't afford my own place, I just needed enough to start over," she stammered.

"I don't want your apology. I want a reason to let you walk out of here."

"Please, I don't want to go to jail. I've had nothing, no job, no money, no help. I'm not a thief, that was the first time I've ever done anything like it, and I swear I'll pay back everything." She dropped to her knees, pleading.

The police arrived faster than she expected.

"Please," she said, hands pressed together.

"Hold on, let her be," Mateo said, just as the officers reached for her wrists.

"Never mind. Leave, I'll call if I need you," he told them. They nodded and left.

"Thank you," she managed, voice hoarse, hardly believing he'd stopped it.

"Did I hear you say you'd pay me back?" Mateo asked, something mischievous flickering in his eyes now.

"Yes. I promise."

His gaze held hers a long moment. "What if I don't want the money, or the things you took, back? What if I want something else?"

Her mind raced. What could he possibly want.

"I'll do anything," she said, meaning it more than she expected to.

Mateo glanced at Felix, who only gestured for him to continue.

"I want you to be my girlfriend," he said.

Mia blinked, certain she'd misheard. "You want me to be your... girlfriend? I don't understand."

"Pretend girlfriend," Mateo and Felix corrected in unison.

"Just play the part. Act like we're together," Mateo said.

"Why me?"

"Because you applied for the job, and here you are," Felix said.

"I applied to be an assistant."

"This is the job," Felix said simply.

"And you won't be paid separately for it, since you already owe him," Mateo added. "Understood?"

She nodded, a little too eagerly. "Understood."

Felix and Mateo traded a look that made her nervous all over again.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"For now," Mateo said. "Here." He scribbled something on a notepad and slid it across. "My address. Be at my place tomorrow. A full day together should be enough for you to learn a few things about the man you're supposedly dating."

"You want me at your house?"

"You'd rather not? Careful, little thief, I'd hate to think you're planning to rob me twice."

"No, no, I swear I won't."

"Or you could just disappear."

She had thought about it, briefly, pictured herself never setting foot in this building again.

"You won't get far. I have your ID, your résumé, your entire file," Mateo said, tapping the folder on the desk.

She sighed. "I won't run. I'll do it."

It won't kill me, she told herself, though she wasn't entirely convinced.

"Perfect," Mateo said, exchanging a satisfied look with Felix.

"Don't you dare forget the deal. Be there by nine tomorrow," Felix called after her.

She gave a small nod and let herself out, and once the door shut behind her, Felix and Mateo slapped hands like they'd just closed the deal of the year.

Mia stood alone in the hallway for a moment, heart still hammering, wondering exactly what she'd just agreed to