Chapter Two: Cheats, Debts and Billionaires

Nara's POV

I was already running late when Jake started talking.

I stood in the middle of our tiny living room with one heel on and the other in my hand as I tried to fix the strap. My black pencil skirt was a little tight, but it was the best interview outfit I had. Today had to go right because I needed this job like I needed air.

Jake sat on the couch with his hands between his knees, not looking at me. “Nara. We need to talk.”

I frowned because I hated that tone. “Can it wait? I have the interview in forty minutes.”

He shook his head. “No, it can’t.”

I straightened up and stared at him. “Then say it fast.”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck, the way he always did when he was nervous. “I’ve been seeing someone else for a couple months now. It’s… serious. So I think we should break up.”

The words hit me like cold water. I blinked once, then twice. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not.” He finally looked up. “Look, you’re too much, Nara. You’re always reading these big books, correcting people, talking about tech shit I don’t understand. It makes me feel dumb and I’m tired of feeling dumb in my own house.”

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “So instead of telling me like a man, you cheat and drop this on me right before my interview?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t plan it, it just happened. You can stay till the end of the month. That’s fair, right? Give you time to find somewhere else.”

Fair. This idiot really said fair.

I stepped closer, still holding my shoe. My blood was boiling, but my voice came out calm and sharp. “Let me get this straight. We’ve been together for two years. Two good years. We split rent, I cook most nights so you can play your stupid video games and now you’re kicking me out because what? My brain intimidates you?”

Jake opened his mouth, but I cut him off.

“You’re a weak-ass boy, Jake. Not a man. A boy. You couldn’t even wait till after my interview? You had to do this now?” I shook my head. “At least you could’ve been decent enough to let me get through today without this garbage in my head. But no, You’re a dumb fucking idiot.”

His face went red. “Nara—”

“Save it.” I slipped on my other heel and grabbed my bag from the table. “I’ll be out before the end of the month. Don’t worry, I don’t want to breathe the same air as you any longer than I have to.”

I slammed the door so hard the walls shook.

By the time I got to the elevator, my hands were shaking.

No. I refuse to cry over that buffoon.

I had a younger brother in college, Tyler. He had called me last week asking for money for books, again.

Our father was dead and left behind a huge pile of debt. Our mum was in a coma, she had been on life support for a year now. She had overdosed and while she didn't die as she was rushed to the hospital in time, the pills largely affected her brain, so it was just us.

I couldn’t afford to lose this interview, neither could I afford to fall apart. I had student loans to pay for, a dead father's debt hanging over my head, a comatose mum who I had to pay medical bills for solely to keep her alive, bills to pay for and a younger brother in college I had to provide for.

So I didn’t.

I wiped my eyes in the Uber, fixed my makeup and practiced smiling in my phone camera. By the time I reached the tall glass building downtown, I looked calm. Inside? I was still spitting fire.

The lobby was fancy, like the kind of lobby you see in movies really fancy. It had marble floors, big chandeliers and people in suits moving like they had important places to be. I checked in at the front desk and they sent me up to the twenty-third floor.

The floors were eighty by the way.

Two people waited for me in the conference room. There was a tired looking woman in her forties and a guy with messy hair who kept checking his watch.

“Hi, I’m Nara Quinn,” I said, shaking their hands firmly. “Thank you for seeing me.”

The woman gave me a weak smile. “We’re really sorry about this, Miss Quinn.”

My stomach dropped. “Sorry about what?”

The guy sighed and leaned back in his chair. “We had some miscommunication upstairs. The position you applied for… it’s not actually open right now, so we’re not taking anyone.”

I stared at them as the rage from Jake mixed with this new bullshit made my chest tight.

I leaned forward. “Then why did you make me come all the way down here?”

The woman looked embarrassed. “We only realized this morning. We’re so sorry we wasted your time.”

I let out a short laugh and shook my head. “Wow. Today just keeps getting better and better.”

They glanced at each other and the guy cleared his throat. “There is one position that opened up suddenly. It’s… not easy. Executive assistant to the director of the company, Mr. Keegan Blackwood. He’s very particular and most people don’t last long.”

I raised an eyebrow. “When you say particular, how exactly do you mean?”

"I mean particular. He is extremely private and has strict rules. He doesn’t like small talk and works crazy hours. But the pay is double what you applied for, plus benefits.”

Double pay?

That word lit something up in me. With Jake kicking me out and Tyler needing money for school, this could change everything.

I sat up straighter. “Tell me more.”

The woman slid a folder across the table. “We weren’t supposed to offer it today, but since you’re already here… The boss needs someone smart. Really smart. And from your resume, you seem like you might survive longer than the last thirty people.”

My eyebrows skyrocketed to my hairline. Thirty people? She must be exaggerating. Yes, she simply must.

I flipped open the folder and my eyes landed on the name at the top.

Position: Executive Assistant to Keegan Blackwood

My heart beat a little faster. I didn’t know much about the man, never seen him before, but I knew a little bit about him. It was virtually impossible not to have heard his name, especially being in the tech world.

I couldn't believe I would be assisting such a high profile man.

I closed the folder and looked both of them dead in the eye.

“I want it,” I said. “Give me the interview.”

The woman smiled for the first time. “You sure? Most people run when they hear his name.”

I thought about my shitty life and about Tyler in college and the fact that I had nowhere to live in three weeks.

I smiled back.

“Let him try me.”