Chapter 1: Luca Moretti

~ Mira’s POV ~

The city of Veridia was a beast that consumed the weak, and I did not intend on becoming its meal. Especially after seven years of running from it.

As I stood inside the lobby of Moretti Enterprises made entirely of gold and glass, I adjusted my wristwatch, a knockoff of the real thing, that I purchased from eBay for only $10. The shoes I was wearing were hurting my feet, and my blazer was just a little bit tight in the shoulders, my blouse, which I pressed until the folds could cut through glass.

It wasn’t just a job interview, but rather a golden pass. Medical bills from my mother’s illness and my dad’s debt threatened to crush my entire family.

Moretti Enterprises was my only chance for salvation. As a junior Analyst, and full benefits. A starting salary that could rescue us.

Please let me get this, I silently pleaded, grasping at my portfolio. I cannot go back to where we started.

“Miss Carter?”

I jerked into attention and saw a sharp-looking lady standing in front of the elevator. “Yes?”

“Follow me," she said brusquely. "We're running behind schedule. The Senior Vice President will be meeting with you now. Mr. Moretti is not holding entry-level interviews today."

I heaved a sigh of relief. That’s good, because I definitely did not need to be in the same room as the company’s CEO. Luca Moretti, billionaire extraordinaire and masterminded business tycoon.

‘I didn’t know him. Never had met him.’

Or at least, that was what I told myself every time I caught his image on the cover of a magazine.

I followed her into the elevator. As we entered the mirrored box, the image of myself reflected back at me, my wide, alarmed eyes staring back in their hazel hue. I didn’t look like a shark, but I needed to.

The elevator opened with its familiar ding, and we disembarked on the sixtieth floor. It was quiet up here, the air cool and metallic. There was a faint smell of ozone and leather in the air. Thick carpet muffled the sound of my footsteps.

"Please wait here," she said, gesturing to the rows of seating just outside the conference room. "Mr. Vance will notify you when it's your turn."

I sat. I watched the clock on the wall tick down the minutes. From 10:00 AM to 10:30 to 11:00. I watched other interviewees leave the conference room; pale and hurried-looking.

At 11:15, the thick double doors at the end of the hall finally opened.

I went still.

It wasn’t the conference room where the interviews took place. No, it was the more exclusive private executive suite he had entered before.

And then came two men out if the room. One with lighter hair was Nicolas Moretti, the cousin. The other…was the man who made my heart freeze.

He was large, intimidating, dressed in a suit that probably cost more than my entire tuition. He had dark hair that had been combed back to show off a chiseled jawline and an incredibly masculine face. He walked with predatory grace that made the hairs stand up on my arms.

But it was not only because of his strength and intimidation that I felt so afraid of him.

It was his eyes. Crystal blue and clear.

I knew those eyes. I had seen them during all my senior year of high school as he laughed at me, as he desired me, and finally as they shatter from betrayal.

No, I thought, a rising panic strangling me. This can’t be. He can’t see me. My plan was to get the job and keep my profile as low as possible.

The man who I once knew seven years ago wasn't a billionaire. The man wasn't a CEO. He was just Luca, a boy from the other side, a scholarship student with a short fuse and bleeding heart for me.

He had promised me eternity.

And I broke him with a lie.

“Then tell Vance to fire the incompetent who made the mistake on the decimal point in our Q3 projections,” Luca told him, his tone soft yet deadly. “I do not pay for incompetence.”

“Taken care of already, cousin.” Nicolas answered with ease. “And what about the next batch of interns? A few of them show some promise.”

“I only want what works, not what shows some potential.” Luca stated, taking a tiny pause to button up his suit jacket. “I want results!”

As if feeling that someone was watching him, he halted. Slowly turning his face around, he stopped talking to Nicolas.

His ice-blue eyes found mine.

The realization hit him like a punch in the stomach. There was no softening of the expression on his face. There was no yearning look in his eyes. It was hard, lethal coldness. He clenched his jaw; a muscle quivered in his face.

But for just a second, I could see the boy whom I loved. Until he blinked, and all I saw was the monster.

He said nothing. He gave no acknowledgement. He just stared at me as if looking through my professional façade into the lying, scared girl inside.

And then, he sneered. Turning around, he walked away from me, shutting the door of the executive suite behind himself.

I was trembling, and my vision went blurry.

“Miss Carter?” someone asked.

I startled. It was a man wearing a grey suit standing in front of the conference room door. Probably Mr. Vance, whom will be interviewing me.

“Come in. This won’t take long.”

I stood there shaking on my feet. But I had to land that job. Even if the man who owned the building was the boy I betrayed 7 years ago.

However, when I stepped inside the conference room, I felt a cold sensation in my stomach.

**********

It all went into a haze. I answered the questions like a robot, trying to stop thinking about Luca. He shouldn’t have seen me. This was bad.

“Sorry, Miss Carter,” Vance told me when he finally got to his feet after only ten minutes of interviewing. “But we’re looking for someone with a little more polish. We’re a prestigious business organization here in Moretti Enterprises; we have an image to keep up.”

I stood up, panic rising through my throat, I tried to reason with him.

“Please, Mr. Vance. My grades are impeccable. I managed two jobs in addition to getting straight As throughout all four years of college. And while I may not be as connected as the other candidates, I am willing to work harder than everyone else here.”

Sighing, Vance shook his head. “It’s not always about effort, Miss Carter. You must be a good match culturally; discreet, subtle.” He motioned toward the exit. “And if you’re interested in working here, HR will contact you via email concerning available positions in the mailroom.”

The mailroom.

I emerged from the conference room with my head held high, but inside, my soul was breaking into pieces.

I hastened my pace towards the lifts, my eyesight failing me. I had failed. I had disappointed my family.

I pressed the lift for the lobby. The lift was taking forever.

When suddenly, the fire alarms rang out.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

**********