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I recognize the words, and let out a groan. He was listening to my conversation with Kelsey, back there in line at the coffee shop. All my blabbering about my date, and the job interview. What must he think of me?
Enough to land the hands-down best kiss of your life.
Good point.
And if the kiss was that good, sex with him would be…
Nope! I can’t be thinking about this right now. I grab my bag and hightail it across the street, trying to put that weird and wonderful encounter behind me and focus on what really matters right now:
Landing this job.
* * *
I takea deep breath as I approach the building, windows gleaming in the morning sun. Sterling Cross is the most exclusive luxury jewelry company in the world, crafting the kind of exquisite creations that adorn movie stars and royalty, with waiting lists a mile long. Their headquarters here in New York is like a work of art on its own. When I take the elevator up to the fifteenth floor, the doors open on an incredible atrium sparkling like one of their priceless jewels, all light and crystal, with display cases showcasing gorgeous necklaces, and stunning prints of their gems.
This place screams style and exclusivity. Mere mortals not invited.
Except I am, today.
I approach the front desk. “Hello, I’m Juliet Nichols, here to interview for the executive assistant position?”
The terrifyingly chic blonde barely glances at me. “To your left. Wait with the others.”
I follow her directions to a packed waiting area, full of equally stylish-looking people. I find a spare corner of a bench to wait, and try to get my head in the game, but it’s impossible with my heart still racing and my whole body alive with adrenaline after that kiss.
Who was he?
I fan my face with a copy of Fortune magazine, and listen to the young man beside me mutter to himself.
“Founded in 1945 when Levi Sterling fled Europe… Originally a watch-mending business… partnership with Charles Cross expanded into jewelry…”
I gulp. I cribbed the same research to prepare, but I’m not sure what’s going to set me apart from the crowd. This is a big-deal company, and the CEO, Caleb Sterling, is the biggest deal of all.
Ruthless. Respected. Even revered, if the press is to be believed.
I tried to research him, but the guy stays out of the spotlight. Somehow, he’s got everyone talking about him, without actually showing up anywhere. No posed photos, no red-carpet appearances… The most I could find was a years-old PR photo showing a stern-looking man half-hidden under wire-rimmed glasses and too-long hair.
He’s a mystery.
I would be nervous at the best of times—even if I didn’t have a whole lot more than just a job on the line here.
“Juliet Nichols?”
I bolt to my feet, and follow a brisk-looking red-headed woman down the hallway to the corner office. “I’m Victoria,” she says. “Mr. Sterling’s first assistant. You’ll have ten minutes,” she says, looking me up and down. Clearly, she isn’t impressed with what she sees, because her lip curls slightly, and she adds: “Or less. Mr. Sterling doesn’t suffer fools lightly.”
Then she opens the door and gives me a light push that I’m not expecting, so I stumble into the room. I struggle to keep my footing—and my grip on my leather-bound resume.
“Sorry, hi! Pleased to meet you—”
I start—and then stop dead. Because sitting on the other side of a long conference table, flanked by serious-looking people in suits, is the man from the coffee shop.
The one who kissed me senseless in a bathroom not twenty minutes ago.
The one who is staring icily at me like we’ve never met before.
“You’re late.” He says shortly, disapproval clear. “Sit. Speak. I don’t have much time.”
I stare at him—at the way the other people in the room are all turned to him, like he’s the freaking sun—and I finally put two-and-two together and come up with holy hell!
This is Caleb Sterling. And I need to make him hire me in the next ten minutes—or my whole life will fall apart.
