Page 5 of His Jewel

“Will do, bye, honey.”

She hung up.

Ruby took a deep breath and then stepped inside the devil’s lair.

****

The devil’s lair wasnice. Not that she expected anything less. The office was built over six floors, the lobby wide and welcoming, plenty of chairs, magazines, a coffee machine, and a fish tank, with tropical fish of all colors swimming about, the color glinting in the corner of her eyes, like tiny fireworks. A smiling receptionist told her to take a seat and that she would buzz her up as soon as Mr. Hall was ready.

A few minutes later, just as she was getting into an article about her skin type (combination, apparently), the receptionist called to her, handing her a pass to hang around her neck. “If you take the elevator over there, head to the fourth floor, and someone will be there to greet you.”

“Great, thanks,” she replied, hanging the visitor pass around her neck.

When the elevator dinged open, her breath caught in her throat. There he was. The devil. Damn, the devil was handsome. Who said he could look like that? Sure, she’d seen the odd blurred photo of him, but he looked like a model, with black hair that crested in waves, green eyes, and stubble littering his face. He looked like he hadn’t slept, though, for there were slight purple marks underneath his eyes. She scoffed internally. Probably out partying with random models.Don’t let a pretty face distract you, Ruby, you have a job to do.

She stepped out of the elevator and shook his hand so quickly, it gave her a spark of satisfaction that she’d caught him off-guard. He quickly recovered, of course.

If she was honest, she was shocked he was greeting her himself. Don’t the high and mighty have people to do that for them? Although, she supposed, that would be the job of his PA. Her. If she got it.

“Please follow me, Miss Lock.” He turned on his heel and walked through the large office floor—it was bright and airy. She glanced around, drinking in the details. Everyone seemed ... happy. Chatting and laughing with each other, typing away at their desks. Appearances could be deceiving, though.

They reached his office, the only one with no glass doors, so no one could see in. He opened the door for her and gestured to take a seat in front of the large oak desk. His office was surprisingly simple, with a desk, chair, a small sofa and bookshelves. He liked to read? Nah, it was probably all for show.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the seat and crossing her legs. She didn’t miss his momentary glance at her. She had to stop her lips from smirking.

He pulled out her resumé. “So, you worked for Allan Group doing PA work?”

He obviously didn’t seem to care that she worked for a rival company. Mind you, he didn’t realize that she wasn’t just an employee, but the boss’s daughter...

She nodded. “That’s right. I started with basic admin tasks and worked my way up.”

She didn’t miss the slight twitch of his jaw. She wouldn’t be made fun of. She wouldn’t be laughed at.

“Of course, working your way up from an admin job to a PA position might not seem like a huge leap for some people, but for us regular folk, I can assure you it is.”

He clasped his hands in front of him, all traces of mirth wiped from his face.

“My mom worked as a cleaner for most of my life, my dad as an office worker, and that’s where they met. I cleaned the office for extra money and worked my way up to a position there before all this...” he waved his hand. She watched as he bit the inside of his cheek, like he’d made a mistake in revealing this.

Well, that was unexpected...

“I see,” was all she meant to say, but then couldn’t resist adding, “what a sweet story ... about how they met.”

He gave a curt nod. “Now if we can move away from my parents’ love story and back to the matter at hand. What makes you think you’d be a good fit for the role?”

Okay, back to playing job interview.

She pushed a stray strand of hair from her face and sat up a little straighter. “Well, as you can see from my resumé, I have experience in this type of work, and I enjoy it. And I’m a hard worker.”

Oh God, she was out of practice.Way to go at selling yourself, Ruby.

To his credit, he didn’t snipe back at her, simply nodded, eyes glazed, looking bored.

“You’re hired.”

What?

She raised a brow. “That’s it? You’re not going to ask me any other questions? Other past jobs? What was the most challenging day at my old job? My hobbies...”

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