Page 23 of Twisted Fate

I take a deep breath. “Experience, of course. That’s what anyone in my position would say. This isn’t for me to get a taste of what my career might be to see whether I like it. I’m in my fourth and final year of this program. I don’t have time to change my mind. Before walking into this interview, I would’ve said this might lead to full-time employment after I impressed my mentor, but alas, circumstances shape my answers. I’m going to go ahead and say experience—that’s the safest answer.”

“You choose to play it safe?”

“It depends,” I say.

“On?” he counters.

“Circumstances.” My voice has a bit of an edge to it.

“Have you been in positions of power in the past?”

“Yes. As listed under my volunteer experience, I led several teams during school events, and over the past few years, I’ve been one of the head members of the student union during the winter semester.”

“Do you seek out these positions of power?”

“If you’re asking me whether I like control, I think you—” I stop. “Yes, I do.”

“You seem like a driven young woman.”

“I like to think so,” I say. “I know what I want, and I plan to do whatever it takes to achieve that.”

He clicks the pen in his hand. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Any more questions?”

“Do you have a copy of your class schedule?”

I nod and hand it to him from my portfolio, cringing at the way my hand shakes. I knew this interview would make me nervous, regardless of the mentor, but Tristan sitting across from me is heightening that tenfold.I just need to get through this. I fold my hands in my lap and sit straighter, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth to try to calm my uneven pulse.

“Excellent. So you have Mondays off?”

“Yes,” I say.

“That works for me. You’ll start this coming Monday, nine o’clock sharp.”

My stomach flips at the burst of anxious excitement in my chest. “I...wait, hold on. That’s it?”

He leans back in his chair. “That’s it.”

“What if I don’t want to work under you?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a woman say that to me,” he says with a twist of his lips.

“First of all, gross. Off to a great start with the sexual harassment.” I shoot him a sarcastic thumbs up.

“Like I said, I’m the last mentor available, so it’s me or nothing. Your choice. But as I recall, you need this to graduate. Like you said, your education is the most important thing to you.”

“You did this,” I accuse in a low voice as I stand, Allison’s warning running through my mind.He isn’t finished with you.

He shrugs. “That doesn’t change anything.”

“I’m going to—”

“What? Tell your program coordinator that the leader of the fae manipulated her mind to ensure that you were placed with his company?”

“You can’t—”

“Yet I did,” he says, an arrogant quality to his voice.

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