Page 6 of Bratva's Intern

From her lack of reaction, I could tell she had no idea what the business was. “No, it’s an internship. At least that’s what he said.”

“I didn’t know you applied for an internship. How are you going to manage that and your current job?”

“That’s just it. I never applied for an internship there. Didn’t even know they had internships.” And if I had known, it wouldn’t have made a difference. I wasn’t Morozov material. I wasn’t delusional about my capabilities. At the end of college, I expected to land a low-paying job in a corner office somewhere where I would probably die at my desk, and it would take a few days before anyone even found me.

“Are you sure? You must have applied somehow. Did you fill out anything at the college?”

“I guess I could have, but I doubt it. I wouldn’t have had the guts to apply there.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” I unlocked my phone, did a quick Google search, and held out the device to her. “This is why not.”

She peered at the screen of the phone. “Oh shit. This is huge. Oh my god, Wren! Congrats!”

I shook my head so hard it was a wonder my brain didn’t rattle loose. “No, no, don’t say that. First of all, I’m not convinced this offer is even real.”

“Did you try calling back the number?”

“No.”

She rolled her eyes. “What would you do without me?”

She took the phone from me, made the call anonymous, punched in the dial button, and hit the speaker. I held my breath and clenched my toes.

“Welcome to Morozov Property Holdings. If you know your party’s extension?—”

“Oh my god.” I slapped a hand over my mouth. “Oh my fucking god. Is this real?”

Jess ended the call. “Seems like it is, babe. Now can I say congrats?”

“No, it’s an interview. You know me. I’m a bumbling idiot. By some stroke of luck I might have gotten this interview, but no way in hell am I going to be picked. They’ll know they made a big mistake.”

“What are you saying? Please tell me you’re not thinking of not showing up?”

“Would you? It’sMorozov.”

“All the more reason for you to find out what’s going on. What can it hurt?”

“I can be humiliated if I find out they made a mistake.”

“Or your fairy godmother is looking out for you.”

I scoffed. “Fairy godmother? I stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago.”

Where was she when my dad disappeared without a trace ten years ago? Or when I was bullied during high school because, for one stupid moment, I actually thought Luca Baldoni liked me back and let him talk me into sucking him off in the locker room. Only to find out he had a camera set up and filmed the whole thing, which he then leaked to the school. Sure, the school had expelled him, but the damage had already been done. My classmates had labeled me a cocksucker, the “straight” guys heckled me to blow them off, and a teacher got fired for groping my ass.

I didn’t need a fairy godmother now. I needed onethen.

“Well, are you going or not?” Jess asked.

“I can’t affordnotto go.”

Even if I ended up embarrassing myself. Even when they eventually discovered they’d made a giant mistake. How could I not show up? If there was the slightest possibility that they didn’t call me by mistake, I couldn’tnotshow up.

“Good. You never know, Wren. Be positive for once, will you, babe? Like I said, what’s the worst that can happen?”

CHAPTER TWO

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