Page 12 of Hotline
It’s like he’s seen inside my soul and knows what I want.Exactlywhat I want.
My heart twists behind my ribs and my mouth goes dry.
“But…”
“Please don’t try to argue with me on this. There is absolutely no fucking way I am letting you come back here.” He looks at the floor, and then his gaze flicks back up to meet mine, setting my heart ablaze. “While under my employment, you will work from my offices. In addition, as long as you work for me, you will be provided your own private residence. It will be stocked with everything you’ll need.”
My eyes flash to a stack of files on the desk. Mine is open at the top of the pile. Embarrassment heats the tips of my ears. He’s seen my address. He knows where I live and knows it’s in a bad area, hence the apartment. I’m not quite sure what to make of that.
“And for how long?” I say.
“For as long as I say,” he says, his temples pulsing as he clenches his jaw.
“So I can’t quit?”
“I am going to make it so you won’t want to.”
He pulls a small slip of paper from his pocket and hands it to me.
My eyes nearly bug out of my head. I have in my hand a check for ten thousand dollars.
“Do you think this is enough to pique your interest?”
I turn it over and hold it up to the light. This amount of money is ludicrous. Unthinkable. I shake my head and roll my eyes. Ten grand a week? I huff out a laugh. I think I know what this is. I’m being punked. Ashton Kutcher, get in here!
“No way,” I say, turning it over and holding it up to the light. “This is some kind of scam, right? There is no way that check is real.”
I'm not worth this much.
Maybe he’s expecting me to be some big-talking sex expert who’s going to blow his mind, but I’m not.
“I can assure you that this is the absolute farthest thing from…” he shakes his head and his brows contort, as though the words he’s speaking taste bitter, “a scam. This is real. Very, very real.
I’ve insulted him. Of course this isn’t a scam. He isn’t the kind of man who needs to plan and scheme and scam his way into getting people to
follow his orders.
And right now, I think I might be willing to do exactly that.
I look down at the check again to make sure I haven’t misread the amount, and my eyes go to the name at the top.
Julian Lennox
Holy shit. This guy is a big deal. His name is plastered on half of the buildings in this city.
Tycoon. CEO. Titan of industry.
Julian Lennox could bring the city to its knees with just a stroke of his pen.
He could send wrecking balls sweeping through the streets, send bulldozers through neighborhoods, knock everything down, and build it all back up from scratch.
I shake my head. This makes no sense. I hand the check back to him. I really don’t know what else to do with it.
“If this amount of money is not satisfactory, I will pay you ten times what you’re being paid here.”
"Technically, I haven't gotten paid yet. Ten times zero is zero. I guess this isn't the job for me. Bye!”
I push myself up and I’m about to run right the hell out of here, but Julian Lennox reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder.
