The Virgin: Revenge (2 page)

As we headed to the door, the blonde with the pricy cut somehow managed to drive the

spike heel of her shoe into my toe. I locked my jaw to keep from saying anything.

Then, as we filed down the hall, I caught Beth’s elbow.

“Button it.” I nodded to her blouse.

She stared at me.

“Trust me.”

With my foot throbbing, I filed down the hall after the rest.

♦

The ride to the executive levels was quiet, but far from easy. The tension was palpable,

thick enough to cut with a knife. My head was pounding from the lack of sleep, too much

perfume, the scent of hair products clouding the air. Sweat broke out along my spine, sliding

down to pool at the base, just below the loose-fitting waistband of my skirt.

This was it.

It didn’t matter if I got the job.

All I had to do was see him.

Look at him.

It would help if he looked at me and
felt
something.

I knew the look in his eyes when he was attracted. I’d seen it before. If he could look at

me and feel that pull, that tug I’d felt then…if he could feel that, even if he didn’t act on it, then I could feel better.

Maybe it would give me something back.

It wouldn’t be enough.

Nothing would ever be enough.

But I’d learned to settle for what I could get, a long time ago.

The doors opened and I fought the urge to heave out a sigh of relief as I escaped the

press of the other women. Beth remained at my side and I reached up, hooked my arm through

hers. “Just think. In another hour or so, it will be over,” I said, keeping my voice low.

A surprised laugh gurgled out of her. She glanced at me. “You don’t exactly sound like

you
want
the job.”

I shrugged. “I’m here, right?”

The doors in front of us were stamped metal, an elegant design that caught the eye and

refused to let go. Forcing myself to look away, I watched as the doors swung inward.

There he was.

It was, in short, a fist, straight to my heart, seeing him again.

He wasn’t even facing me, but I felt the impact of his presence, even from here. Standing

at the end of the table, his back to us, I noted his hair was still that deep, burnished red, shorter

than it used to be, yet long enough for a woman to plunge her hands into, tangle her fingers in

it as he kissed her senseless. And he could do that, I knew for a fact. Nobody else had ever been

able to steal the breath from me with something as simple as a kiss.

Don’t think about his kisses
.

It was almost impossible not to, but I managed.

His suit, a deep, deep gray, stretched over wide shoulders, fitting him to perfection. I

knew how those shoulders looked without the suit, how his skin bronzed under the sun—it

wasn’t fair, really. He was a redhead. If fate was fair, he should freckle. Instead, he tanned.
I
freckled, or burned.

Although I could only see the barest edge of his profile, my heart slammed hard against

my ribs.

Don’t do that
. Stupid, stupid heart. I’d had a good, long hard talk with myself this

morning. I had a goal in mind, a mission. If by some stupid twist of fate I ended up
getting
this job, I had a mission. I wanted to see him feel as I’d once felt. Miserable, empty.

How I’d accomplish that, I didn’t know, but that was what I wanted.

I’d never get there if my heart got mixed up again. I couldn’t let myself keep

remembering how I’d once felt about Drake Gallagher.

But here I was, my heart pounding away, the same way it had when I was seventeen.

And he hadn’t even looked at me.

He nodded, absently reached up to brush a thumb down his jaw as he spoke to the

woman before him. She was slender, her midnight hair swept into an elegant knot. Her hand

rested on the high mound of her belly, and she nodded at him before turning her dark eyes to

look at us.

Her gaze bounced off me, lingered on the blonde who’d smashed my foot, moved to

Beth. Measuring up each one of us.

Normally, I’d watch her, subtly, try to figure out how we were stacking up in her eyes.

But Drake had turned around.

And for the first time in ten years, I was looking into the eyes of the man who’d

destroyed my life.

His eyes were a pure, almost crystalline green. When he’d been in Massachusetts,

spending hours on the beach with me, his skin had deepened to that warm, golden glow and it

had made his eyes practically gleam.

They still had that powerful impact now, but his gaze didn’t linger on me— not even for

a second— and I sat there, curling my fingers into fists under the table as he spoke to each of us

individually, then addressed the group as a whole.

Vaguely, through the buzzing in my ears, I heard his words, understood them.

A group interview, as I’d expected. Lovely.

The rest of my mind was elsewhere.

I nodded and smiled and made the appropriate noises as the interview started, but in

reality, my mind spun in circles as I tried to figure out what to do, how to handle this.

He hadn’t recognized me. At all.

My belly was a sick, twisting little mess of despair and I thought about rising, walking

away. Just walking away. I didn’t need to do this, didn’t need to be here. I could find another

job, and even if it took a while, it wouldn’t matter.

But then his eyes came back to mine, and for a moment, just a moment, his gaze

lingered. Memories— of the way it had felt to have those eyes burning into me, his weight

pressing against me as our hearts raced— rose inside me.

He’d once made me feel like I was
everything
.

Then he cut me down to nothing.

Now, he looked at me like I was just…anybody. That look, lingering for just a second,

was all I had to hold on to. Not much of a thing. Not much of a hope.

But that connection, faint as it was, while our gazes locked, made my heart race and my

palms went damp.

Had I really come this far just to walk away because he didn’t
know
me?

Really?

Resolved, I straightened in the chair and forced my brain to focus.

Group interviews were all about competition, standing out from the crowd.

They also made the candidates nervous as hell.

It didn’t really help that I was already nervous, already on edge, my skin tight and

prickly under the sleek cut of my grey suit. But I could handle the nerves, could handle the

pressure just fine. Group interviews weren’t unknown to me and I knew why they did them.

They saved time, let the employer find out who worked well under fire.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for some of the women there. It was pretty obvious several

of them hadn’t ever had to handle a situation like this; when they were asked, in front of the

others, questions like,
Why do you think we should hire you over any other candidate in this room
…it was clear they didn’t know how to handle it.

My foot throbbed as the woman who’d smashed it stood up to introduce herself. Maybe

I should thank her. The minor pain was something else to focus on as I forced my tense muscles

to relax.

Her name was Anna Simone. Lovely. She did a bang-up job and managed to convey

her skills well, and when she looked at Drake, her eyes warmed. She leaned forward as she

spoke, explaining her skills, just
why
she should get this job…and she managed to convey,

without really saying it, just how
much
she’d be willing to do Her gaze never left his.

I saw the chill settle in his eyes, watched as a subtle shift took place on his current

admin’s face. The admin’s name was Mai Nhu and her brow rose ever so slightly before she

looked down at her iPad to make a note.

Oh, honey. You just lost your chance
. Anna didn’t even seem to realize the atmosphere

had just changed, though, and she continued on, listing her experience, her past jobs, before

going to explain why she was the best candidate for this job.

Anna paused briefly to give Drake or Mai a chance to ask questions and while he was

silent, Mai gave her a polite smile. “Thank you, Ms. Simone.”

The interviews droned on. I had my chance near the end. I barely remembered how I

did. I can remember looking Drake in the eyes. I can remember looking Mai in the eyes. And I

can remember the feel of the wind on my face, the way tears had mingled with saltwater on a

day ten years ago. I looked into his eyes as I finished answering yet another spate of questions.

You don’t remember me at all, do you?

There was nothing in his eyes.

Absolutely nothing.

“We would like to speak a bit longer with Ms. Crosby and Ms. Gibbens.”

The interview ended with that simple statement.

Beth and I looked at each other.

Everybody else looked at us.

Then they rose, filed to the door, save for Anna.

“Can I expect a return interview?”

She directed the question to Drake.

Mai responded with a polite, “It’s unlikely, Ms. Simone, but thank you for your time.”

“But—”

“Please make sure to turn in the visitor badge.” Mai’s voice was polite, but so very firm.

I could like her. A lot.

A moment later, the doors shut again. Beth and I waited.

“Ms. Gibbens, your resume is impressive, but I don’t think this is the right job for you.

However, I do have an opening that I think will suit you.” Drake flipped through the resume.

I studied him from under my lashes. It was odd, I thought, the head of the company

handling this. I could see him hiring his own admin. He had to work with that person, day in

and day out.

“Sir?”

He glanced up, smiled. “My local head of HR needs a new assistant. Her administrative

assistant is retiring shortly. We didn’t get much notice and we don’t have much time to get

somebody hired, either. Normally, we’d look within to promote, but…well, I have reasons to

think you would do the job best. I prefer to have the best, especially within HR. You have

extensive experience within that field.”

Beth nodded. “Yes, Mr. Gallagher.”

He nodded, glanced at Mai. “See if Hannah has any time to speak with Ms. Gibbens.”

He looked back at Beth. “We’ll have to set up the interview, see how it goes. I’m sorry this

didn’t work out but I believe in having people in the right position.”

“I completely understand.” She smiled.

If I wasn’t mistaken, she looked a little relieved.

I couldn’t blame her. Working with Drake would be a pain in the ass.

A few minutes later, I realized that pain in the ass was about to be a pain in
my
ass.

Unless I decided this was enough.

He sat across from me, the brilliant rays of sun coming in through the window behind

him, gilding that beautiful hair of his, casting too much of his face into shadow, while he leaned

back in his chair.

Mai had left, briefly.

I had no doubt the ever-efficient woman would be back.

But for now, I was alone.
Step into my parlor…

“You’re from Massachusetts,” he said, his eyes resting on my face. My resume was in

front of him, but he didn’t look at it.

I inclined my head.

“After you graduated, it doesn’t look like you went back there.”

“There was no need.”
No reason
. Everything that made it home was gone.

“Not even for a visit?”

Something in his voice…what was that? I tried to catch something of what he might be

thinking, feeling, but with the sun at his back it was almost impossible to even see him, much

less gauge what might be in his mind. I’d almost think he remembered, but if he did, why was

he going on like this? Crossing my legs, I smoothed down my skirt, a momentary ploy for time

before I answered. “No, Mr. Gallagher.”

It was a small lie, but he didn’t need to know that. I did go back. Every year. For one

day only.

He nodded and then leaned forward, studying my resume again before flicking me

another look.

“This position is going to require long hours. If I’m here at seven, I expect you to be

here as well.”

Arching a brow, I said, “That isn’t an issue.”

“Very often, I
am
here at seven, and I’ll work past eight. That’s five days a week. And

it’s not unusual for me to be here for five or six hours on Saturday, either. If I’m working, you’re

working.”

“Again, not an issue.” My heart slammed against my ribs. He was considering giving

me the job. He hadn’t recognized me.

A memory swam up from the depths of my mind. Those cool green eyes, flicking my

way, my mouth still buzzing from that last, burning kiss, my skin heated, my breasts throbbing.

I don’t fuck naïve little virgins, Shan.

I’d gone by the nickname
Shan
for the longest time. I’d been named after my father and

it was confusing, having two Shannons.
Shan
had suited me. Until my heart was shattered,

until my world was ripped out from under me. Until the dreams on which I’d built my entire

childish life dissolved in front of me, like cotton candy in the rain. Total destruction came later,

but that…that had been the start of it.

Brushing the memory aside, I continued to watch him.

The door behind us opened and although I didn’t hear her, I knew Mai had returned.

“I’m sorry for the delay, Mr. Gallagher.”