Lina couldn't believe she was sitting in the outer office of Alerkane Jacy, CEO of Jacy Industries. She smoothed her charcoal skirt down her thighs once again as she wished she'd gone with the pants suit she'd originally picked out. Maggie had vetoed that choice and pulled out a skirt to pair with a deep purple blouse that she said made Lina's skin look like porcelain. Her long black hair was pulled back into a smooth twist and she even wore heels. She felt overdressed when she left the apartment but when she walked into the Jacy building Lina realized that she actually fit right in, at least in the clothing department.
She made a mental note to thank Maggie.
The last applicant before her had just come out of the office when the secretary picked up the phone, the light on it flashing. She listened for a minute before hanging up and looking up at her. Lina swallowed hard, the office was empty besides the two of them and she knew it was time for her interview; the knowledge made her stomach feel like it was full of razor winged butterflies.
"Miss Devers? Mr. Jacy is ready for you." The secretary went back to her computer, her polished nails clacking on the keyboard as she did whatever the secretary of a millionaire CEO did. Lina stood up, unable to stop smoothing her skirt as she headed toward the large wood door. Her knees were shaking just a little so Lina took a brief second to calm herself down. She straightened her spine and her determination, trying in vain to deny the true reason for her anxiety.
She had spent the last week trying to forget the attraction she felt to Alerkane and pretty much convinced herself that she had blown it all out of proportion in the first place. At least until she walked into the office and saw the mid-twenties tall, dark and absolutely gorgeous man that was sitting in a large leather chair behind a big dark wood desk. She paused, caught by the absolute sense of power emanating from him and the confidence in his eyes.
She swallowed hard; he was looking right at her with that same hungry look.
He was wearing a dark black suit but he had his jacket off. The dark blue shirt and his gray silk tie couldn't hide the fact that he was seriously muscled; obviously he didn't let his job behind a desk keep him from staying in shape. She wondered if his chest was smooth or if it had more of that gorgeous brown hair covering it.
Instantly flushing, Lina closed her eyes in shock that the thought even crossed her mind. She fumbled with her simple leather case as she pulled out a fresh copy of her resume. She had faxed one in to the number the secretary gave her but hers was printed on a thick weight paper and she considered it more professional than a fax copy. Getting it out also gave her a second to compose herself before she had to look at him again.
When she looked up Kane was on his feet and coming around the side of his desk toward her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her body lock down but all he did was hold out his hand.
Up close, he towered over her. She glanced up at his eyes quickly before she focused on his large palm. She reached out to shake his hand firmly, holding her breath in anticipation of something she wasn't quite sure of. Her palm tingled and she felt a shudder go from the base of her spine all the way up to her neck and lodge in the base of her skull. The hair on the back of her neck rose and she exhaled noisily and then looked up sharply to see if he noticed.
He wasn't looking at her strangely so maybe he didn't see how the barest skin contact was making her skin warm, as if waves of fire were flowing from him into her. She tried to clear her mind as she cleared her throat.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Mr. Jacy. I know was a bit rude during class but I appreciate the chance to speak with you about the internship you mentioned." She tried to pull back but Kane's fingers tightened on hers as he stared down at her.
He smiled. "Don't worry about it. You had a legitimate question and you weren't afraid to speak up. I admire that forwardness. Please, call me Kane. Would you mind terribly if I called you Aurelina?" He held her hand captured in both of his, squeezing it with careful pressure as if he was afraid to hurt her. It felt like the room was hot all of a sudden and she had to work to compose herself without fanning a face that had to be bright red.
"I go by Lina, actually," she said quietly. She was trembling but pleasantly surprised that she wasn't trying to pull away in panic. Normally a man touching her was enough to make her have an attack. She was very careful to avoid casual touching but for some reason after he denied her attempts to pull away the first time, she settled and let him hold her.
"Lina it is," he said in a pleased tone. "Won't you sit down?" He still didn't let go of her hand completely, instead he led her to a grouping of chairs to one side of the office next to a large window with a spectacular view of the city, the sun lowering over the western horizon.
He indicated the low chair, it's white cloth cover stained orange from the colors on the setting sun. Only then did he let her hand go, squeezing it one last time.
Smiling nervously, she at last handed him the resume she'd pulled out before smoothing her skirt and sitting down. He took the chair on her right. She made sure to sit upright and cross her legs at the ankle properly, waiting for him to read the resume. He did glance at it, checking the second page but he set it aside well before she was ready for him to.
"To be honest Lina, I was impressed when I read your resume the first time. You have done work very similar to what we would be looking for in an intern for the Okwa'ho program. What exactly are you hoping to gain working with us?"
Lina pushed aside the feeling that he was interested in more than her resume, she could be professional. She would be.
She was also prepared for that question. She knew honesty was her best shot at making Kane understand how much she really wanted to help make his program succeed.
"Well, I was impressed when you described the program to be honest myself. My childhood wasn't the best and I spent a few months in foster care when I was sixteen. There were several other teenagers my age in the group home I was in that weren't bad kids; they just needed someone to teach them that. I want to work with social services in some way when I graduate or maybe some private organizations that do what you are doing with Okwa'ho. My ultimate goal is to start my own."
She took Kane's nodding as encouragement for her to go on. She settled a little in her chair, some of her nervousness fading, if not the light in her eyes. It was a spark she often hid around new people, lack of trust making her hide her true self.
She was passionate in her desire for her chosen career. She didn't know how her eyes would shine when she talked about it but she could sense that Kane believed her dedication to making a change in the lives of teenagers and children who just needed someone who understood them and saw what they were worth.
"I want to make a difference. I have the skills and the drive you need to help make your program succeed." She felt that maybe her last statement was a bit cocky so she tempered it a little.
"If you choose me for the internship, that is."
Kane smiled, seemingly amused at her enthusiasm and Lina felt her cheeks grow hot. She hated how her pale skin showed her feelings with every little blush. His smile sent a little bolt of pleasure through her though.
"Well your classmates who have applied are all clearly good at business but you have something they don't." Kane paused for a minute, his hands resting on the arms of his chair tapped as he seemed to think about what he was saying.
Lina waited breathlessly for him to say what that was. It sounded as if the internship was as good as hers. She was finding it hard to be that close to Kane, his cologne was teasing her and she couldn't stop staring in his eyes. Good eye contact was one thing but she felt like she was drowning in the pale blue irises.
"You have the heart for the job. It's not just numbers and projections, the ratio of success versus failure. You want to help people and while the technical aspects of the job can be taught, the emotional dedication can't."
