LYNN

“You can get up,” the man’s cold voice snapped me back to reality. I blinked and stood up quickly, feeling the blood rush to my ears.

“Thank you… really,” I said politely, looking up at him. He didn’t even acknowledge me. His face stayed cold, his sharp jaw tight.

I caught myself staring. Dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, the man stood tall and commanding. His icy expression made him look even more distant. I had to tilt my head back just to get a full look at his face.

Before I could say anything, another man beside him stepped up with a fake smile. “So, Miss, you rushed in here just to throw yourself at Mr. Dhark, huh?”

My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?” I glared at him, confused and annoyed. I looked up and saw Mr. Dhark staring at me with cold eyes… and maybe even disgust?

My chest felt tight. Why was he looking at me like that?

I could tell what he was thinking. Rich men like him always thought women were after them. But why did it annoy me so much to be seen like that?

His stare got colder, his jaw clenched like I had done something terrible.

I rolled my eyes, feeling my anger rise. “I told you—I was in a rush! Like I’d want to be stuck on your pants,” I snapped back, my words sharper than I planned. I regretted thanking him earlier.

“Cain. Bale,” Mr. Dhark said in a low voice without even looking at me.

The man called Cain pressed the Bale and the doors opened. He gave me a smug grin. “This is your stop, Miss. Next time, come up with something less pathetic. You’re not even close to Mr. Dhark’s level.”

I gasped, ready to explain. “You’re wrong, I wasn’t—”

“Step out,” Cain cut me off with a grin.

I stomped out of the elevator, gripping my bag tightly. Just before the doors shut, I mumbled, “Self-obsessed idiot. Like I’d waste my time on him. Gold-digger.”

I caught the shocked look on Cain’s face before the doors closed.

Inside the elevator, Rex’s jaw tightened. His fists curled up. She… called him a gold-digger? The only woman who ever touched him was the mother of his son—her.

His lips twitched. He should have been angry, but her attitude… made him curious.

“Let’s see if you’ll still talk like that in the interview,” he muttered. Then he turned to Cain. “Call Vardy. I’ll handle the interviews myself. Ten o’clock sharp.”

“Yes, Mr. Dhark,” Cain nodded.

I entered the waiting room and my heart pounded harder when I saw how many people showed up. I sat quietly in the corner, trying to calm myself.

Then, I heard two girls chatting near the door.

“Did you hear? Mr. Dhark, the CEO of Umbran Group, will be here for the interview,” one of them whispered.

My eyes widened.

“He never shows up for stuff like this,” the other girl replied. “But this time, we’ll meet him in person. I can’t believe it.”

“Do you think he’s really as handsome as everyone says?” the first girl asked, her voice full of excitement.

I swallowed hard and leaned back in my seat. This interview just got even scarier.

I sat in the corner of the waiting room and pretended to look at my phone. A few women close to me started whispering, but I heard everything.

“Did you hear?” one of them said. “Mr. Dhark has a son, but he’s still single. People say he’s very handsome. Maybe he’s here to find a stepmother for his kid.”

Another girl laughed. “I heard something else. They say he has problems in bed. That’s why he never has a proper girlfriend. Maybe the women left him because of that.”

“So what?” the first girl said with a shrug. “He’s crazy rich. I’d marry him even if he had every problem in the world.”

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. What rubbish. A rich man in his thirties coming to interviews to look for a wife?

More like he wanted a mistress. Just thinking about it made me annoyed. I already didn’t like this boss.

“Lynn Boon!”

My name jolted me. I stood up quickly and walked toward the interview room. I took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

Five people sat inside, but my eyes landed on the man in the middle. My steps faltered. It was him—the so-called “gigolo” I bumped into earlier in the elevator. My stomach twisted.

That can’t be… He’s not just any staff member. Maybe a manager? Or a general manager? Wait… oh no. Did he hear me call him a gigolo?

I stood stiffly in front of them as the man’s cold eyes locked onto me.

“Did you graduate from Wharton?” he asked sharply.

I swallowed, my lips trembling. “No… I dropped out,” I admitted.

Gasps sounded around the room. Someone leaned forward, frowning. “Your resume says you graduated. Are you saying you lied?”

“I apologize, Mr. Dhark,” another interviewer added nervously. “We must’ve missed this during our background check—”

Rex raised his hand, stopping him. His stare never left me. “So… you tried to get hired with nothing but some hotel work experience? Did you even read the job requirements?”

He sounded disgusted, like he already made up his mind about me. Then, with a glare, he tossed my resume aside. “Get out.”

Anger boiled in my chest as I bent down to pick up the papers. His next words stabbed like a knife.

“No company needs liars like you. Take your schemes somewhere else.”

I stood there, frozen. My head hurt as I held the resume tightly. I took a deep breath, turned around, and slammed it on the table in front of him.

The whole room went quiet. The other interviewers stared at me like I had gone crazy.

Rex’s face tightened as he looked up. “What are you doing?”

“I didn’t lie,” I said. “I dropped out because of personal problems. You think only a degree matters? Let’s make a deal.”

Rex stayed quiet and kept staring at me.

A man next to him sat up straighter, looking curious. “What deal?”

Rex gave him a sharp look but didn’t say anything. I kept talking. “Let me work in any hotel owned by Umbran Group for three months. I promise to raise profits by thirty percent. If I succeed, I get the job, three times the pay… and an apology.”

The others gasped.

Rex leaned back in his chair. “And if you fail?”

I smiled. “Then I’ll work for free for three years. You can make me do anything. Do we have a deal?”

The man beside Rex grinned. “Rex, you can’t back out of this.”

Rex frowned at him but stood up. As he passed me, his cold eyes softened a little and a small smirk appeared.

“Deal,” he said before leaving.

The man winked at me. “You have guts. Just don't screw it up."