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Then a hand flies out from the darkness to grab me by the elbow.

I scream and spin around.

It’s Kir. He’s ghostly in the shadows. His tie is gone now. His shirt is half-untucked. He looks like hell.

“Rae. Wait.”

“Jesus!” I yank my arm back. “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry. I just— I needed to talk to you.”

“Where did you even come from?”

He gestures vaguely toward the hallway, the one that leads to the back stairs. “I didn’t leave. I just... I couldn’t. Not without explaining.”

“Explaining what?”

He chews at his lip. “You talked to my father.”

“I, uh… Yeah?”

“What did he say to you?”

“Huh?

“After I left,” he snaps, like I’m being deliberately dense. “What did he say?”

“I don’t know.” I shake my head, still confused. “He offered me a job.”

His eyes bug out. “Did you accept?”

“Huh?”

Kir’s grip tightens on my wrist, hard enough to hurt. “Ow! Kir, let go.”

“Did. You. Accept?”

“I don’t know! He didn’t really give me a choice.”

“There’s always a choice, Rae.” Strangely enough, he sounds just like his dad when he says that.

But unlike Lukas, Kir’s eyes are wild and darting. This is nothing like the calm, controlled corporate titan I thought I worked for.This man knows something I don’t. “You can still say no. You can quit. Tomorrow. Tonight. Fuck, you could quit right now.”

“Quit?” I try to pull my arm free, but this time, he won’t let go. “I can’t just quit. I need this job.”

“You don’t understand.” He stoops closer. His breath is hot on my face. “My father isn’t… He’s not what you think he is.”

“I don’t think he’s anything. I just met him. I barely know him.”

“Exactly. And you should keep it that way.”

The elevator chimes as it arrives behind me. The doors open. Neither of us moves.

“Kir,” I say as panic rises in my chest, “you’re scaring me.”

He looks down at his hand on my wrist and his eyes widen. He almost seems surprised to find it there. He lets go.

“Sorry.” He runs his fingers through his hair again. It’s sticking up at strange angles now. “Fuck, sorry. Just…” He trails off.