Workers began to come in past us, and I struggled to hold back my tears as my disappointment settled in. “Cassian and Stefan were very nice, but I don’t think Kane liked me. He didn’t ask one question and didn’t even say thank you to me for coming in like his brothers did. I don’t think I did very well.”
“Oh, sweetie. Maybe you’re just judging yourself too harshly. I bet they loved you. Don’t worry about Kane. Sometimes he goes entire shifts without saying a word to any of us. He’s going to watch you dance now, so you still have a chance to convince him.”
Terror raced through me. “You didn’t tell me I’d have to dance tonight, Gemma! How am I going to do that? I’m not dressed for it, and every muscle in my body still hurts.”
She held me by the shoulders and stared into my eyes. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. It wouldn’t matter if you were wearing a burlap sack. Just listen to the music and dance. You can do this. I know it will hurt, but this can be the start of a new life for you.”
“It’s a big jump from cheerleader to dancer, Gemma. What if he doesn’t like me? What if I’m not good enough? I’ve never even seen you dance.” I hung my head as the tears began to well in my eyes. “This was a mistake.”
As I stood there with Gemma, my emotions began to run away with me. Between the knockdown drag-out with Aaron and my body still aching like a bus hit it, I couldn’t handle this. Kane obviously didn’t like me—or maybe he didn’t like Gemma helping me get an interview? I had no idea. All I knew was I couldn’t do this.
“…you’ll be fine. Abbi? Abbi, talk to me. It’s going to be okay.”
I looked up behind Gemma and saw Kane leave Cassian’s office. Still wearing the same deep frown, he walked toward us in all his miserable, hulking glory. Whoever he was with Gemma, this guy definitely wasn’t a fan of mine.
“Gemma, come here.”
His deep, husky voice resonated around us, and Gemma obeyed immediately. I imagined most people reacted that way to his voice. It hit me like one of Aaron’s punches, sending fear tearing through me.
Straining to listen to their conversation, I leaned toward them and heard him say, “Gemma, you’ve always been a good employee, so I trust you. Can she even do this job? She looks like she’s afraid of her own shadow. What’s going on with her?”
Gemma whispered, “She’s a good person who needs a break, Kane. I’ll give my word on it she can dance as well as anyone here. She thinks you don’t like her, so she’s unsure of herself. That’s why she looks so frightened.”
He looked past her directly at me and twisted his face into an expression even more miserable than before. Then our gazes met and for a moment he didn’t look so terrible. I saw a gentleness in his eyes that made all my fear ebb away. Unfortunately, that moment passed quickly and he knitted his brows as he turned back to Gemma.
“I don’t need some frightened bird working for me. She needs to be able to handle herself. Right now, I don’t think she can.”
“Kane, give her a chance. She’s much tougher than you think. Trust me. I know. She’s a survivor.”
“Fine. Give me a couple minutes and send her up.”
With that, he stomped away toward the stairs on the far side of the room, never even speaking a word to me. Gemma walked back and gave me what could only be described as a forced smile. Even she knew this was a mistake.
“Okay, I guess I should admit that Kane can be a little grumpy.”
“Grumpy? Grumpy’s a dwarf who’s a little cranky, Gemma. Your boss hasn’t done anything but frown since he first looked at me. He won’t even speak to me.”
“I know. I don’t understand why he’s acting like this. Maybe he’s having a bad day. Don’t pay any attention to that. Just go up to his office on the top floor and show him your stuff. I’ll be down here waiting for you, okay?”
“Okay, but if this goes like I think it’s going to, I want you to know I appreciate you trying to help me.”
“None of that talk.” Gently pushing me toward the staircase, she added, “Just ignore his mood and show him the real you.”
With each step, the real me felt like she was going to throw up, either from nerves or the pain in my hip. The knot in my stomach that had begun to form during the interview tightened into a ball of fear so intense I almost turned around as I hit the last step on the top floor. I didn’t, but as I searched for Kane, I wanted to. I just didn’t want to let Gemma down.
“Hello?” I tentatively called out as I walked down the dimly lit hallway.
“In here,” he barked from a room behind me.
Turning around, I made my way to where his voice had come from and found him sitting behind a wooden desk that seemed too small for someone his size. For the first time, he didn’t frown when he looked at me, and those blue eyes of his didn’t seem to shoot daggers in my direction.
“Come in.”
I stepped into his office and stood there as he had no chairs in front of his desk like Cassian had. He continued to stare at me, and while I wanted to break my stare, something inside me told me not to. He didn’t need to think he scared me as much as he really did.
“You don’t say much, do you?”
“I could say the same,” I answered, suddenly accepting that if this wasn’t going to end up with me getting a job at least I’d be myself. Gemma had said to show him the real me.
“Do I frighten you?” he asked, never taking his gaze off my face. I’d expected him to be more interested in my body.
“You did for a little while, but I’ve had to deal with much worse than you.”
For the first time, his eyes trailed down my body and then made their way back up to my face. With the frown he’d worn for nearly every minute since meeting me, he said in a low voice, “I bet you have.”
I had no idea how to respond or if I was even supposed to say anything to that, so I stood there in his office as he sat behind his desk staring back at me. I’d had some odd interviews, but this definitely ranked high on the bizarre meter. Even worse, I doubted I’d get the job after all his weird behavior.
“I need to see your body, and I can’t in those pants. You look fine otherwise, but you’ll have to put a skirt on.”
Confused as to where I’d produce this necessary skirt from, I opened my mouth to explain I didn’t have one, but he cut me off and handed me a black skirt I instantly knew would barely touch the middle of my thighs.