Devil in a Suit

“Running off so soon?” Brandon asked as he moved to stand in front of me, cutting off my escape. He tilted his head at me, looking amused.

I didn’t want him to think that I was running from him because I was scared or intimidated by him. In fact, he didn’t make me nervous at all. No one wanted to be near a narcissist.

“I have anywhere else to be,” I replied evenly, not taking my eyes off of his. If he wanted a stare-down, we could do just that.

Brandon chuckled, not seeming fazed by my uninterested attitude. “I like your spunk. In fact, I asked around about you and found out how good of a student you are too. Smart. Involved. Creative,” Brandon said as he lifted an eyebrow at me. “The perfect little package.”

As much as I wanted to blow him off, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was getting at. Why did he look into me? I made it obvious that I wasn’t interested in being his friend or anything. He knew that I was loyal to Ashland Consulting.

“And?” I asked him as I crossed my arms over my chest. He mentioned this for a reason. He never did anything random. Everything had to be calculated.

“And I know that every upcoming graduate is desperate for a job,” Brandon said as he took a step closer to me using it as an intimidation tactic.

I nearly scoffed at him, even if his words were pretty true. Everyone in my graduating class was scrambling to find some sort of employment after we walked that stage. Some of us would be lucky to find a company to take mercy on us. Others wouldn’t be able to find anything for months. It felt like luck of the draw at times.

“Are you saying that I’m desperate?” I questioned him as I cocked an eyebrow at him. I didn’t know why he was bringing up the concept of a job to me. He was the rival company, and he was fully aware that I was deep in an internship with Ashland Consulting.

Brandon clicked his tongue at me as a smile crept across his lips. “Never, sweetheart,” he said. “But everyone is chasing a better opportunity, so I’m willing to offer you a position at my company for twice the amount Tyler will offer you.”

I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening once I heard his proposal. It was insane for him to offer me something like that, and it was interesting that he thought that Tyler would offer me a position. He wasn’t even wrong but if I turned Tyler down, I certainly wouldn’t take a job from Brandon.

I knew that Brandon didn’t actually care about my work ethic or my intelligence. The only reason he was doing this was to spite Tyler, to dangle me in front of him. He wanted to make Tyler feel like a failure because he couldn’t secure me. If there weren’t so many strings attached to this whole situation, I would’ve stopped to consider the offer. There was no telling when or if my business idea was going to make it. A great job with an even better paycheck was a graduate’s dream. It seemed crazy to turn something like that down, but I actually had dignity.

“Not interested,” I nearly hissed the words at him. I couldn’t believe he actually thought that I would take that bait. He underestimated me, and I wasn’t going to become his plaything just so that he could torture Tyler. I walked away from him in a hurry before I completely snapped. This was the last place where I wanted to make a scene.

I didn’t get very far before a hand closed around my arm and tugged me off to the side. I looked up to see a bitter look on Tyler’s face, and I could feel the tension in his grip on my arm.

“What are you doing?” I whispered as I glanced around, hoping that no one saw him drag me off like that. I didn’t want anyone to catch us, especially since Brandon was lurking around.

“What did Brandon say to you?” Tyler asked as he loomed over me. His eyebrows were furrowed, accenting his narrowed eyes.

“It’s not a big deal. He was just boasting as usual,” I muttered as I shook my head. I knew how furious he would be if he learned that Brandon offered me a job. We needed to be in a more private environment for me to drop that news. Tyler was known to snap.

Tyler eyed me for a few seconds before leaning closer to me. “What did he say?” he repeated. He wasn’t playing around.

I let out a sigh, knowing that he would find out one way or another. It would be best for him to find out from me rather than from Brandon, who would probably make it a point to tell Tyler at some point just to rub it in his face.