Possessive Boss

“No shit?” He winces. “Sorry. Shouldn’t curse. It’s unprofessional.”

“Oh, I don’t give a shit if you curse.”

He laughs a little. “I can see why John liked you.”

I shrug and find myself leaning toward him. Jacob has this strange magnetism. He runs a hedge fund, so he should be a huge super nerd, but that’s not this man, not at all.

I know him by reputation, and it’s quite the reputation. I always thought it must be a little exaggerated, but sitting here across from him, I actually think every word is true. He supposedly has slept with half the eligible women in New York, and turned down the other half. He makes more money year after year for his clients than anyone else, and he’s a part of the Lofthouse family, which is itself filthy rich and absurdly influential.

He’s by far one of the most powerful and well-connected men in the country, and yet he has a down-to-earth reputation. People actually seem to like him.

Which makes my job a lot harder.

“So. I want to start with the easy question first.”

“What’s that?”

“Why do you want to work at FLFM?”

“Well, it’s an amazing firm, first of all. Your year-over-year is top notch and your overall average is the best in the business. You guys bring in new clients all the time and I’ve read about some really interesting things with indexes.”

“Good answer,” he says, “but boring.”

I frown a little bit. “I’m sorry.”

“Look, any one of those people out there will tell me all that. They all want to work here for the same reason. But why do you want to work here? Why you, in particular?”

I frown a little bit. It takes me half a second to see what he’s trying to say. “Well, I think I deserve it.”

That makes him sit back and listen. “Really?”

“I graduated first in my class. From everywhere I went. I had incredible returns when I was an intern at Beyer, even though I was only working with tiny accounts. And frankly, I did it all while being a woman, which isn’t a small thing in this industry.”

He laughs softly. I thought he might think I’m being egotistical, but I could tell I needed to say something out there to get his attention.

I don’t really believe all that. It’s mostly true, but I don’t believe I deserve anything or that I’m better than anyone. I think I’ve been lucky. I’m smart, sure, but I’ve been lucky.

Doesn’t matter though. I can’t tell him the real reason I want this job. I can barely even admit it to myself. I’m so afraid of him somehow reading my mind and knowing what I really want that I need to shove it into the back of my head and pretend like it doesn’t exist.

“That’s a good answer,” he says. “I mean, the whole woman thing is a little much, but you’re not wrong. Were there any other women out in that lobby?”

“No,” I say, “but I don’t want to be your token girl.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve never hired anyone I didn’t think was incredibly qualified, no matter what they looked like.” He smiles a little bit. “Even when they look like you.”

I raise an eyebrow. He’s looking at me now, his eyes drifting down beyond my face. I should be pissed off that he’s treating me like every other frat guy finance douche bag, but…

He’s handsome. God, he’s handsome, and I think he’s doing it to tease me. He wants me to get angry. He wants to piss me off.

I won’t give him that.

“Are you done checking me out?” I ask.

“I suppose. Unless you’re willing to stand and turn around for me?”

I smile despite myself and he laughs.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate for an interview,” I say. “But maybe if you hire me.”

“Oh, are you trying to bribe me with sexual favors?”

“Absolutely not, Mr. Lofthouse. How dare you.” I grin at him.

He leans closer. “Call me Jacob. And I’d gladly take that bribe.”

His eyes meet mine and I feel a strange thrill, but the tension breaks when we both laugh. I shift a little in my seat, feeling that strange desire still between my legs.

“You know, I’ve asked that question, about wanting to work here, to maybe twenty people before you. And you’re the first one to say anything remotely interesting.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He crosses his arms and flexes his neck. “The thing about finance is, it’s all numbers. And we all know the math and the probabilities. We do some things differently here, but it’s the sort of stuff I could teach just about anyone with the right background. What I’m saying is, we’re all smart, Val.”

“But you’re not just looking for smart.”

“No, I’m not. I’ve had enough smart. I want a little something…”

“More?” I raise an eyebrow.

“I want more,” he agrees. “I want someone interesting beyond the numbers. Do you think you’re that person?”