the interview
Lana’s POV
The elevator doors opened with a soft ding.
I stepped out, my heels hitting the polished marble floor of the top level with a confidence I didn’t feel. It felt like walking straight into a lion’s den.
Everything here screamed power. Glass walls. Cold lighting. Silence that felt expensive.
I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder and walked forward.
“Name?” the receptionist asked without looking up.
She was tall, blonde, and had a rough voice.
“Lana Chen. I’m here for the secretary position interview.”
A pause.
Oh God. I’m going to die from nervousness.
It was my first interview after graduating.
Then the receptionist finally looked at me properly—like she was trying to decide whether I belonged on this floor or if I had accidentally wandered into the wrong world.
I hated that look. The one where people made assumptions about my capabilities just by looking at me.
“Go in,” she said after a moment, pointing toward the double doors. “He’s waiting.”
He.
My fingers tightened slightly around my file. I had read about him before coming here.
Rowan Volkov.
CEO of Volkov Enterprises. Billionaire. Ruthless. Untouchable. A man who didn’t waste words… or patience.
I pushed the doors open.
The office was enormous.
And at the center of it all—behind a dark wooden desk—he sat.
Rowan Volkov.
Still handsome as ever.
Those green eyes were the same eyes I had fallen for at first sight. He was built like a brick wall, standing at 6'4". Whenever he stood near me, I practically had to crack my neck to look up at him. Those strong arms—
Stop, Lana. Remember what he did.
I forced the thought away.
Because now there was something harder about him. Sharper. More controlled in a way that made the air feel heavier.
His gaze lifted from the documents in front of him.
And landed on me.
Silence.
Not the awkward kind.
The dangerous kind.
I forced myself to step forward.
“Good morning, Mr. Volkov. I’m here for the secretary interview.”
He didn’t respond immediately.
Didn’t blink.
Didn’t move.
Then—
“You’re late.”
His voice was calm. Too calm. Like he had been expecting me.
My grip tightened around my file. “I was told to arrive at ten. It’s—”
“I know what time it is,” he interrupted.
A pause.
Then he leaned back slightly in his chair, eyes still locked on me.
“Sit.”
One word.
A command, not a request.
I hesitated for half a second before sitting in the chair opposite him.
My heartbeat pounded too loudly in my ears, making it hard to focus on anything else.
Rowan’s gaze never left my face. Not once.
Like he was studying something only he could see. Something no one else in the room understood.
Finally, he picked up my file and flipped it open.
Silence stretched again.
I tried to steady my breathing.
This was just an interview.
Just a job.
Nothing more.
But my instincts disagreed.
Because something about the way he was looking at me…
It felt like he remembered everything.
And there was something dark in his eyes.
Something hungry.
Rowan closed the file.
“Lana Chen,” he said slowly, like he was testing the name on his tongue.
My stomach tightened slightly. “Yes.”
Another pause.
Then—
“You’re hired.”
For a second, I blinked. “I’m sorry?”
He stood up slowly.
The movement alone made the room feel smaller.
“I said,” he repeated, his voice lower now, “you’re hired.”
I frowned. “Mr. Volkov, I don’t think you understand. I just came for an interview. There are other candidates, and you haven’t even asked me anything.”
“I don’t need to.”
That made me go still.
Rowan walked around the desk, stopping only a few feet away from my chair.
Close enough that I could feel his presence completely now.
Controlled. Cold. Unshakable.
“You’ll start today,” he said.
I stood immediately. “No. I don’t accept this.”
That finally made something shift in his expression.
Not surprise.
Something darker.
Recognition.
Like he had been waiting for me to say that.
“Interesting,” he said quietly.
I frowned. “What is?”
Rowan tilted his head slightly.
And for the first time since I walked in, his voice changed.
Not softer.
Sharper. More personal.
“Still the same,” he said. “Still walking away when things don’t go your way. Still stubborn as hell.”
I froze.
That sentence hit something buried deep in my chest.
A memory I didn’t want to touch.
I forced myself to stay steady. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A faint, humorless smile crossed his face.
“No,” he agreed. “You don’t.”
Silence again.
But this one felt different.
He walked back to his desk, picked up a pen, and signed something without looking away from me.
“Your contract,” he said. “Secretary. Effective immediately.”
I stared at him. “This is not a normal hiring procedure.”
“No,” he said simply. “It’s not.”
I took a step back. “I refuse.”
That made him stop.
Slowly, he placed the pen down.
Then he looked at me again.
Really looked at me.
And something in his eyes darkened.
“You came here for a job,” he said.
“I came here for an interview,” I corrected.
A beat.
Then—
“You needed money,” he said calmly. “I needed a secretary. Problem solved.”
“That’s not how this works.”
Rowan stepped forward again.
One step.
Then another.
Until there was almost no space left between us and the desk behind me.
“You always used to be braver when it came to refusing me.”
My mind flashed for a second.
A place I had buried.
A person I had buried.
And suddenly all that poison rose back into my chest.
Then he leaned slightly closer—not enough to invade my space, but enough to make me feel trapped by the intensity of him.
And God, he looked gorgeous up close.
I caught myself staring and immediately snapped my gaze away.
“What…” My voice faltered for the first time. “What are you talking about?”
A cocky smirk spread briefly across his lips before disappearing again.
Then something that looked almost like anger crossed his face.
Or pain.
Or both.
He straightened, stepping back as if he had caught himself doing something he shouldn’t have.
“You’re hired,” he repeated, his voice colder now.
My heart raced violently in my chest.
“I’m not accepting this,” I said again, firmer this time.
Rowan turned slightly, picking up another document.
“I don’t give people choices when I already know the outcome.”
My stomach tightened.
“That’s not how the world works.”
That made him pause again.
Slowly, he looked back at me over his shoulder.
And the next words came out quieter.
More controlled.
But somehow even more dangerous.
“It is in mine.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then Rowan picked up the contract and placed it on the edge of the desk.
“Read it,” he said. “Sign it. Or don’t. You’ll realize very quickly that turning this job down would be a mistake.”
I stared at him, my jaw parting slightly before I recovered.
For the first time since entering this office, I felt something unfamiliar rising in my chest.
Not just fear.
Not just confusion.
Something worse.
Because deep down…
Some part of me already knew.
This wasn’t an interview.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
And Rowan Volkov…
Was not letting me go again.
