Vengeful Mafia Prince (Vicious Heirs #2)

Chapter Six—Elena

I sink down into the large wood-and-leather seat on the other side of the table from Professor Van Ark, the head of the business department here at Gregora University. Since I finished up my first semester of interning, I have to come down and share my report on how things are going—and convince her, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I deserve to stay.

"Good to see you, Elena," she greets me with a sharp nod. Large leather-bound books line the shelf behind her. She peers at me over a pair of half-rimmed glasses, a reading lamp half-illuminating her lined face. She's been the professor I've been doing most of my studying under since I started college, nearly a year ago now. My first year was spent getting all my grades in order, and my second has been hands-on practice at my father's company.

It's hard not to feel as though everyone sees me as some kind of pity hire. No matter how hard I work, I'm sure they all feel like I just got the job because of who I am, who my father is. Johnny, at least, proved himself to get the second internship position, only recently introduced, since I started work there. While I haven't shared any classes with him directly, I can only imagine how confident he is.

More confident than I feel, anyway.

Van Ark looks over the report I handed her, her brow furrowing as she takes it all in, and then she glances up at me.

"Am I to take from this that you're happy with how your time at the company has gone so far?" There's an edge to her voice, and I can't help but feel as though she's trying to catch me in a lie.

I shift slightly in my seat, then nod.

"Yes, for the most part," I reply. "I-it's been great to work with another intern. We've been working very well together."

"Good," she replies, lowering the report. "I have to say, I was... less than impressed when I heard that they'd added another position to the internship. I assumed it was due to your... lack at work, I have to admit."

I shift in my seat. See, this is what I hate so much, the feeling that I only got the job because my father runs the company. This is never who I wanted to be. Never. I want to establish myself on my own terms, as difficult as that might be. I know it'll be all the more rewarding in the long run.

"Well, why was there a new intern brought in?" I ask.

She shrugs. "I can only assume they need more help in the office," she replies coolly. Is that supposed to be a dig at me? It feels that way.

"I'm glad I had the opportunity to show my skills while working with someone else," I reply, trying to keep my cool. See? I can spin this. That's so much of what business is, after all, spinning the bad news to look like good, making the rough stuff read well.

She smiles slightly, sensing what I'm trying to do. I learned it from her, after all.

She nods. "Have you... have you met with Johnny yet?" I ask, trying to keep my voice light. I don't want to seem insecure, but truth be told, I am. He seems so much more confident than me, so much more assured, and it's hard not to let that get under my skin.

"Yes, I have," she replies. "He's a very impressive student, as mature students often are."

"I suppose he has more life experience," I remark, and she nods.

"That's part of it," she agrees, carefully. I bristle again. So what's the rest of it, then? Clearly not something I'm living up to.

"Do you have any feedback from the company?" I wonder, shifting the conversation back to the topic at hand. I don't want her to think I'm getting distracted by this guy, even if that's exactly what's going on here. Ever since we hooked up the other day after dinner, I haven't been able to get him out of my head. Yes, I'm well aware that we're meant to be working together, but that doesn't mean I can deny my attraction to him.

Or how crazy-hot our sex was the other night.

"Yes, there's something important I wanted to share with you," she tells me, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "I received word from the head of your father's— from the head of the company that they're looking to hire a full-time production assistant in the marketing department at the end of this semester. One of their workers is going off on annual leave, and they need someone to replace her."

"Oh!" I exclaim, my eyes widening. This is the first I've heard of it.

"And they're looking to hire from inside the company," she continues. "I have it on good authority that whoever does better at this internship is going to land the position. So, functionally, it's between you and Johnny."

I swallow hard. Oh. As if things weren't already complicated enough. We work together, we slept together, and now we're competing against each other? And he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who's going to play nice when it comes to getting what he wants, either.

"How many more weeks do we have left of the internship?"

"Eight," she replies. "You have two semesters, he has one. So it should be easy for you."

Should be. Fuck.

My head is spinning. I know this is the chance I've been waiting for to prove myself to my father, once and for all, but the thought of going up against Johnny—cool, calm, collected, confident Johnny—feels damn near impossible.

"Thank you for letting me know," I reply, keeping my voice steady as I rise to my feet. "And thanks for your time."

"I'll be in touch if there's anything else you need to know," she replies.

I nod and head for the door. My mind is a mess as I try to make sense of things. I thought studying business and getting the internship would be the best way to prove to my dad that I knew what I was doing, but now... now, I can see a way to make it happen long-term. Beyond an internship, beyond a degree, I could join the company properly, carry on with my studies on the side, develop a career as I develop my degree…

"Hey, daydreamer."

My head snaps up when I hear a familiar voice, and there, in front of me, relaxing on a stone bench in the large quad of Gregora University, is Johnny. He looks like he belongs there, exuding the same old-school charm that this place always has.

"Oh, hi," I blurt out. "Were you— were you here to meet with Professor Van Ark?"

"I was," he replies, rising to his feet and tugging his heavy black coat around his shoulders. "I'll walk you back to your car. Here, with me." He speaks with confidence, leaving me no room to argue, even though I know I should. I follow him, rushing to keep up with his broad strides.

"So, she told you about the open position at the company, right?" I ask him. He glances over his shoulder and flashes me a grin. There's a look on his face that I haven't seen before. Something... ruthless.

"Yeah, she did," he replies. "Thought she might skip on mentioning it to you, though."

I frown. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she knows I'm going to get it."

My lips part with shock. This cocky side of him, I've seen it before but never quite as blatant as this.

"What are you talking about?"

He shrugs. "Just that they wouldn't have had to bring in another intern if you could do your job."

My heart stops. Why is he being so cruel? Only the other night, the two of us were tossed up in his bed together, his arms around me, his hands all over me. He even drove me back to my place the next morning so I could get changed and go to work without anyone noticing anything had changed. But here, on the campus of this ancient college, it feels like something is different.

"Why the hell would you say that?" I shoot at him. He rounds on me, stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Listen," he growls. "What we had the other night, it was fun, don't get me wrong. But that's all it was to me. Fun. You understand? This is something bigger. I'm going to get this job, and I'm going to make sure they don't have any other choice but to pick me."

With that, we reach my car. My heart is thundering in my chest. The way he's talking, it leaves no room for argument, and that scares the hell out of me.

"You don't get to make that call," I protest, and he flashes me a grin. It doesn't reach his eyes. He's like a shark, cutting through the water, stalking his prey.

"I don't have to," he replies. And with that, he turns on his heel and leaves, vanishing into the crowd of students emerging from the lecture hall just off the main quad. As the sound of footsteps fills the stone corridor, I muster up what little courage I have left and climb into my car.

I'm not going to let him take this from me. I'm not. I've worked too hard to get where I am, and I refuse to allow some guy to steal that. His mind games aren't going to work on me.

If it's war he wants, it's war he's going to get.