One

Keep that head high, babe. I let my best friend Sloan's voice repeat over and over in my head.

The fresh cut to my sleek blonde bob, paired with the brand-new outfit I spent way too much on at Bloomingdale's this past weekend, is my warrior suit. I'm smiling because I know I'm good at what I do, and the nerves rumbling in my stomach are my reminder not to let the mask slip from my face. Never let them see you sweat.

Generally, I'm a self-assured person. I learned a long time ago that letting people see your weaknesses gets you nowhere. But today's different… Today, I'm walking into a den of wolves. Bryant Co is one of the wealthiest investment firms in the city, and you'd have to be dead not to be nervous about an interview with them. Especially with the most arrogant asshole of them all leading the pack.

I walk past my favorite café in the West Village, taking deep breaths as I summon more confidence with every step. It's typically my first stop every morning before I am even fully functioning. But not today. I've seen way too many movies where the lead female character spills coffee all over her shirt before a big interview, and I am not about to let that be my luck.

Instead, I Doordashed a cup while I did my hair and makeup earlier this morning. The liquid gold is safely flowing through my veins and my cream blouse is perfectly intact. Win-Win.

A few blocks into SoHo, my heart thuds louder, knowing I am getting close.

This is my biggest bid yet, and it's a literal dream project for me. The only downfall is the six-foot-four tattooed suit that just so happens to be heading the project.

If I don't get it… Nope. Manifest good shit only.

WhenI get it, it's going to change my career and, honestly, my life. Interior design has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, but I quickly realized making a name for myself without using family connections wasn't going to be easy.

Two years ago, I left the design company I was working for and went out on my own. It was a huge chance to take starting my own business at twenty-six, but since then, I have had the opportunity to work on some really cool projects and be in complete control with my clients.

As I approach the front doors of Luxure, I take a second to admire the outside of the hotel's building. They are halfway through the construction phase of the revamp, and it's time to hire a designer that fits with the investor's style and desires.

The brick exterior may only be five stories tall, but my mind has already created so many ideas to pack into the inside of those five levels. Lucky for me, they have a French theme in mind, and thanks to my aunt who now lives there, I visit multiple times a year. If there was ever another place I would live besides New York City, it would be Paris, France.

My eyes lift to the sky, grounding myself between all the tall city buildings. Deep breath, smile in place. Keep that head high, babe.

"Good morning," an unfamiliar voice says from beside me as he reaches the handle and motions for me to enter. I say a quick "thank you" in response and walk through the open door.

"You must be Ava… I'm Logan." He holds out his hand, introducing himself.

"Hi, yes, that's me. How'd you know?"

Logan's stare lingers on my face. "Just a good guess. You are our first interview of the day." And then he's on the move again. "Follow me, I'll show you to our meeting room."

His welcoming demeanor calms my nerves slightly, but the thought of all the interviews to come after me has doubt stirring low in my belly.

As he leads me down a long corridor, I try taking in the changes from the pictures I've researched online of how the inside of the building used to look.

"This was one of the first rooms we had them finish so we could conduct meetings in here, just no paint or décor yet," he says, opening the door. "But that's why we are calling in the experts, like you."

Logan gives me one last reassuring smile as we walk into the room. Pulling the chair at one of the ends of the table out for me, he says, "Sit here so you can see everyone, as well as have easy access to the PowerPoint. The rest of the board should be in any minute."

I dig into my bag for my laptop and remind myself to thank Logan. I'm so overwhelmed, I've barely spoken to him. "Thanks for your help, Logan."

"Anytime." He smirks like there is more he wants to say.

In another setting, I would probably be flirting with a guy like Logan. He's handsome and well-dressed, plus he seems kind. No red flags yet… But right now, I need to focus.

Just as I get my pitch set up and turn back to look at the screen, the walking red flag himself waltzes into the room, causing a different type of feeling to stir inside me.

At the sight of one of his tattoos peeking out from under his suit jacket, I'm suddenly parched. From the very first time I met him, I knew he was an arrogant prick, but the way my thighs clench together whenever I see him is a testimony that the rest of my body doesn't care what my brain thinks about the man.

Apparently, ridiculously sexy combined with broody asshole speaks to my vagina in a way nothing else does.

My mind drifts back to that first night at Kings Hideaway over a year and a half ago…

Immediate desire ripples through me at the sight of the man approaching my end of the table. His black tailored shirt opens just enough to show off the sexy tattoos he's sporting under it.

Apparently liking what he sees by the sexy smirk that graces his mouth, his gaze peruses over me from head to toe.

When his tongue pokes out, licking over his bottom lip, a surge of tension forms between us. Like a string from his body to mine, connected in some unexplainable attraction to one another.

We continue staring, not speaking a word.

I try focusing my attention on Sloan, who was obviously not expecting to see the man she's been in love with for eight years here tonight. But by the way Wes is looking at her, there is no doubt in my mind he's head over heels for her too.

Eli, this man's friend, and my best friend's brother, breaks the spell.

"Parker, this is Ava, she went to college with the girls. You likely know her family, they are into investing as well. Pierce Corporation," Eli says before turning his attention back to the other side of the table.

I notice a look slide over Parker's face before he returns his gaze to me. "Ava Pierce?" His demeanor has completely shifted from what it had been less than a minute ago.

"Yep, that's me." I try to sound cheery, wondering what his deal is.

"An Upper East Side princess in my presence," he sneers, then continues. "And tell me what do you do? Go to events for Mommy and Daddy?"

Woah woah, shut the fucking front door. Who does this asshole think he is? It seems like my last name offended him, but it's not like he's slumming it in his perfectly fitted Tom Ford suit.

"First off, I'm no princess. And for your information, I just started my own interior design firm," I snap back. I don't care how sexy he is; don't accuse me of things you know absolutely nothing about.

His menacing glare bores into mine.

"Maybe not a princess, but a brat, nonetheless."

Parker doesn't acknowledge me as he walks into the room, but that doesn't surprise me. What does, though, is that I even got the interview if he had any say in it. We may have mutual friends, but based on our history, that doesn't mean shit to him. From the very first night we met, he treated me like a dumb socialite. And the one time I thought he saw more, he proved otherwise all too quickly.

The others who enter the room are friendly as they greet me, and shortly after, Logan speaks up and gives me the go-ahead to start.

I stand from my seat… Confidence, baby. Looking Parker directly in the eye to prove to him his asshole vibe isn't going to throw me off, I address the board. "Thank you all so much for having me. I have prepared a presentation for today. First, I would like to show you a few projects I have completed recently."

Along with the photos I click through, I explain what each project entailed, ending on my proudest venture. "Masqued is an exclusive club here in the city that I had the privilege of designing. I worked closely with the owner, who is a dear friend of mine, to make her vision come to life. This club is the epitome of sexy and mysterious, with privacy and hidden gems throughout the vicinity. Special details to make everyone's experience even more memorable."

Parker's deep voice rumbles through the room, cutting me off. "But this isn't an exclusive club… It's a hotel that people are going to be paying no less than a grand a night to stay at." The dickhead finally speaks, and I want to shove my heel down his throat.

I smile through gritted teeth, biting my tongue from saying, "Well, as you know from experience, an elite membership to Masqued is over fifty thousand dollars a year."

Instead, I go with, "Good point, Mr. Cole." Pressing the clicker, I flip to the next screen, showing the French designs and highlights I combined as inspiration for this hotel. "These are schemes I have pulled together for your hotel, specifically. Some are just ideas so I can see what you all like and don't like, which will allow me to design something uniquely curated for your desires. I also drew up my own visions for this place based off the things I knew you all wanted."

The board oohs and ahhs and I can tell they are impressed, which lights a fire inside me. One of pride and excitement.

"These are amazing and spot on with what we've discussed. Almost like you were involved in these conversations previously," Logan says with the same encouraging smile from earlier.

I notice Parker's eyes flit to Logan, narrowing from the way he's praising me.

Degradation is more of his thing.

Or come to think of it, maybe he saves his praises for something else.

His gaze moves back to where I stand, his grey eyes penetrating through me. With no emotion, he says, "Miss Pierce, do you have anything else you would like to show us? We have several more interviews this morning."

Without answering, I click to the next slide, displaying my hand drawing of the in-house spa. Everyone's faces—well, minus one—light up as they look over the display, and I let that reaction fill my chest with validation. I'm damn good at my job. Not wasting another second peeking in Parker's direction, I go into detail on the layout and different ideas for the overall feel in the spa area.

When I'm finished, I ask if anyone has any questions, preparing myself for battle again because no doubt Parker will have some smart-ass remark.

A female board member with a big smile responds first. "No question, I just wanted to say thank you. This is amazing. I'm Olivia, and I'm the co-project manager with Logan. To reiterate what he said, it feels like you are already in my brain on this project. I just want to commend you on your keen eye for detail, especially when you had minimal information." She gives me a wink, as if to say, you got this in the bag, girlfriend, and I instantly love her.

"Thank you so much, Olivia. It's an honor to be here. I know no matter what, this place will be magnificent." But I'm surely hoping you all do a majority-wins type of voting system here and it's not just based on the head-dick-in-charge, then maybe I'll have a shot.

"Any other questions?" Parker asks, barely giving anyone an opportunity to speak before he continues. "Thank you, Miss Pierce. Either way, we will be in touch within twenty-four hours."

I nod with a gracious smile, one I direct to the rest of the room. "Thank you all for having me," I say politely, then begin packing my things back into my bag.

"Ava, I can see you out," Logan says, pushing his chair back from the table. But before I can speak, Parker is heading my way. "No need, Logan… I have to use the men's room. I'll make sure she sees herself out."

Men's room, my ass.

With my heart picking up pace, I give one last wave and follow Parker out of the room into the hallway. I know I should tread lightly here, but I don't care how amazing of an opportunity this is, I'm not going to lie down and let someone walk all over me unless orgasms and consent are involved.

"Will you treat all your interviews today with the same kindness as you did me, Mr. Cole?" I ask, not bothering to contain my snark. Keeping my eyes ahead, we step down the corridor, his presence at my side putting me on edge.

"Well, Miss Pierce, it seemed to me that your fan club was already big enough. We wouldn't want you to get too comfortable now, would we?" His low, husky voice is full of sarcasm.

I stop short in my heels, grabbing his arm and stopping him in place. "Look…" I demand, and boy does he. For the first time today, he focuses on me, and I feel it everywhere. But I push those thoughts aside, needing to say my piece to this man.

"Put whatever vendetta you have against me to the side…and promise me today you will pick the best person for the job. No biases, no discriminations. Just whomever you think will help make this place what it deserves to be."

Parker surprises me and takes a step closer, and I have to tilt my head up to maintain eye contact.

Lifting his hand, he rubs his thumb over my bottom lip, slightly pulling it down. My breath halts in my chest, eyes unable to look away from his, frozen in the center of the storm darkening in his grey eyes.

"What you are implying would mean I would choose a vendetta over my company. There is only one person who would cause that reaction out of me, and I promise it's not you."

I instantly go from nearly pulling his thumb into my mouth and sucking on it to now wanting it between my teeth so I can inflict pain. Only, he's not done.

"Stop being a brat and making everything about you."

With a restrained huff, I shove his hand away from my face.

I'm not sure if it"s a good thing or a bad thing, but why do his words sting? And I promise it's not you. I hate the way he gets in my fucking head.

One thing I do know is, "I'm not a brat…and you have no idea who I am, so don't act like you do."

Our eyes stay locked for a moment as I seethe, but I don't let him have the last word.Not that he cares anyway.

Turning on my heel, I strut toward the front doors, living on a prayer that I didn't just blow whatever chance I had at getting this job.