Chapter Three: The Interview
Keifer walked into Watson Enterprises with a stride that demanded attention. Employees parted like the Red Sea, offering respectful nods and hurried greetings. He acknowledged none of them. His mind was elsewhere.
On a girl with espresso hair and eyes that held both vulnerability and fire.
The private elevator whisked him to the top floor. As the doors slid open, he spotted Yuri Hanamitchi lounging in the leather armchair outside his office, legs crossed, phone in hand. His best friend looked up with a knowing smirk.
"About time you showed up," Yuri drawled, pocketing his phone. "Your assistant said you'd be late. You're never late. What happened? Get kidnapped by a supermodel?"
Keifer walked past him into his office, tossing his briefcase on the massive mahogany desk. "Nothing happened."
Yuri followed, settling into a chair with the ease of someone who owned the place. "Nothing? You've got that look."
"What look?"
"The one you get when you're about to acquire a company. Except different. Softer." Yuri leaned forward, eyes narrowing with interest. "Spill."
Keifer moved to the floor-to-ceiling window, staring down at the city below. Somewhere in this building, Jay was waiting for her interview. Nervous. Terrified. Thinking he was just some kind stranger who'd bought her breakfast.
"I met someone," he said quietly.
Yuri's eyebrows shot up. "Someone? A woman?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"No one important," Keifer lied. "Just a girl who fainted on the sidewalk."
Yuri stared at him. "You're joking."
"I never joke."
"You missed a board meeting for some random girl who fainted?" Yuri stood, walking over to join him at the window. "Who is she?"
Keifer was silent for a long moment. "She's here. In the building. Interviewing for a position."
Yuri's mouth fell open. "You're kidding me. Which position?"
"Executive assistant."
"To you?"
Keifer finally turned to face him, his expression unreadable. "She doesn't know who I am. I drove her here. She thanked me for being kind and wished me well."
Yuri burst out laughing. "This is gold. Pure gold. The great Mark Keifer Watson, anonymous good samaritan. Did you tell her?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Keifer moved to his desk, pulling out the file his assistant had left. Jasper Jean Mariano. Age twenty. Education impressive. References impeccable. A photo clipped to the corner showed her smiling, that same sun-breaking-through-clouds smile.
"Because," he said slowly, "she told me the CEO of Watson Enterprises is cold. Calculated. A robot with no emotions."
Yuri howled with laughter, doubling over. "She called you a robot? I like her already. I really like her."
"She needs this job," Keifer continued, ignoring his friend's amusement. "She wants to prove herself to her brothers. Make it on her own."
"And you're going to hire her?"
"I'm going to interview her. Like everyone else."
Yuri gave him a look. "You never interview candidates. That's what HR is for."
Keifer didn't respond. He was reading her file, absorbing every detail. Born in Manila. Moved here at twelve. Parents died when she was sixteen. Two brothers—Aries and Percy. The names made him pause. Aries Fernandoze. Percy Mariano. His best friends.
His head snapped up.
"What?" Yuri asked, catching the shift.
Keifer stared at the names again. Aries Fernandoze. Percy Mariano. His brothers. His best friends' little sister.
"Nothing," he murmured, though it was far from nothing. The universe had a cruel sense of humor. Or a strange one.
Yuri walked over and read over his shoulder. His laughter died instantly. "Wait. Mariano? Fernandoze? Is this—"
"Yes."
"Aries and Percy's sister?"
"Yes."
"The one they're insanely protective of? The one Percy talks about constantly? The baby sister who hates rich entitled men?"
Keifer closed the file slowly. "The same."
Yuri ran a hand through his hair. "Keif. You can't. If you hire her and something happens—"
"Nothing will happen."
"You drove her to work. You bought her breakfast. You're sitting here with her file like it's a treasure map." Yuri shook his head. "Something is already happening."
Keifer said nothing. Because Yuri was right.
---
Downstairs, Jay sat in the sleek waiting area, clutching her bag like a lifeline. Twenty other candidates filled the room, all polished and perfect in their power suits and confident smiles. She felt small in her simple blouse and skirt. Underdressed. Underqualified.
Her phone buzzed. Percy.
Break a leg, little sister. Show them who's boss.
She smiled despite her nerves. Then another message. Aries.
You've got this. Call me after.
Her brothers. Overbearing but loving. If they knew she was applying at Watson Enterprises, they'd lose their minds. Aries worked with the CEO. Percy was friends with him. They'd probably call in favors, ruin everything.
She couldn't let that happen. She needed to do this alone.
"Jasper Jean Mariano?"
She looked up. A severe-looking woman in a designer suit stood at the door, clipboard in hand.
"That's me."
"You're last. Follow me."
Last. Great. More waiting. More torture.
The woman led her through a maze of hallways, past cubicles and offices, toward a set of elevator doors. They rode up in silence. Floors ticked by. Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Finally, the doors opened onto a hallway so luxurious it made her gasp. Marble floors. Original art on the walls. A reception desk that probably cost more than her apartment.
"The CEO's office is at the end," the woman said. "Wait here. You'll be called."
Jay nodded, heart pounding. The CEO. The robot. The youngest billionaire in the world.
She took a deep breath. She could do this. She'd faced worse. Losing her parents. Raising herself while her brothers built their empires. Fainting on a stranger this morning.
The stranger. Kind eyes. Warm smile. Expensive suit. He'd been so gentle, so concerned. She wished she'd gotten his number. Maybe she'd see him again. Maybe—
"Ms. Mariano? You can go in now."
Jay stood on shaking legs. Walked toward the massive double doors. Pressed them open.
And froze.
Behind the desk, looking every inch the powerful CEO, sat the man from this morning.
The kind stranger.
The one who'd caught her. Bought her breakfast. Driven her here.
Mark Keifer Watson.
Her brain short-circuited. He was the CEO. The robot. The man her brothers worked with. The man she'd told—
If the CEO is a robot, I'll just do my work and avoid him.
The words echoed in her head like a death sentence.
He was watching her, expression unreadable. That same intense gaze from the car. But now she understood. He'd known. The whole time. He'd known where she was going. Known who he was. And said nothing.
"Ms. Mariano," he said, voice smooth as silk. "Please. Sit."
She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
"Jay." Softer now. That same gentle tone from the café. "Sit down before you faint again."
The words broke through her shock. She stumbled forward, collapsing into the chair across from him. Her hands were shaking.
"You," she whispered. "You're him."
"I am."
"You knew. This whole time. You knew where I was going. Who you were. And you didn't say anything."
"No."
"Why?"
He leaned back, studying her with those impossible eyes. "Would it have changed anything? If I'd told you in the car, would you have still had breakfast with me? Still laughed at my jokes? Still called me kind?"
She opened her mouth. Closed it. No. She wouldn't have. She'd have been terrified. Awkward. Desperate to impress. Everything she didn't want to be.
"I didn't want that," he continued quietly. "I wanted one normal moment. Just a guy helping a girl who needed it. Was that wrong?"
The sincerity in his voice threw her. She'd expected arrogance. Power plays. Instead, he looked almost vulnerable. Like he'd been caught doing something forbidden and wasn't sure if he regretted it.
"You should have told me," she said, but her voice had lost its edge.
"Probably." He smiled slightly. "But then you wouldn't have called me kind. And I liked that more than I should have."
Heat flooded her cheeks. She looked away, focusing on the massive office. Bookshelves lined one wall. A sitting area with leather couches. Windows that made the city look like a toy below.
"So," she managed. "The interview."
"Yes. The interview." He straightened, pulling out her file. "Jasper Jean Mariano. Twenty years old. Two years of college. No prior corporate experience. References from local businesses. Why should I hire you?"
The shift was jarring. From intimate to professional in seconds. She straightened her spine, meeting his eyes.
"Because I work harder than anyone you'll interview today. Because I don't have connections or fancy degrees, which means I have everything to prove. Because I'll show up early, stay late, and learn faster than your Harvard graduates. Because I need this job, Mr. Watson. Not as a stepping stone. As a start. My start. On my own."
He listened without interrupting. When she finished, he set the file down.
"And your brothers? Aries and Percy? They didn't help you get this interview?"
Her eyes widened. "You know about them?"
"I know Aries is my best friend. Percy too. Small world."
Of course. Of course they were. Because the universe hated her.
"They don't know I'm here," she said quickly. "They can't know. If they find out—"
"They won't hear it from me."
She blinked. "What?"
"This interview is yours, Jay. Not theirs. Not because of who your brothers are. Because of who you are." He paused. "You fainted on a sidewalk this morning and still showed up. That's not nothing."
Warmth spread through her chest. Unexpected. Unwanted. She pushed it away.
"So," she said carefully. "Do I get the job?"
He stood, walking around the desk to lean against the front. Close enough to see the flecks of gold in his eyes. Close enough to catch his scent again. That same exclusive cologne from the car.
"That depends."
"On what?"
He tilted his head, studying her like she was a puzzle he wanted to solve. "On whether you can work for someone you called a robot. Someone cold and calculated with no emotions."
She winced. "You heard that."
"I heard everything."
"I didn't know you then."
"And now?"
She met his gaze. Held it. "Now I know you bought me breakfast. Caught me when I fell. Drove me here even though you were late for work. I know you didn't have to do any of that. But you did."
Something shifted in his expression. Softened.
"So," she continued, finding courage she didn't know she had. "I think maybe the rumors are wrong. I think maybe you're not a robot at all."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then, slowly, he smiled. That same lopsided grin from the café.
"The job is yours, Ms. Mariano. If you want it."
Her heart stopped. Then raced.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"Why?"
He leaned closer. Not quite inappropriate. Just enough to make her breath catch.
"Because no one has ever called me kind before. Because you looked at me like I was just a person. Because I have a feeling you're going to drive me absolutely crazy." His voice dropped. "And I can't wait."
Jay stared at him, completely undone.
This was not how interviews were supposed to go.
This was not how anything was supposed to go.
But as she sat there, caught in the gravity of Mark Keifer Watson, she realized she didn't care.
The robot had feelings after all.
And they were apparently aimed at her.