Surrender 01 - Surrender

intimidating as he paced back and forth, towering over her at a few inches above six feet. Add to that his jet-black hair and stunning eyes and she felt like a rumpled factory worker, totally out of her element in this exquisite office.
    As he made another pass around the room and neared her, Ari thought back over the last week — how strange it had been. Never before had she jumped through such hoops during a job interview.
    She’d applied for more than a hundred jobs in the past month, and only three employers had called her back. One job had been at a bank; the manager had called her a few days later, saying they’d given the position to another applicant. The second was at an insurance company, and they’d told her she didn’t have enough experience.
    The third job…well, she didn’t really know how to describe what she’d been through. The ad had said only this:
    Seeking full-time applicants for Palazzo Corporation. Must be willing to work seven days a week, long hours. Must have no other commitments — no family, second jobs, or school. Salary 100k a year plus expenses. Hand-delivered applications only.
    Ari thought getting the job would be a long shot, but she had nothing to lose by applying. She had immediately spruced up her résumé, which only included two years in her local pizza parlor, then almost four years as a part-time secretary in the Stanford history department. And after that, nothing — a six-month gap in employment while she took care of her mother and dealt with the fallout of that disastrous night.
    With only one semester away from graduation, her life had changed forever because of the first foolish mistake she’d ever made. Why had she been so careless with only a few short months to go? Now that night would haunt her, be something she’d have to live with for the rest of her life.
    With a leather notebook in hand, résumé and application inside, she had entered the large building and approached the security guard in the lobby, who’d directed her to the secretary’s office on the twenty-fifth floor. In she’d walked with what she hoped was confidence exuding from her every pore, and she’d handed over her polished résumé.
    “Thank you, Ms. Harlow. If you’ll have a seat, Mr. Kinsor will call you in shortly.”
    Oddly enough only women were in the room when Ari sat down, not a male applicant to be seen. The frightening part was that all of them looked far more qualified for whatever office position was open. One by one the women had stepped into a room, the door shutting behind them. After about ten minutes they’d walked back out, their expressions confident as they eyed the remaining applicants. This business world was a sharkfest and Ari didn’t know if she was up for the swim.
    “Ms. Harlow?”
    “Right here,” she’d called. Adjusting her oversized glasses, and picking at the bottom of her two-sizes-too-big shirt, she stood and walked resolutely toward the small man wearing a sharp business suit and gentle smile on his face.
    “This way, please.”
    She’d followed him into a room where a blue screen was set against the wall. There was a table with a piece of paper and a pen sitting atop it and nothing more.
    “Please have a seat. I’m going to take your picture.”
    Ari hadn’t understood the need for a picture just yet. Possibly it was for an ID card or employee badge, but usually that was done after you were hired. Maybe they were running it through security to make sure she wasn’t a criminal. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to protest.
    She had taken her seat and waited for the flash, knowing her smile wasn’t genuine, but her anticipation had been so high, it was impossible to offer anything bigger than a slight grimace.
    “Please fill out this form and make sure all contact information is correct. If you’ve passed to the second part of our screening process, we’ll call you in three to five days,” Mr. Mario Kinsor had said with the same gentle smile.
    He hadn’t asked her whether she had any questions. He hadn’t elaborated on the job. Normally, she would have just filled out the paperwork and kept silent, but her rising curiosity had pushed her with an unknown bravery to ask what the job actually was.
    “Mr. Kinsor, the ad in the paper was vague. What exactly does this job entail?”
    “If you make it to the next level, you’ll be given more information, Ms. Harlow. I’m sorry, but Mr. Palazzo is a very private man and this