Priya rose up in the elevator, her eyes fixed to the climbing numbers as inside her belly jittered and jolted. The carbs she'd inhaled earlier weren't sitting so well and she raised a hand to her mouth to stifle the burp as last night's alcohol came back in nauseating waves. The urge to let it all spew sat at the back of her throat, like a finger hovering over the button of a detonator. Waiting to be pushed.

Oh please, she prayed, let me get through this nightmare without vomiting.

The doors pinged open as she reached the thirty-seventh floor and bright lights bounced off of stark white walls, floors and furniture. F*ck, it was like a gallery without a hint of colour of contrast aside from the dark skinned receptionist and the framed artwork on the walls.

Wincing against the glare, as Priya approached the desk a slender finger lifted in acknowledgement.

"Mr. Harrison is not in at the moment, may I take a message?" the receptionist spoke into her headset, eyes fixed at some distant point beyond Priya's right shoulder. "Yes, I understand, you've mentioned that three times, already, but as I've explained, several times as well, Mr. Harrison does not want any calls sent to his voice mail as he's—" she halted suddenly, and her dark eyes rolled at whatever the person on the phone had to say. "You can do so, if you'd like, but I'm telling you—okay..."

Bringing a hand to her ear, the receptionist ended the call and finally, shifted her gaze to Priya. To her credit, she barely blinked. "You must be Ms. Seth." A welcoming smile brightened her face.

"I am."

"I'll let Ms. Nagao's assistant know you're here." Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she fired off a quick message. "Why don't you have a seat? Is there anything I can get for you in the meantime? Water? Cappuccino?"

The weight of that lump sat heavier against her tonsils and Priya did her best to swallow it all back down. "Water would be great."

"Still or Sparkling?"

"Um...sparkling?"

"Wonderful. Ice?"

"Sure."

"And would you like a slice of lemon or lime?"

Jesus. "Just the water, please. Thanks."

"Certainly. I'll be but a moment. Please have a seat." She rose from behind the desk and was gone in a flash of long legs and high heels, far more impeccably dressed in a soft grey suit that Priya was almost tempted to bribe her out of when the glass doors beyond the desk whisked open and a stern-faced blonde whisked out. Her blue eyes snapped to Priya and her stride faltered the barest fraction before she recovered.

"Ms. Seth?"

Scheisse. "That's me. You must be Heather."

"Yes..." Blue eyes racked Priya from head to toe, not at all discreet in her stunned disbelief. "Ms. Nagao is waiting for you in the boardroom. I'll show you the way. Please keep up."

"Oh, the receptionist was just—" At an arch of her brow, Priya swallowed the rest and gave her skirt a tug to urge down as low as she could manage while keeping up with Heather's determined gait that pushed her to almost job just to keep up, and that put her at serious risk for further flashing of her naked ass as they swept down a long corridor of glass front offices and row of cubicles.

Turning a corner, Heather pushed open a heavy set of double doors and swept Priya into a conference room large enough to seat twenty people around a laze sized table of polished wood, the grain exotic stripped hues of burnished reds to deepest mahogany.

Marai Nagao sat at the head with her back to the doors and her hand whisking over the keyboard of her laptop.

A stream of expletives stuttered through Priya's thoughts following the same punctuated rhythm of the soft clicks of the keys in the heavy silence.

Heather cleared her throat gently. "Ms. Nagao, I have Priyanka Seth, Harvard graduate, magna cum laude here for her eight a.m. interview."

A head turned, sleek in its motion as if every gesture, no matter how small, was done with the utmost authority, confidence and purpose. Her pale alabaster skin shone without makeup or enhancement. Not that she needed anything. Marai Nagao might be well into her fifties, but she was stunning with eyes set in narrow slats highlighted by thick, dark lashes and the arching lines of brows. Full cheekbones dropped to nude lips.

Dark hair slashed down one side of her slender face in a biased bob while the other side was razed short in a stylized fade. Giving her a contrasting edge that was all corporate Samurai.

A shiver of admiration and envy trickled down Priya's spine quickly tempered by the shock of mortified shame. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to fold herself into tight, compact little squares until she disappeared.

A pointed chin set on the back of her hand as she assessed Priya in a silent, lengthy deliberation.

"You were aware this was an interview," she said at last, her soft spoken words posed as a direct statement rather than a question.

"I did explain, in detail," Heather answered but a subtle flick of Ms. Nagao's fingers was all it took to stop her cold and leave the boardroom with a spin of her heels

"Yes. I was...but, well...it was so last minute and I wasn't at home last night when I received the email so," heat snapped hot in Priya's cheeks as she spread her arms, almost in supplication, "I had to make do with limited means."

Those eyes swept over her again, slow as melted wax sliding down a candle before Ms. Nagao dropped her hand from her chin and pressed both palms to the table as she rose. "And yet you confirmed."

"I was afraid not to." Priya swallowed, hating the admission of weakness but she'd shown up at one of New York's most prestigious law firms, wearing last night's outfit and no panties. Nothing short of falling on her sword was going to save her from this mess.

Ms. Nagao stopped before her, arms crossed and hip cocked; the lines of her pencil skirt displayed a lithe body with killer calves of a woman who prided her health and appearance.

Every inch of her screamed warrior.

"To show up for an interview dressed as you are...I have fired associates for less," she said. "As I've not hired you, perhaps you've saved me the bother."

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Nagao. Please—"

Ms. Nagao flashed her palm, a look in her dark eyes that held the power to cripple the soul. "Sorry's an excuse for the weak. I do not accept meaningless apologies and I do not appreciate interruptions when I'm speaking." She punctuated the veiled threat with silence before she stepped to the side and gave a subtle incline of her head towards the conference table. "As you are one of Harvard's youngest magna cum laude's I will make a special allowance this once."

Heart in her throat, Priya rushed to the table as quickly as she could manage on legs that had gone weak as water, and tucked herself into the leather chair. Ms. Nagao returned to reclaim her own seat, folded down the screen of her laptop and set her hands over it.

"Now," she said, chin raised and gaze cool, "At Marek, Nagao & Silver LLP, we are a premier, litigation-focused law firm. Businesses and individuals throughout the world turn to us to handle their most sensitive and complex commercial litigation, white-collar criminal matters, and regulatory proceedings. We've maintained a ruthless and impeccable reputation for more than thirty years by providing superb and cost-effective representation for our clients in high-stakes disputes involving a variety of arenas. In further testament to this firm calibre, all nine partners, six of whom are former federal prosecutors, have been recognized by as deserving of inclusion in several of the directories listing the "best of the best" in the legal community."

The barest hint of a smile curved at the corner of her lips. "And you think you have what it takes to join our ranks."

"I do." To grace Harvard's hallowed halls, you needed more than high grades and impressive extracurricular activities to gain entrance. Your achievements needed to be groundbreaking and truly remarkable to stand apart among so many other distinguished individuals. Of all applications, only eleven percent are chosen, but of that percentage, an astonishing ninety-two percent were employed soon graduation and went on to become Supreme Court justices, federal judges, politicians, and business leaders.

If she could prove herself worthy to join the ranks of Harvard elite, then she should be able to do so to Ms. Nagao, or anyone else for that matter, while wearing a burlap sack.

Pulling back her shoulders, Priya imagined herself wearing her pristine suit instead of her badly creased Valentino.

"I was the president of Harvard Women's Law Association where I organized campus visits with various female Supreme Court justices, litigators, and activists. As a prominent advocate for women's rights, an area I am fiercely passionate about, I offered aid to victims of rape and domestic violence.

"Pursuant to that, I interned for two semesters as an investigative analyst for the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, and even worked with prosecutors on rape trials, six of which I oversaw as full attorney on trials for six domestic violence survivors as a student lawyer, during which time I secured multi-year restraining orders, completed divorces from terrifying men who had beaten and raped their wives, some for decades," Priya said with a burst of pride. "Several of my cases also involved children whom I personally helped remove from the arms of their abusers and on to safer home environments."

"Enough." Ms. Nagao swiped an aggrieved hand. "I did not intend to sit and listen as you prattle off your entire resume. I know what you've done, Ms. Seth, otherwise you wouldn't be here. I want to know what extends beyond that? MNS is highly selective in its hiring of associates. Everyone at this firm possesses stellar academic credentials. Our new associates are expected to hit the ground running. So, I'll ask you one more time: why should I hire you?"

Because I want this morning anything!

Because I deserve this and more!

Because I want to be you in twenty years!

Because I'll slit open my wrists with my teeth if I've worked this hard and this long only to lose it all now!

Everything she'd lobbed during the interview, including the vast references Priya had practically sold a kidney to acquire, so much as raised a perfectly manicured brow in her defense.

Scheisse. I'm totally f*cked.

Priya squirmed in her seat, bare thighs gliding over soft leather. "If you're not interested in hearing what I've accomplished at Harvard, then I won't waste your time with a rehearsed speech, tears or an eloquent soliloquy about my childhood and life's ambitions. I can't tell you why. I can only show you."

Ms. Nagao's gaze remained brutally intense though impassive as stone. Unreadable. And just when Priya thought to give up all hope, she'd nodded her head with a faint incline.

"Congratulations, Ms. Seth. Perhaps you are smarter than you look."

Relief rushed through her, so fast and bright, Priya was suddenly dizzy. "I got the job?"

"Not quite. As you said, there's no way to know for certain without first giving you a chance to demonstrate your capabilities. Therefore, I will extend a contract offer for a trial period."

Trial period...

"For you along with other...potentials. Twenty, including you."

Potentials...

Buzzing sounded between her ears, something like a deep, internal scream of anguished fury. "I didn't realize this was a...I thought—"

"I have a firm's reputation to protect, Ms. Seth. A reputation I've fiercely guarded as the sole surviving partner with her name on the wall. If you want the associate-ship, you'll have three months to earn it, to prove to me that you truly are a good as you think you are."

"Ms. Nagao—"

"If I hear anything other than the words 'Thank You' slip out of your mouth, I'll rescind my offer entirely."

Priya snapped her lips together. Nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Nagao."

Rising from her seat, Marai gathered her laptop, attention centered on her phone. "Excellent. Heather is waiting for you in the hall and will take you to our HR department to sort through the details and necessary paperwork. You start Monday." Her gaze crawled over Priya slowly, dissecting every molecule before reaching her eyes and holding there. "I expect you to be punctual and appropriately attired."

**NOTE**

I don't know if I have to commend Priya for her bravery or shake my head at her insanity. I can't say I'd be so brave to go through with meeting Ms. Nagao in her state.

Having said that, if it were your dream on the line, would you chance it too? Or walk away with your dignity intact?

And what are your thoughts on Ms. Nagao's twist?