“Not in this neighborhood. You should move into a building that I built. The landlords there actually care about their tenants.”
I snickered. “I’ll do that as soon as I make a million bucks from my bartending gig.”
Rune hopped up in a fluid motion, then held a hand down to me. Curiosity edged his tone. “If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?”
I grabbed his warm palm and let him help me to my feet. I cleared my throat and walked to my pile of clean clothes in my laundry basket. The basket masqueraded as my dresser that I didn’t own yet. “If I told you, you would make fun of me.”
“Probably not. Every job makes the world go round.” He twirled a finger in the air.
I bent and rifled through my clothes until I found one of my large sleep shirts. “Swear you won’t laugh?”
Both black eyebrows rose. A roll of his eyes. “Just tell me.”
“Fine.” I held the shirt against my chest like it would ward off the impending laughter headed my way. “Do you know that amusement park on the north side of New City?”
“Sparkle World?”
“Yeah, that one.” I cleared my throat again. “I’d like to be hired as one of the Princesses there and make kids smile and stuff.”
He stared, then there was a slow blink, his words just as gradual. “Didn’t you enlist for the Corporate Army recently? Princess versus soldier is completely different.”
My brows snapped together. “How did you know that?”
“I pulled a file on you. Anyone I think about seeing twice, I do that.” He shrugged.
As if that was completely normal behavior. Maybe for him it was.
My jaw clenched. “You know who my father is then.”
A gradual nod, his eyes holding mine. “Yes.”
“And you’re not running away.”
“No.”
I stared. “If you had one wit about you, you’d hightail it out of here.”
Pure, blatant honesty. “I could crush him under my foot if I wanted to. He is nothing to me.”
I pointed a sharp finger at him. “That is the kind of thinking that gets men killed. Everyone underestimates him. Then they die. Because guess what? He’s still alive while all the others aren’t breathing anymore. And he’s running their businesses now.”
Rune smirked, a delectable twist of his lips. “You have a fucked up family. I have a fucked up family. Shit like that doesn’t matter to me. The future does. So, let’s get back on topic.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes on mine. “So you didn’t really want to be a soldier?”
“I’m capable of it.” I shrugged, trying to understand this man—a man who isn’t racing from my apartment after learning who my father is. “But I only did it to get away from my father. I thought I’d be free. It was all a mind-fuck on his part, once again. He let me rot in jail for a few days before he called to let them know it was all a misunderstanding. That he had actually signed the Corporate Army’s form, but by then, it was too late for me to continue this year in the program.”
Rune nodded gradually. “And the princess job?”
My nose wrinkled, and my cheeks heated with color. I stated quickly and honestly, “My childhood was a horror show. It’d be nice to help kids have a good one. It’ll help my soul to see kids smile.”
“All while wearing a princess dress?” His lips twitched.
I shrugged. “The dresses are pretty, but I’m not sure if I’m tall enough for it. They probably wouldn’t hire me anyway.”
Golden eyes squinted. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if you really want to dress like some made-up princess, go after it. Laughter and lovearegood for the soul.”
“See?” I grinned, bouncing on my feet with excitement. “Now you get it.”
He watched me bounce, a sparkle lighting his gaze. “You should definitely apply.”
