“I’ll be leaving, then,” I say quickly, turning back to Travis. “I’ll be here on Monday at eight a.m. sharp. If you need me to work over the weekend, just give me a call.”

I move to leave, but Jessica grabs my arm. Her grip is surprisingly strong. “I don’t understand,” she says, her voice much weaker than her grip. “Have you offered her the PA job?”

“Yes.” Travis sighs as he starts scrolling through the emails on his phone. “I did.”

“You told me I would be allowed to interview my own assistants.”

“You weren’t here. I was.” His fingers tap out a message on the screen.

“You didn’t even tell me you scheduled one!” She glares at me, and her grip tightens. “Sit down. Your interview isn’t over.”

“Don’t be rude, Jessica,” he says, but he’s distracted and clearly uninterested in the conflict that his wife would like to draw him into.

Exactly how much time constitutes the few minutes before Lander will arrive?

“I know you’ll be happy with my performance,” I say, trying to gently wriggle my arm free without further ticking her off. “If not I’ll completely understand if you feel the need to let me go. When I come back Monday we can play it by ear.”

“I can’t let you go since you don’t even have the job yet!” Her voice is escalating, but she sounds more panicked than angry.

Travis sighs, puts the phone back in his pocket. “I just gave her the job. And no one is letting her go . . . not unless I decide it’s necessary.”

“For fuck’s sake, she’s my assistant, T!”

As soon as the words escape Jessica’s lips, she presses them together until I can’t see her lips at all, as if she’s hiding the instrument of her impetuousness.

For the first time I notice the dark clouds that can be seen gathering outside the penthouse’s massive windows. It’s almost as if Travis summoned them up himself.

“Nothing is yours.” Travis’s voice is surprisingly calm, almost casual. “Not this home, not the limo, not the clothes or the jewels or even your friends, who only want to hang out with you because you married into my family. It’s my wealth that pays for everything. It’s my name that elevated you. I’ve given you nothing, Jessica. Without me, you are nothing. Everything in your life is on lease. The girl is hired. That matter is settled.”

Jessica’s hand drops from my arm. And for a brief moment I’m too shocked to move. In my neighborhood it’s not uncommon to come across men who occasionally throw drunken punches at their wives and girlfriends, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a man stab a woman to death with words.