Neil lifted a brow. “So? The replacement process has already taken a day longer than it had to have. I could’ve had one of our regular temps over by Saturday morning no problem.”
“Then why didn’t you?” This was the first I was hearing of it.
“Because it’s better for you to start someone fresh at the beginning of this project than having to train someone to take over halfway through. We could’ve done it, but I thought we’d be done with hiring a new permanent secretary yesterday afternoon.”
“All the nutjobs in the city showed up,” I grumbled.
Neil nodded. “We got rid of most of them before the second round. The nutjobs that were left over showed some potential, yet the one girl who really could’ve worked, you insulted and scared away.”
“But you got her to come back, right?”
“Yes.” He glanced down at his watch. “She should be here within the next few minutes or so.”
“Good, then send her in when she gets here.” Mild amount of regret over how I’d treated her yesterday aside, wallowing wasn’t me. Neither was standing around bathrooms and practicing introductions in the mirror.
Now that I thought about it, it was downright ridiculous. Yes, I was a dick to this girl, and yes, my dick wanted inside her, but I couldn’t let that distract from my more pressing need: a decent fucking secretary who wouldn’t book whorehouses instead of warehouses on my first official own project.
I had to get my head back in the game. Brother.
I turned away from the mirror and stalked out of the bathroom. Neil would do as I asked and send her to me when she arrived, that much I was sure of.
Clicking my office door shut behind me, I dropped down in my chair and massaged my temples. Three years and I was still trying to adjust to this new life. I wanted to be better, and I knew I would have to work at it, but holy fuck… I heaved a sigh and swiveled my chair around to look out the window as I waited for her to arrive.
Neil ushered her in a few minutes later, the sound of my door opening and the murmur of their voices interrupting my brief reverie. Shutting the door on that line of thought, I stood up and turned to greet them.
Neil made the introductions. “Stephanie Donavan, this is Jeremiah Williams. Jeremiah, meet Stephanie.”
I stepped forward to shake her hand. “Thank you for taking the time to come in this morning, Ms. Donavan. Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
Skepticism clear in her eyes and practically painted onto each of her features, she took my hand and gave it a firm shake, maintaining eye contact at all times. Someone taught her well.
“A coffee would be great, thank you,” she replied, dropping my hand and smoothing her skirt as she stepped back.
God, she looked good. Just because I’d solemnly sworn to myself to keep things professional and convince her to come on board despite showing her my mile-wide asshole streak didn’t mean I was blind.
Dressed in a pale blue pencil skirt with a matching short jacket and a white ruffled blouse, her eyes popped like lapis lazuli in the sun. Her long, smooth neck was exposed with her dark hair pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck.
The skirt showed off the curve of her hip to her thigh, and the jacket accentuated her full breasts, one button fastened right underneath them. Working with her without ogling her or giving in to my baser instincts and pursuing her was going to be a challenge. But I could handle it.
“Coffee it is.” I looked to Neil, who scowled but nodded and said goodbye before closing the door behind him. “It will be right in.”
“Figures you wouldn’t make your own coffee,” she mused under her breath, so softly I almost missed it. She smiled sweetly and lowered herself into the chair I offered, crossing her legs at the ankles.
I ignored her comment, though it nearly killed me to do it. Professional, Jer. Don’t get sucked in.
Resting my ass on my desk, I reached over and opened the file Neil gave me earlier with her application in it. “I see you have a business degree from NYU. Why are you applying for a secretarial position?”
Her chin lifted slightly like she was summoning the strength to answer the question. “Positions in your company are difficult to come by. I think I could learn a lot from being here, and I’m willing to work my way up.”
“Is it your intention to resign as my secretary, if you get the job, as soon as something else in the company opens up?” I knew I was being strong with her instead of easing her into the interview, but at least I was totally professional at the same time.
I wanted her to go through the interview, even if she made the alpha in my chest rouse to sit up and take notice. Something about her brought it out in me.
She studied me carefully, seeming to be weighing me up as I was doing to her. “No. I’m a loyal employee. I believe I would be able to put my degree to good use working for you, and if something else eventually comes my way, I wouldn’t simply up and leave.”
Good answer. I guarded my expression, however. Couldn’t have her thinking she had this job in the bag already. We were just getting started. “You may be required to work long hours here. Come in early, stay late. That kind of thing. Is that something you’d be willing to do?”
“Yes. Working late is better than hanging out in clubs at night. You wouldn’t believe the kind of characters you come across in those places nowadays. They turn out so differently than what one might expect.”
My lips wanted so badly to hike up. A little sarcastic, but funny and so beautiful it hurt. Even if I couldn’t have her, I still wanted to be around her. She would be a breath of fresh air around this stuffy office. Maybe that was why we met at that club—because it was meant to be.
She waited for me to react, gently biting the inside of her lower lip. I could only just see it from the tiny indent it made under the corner of her mouth.
Just looking at her mouth threatened to distract me from my being on my best behavior. She seemed totally oblivious to the effect she had on me, how hard she made it for me to concentrate on work. It didn’t look like she had any damn clue how beautiful she was.
It was a shame. If no man had ever made that startlingly clear to her, I should drop to my knees and grovel for her forgiveness on behalf of the male species. Of course, I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t get to be the man who showed her once and for all how incredibly gorgeous she was.
I could be the man she worked for though if I played my cards right. I just had to keep from saying the things sitting right on the tip of my tongue.
“Yes, people you meet in clubs do tend to surprise you in the stark light of day, don’t they? Moving on, what are your expectations for this job?”