One Night with the Boss

He swiveled his chair around and looked at her. She was wearing a very businesslike, conservative navy pantsuit and matching pumps. Today her strawberry-blond hair was pulled away from her face in a ponytail, emphasizing her high cheekbones. Her big blue eyes filled with eager anticipation when she sat in one of the club chairs on the other side of his desk.

She wasn’t tall and willowy or classically beautiful, but her smile always brightened the room on a cloudy day. And there was something about her voice, a huskiness that wasn’t quite a lisp but tapped into his devilish streak and made him bait her into saying S-words.

She was staring at the rubber ball in his fist. “You’ve clearly been giving the interviews some thought.”

“Sort of. In a manner of speaking. But only because you forced me into this.”

She rolled her eyes, then looked at the yellow legal pad in her lap that she used for notes. “Okay, then. Let’s start with candidate number one. Shannen Dow.”

The corners of his mouth curved up. “I like her name.”

“That’s a good start. The recruiter says she’s one of their strongest applicants.”

“Of course they would. Commission is their revenue stream.”

Olivia ignored that. “I thought she was very bright, with a solid background in computers and business. That’s really important so she can hit the ground running. The sooner you hire someone, the more training I can do before my last day.”

The last day part hit a nerve. “She was okay. But it has to be said—not a fashion plate.”

Her blue eyes narrowed on him. “I didn’t list accessorizing as a qualification you were looking for. Since when do you care about that?”

“Since always. She’ll have to meet clients and there will be meetings.”

“Not often. When I interviewed, you told me that since your corporate office is in your home, I could wear jeans to work.”

Because jeans look good on you, he thought. But Shannen Dow was skinny and her voice wasn’t the least bit gravelly or interesting.

“But you never did go casual and that’s set a very high bar for your replacement.”

“So take her to the mall.”

Brady ignored the sarcasm. “Didn’t you find the tone of her voice to be like fingernails on a chalkboard?”

Olivia’s expression was wry. “Not until you asked her to make a pot of coffee.”

“Really? I thought the pitch was on the shrill side. Too much of that would give me a headache.”

“No one wants to work for a male sexist pig,” she pointed out.

“She needed to know I’m missing the sensitivity chip,” he defended.

“Making coffee isn’t a skills requirement for this position.”

“Says who? It’s important to me and I’m the one who signs the paycheck.”

“Okay then. Moving on.” She made a note on the legal pad. “Let’s talk about candidate number two.”

“What’s her name again?” he asked innocently.

“Shelly Shows.” She met his gaze. “Did you approve of her outfit?”

“It was lovely.” He added, “But I wasn’t wowed by her, even in plaid.”

“Her letters of reference are glowing. At her current place of employment she’s very well-liked and efficient.”

“Then why does she need this job?”

“It’s closer to home. She’s been working as executive assistant to the administrator of the hospital, which, as you’re aware, is about seventy miles away. Currently she rents a room near work then comes home on the weekends.” Olivia met his gaze. “So, what are your thoughts?”

He thought it would be possible to sympathize if the best assistant he’d ever had wasn’t leaving him. Instead of answering, he asked, “Speaking of distant towns, where are you moving?”

She blinked at his rapid change of topic. “What?”

“When you abandon me, where are you going to live?”

“That’s not information you need in order to hire my replacement.”

Why was she being so stingy with details? “The least you can do is tell me his name.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

He leaned back in his chair and grinned. “See how well you know me?”

“All right. It’s Leonard,” she finally said. “There, go ahead and make fun.”

“Would I do that?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“That’s harsh.” But accurate. He’d almost said it was marginally better than Aloysius. “So, where did you meet Leonard?”

“Out of town,” she said vaguely.

“That goes without saying. If you were dating a guy from Blackwater Lake, it would be all over town.” For a to-the-point person, she was being uncharacteristically difficult. This was frustrating and Brady felt his curiosity picking up momentum. “Where specifically did you meet? On vacation?”

“Vacation?” She laughed. “What’s that? When you’re in the office I am, too. And you’re always in the office. There’s no such thing as time off.”

“Point taken. I’m a workaholic. Would you consider a leave of absence instead of resigning? I could spare you for that.”

“No.” Primly she folded her hands in her lap. “Not everything is about you.”

“So you keep reminding me. And now it’s about Leonard.”

“Exactly.” She brushed imaginary lint from the leg of her slacks.

“If you didn’t meet him on vacation, it must have been a trip for work.”

“Remind me not to try and put anything over on you.”