by J. P. Comeau
She shrugged. “Sure. That’s fine.”
My heart broke with the disappointment laced within the tone of my little girl’s voice. But I didn’t have a choice. I quickly called Suri and asked if she could come over and babysit for the interview, and she was more than happy to oblige. I guessed having a best friend that worked from home did have its perks. I only hoped that I could nail this job interview so I could finally start paying Suri again for the time she spent with my daughter.
After heating some pizza for myself and Aurora, I inhaled a slice before I bounded back up the stairs. While brushing my teeth, I heard Suri enter downstairs, and Aurora started squealing with delight. The sound made me smile, but I hoped to be the one who made her that happy again someday. I was tired of disappointing my daughter every time I opened my mouth.
I rushed through my shower and blow-dried my hair for once. Then, once I had finished, I piled it on top of my head and secured it with one of the many sets of chopsticks I had gotten from Aurora over the past few years. I threw on the best work outfit I had to make sure I gave the best impression. After slipping into a matching navy-blue set of heels, I slid on some powerhouse red lipstick to make my face pop.
“Well, well, well, don’t you look ready to tackle the day,” Suri said.
I turned to face her as she stood in the doorway of my bedroom. “I can’t thank you enough for coming on such short notice. I got the email last night, but with everything that—”
She held up her hand. “You and I are going to talk about last night over some wine after Rori goes to bed tonight. But, right now? You need to keep your head in the game.”
I sighed. “I know, I know.”
“Do you know what company you’re interviewing with?”
I paused. “No.”
“So, you don’t know anything about what they do or what they sell or what they provide for people?”
I already felt myself becoming deflated. “No.”
Suri walked over to me and gripped my shoulders. “Then, I suggest you go give your daughter a great big kiss, then take your time getting to this interview. GlassDoor is your friend, and it’ll look good on you to have at least a modicum of information on the company at your disposal.”
I puffed out my cheeks with a sigh. “Okay. Yes. That sounds like a good plan.”
“And don’t forget what you’ve overcome. Don’t forget what you’ve been through. You’re a strong, powerful, independent woman. You can do this.”
I nodded. “Yes. I can do this. I can do anything if I can raise a daughter on my own, put a roof over her head, and still be home in time to help her with homework.”
She smiled brightly. “Hell yeah, you are.”
I sighed. “Thank you so much for this.”
She hugged me tightly. “No thanks needed. Now, let’s get you out of here. You’re going to need all the time alone that you can get to do some research.”
After hugging my best friend one last time, I scooped up my purse and made my way downstairs. I found Aurora cleaning up her plate and cup from the table before she turned to me and smiled.
And the words that came from her lips melted my heart. “You look awesome.”
I walked over to her and dipped down. “You think so?”
She nodded. “I wanna dress like you someday.”
I blinked back tears. “You can be whatever you want and wear whatever you please. You know that, right?”
She nodded. “Mhm.”
I cupped her cheeks. “You can be an astronaut or a part-time temp worker, and you know I’d still be proud of you, right?”
She smiled. “Mhm.”
“And you know that no matter what, I’m always going to love you. Always. You know that, right?”
She kissed the tip of my nose. “Don’t forget about Sorry!, okay?”
I snickered. “I could never forget a date with my most-favoritest person in the whole widest world.”
She giggled. “Those aren’t words, Mommy.”
I stood to my feet and pulled her in for a hug. “When did you get so big on me again?”
“Mom. I’m seven. Of course, I’m big.”
I barked with laughter. “Just know you’ll always be my little girl, even when you’re old and gray.”
She gawked. “As old as you?”
My voice fell flat. “Thanks, kid.”
She giggled with delight. “You’re welcome, Mommy.”
I shook my head and winked at her before I gave her one last smile. Then, Suri came bounding down the steps and announced the first of many rounds of hide and seek. Suri started counting, and my daughter scrambled to find the best hiding place in our little home, and I snuck out the front door before heading out to my car. Then, I punched the address of the building into my phone’s GPS.
Nice, only ten minutes away.
It didn’t even take me that long to get to the building since I blew through every yellow light just to get here. And once I parked in the parking garage across the street, I plucked my phone from the mount on the dashboard. I looked up and saw the name, TC Public Relations, sprawling over the top of the building, and GlassDoor was the first website to open up with the search. Well, the second website beat out only by the company’s professional website. And I was pleasantly surprised by the reviews I found.
“Great place to work! Awesome yearly bonuses. Just make sure to negotiate for more time off. The owner is stingy with vacation time.”
“Great starting salaries. Plenty of ways to work your way up the ladder. But, beware of the owner. He’s a bit rough around the edges.”
“The work is okay. The people make it worthwhile. But, I’m not sure about the PR practices. I really don’t agree with some of them.”
“Can’t win ‘em all,” I murmured to myself.
Once the clock struck 11:45, I grabbed my phone and my purse, and I slipped out of my car. I gripped my parking ticket so someone could validate it—hopefully—and I started across the street toward the towering brick-and-cement building. I walked through the doors and saw signs that said, “Interviews, This Way,” and it pointed to the elevator that practically smacked someone in the face once they walked inside.
“Take it all the way up to the top floor. You’ll see the signs after that.”
I turned toward the man’s voice that sounded behind me and found a security guard facing me.
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” I said.
“A word of advice, though?” he asked.
I giggled. “I’ll take all I can get right now.”
He smiled kindly. “He’s not as hard to get along with as people paint him to be.”
I blinked. “He?”
He nodded. “The owner. That’s who you’re interviewing with. The secretarial position, right?”
Oh, boy. “Right.”
“Yeah, that’s him. Joanne was great, but she quit once her husband retired. Just keep an open mind. So long as you don’t try to bullshit him in any way, you’ll be just fine.”
Great, I hope. “Well, I’ve never been in the ‘bullshit’ field, so hopefully that will play to my advantage.”
The man chuckled. “Good luck.”
I turned toward the elevator. “Thanks. And thank you for the advice.”
I walked over to the sliding metal doors and pressed the button to summon them. The doors opened wide, and I stepped inside, pressing the number for the top floor. I backed out of GlassDoor on my phone and flipped over to the company website, ready to read up on who the hell owned this place. Mostly, because I wanted a leg-up on the competition. If I could do some research on who ran this place and whose secretary I was interviewing to become, I might be able to nudge out the competition with a basic source of knowledge they might not have had.
Unless that security guard is friendly with everyone.
Nevertheless, as the elevator doors parted, I stepped onto the top level of the building. The plush carpet squished like a pillow beneath my heels as
I navigated through multiple pages just to get to a section that had the information I was looking for. And as I sat in a chair outside the door, the email had instructed me to find, my jaw dropped open.
My heart stopped in my chest.
My eyes blinked a few times as I hoped and prayed the man’s picture beside the role CEO changed.
Holy shit, that’s who runs this company?
And as I scrambled to put away my phone—trying to get my feet beneath me from the shock that had just rushed over my system—I heard the door to the office beside me unlatch.
5
Trey
I watched the clock, waiting for this woman to show up for her fucking interview. I mean, it was five minutes to noon, and no one had come knocking on my door yet. If she couldn’t even make it to her interview on time, I didn’t care what she had to bring to the table. First and foremost, I needed someone punctual.
Maybe she’s sitting outside.
I didn’t know why the hell someone would be sitting outside instead of knocking on my door, but I figured I’d give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, I needed help, and I needed it two days ago. I stood from my desk and buttoned my suit coat before booking it for my office door. And when I turned the doorknob, I heard shuffling around outside.
However, it didn’t prepare me for the sight that caught my eyes when I pulled the door opened.
Oh. My. God.
It all made sense now. The name on the resume. The familiarity and awe I felt at simply reading the words she had crafted on a piece of paper. I ran my eyes down her body as she stood there in front of me, her purse gripped in her hands as she donned a navy-blue pencil skirt that hugged her curves in ways my hands had last night.
“Leslie Popovich,” I said.
My gaze slid back up her body before our eyes met, then her beautiful voice sounded against my ears. “You’re Trey Cataline.”
I nodded. “The one and only.”
She held her head high, but even I saw the panic behind her eyes. “I was unsure of whether to knock or wait.”
I held out my arm to usher her into my office. “I prefer people who take the reins and knock.”
She walked into my office. “Then, allow me to be the first to express my shock at the fact that you’re about to interview me for a position after seeing me naked last night.”
I grinned. “I don’t think shock is quite the word on the tip of my tongue, but it’s understood.”
I closed my office door and resisted the urge to lock it as I studied her from behind. The globes of her ass bounced softly with every step she took while her skirt cinched in at her waist. Her white, ruffled blouse poured forth from her tits that were painstakingly shoved into a shoulder-padded skirt-suit coat that matched the color of her heels.
And those ruby-red lips looked stunning on her.
I felt my cock stiffening with every step I took toward my desk. Her floral-and-candy-scented body spray overwhelmed me, and it made me want to take a bite out of her once more. I unbuttoned my jacket and perched myself against the corner of my desk, crossing my legs so my thickening girth wouldn’t be so damn noticeable in my pants.
After all, I didn’t want to showcase my damn erection. That would make me no better than the other bosses she’d had throughout the last few years.
“So,” I said.
She nodded slowly. “So.”
I grinned. “Tell me why you want this job.”
She leaned back and crossed her legs at her ankles. “Other than the fact that I need a paycheck to eat and live?”
I nodded. “Other than that fact, yes.”
She paused for a second before speaking. “The last job I held was a secretarial position, and in all the jobs I have held throughout my lifetime, it was the one I enjoyed the most. I figured that was as good of a place as anywhere to begin, so here I am.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What did you enjoy about it so much?”
“I think it was the constant interaction with people. There was always a problem to solve and always something to do. I never got bored, and the days never seemed long.”
“So, you enjoy keeping busy.”
“Among other things, yes.”
I wanted to ask her what “other things,” but I resisted the urge. “Were you fired from your last job? Or did you quit?”
She drew in a deep breath. “I quit.”
“Why?”
She furrowed her brow. “Is that pertinent to the interview?”
“It is when I ask.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay… I quit because my boss kept coming on to me and HR didn’t want to do anything about it.”
“How many times did you report it to HR?”
She quipped back quickly. “Why? Because it’ll be my fault if I didn’t file a certain number of times?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. I’m merely curious.”
Her eyes flickered around my office before settling on my face again. “Five.”
What kind of incompetent, bullshit HR— “Well, rest assured that you won’t have that issue here. Unfortunately, most workplaces have complaints like that. However, we have strict protocols and investigations that occur whenever a complaint of that nature is filed. Everything is checked out, the offending parties are given a strict set of rules to live by, and if they break those rules, they’re gone.”
“That’s very good to know. Thank you.”
“No thanks needed. That type of behavior should never be tolerated in the workplace.”
“I’m glad we’re on the same page, then.”
I drew in a sobering breath as my cock finally decided to calm down. “Your resume said you got your degree in college in art history?”
“I did, yes.”
“Yet, you want to be a secretary.”
She sighed. “Yeah, well. No one told me at eighteen how useless an art history degree would be without higher education. So, after digging myself into serious debt for my bachelor’s degree, I didn’t have a choice but to graduate and get a job to pay it off.”
“What was the big plan, then? You know, with your degree.”
She clicked her tongue. “I wanted to be a college professor and have my own art museum on the side. I paint and sculpt for my hobbies, and I wanted to build a place where those like myself and other community artists could have a space to not only rent out rooms to create their art but also have it displayed in the hopes of bringing home a little extra cash.”
I wasn’t sure what I expected from her answer, but I was thoroughly impressed. “Why don’t you do that, then?”
She sighed. “Oh, you know, money’s sort of a thing that people need to use, and I seem to be lacking in it.”
I grinned. “Hence this job interview?”
She snickered. “You know, I think you’re catching on now.”
The two of us laughed together for a little bit before I slipped back around behind my desk. I eased myself down into the chair as I felt Leslie’s eyes following me. And while I knew I needed to be asking her questions about her availability to work and the hours she could devote to the job, I found myself taking another route with my questions.
“So, you’re a mother?” I asked.
The smile that spread across her face could have powered the whole city block. “I am, yes. My daughter’s seven.”
“What’s her name?”
“Aurora.”
I nodded. “That’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you.”
Come on, get back on track. This isn’t you two getting drinks. “What will being a mother due to the hours you can work?”
She blinked. “Well, being a single mother has its disadvantages. During the summer and school breaks, I can work whenever you need me to work. But, while my daughter is in school, my hours of availability are eight in the morning until two or so in the afternoon. My daughter gets out at three, so I need to be at her bus stop by then to pick her up.”
I
nodded. “Okay, okay. What about being on-call on the weekends? Is that something you can do?”
“Yes, I can handle that no problem.”
“What about traveling? I’ll need a secretary who can make my work trips with me. Do you have someone to help you out during times like that?”
“I do, yes. Aurora’s godmother works from home, so she can easily come and go as I ask her.”
I grinned. “Wonderful. One last question.”
“Shoot.”
I leaned forward and rested my arms against my desk. “You said you had a lot of debt from school.”
She blinked. “I have a fair amount, yes.”
“How much?”
She paused. “Sorry, what?”
“How much debt do you have from your schooling?”
She drew in a deep breath. “I’m not sure how that pertains to—”
“How. Much?”
Her eyes danced between mine. “I’ve got about sixteen thousand more to pay off.”
I ran the numbers quickly in my head. “Assuming they’re federal student loans at an interest rate of around three percent, and assuming you’re paying the bare minimum every month, you’re probably paying around two, three hundred every month?”
Her voice fell flat. “More like five.”
My protective instincts quickly kicked in. “Five hundred? What are your interest rates?”
Her tone of voice grew defensive. “I’m sorry, is there a reason why this is pertinent to whether or not I’m qualified for this job?”
Slow down; you’re ruining things. “I just enjoy knowing things like this about my employees. It better enables me to tailor things like bonuses and raises to what they need.”
She relaxed a bit. “Oh.”
I leaned back in my chair and studied this breathtakingly strong woman in front of me. A single mother, juggling all sorts of jobs, dealing with men who couldn’t keep their dicks in their pants while on the clock, and she still held her head high and met me toe-to-toe with answers to my questions. This luscious woman, who had dropped right into my lap three times now, had an obvious need I could help with.
