“Great, that’s awesome. That sounds like what I’m looking for here.”
“You are?” She cocks her head curiously to one side. “Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t need someone who has been there and done that. That isn’t good for business because they think that they know exactly what to do all the time, and that isn’t the case.”
I can see from her eyes that she doesn’t know if I’m telling the truth or not. I don’t know if I am either, I’m just saying these words to make her feel better. But maybe that’s the case. Although I’m not sure if that would be a good thing, because it would mean some baby sitting on my behalf. Although, to be fair, this woman doesn’t seem like the sort of person who needs someone to hold her hand…
“You know what, I just realized something. We have had all these interactions – and I know that we aren’t talking about them, that makes sense – but I don’t even know your name. Isn’t that crazy? I’m Isaac.”
I hold out my hand for her to shake it. She doesn’t take it, but she nods. “I know, I’m Lexi.”
“Ah, you know what, it does say that at the top of your resume.”
“You don’t look like you’ve exactly read through all of the resumes.”
She can see right through me. I need to play it off. “I don’t usually pay much attention to them. I spend time with the people and get to know them instead. I prefer to have a personality that works… and you have buckets of personality, which is perfect.” I smile reassuringly at her. “It works well in your favor.”
Even though she isn’t the same spunky woman I met in that restaurant, she’s holding herself back, I can see the flames flickering behind her gaze. That fun is s
till there somewhere.
“Don’t get my hopes up,” she insists. “If there is any hope, I will cling to it more than you know. I honestly don’t think that you can even begin to understand how much is riding on this for me. I would much prefer to know that I’m not going to get this so I can continue on with my journey to find a new job.”
“Straight talking… I like that. I want someone who can tell me how it is. You can surely do that.”
Her lips twist up into a hesitant smile. “Yeah, well if that’s what you need, that’s what I can do.”
“Great. I also assume that you can answer the phone. Be polite where necessary and politely tell people where to go when that’s needed to?” She nods. “And you can keep a diary? Deal with emails? Filing?”
“Yep, I sure can. I can also head into meetings with you, make coffee, whatever you need.”
I nod at her. “Good, that sounds great. That’s a lot of what the job is.”
“You’re giving me hope. I don’t like the hope with no solution.”
I lean back in my chair and smile at her. “Okay, how about we make a deal?” She gives me a curious look. She has no idea what I’m about to do here and honestly, nor do I. “You could come and work here, I will train you up and make sure that you know exactly what you need to do…”
She leans forward, almost perching on the edge of her chair. Anxiety zig zags in her face, I can tell that I’m really winding her up. I might be able to make her explode, to cause her to be that woman she was before. I’m already getting all fired up about it, remembering how it felt to have her yelling at me.
“The money seems important to you, is that right? I assume that is why you want to leave the waitressing job. I imagine you’re comfortable there. More than you would be here, so there has to be a reason you want this job.” She purses her lips tightly together, not giving too much away. That’s okay, she’s giving me more than I need to know with what she isn’t saying. “So, how about I double the salary offered in the job description. Make it a little more of an appealing offer for you?”
“You would do that? Why the hell would you do that?”
“There will be something in it for me.” I can’t stop myself from smirking. “I might want sexual favors in return.”
Her face changes, her expression drops, I can see it coming. Any minute now, she will flip out and give me what I’m angling for. My pulse races with excitement as the anticipation builds…
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I stare at her stern face. “Did you just say okay?”
“Like I said, I need the money. So, okay. For double the money, that’s okay.”
Wow… I wasn’t expecting that. Things just got interesting.
Chapter Seven
Lexi