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Emily
Curled up on the couch to read was always my favorite way to end the evening.
Looking over, I could see my mom through a row of tall ferns. She had taken over the dining room table with notes as she designed the seating chart for her latest hospital fundraiser. Or maybe it was for children’s sports equipment. I could never keep track.
Dad usually spent at least an hour every night working overtime from his tiny home office. He loved his work, but was also hoping to move up someday.
MMH Corporation seemed to have many different departments that specialized in research, development, and blending information from various international companies. I didn’t understand all of it, but there was a lot of research, which I knew my father loved.
To me, it looked like a thousand pages of nonsense, but Dad claimed it was his “detective work”.
His team looked for connections between different drugs and brand new studies. He always laughed and said someday he would find a foot cream that cured tinnitus, or something totally random.
He was so enthusiastic that I found myself drawn to it as well, in a much different way.
My e-reader rested on my lap as I skimmed through the latest script of a podcast I was fact-checking. I always liked to read it as a listener first, so that I could enjoy the content before beginning to pick it apart for potential errors.
The end of the couch lurched, and I looked up and was surprised to see Dad sitting beside me. “What’s up?” I asked.
Running a hand through his hair, his lips were tight. He was bothered. “Honey, did you tell Mr. McHenry what work you do?”
Thinking back to our few moments standing so close in his boardroom, all I could remember was those magical green eyes, and the streak of amber gold that slashed across his left iris.
It would have made sense that he asked me what I did. Surely we couldn’t have just been staring into each other’s eyes for so long that I forgot the entire conversation.
“I might have. Why?”
He shook the phone in his hand. “He just called me, wondering if you’d like a job as his intern.”
My chest constricted, blocking my air for a split second. “Oh. That sounds…interesting.”
“It’s a huge company, honey,” he said gently. “Tons of room for advancement over the years. I know you’re enjoying freelancing now, but this could be a great opportunity.”
Nodding, I glanced down to see my fingers gripping my pajama pants until my knuckles were white. “Do I need to go for an interview?”
Dad’s strange smile was unreadable. “No. You start tomorrow.”
Laughter bubbled out of me. “So he’s telling me, not asking me?”
/> Dad tapped my knee with the phone, giving me a pointed look. “Emily, this isn’t his only company. He runs it because he enjoys the work, I think. But he owns several corporations. People who are that obscenely wealthy just expect people to do what they want.”
I must have looked shocked, and he quickly added, “Nobody’s forcing you, of course. Feel free to say no. But he just expects everyone to say yes around him.”
A fascinating job at a giant company, working directly with the most beautiful man I’d ever met? Of course.
And the fact that he definitely had at least two of the five points on my supposed dream man list? I’d be crazy not to check him out.
Check it out.
“Sure,” I said brightly, trying not to blush from my scattered thoughts. “I can always try it for a few months, right? I bet I’d learn a lot.”
“You definitely would. And if it’s not for you, it would be a great jumping off point for other jobs.” His thumbs tapped across the phone. “I’ve given Mason your number, so that he can contact you directly.”
A shudder ran up my spine. “Okay.”
Dad’s eyebrows furrowed. “Also, I feel that I should mention this. There’s a promotion coming up in my department next week, and it comes with a bonus. I’d love to get that bonus, and...” He glanced over his shoulder, but Mom was laughing merrily to someone on the phone. “...take your Mother on a trip to England like she’s always wanted.”