“Yes, Hal and I had a chat about him, and I have to agree with him. There’s no one else that’s so overqualified. We would be lucky to have him.” Lucas Blaine should have changed his name to Jesus Christ, because everyone seemed to be worshipping him. What I didn’t get was why he wanted this dinky little assistant job, if he was qualified, and he obviously didn’t need money. It just wasn’t adding up.
Dad interrupted my wonderings. “Unless you have any overwhelming reasons not to hire him?” Other than the fact that I’d slept with him?
“None at all,” I said with another smile that made my teeth hurt.
“Good. I’ll be glad to have someone to pick up the slack for you. You’re working too hard again.” Dad always thought I was working too hard because I was still his little princess and I always would be. I also couldn’t say no to him.
“I’m fine. I’ll just check his references and call him with the good news.” I would rather swallow five very large and venomous spiders than call Lucas and tell him he’d gotten the job. I could ask Mrs. Andrews to do it for me, but that would have made me look like a coward. I had to do this for the good of the company. My company.
Mr. Craig, one of the other Vice Presidents who also had a billion other titles, was waiting for me when I got back to my office. I wasn’t in the best mood, and I just gave him a terse nod as I walked back into my office. Of course he followed me in.
“Can I help you?”
“Oh, no. I was just wondering how the meeting went.” He had been curiously absent, but Mr. Craig wasn’t a big fan of meetings. He liked to spend as much company time on the golf course wooing clients as he could. He wasn’t a bad guy, just lazy.
“We went with the fancy pens. Anything else is in the minutes they send around.” Somehow, files had started multiplying on my desk like rabbits.
“Oh well. I just wanted to check in.” Why was he checking in WITH ME? He snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered something.
“Could you let Walter know I need to leave early today? I have an appointment with my acupuncturist. My sciatica’s been acting up,” he said, holding his back and cringing in a comical way. Yeah, maybe you should stop playing so much fucking golf.
I was in rare form due to the Lucas Blaine situation. I might have also been PMS-ing. And, it wasn’t my freaking job to tell my dad that he had to leave early. Grow a pair and do it yourself. But I didn’t tell him to do that. Instead, I said, “sure, I’ll tell him.” Mr. Craig gave me the thumbs up and strolled back to his office, whistling as I banged my head on my desk.
~*~*~
Lucas Blaine had quite a fan club. All of his references ranted and raved and sang his praises and I was beginning to wonder if they had also slept with him.
I hung up with the last one, a woman who praised him like the second coming, and then it was time.
Of course I had to organize my drawers, arrange my pens, get more coffee and reapply my makeup before I did it. I put it off as long as I could, but I was really drowning under my work here. I had been completely avoiding my voicemail box.
Taking one deep breath, I picked up the phone and willed my voice to be steady, and my brain to provide me with the appropriate words.
“Hello?”
Mmm, that voice. I paused for a second and forgot what I was supposed to be doing, so I cleared my throat.
“Hello, may I please speak to Lucas Blaine?” I knew it was him, but I didn’t want him to know I recognized his voice from just the hello.
“This is he.” Swoon.
“Hi, Mr. Blaine, this is Aurora Clarke from Clarke Enterprises. I was just calling to tell you that you got the assistant job.”
“Hello again, Aurora Clarke.” Oh, the way his voice caressed my name made me quiver.
Stop that.
“That is very good news to hear. I have been sitting here and waiting for your call.” There were sounds in the background and I could tell he wasn’t at home.
“I’m sure you were,” I said sarcastically, dropping all pretense of being professional.
He laughed and I wanted to strangle him through the phone.
“So, when do I start?”
I gritted my teeth before I answered.
“How about tomorrow? We can get you set up on the company software and Mrs. Andrews can show the ropes. Be here at eight.”