I widened my eyes. “Oh geez, not that.”
Jonathan gave me an earnest look. “That actually is saying something, getting rid of your Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat just because someone is stalking you.”
“But she kept Twitter?”
The joke was lost on him. “Huh? I don’t think she has Twitter.”
What Jonathan was probably bumming about was that he himself couldn’t lurk and drool over candid pictures of Daisy doing a yoga pose with the sun setting in the background, or the bowl or organic soba noodles with root vegetables Daisy was about to indulge in, or the way Daisy looked in a bathing suit, the ocean as the backdrop. Actually, she didn’t seem like the sort of person to post any of those pictures. Well, maybe the food one, but that was such a cliché.
“Again—how is any of this my problem?” I asked. “I own a business, Jonathan. I don’t run a charity.”
“You’d be employing her. It’s not charity. And we’re in the security industry—doesn’t stalking fall under that realm?”
“She’s not a client.”
“So we only help people who are giving us money.”
“If you want to talk about charitable donations or underwriting a public radio station, we can do that at another time. I’ve already decided to go with Lynn.”
“Lynn?” He made no attempt to hide his displeasure.
“Yes, Lynn.” So what if she was overweight and had teeth that could rival any equines? I didn’t need another situation like the one I just had with Annie.
“I looked at her resume,” Jonathan said. “She doesn’t have an iota more of experience than Daisy does. And Daisy’s a hell of a lot better looking.”
I made a tutting sound and gave Jonathan a look as though I was very disappointed in him. “This isn’t a beauty pageant. Look, Jay, I said I’d do you the favor by interviewing her; I never said that I’d give her the job. What’s it to you, anyway?”
I knew what it was though—he liked her, though he wouldn’t admit it.
“Well, let’s see. She’s just as—if not more—experienced with admin duties than Lynn is, she’s my friend, and she’s hot. Oh, she’s also a freak in bed.” He added this last part and then looked at me to see if I’d go for the bait.
It was a risky gamble though, what he was doing. He was banking on the fact that I wouldn’t be able to resist the idea of hiring this freak between the sheets (yeah right) while at the same time hoping she would be far more beguiled by his charms than my own. Not impossible, but not likely. Although, if she were more into the boy-next-door-type then Jonathan certainly would be her man.
Jonathan sat there, giving me what basically amounted to dog-begging-for-treat eyes. Christ, he was whipped. How had I not seen this before?
“Okay,” I said finally. A grin broke out onto Jonathan’s face before I’d even started my next sentence. “I’ll hire her. I already called her and told her it was a no-go, but I’ll call her back and tell her I’ve reconsidered. Which is going to make me look like an indecisive asshole, of course, but I’m willing to do that for you.”
“That’s awesome, man,” Jonathan said. If he had a tail, it would be wagging.
“Just remember to send me an invite to the wedding,” I said.
Chapter Two
Daisy
After I had gotten off the phone with Ian, I sat there at the kitchen table and stared at a water stain in the shape of a heart. How long had that been there? Why was I just noticing it now? I was asking myself these ridiculous questions because I was trying not to think about the fact that I hadn’t been hired, despite me foolishly thinking that the interview had gone pretty well.
He hadn’t even waited a day to call and tell me that I didn’t get the job; had it even been two hours? I took a deep breath and then forced myself up. I got a glass from the cupboard and had some water.
You didn’t get the job.
No one is ever going to hire you.
You shouldn’t have left the hair salon.
Except, I hadn’t left Shear Genius—I’d been fired. And what had Rosie, the manager that I’d turned in for embezzling, said to me? That I’d never get hired anywhere again?
Something along those lines.