He shook my hand, warm and strong, and I cringed at the sweat on my palms. If he noticed he didn’t react, but those blue eyes of his narrowed.
“Yes. Nice to meet you.” He stepped back, dropping my hand.
It was a lie. That much was obvious and sour milk curdled in my stomach. How was I already blowing this so badly?
“So, Hudson tells me you’re here to interview for an assistant position with my assistant, Sandra?” As he asked, he swung his gaze toward Hudson and David, brows lifting on his forehead.
Both of them nodded. It was David who said, “Yes.” And patted the chair next to him at the conference table.
Oh God. Nerves pricked at my fingertips for an entirely different reason. Had he not known? He seemed as equally uncertain as David appeared confident.
I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. Of course.
This had to have all been some kind of setup. No wonder Brandon looked pissed. I doubted he had any idea about this until a few minutes ago.
But this wasn’t an opportunity I was going to pass up, not now that I’d decided to take the plunge. I cleared my throat and waited until three sets of male eyes focused on me. “Can I please… can I please speak with Brandon alone?”
Hudson pushed from his perch at the doorway and stepped toward the table, placing his palms at the edge. “Lilly.”
His tone was edged with a warning, one I quickly dismissed.
“I’d like to do this interview with Brandon alone,” I said quietly but managed to strengthen my voice.
Across from me, Brandon looked impressed and slowly, his tightly pressed lips lifted into the hint of a smile.
“Yes, Hudson,” he drawled out, twisting to face him. “Give Lilly and me a few moments to discuss the position.”
Said with all the venom of a snake waiting to attack, I swallowed the jumble of nerves gathering in my throat and nodded at David.
At my look, he pushed back from the table and clasped Brandon on the shoulder. “Take good care of her,” he quietly whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear.
But I did hear it, and a strange sensation pulsed down my spine. Both Brandon and I waited until they were gone and the door was closed before he faced me again.
“So. Lilly. Tell me about yourself.”
“Excuse me?” My head spun. I would imagine the question was a standard interview question, but given the fact I assumed he’d had no idea about this, it wasn’t what I expected.
Some of the tension seemed to melt from his shoulders and softened his tense expression. “Lilly,” he said and leaned in, smirking. “I think we’re both smart enough to know this is some ruse, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I think I just figured that out. But—”
“No buts,” he replied and flicked his hand in the air. “I’m going to be bluntly honest, is that okay?”
It was about time someone was with me.
“I’d actually really appreciate that,” I said on a rush, releasing some of the coiled tension in my chest. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Hudson and David, standing only a few feet outside the door through the slightly opened blinds. We only had the illusion of privacy and based on Hudson’s pacing, he didn’t like me asking for it.
But why? Yeah. Honesty. I could use a few large doses of it.
“Please,” I said when Brandon hadn’t spoken.
He grinned, losing more of the harsh attitude, and settled back in his chair. “Until Hudson came and got me, I had absolutely no idea my assistant was getting help.”
“I sort of figured that out.”
“Good. Then you’re smart and to be further honest with you, I’ve known David and Hudson for a long time. An incredibly long time, so I know them well. We’re practically family and so I know if David wants me to get help, I’m getting the help. Essentially, you have whatever job they offered you so I would just like to take a few minutes and learn about you. See your strengths, what you can do so I can at least come up with a game plan for Sandra. Does that work for you?”
“What?” He was hard to follow and left me speechless. “David didn’t give me this job,” I said stupidly, because it was clear I was going to get whatever job I asked for. “I chose this one. Out of that stack.” I pointed to the file David left on the table.
Brandon’s brows rose with surprise and he pulled it in front of him. “May I?” He gestured.
“Please. And I… I was under the impression this would go differently.”
He barely glanced at me as he quickly flipped through the papers and job listings, humor loosening his features with almost every flip of paper. “If David and Hudson want you working here, you’ll be working here, it’s as simple as that.”
“Why?” My hands had balled into fists and I flexed them beneath the table. I’d known, in some way, they were essentially giving me a job. But Hudson had said something else that helped minimize the anger of feeling like I’d been played. It’s up to you to keep it.
And I could do that, despite the circumstances.
“They’re the best men I know, and I know their hearts. If they’re giving you a hand, it only makes sense to join them.” He shrugged and closed the file before finally focusing on me again.
“So,” he said with a glint in his eye and a smile on his lips. “Back to my original question. Tell me about yourself.”
I was arrested before I left the hospital the day after Josh died. Dislocated shoulder and a severe concussion kept me admitted for a couple days, but the pain was nothing compared to learning my brother was gone.
All. My. Fault. Regardless of who was driving, my dad’s words still rang in my head late at night when sleep didn’t come.
At the age of eighteen, a few months before my high school graduation, I spent weeks in county jail after my bail was denied.
My dad came to visit me once. The purpose was to introduce me to my attorney who immediately suggested a guilty plea under the glaring eyes of my father.
My mother? After the hospital, I only saw her at the sentencing and even then she could barely look at me but when she did, I’d never forget those tears of hers. It was the only time I could ever remember she showed me she cared.
Before all of that, from the outside looking in, I had everything I wanted at my fingertips. Expensive presents in lieu of attention and affection. A car for my sixteenth birthday instead of a cake and a hug. I lost my virginity to Carl Hammerly in the back seat of said car which led to cramped calves and a very, unforgettable experience in the quickest, lousiest way possible.
And only a few months after that lackluster evening, I was in the back of a nondescript white van, making the trek to Iowa where I was to serve ten years in prison for a crime I didn’t commit… unless you count the fact that I was the one who called Josh.
All of this meant my dating life had been essentially non-existent.
It’s not a date.
Right. It was friends. Hudson clarified that all too well after my ridiculous rambling fest last night. It was ridiculous to think a guy like him could want anything more to do with a girl like me. The way he turned me down kindly was a burn to my ego. I was still trying to place salve on to cool it down.
None of this changed the fact Hudson was going to be at my apartment in less than thirty minutes to take me out for dinner to celebrate both my high-scoring B in accounting and the job Brandon offered. Which came after possibly the quickest interview in the history of interviews. Pretty sure Judith asked me more in-depth questions than my new boss Brandon had.