Ruby’s face drains pale. “She spit on you. For all we know, she’ll laugh in our faces before she’s even invited for an interview. What makes you think she wants to work here?”
“She’ll do it for the pay,” I say, drumming my fingers on my desk. “Oh, and the little hint she slipped about losing her position with the illustrious pet company.”
“Magnus Heron, I’ve known you for almost twenty years. If you’ve ever listened to me a day in your life, do it now. You’re making a bad move. This conversation started out dumb and just kept getting dumber. Do not do this. Just don’t. Okay?”
I lean forward and pick a pen up from my desk. I click the ballpoint in and out several times and sigh. Pretending to consider her request.
Maybe I really should.
Ruby is one of the few people I can count on to be straight with me. She wouldn’t have told me how stupid this is just for sport.
“Why are you so against it? This is hardly the most scandalous idea I’ve ever proposed.”
She purses her lips tighter and looks annoyed.
“I can see the dilemma on your face and it has nothing to do with hiring her,” she says softly, shaking her head. “Look, I’m not going to judge you for what happens outside this office. Hunt the woman down. Take her out. Take her to bed. Do whatever it is you want to do. But for God’s sake, don’t put her on payroll.”
My gut tightens and my fingers pinch the pen.
“Again, I’m not my—”
“Right. You’re not him. But you don’t need the temptation. If something happens, I know better than anyone that you’d never forgive yourself. This is nothing but playing with fire.”
I snort. “How did you keep a straight face while saying that?”
“I’m the one who’ll be interviewing for a new assistant in two weeks, remember?”
“You’re right. This is a horrible idea. Here’s a better one—run a new ad for a Human Resources Director, and you can be my new executive assistant.”
“No. No way in hell I’d ever be your EA.” She shakes her head furiously. “If you paid me three times my current salary, I wouldn’t do it. Not for all the money in the world.”
“Come on, Ruby. I need someone I can count on. We haven’t found the right person. You don’t like the talent I scouted. You’ve worked here for eighteen years. Take one for the team.”
She glares at me. “You didn’t find any talent. You found a bad-tempered Siren in the park who probably has a nice ass.”
“Hire her and you’ll find out you’re wrong. If she doesn’t make it a month, I’ll give you a bonus for having to re-interview candidates.”
Ruby flashes a fake, acrid smile.
“How generous.” She pauses, and the faux smile disappears. “I’ll offer her the job, assuming she holds it together during the interview, but I can’t make her take it. I probably wouldn’t want to work for someone I spit on either. Most people wouldn’t.”
“If it seems like she’s not going to take it, call me. I’ll let her know I’m doing her a favor by hiring her after that scene. Ask Hugo, he thinks I should’ve called the cops.”
Ruby throws her hands up.
“Oh my God, Mag. She was sitting on a public bench. She was right to tell you where to go. I would have too. I wish the cops had shown up and given you an earful. You can’t just chase people off of city property even if you are Magnus Heron.”
I grin at her. “I can. I did.”
She turns away from me and steps closer to the door, flashing a disgusted look.
“Whatever. But the one thing you can’t do is bully anyone onto your payroll.” She turns, giving me an annoyed glance. “I’m not just here to fill positions, you know. I’m also saving your ass from making moves that could tank this whole company.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“To call a twenty-three-year-old with barely any corporate experience and invite her to interview for a position she’s completely unqualified for. Where else?”
“How do you know she’s unqualified again? You’re being biased under your own HR rules. You haven’t even talked to her yet, and you already know she isn’t competent!” I call after her.
Ruby scowls at me. “I didn’t call the girl incompetent. I said unqualified. When I’m looking for an EA for you, I don’t interview people with less than ten years experience, a damn good cover letter, and multiple verifiable references. I interview assistants for the rest of your C-level team with five years of experience, and also, you’re biased. You’ve decided to give her a job because...she spit on you.”
“Don’t forget the nice ass,” I say, just to tease her.
“You’re a horrible, horrible man. And nothing about spitting says she handles pressure well, you know. Some of your clients are right next to you in the Genghis Khan department, maybe even worse. Are you okay with her spitting on them too?” Ruby asks.
“I deal with the clients.”
Ruby rolls her eyes. “Right, and your assistant never has to.”
“She may, but I’ll always be present in those meetings at least for the first six months. I’ll keep it controlled and teach her how to deal with their nuances before I’d ever send her off alone.”
Ruby laughs. More than a snicker, breaking into a holding-her-sides-in belly-busting giggle.
“What?”
“She won’t survive six months. You’ve had one assistant fall just short of that mark in all these years, and it wasn’t a twenty-three-year-old with some Photoshop experience and a Fine Arts degree.” She opens the door, beyond ready to walk out.
“Ruby.” I almost forgot there’s something else I need to tell her.
“What?” she asks.
“Contact the casting company we used for today’s promo shoot and tell them not to send that model again. Sylvia whatever-her-face.”
She raises an eyebrow. “The shoot went okay, right? Hugo didn’t mention anything going wrong with the campaign.”
“Her work was fine, but...she hit on me. Several times.”
“That’s it?” Ruby laughs. “Oh my God, you can’t spend two hours a day in the gym and blame a woman for being human.”
“She touched me in front of the whole crew.” I shake my head.
“The horror!” She slaps her cheek and gazes at me in mock-revulsion.
“It’s too much. You know why I don’t need those antics around here, and I prefer to pay people who focus on work. I hire professionals and I expect the same quality from our contractors.”
“Right. Professionals.” She walks out. “Just like the girl who glazed your shoes...”
The door shuts before I can quip back.
Typical Ruby.
What a bizarre day. I never should’ve allowed the schedule to become so crunched that we were desperate to shoot before dusk, but managing the workload with no assistant has been rough the past few weeks.
Rash decisions aren’t my habit. It’s unlike me to randomly hire someone off the streets.
Maybe Ruby’s right, and I’m making a blinding mistake. It can’t hurt to bring her in for an interview, though. If we see red flags, we can always hit the brakes.