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“What was that?” she asks.
“Just a reminder. I’ve got a meeting scheduled…”
She sits forward. “Sorry. I’m taking up too much of your time.”
I shake my head. “No, you’re not. The meeting isn’t for another hour.” And even if it was sooner, I’d make time for you. I don’t want you to go… ever.
She relaxes slightly and I glance at her resume, wishing I’d studied it more closely before she arrived… wishing I’d taken her application for the job more seriously, instead of dismissing it as one of Miles’s flirtations. I clench my fists, just for a second or two, the thought of Miles flirting with Livia making my skin crawl… the thought of him doing anything more making my blood boil.
“I see you didn’t go to college?” I say, trying to focus.
“No.”
“But your high school grades were excellent.”
“Yes. There were… personal reasons I couldn’t go to college.”
She hesitates as she’s speaking, and I sense there’s a lot more to her answer than she’s willing to say. It’s not relevant to her working here, though, and it’s none of my business… although I’d like it to be. I’d like everything about her to be my business.
“So, you started work when you were eighteen?”
“Yes. My first job was as the secretary to the manager of a small electronics company close to my home.”
I check her resume again. “That’s in Maine?”
“Yes. In Falmouth.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been there.”
“It’s right on the coast, just a few miles from Portland.” The sparkle in her eyes intensifies and her smile widens as she speaks. “I wouldn’t call it a bustling town. I don’t think there are more than two thousand people living there… but it was a great place to grow up.”
“You miss it.” I’m not really asking a question. I’m stating a fact based on instinct.
“Yes, I do.”
“Why did you leave?”
She tilts her head, and although that’s probably one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, I’m slightly distracted, wondering if her departure from her home town might have had something to do with a man. Could she be running away from someone?
“I was looking for something more,” she says.
“Something more?” What does that mean?
“Yes.” She sits forward slightly. “Leaving home was a huge wrench for me, and I know I could have probably found other opportunities in Portland, and not left Falmouth at all, but I wanted to spread my wings.”
“Personally, or professionally?” I have to ask.
“Oh, professionally. I might not have gone to college, but I felt I had a lot more to offer, and Boston seemed like the place to find out if I was right.”
My lips twist upwards into a smile, which has nothing to do with the fact that she’s made no mention of a man. It’s got everything to do with her conviction. She doesn’t come across as over-confident, but she knows herself; she knows what she wants, and in my experience, those are rare qualities, not to be ignored.
“So, you moved here and got a job at…” I glance at her resume again. “SKJ Robotics?”
“Yes. I’ve been there for six months, working as the PA to the CFO.” She takes a deep breath. “I know that’s not very long, and I know my employment history isn’t great, but I’m very methodical and thorough.”
Does she think she has to sell herself to me? If she does, she’s wrong. I’m already sold.
“I’m sure you are. Unfortunately, I’m not… either methodical or thorough.”
