“Go on…I’m listening. The floor is yours.” I gesture with my hand, a placating smirk forming across my face. Shrugging off my wet jacket, I place it on the back of the chair and pull it out from table, sitting down across from the still fuming woman.
I’m going for nonchalant and mildly interested, but truth be told, this little firecracker has grabbed my full attention. And I’m all for learning more about what makes this girl light up.
“Fine,” she grimaces, dropping the copy of her resume on the table and sitting back down in a huff.
In hopes of smoothing things over and giving her a moment to regroup, I take a moment to read through her resume. While not a long list of credentials, it does prove what she’s saying is correct. She lasted two years under the thumb of Abe Farrugia. Thatisimpressive.
When I glance back up at Marin, she’s rubbing her bottom lip with her thumbnail in a nervous manner. But all I can think about is rubbing that lip against something else.
Fuck, that’s not helping.
I give her a meaningful nod of the head. “Shall we begin again? I’m Nathaniel Leeds. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Cooke.”
She takes my outstretched hand and the warmth of hers in my palm sends a current of electricity up my arm and straight to my cock. What the fuck is that all about? I drop her hand immediately, as if I’ve just been bitten by a seething Cobra and return my attention to her resume. But the sultry sound of her voice draws me back to her face.
“I apologize for my outburst, Mr. Leeds…”
“Please, call me Nathaniel.”
She considers this informality and nods. “Fine, Nathaniel. It’s been a rough past few weeks and I just walked away from a very difficult working environment, where I had thrived despite working for a…” She pauses, as if searching for the right words. ”verydifficult boss. So, perhaps I’m a bit more sensitive then I normally am. Your statement just…well, it triggered a response. I’m not usually that bold.”
I stare at her, the soft features of her heart-shaped face contradicting her brave admission and candor. I like that. I also happen to like the way her velvety plush lips form around the vowels when she speaks.
Stay on task, Leeds.
Nodding, the corners of my mouth edge up into some semblance of a smile. “I’m the one who should apologize. I was a little thrown with the weather and my temper got the best of me. It’s me who is not normally so ill-tempered or late. Now, let’s move on and talk through your experience and this role.”
Marin hesitates only for a moment, smoothing a hand over the pleats of her skirt, and nods her head. I watch the action with rapt interest.
I realize I need to say something, like ask her some questions, and more importantly, explain the role and the requirements, but it’s difficult when all I can do is stare at her and imagine what’s under that buttoned-up blouse.
Clearing my throat, I shake through of my thoughts. “Do you understand what this job entails?”
I leave it open-ended to see what my cousin, Dolly, may have already told Marin about the job. I’m guessing not much.
Marin tips her head, her eyes averted as if thinking, and then responds. “I know you’re a researcher and need an assistant and research coordinator. The job is temporary, but I don’t know how long. And there is travel involved.”
I chuckle. “You could say that. This is as far from a typical office job as you can get. You understand you’ll need to get some inoculations.”
When she gives me a skeptical look, I continue, “Malaria. Typhoid fever. The basics for traveling to a third world country.”
And that’s when it happens. Her face goes sheet white.
“That’s what I thought,” I muse, pushing the glass of water just in reach of her so she can take a sip. “My field research is in the jungle of Costa Rica. There’s risk involved, but not as much as, say, trying to cross the street in Manhattan during rush hour.”
“I…I, um, thought it was just a road trip somewhere inthiscountry. Like Florida. Or Alaska.”
Removing my glasses, I rub the bridge of my nose and chuckle a humorless laugh. I pull out the employment contract from my messenger bag and slide it over to her to review.
“Afraid not. I’m studying the greenhouse effects on the ecosystems and the damage that climate change has had on them. My research is based at a field center for scientific research in Costa Rica.”
“Oh,” she whispers, her mouth forming a perfect circle.
I nearly groan.
“I’ll leave this with you to review and will email you some links to my research papers and other information related to Costa Rica. I understand the job may not be what you were expecting, but I need someone like yesterday. I’d like to hear back from you by tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll need to move forward with someone else.”
I’m hoping I haven’t scared her off because I don’t really have anyone else at the moment. She’s it and I’m worried we started off on the wrong foot. Marin blinks, her eyes narrowing in confusion before growing wide with surprise.
