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God, could I even get through the rest of the day without breaking into tears again?
My face fell, and I sat on the arm of the couch. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“But you’ll try?”
“I still feel I’m taking advantage and—”
“You’re not. But if you want the job, we have to get you changed and get our butts into gear. Even I can’t always pin Dad down. We sneak attack this, and you’re in.”
“I feel like my heart just shattered.”
“Then revenge is the best step. Kevin threw you out? Well, screw him. You need to show him exactly the opportunity he missed, be the awesome person you are, and get that gig. Ashley will end up doing some mid-level cubicle bullshit, and this is seriously your first step to your dream job. You still have to show Dad your portfolio. You can do this.”
I swallowed hard. It had been thrown in my face that I wasn’t good enough. If I went to the interview, I’d probably mess it up just as badly as the first relationship I’d even had in college. I just…
Tammy snorted. “Oh no, you can mope later. Kevin’s so not worth it, but you can definitely do the ice cream, a Channing Tatum movie and bitching with me later. Right now, I know you’re a good writer. I know this is the best shot you’ll have this summer. Come on, Selena. Take this shot. What do you have to lose?”
I nodded. “Just make sure I don’t break down and cry in the lobby, and we’ll make this work, okay?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
Chapter Two
Brandon
“Daddy, please!”
I eyed my daughter. Truth be told, I was a complete pushover when it came to Tammy, and everyone knew that. Especially Tammy.
Tall like her mother at almost six feet, I’d been blessed that she had no interest in following in her mother’s modeling footsteps. I knew the kind of guys who hit on models. Hell, I was that guy and had happily returned to that lifestyle since my divorce a decade ago. There was no way in hell I was letting my little girl be passed around backstage at events or who the fuck knew where.
Oblivious to the path my thoughts had taken, she rolled her eyes and pushed her long dark hair over one shoulder. She’d look more professional for her summer internship work if she ever pinned it up, but she was stubborn too. I can’t imagine where she got that from.
“I’m serious, Dad.” She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, so I wasn’t sure how serious she actually was. “I’ve been on you for two weeks to interview my friend, Selena. You need to do it.”
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. To be fair, my daughter had never once asked for a favor for her friends. She’d never seemed the type to use nepotism to climb up the corporate or social ladder. I appreciated that. I hadn’t built Duncan Multimedia up to billion-dollar heights when other former print-only empires lay crumbling in the dust. Embracing the Internet early and fast back in the Dark Ages of dial-up had saved my shit. I trusted my gut, and my gut had seen the wave of the future. Right now, it told me that mixing anything business with Tammy’s friends was a terrible idea. I loved my daughter, and she was a gifted creative writer in her own right, but there was no guarantee her friend had any talent.
I could be taking on a complete dud.
“I’m not sure I’m convinced, pumpkin.” I steepled my fingers in front of me. “Why should I give Sandy an interview again?”
“First, it’s Selena. Second, she’s the lead editor of the NYU student paper already, and she’s not even a senior. My bestie, she totally knows her crap. So, you need to snag her up and put her on writing the fashion beat for Swagger.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. I had a bit of pull in newspapers. We’d gotten out of them since they were a dying dinosaur, but I knew The New York Times editor-in-chief well. I could have made a call there.
“What?” my daughter demanded.
“It’s just that if she’s already an editor at NYU, why would she do the fashion beat?”
“I said she was driven and a great writer. I didn’t have time yet to mention she has a killer fashion sense. Not every writer wants to be Woodward and Bernstein. Anyway, she hasn’t landed anything that pays enough yet since she’s putting herself through school, and she’d be perfect for Swagger’s slot. Daddy, you have to at least meet her.”
“And it has to be me? You do know I have a whole human resources team.” I snorted. “I certainly pay them well enough.”
She narrowed her eyes, and I got a scary flash of Melanie, my ex-wife. There were a lot of ways Tammy and my ex were alike, and I often got the sense of déjà vu looking at my daughter. Of course, I could tell the difference between them mainly by the way that Tammy had given me a chance after the divorce. My wife all but said I should drop dead every time we met during the mutual family things we did for Tammy’s sake.
Yeah, big fucking difference there.
“You have to do it because I want you to really see how talented my friend is. She’s the best, and I think if you really, truly grasp that and back her, it’ll help her career even more than just the usual human resources bullshit.”
