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I shook my head, thinking about how hard-pressed Jude could be sometimes, which was common knowledge around here. Our employees had learned their way around it a while ago though, so I had to give this new applicant props for even trying to make it under such a ridiculously short notice. I had to admit though, I
didn’t know any of the modern job-search struggles since I’d never had to do it.
“Whatever, man. Where is she?” I asked.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, ending our conversation.
She had arrived.
Jude rounded the desk and looked out the glass window, although nothing was visible but a shadow and a flash of red.
When I finally saw her, I wasn’t at all prepared.
Jesus.
First of all, I could tell she’d been in a rush; I hadn’t seen flats like that on anyone but Martha, and she was forty-seven.
Sitting across from us, the young woman’s gray eyes were wide and helpless, and the red bun on top of her head was falling apart.
This Henley Cates—with her around, I knew I would never get any work done. And neither would Jude, for that matter. He never even interviewed people like this. Yet, here she was, looking like beauty personified. A breath of fresh air.
With her soft wide eyes, full peachy lips, swells of her breasts peeking through her white chiffon top—she was just beautiful. And, from the looks of her resume, smart too. It didn’t take away from anything, but I could tell she was nervous and maybe a little uncomfortable, though I blamed that on Jude and his alluding questions.
“Do you always arrive late to important meetings?” he asked bluntly.
Henley’s cheeks flushed red as she wrung her fingers out from under the clear table. “No, I don’t. I was…” she blinked rapidly and swallowed. “No, I don’t.”
I cleared my throat. “Your work with other investment firms looks bright. What did you learn that you think you could apply here?” I asked.
She blinked a few times. “Well I…I learned a lot of basic skills with business law and corporate law, but I um…” Henley’s voice trailed off and she seemed to draw a blank. Her gaze fleeted to Jude and then quickly back to me, letting me know that he’d probably given her some sort of look. “I got really good at being self-sufficient and could anticipate things no one else saw,” she finished.
“Like what?” Jude pressed, leaning forward across the table, not caring that his proximity made her uncomfortable.
She licked her lips. “Like…if the market was dropping, and I knew the firm could lose money, I would start looking for ways to pull out early,” she said and then fixed her gaze on Jude. “To protect the company’s assets.”
I suppressed a smirk. She was obviously nervous, but also knew what she was talking about.
“Protect them how?” Jude asked.
I wanted to kick him under the table but worried it would be noticeable.
“There are a lot of legal loopholes, especially in start-up investments, for example,” Henley said.
I felt a light bulb go off in my head, and knew Jude did too, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued pressing Henley with more questions, getting her more flustered with each one.
“I do want to know, Miss Cates,” Jude said, his voice harsh. “If you would be able to handle the demands of the job; your tardiness certainly wasn’t a very good way to start off.”
I held back a sigh. “How about some water?” I asked, interrupting before Henley answered. I stood and she nodded as I went to retrieve her a glass.
Accepting graciously, she took small sips before setting it down and turning her attention back to Jude. “I don’t usually arrive to anything late. It’s just not something I do…”
I could tell she wanted to say more, but Jude came back at her with more questions. Strangely enough, the more flustered she got, the cuter I found her incessant blushing. She looked like a damned short-cake with that red hair of hers.
The interview went on for a while longer before I finally ended it with one last question.
“Are you currently pursuing any other job options?”
“No,” she answered quickly.
