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JENN
I stare in disbelief—andconfusion. This is New York, the city of 9 million people. And this guy shows up… again?
“It’s me, Austin, from Mavericks?” he clarifies, shaking my hand. Then he makes a fist, pantomiming a gentle punch in the air, like he has to remind me.
“Of course!” I blurt. “From the bar! I couldn’t forgetthat.” I gulp, my mind racing.
And as for my pulse…
“You’re Jennifer Walker, my new marketing maven?” he asks again to confirm it. “Oh, man. This is fantastic,” his face spreads into a delighted smile. “Lisa, well done. Jenn here is a find. Tough. Capable. A real knockout.”
He gives me a wink.
Lisa beams like she made a scientific discovery. “You should have mentioned you already know the CEO,” she says to me.
I manage a vague noise, still trying to process it. This dream job on the table?
Hot, chivalrous Austin would be my boss.
I mean, Other Jennifer’s boss.
I stifle a groan. This is a mess! I feel like I could liquify from embarrassment. At least that way, I could slither out the door in puddle form instead of trying to explain that I’m not, in fact, the glamorous globe-trotting marketing maven they think I am.
“Forgive me interrupting your interview,” Austin cuts in. “I’m running out the door for something, but I wanted to say ‘hello’ before I leave.”
Whew. It’s all I can do not to exhale in a whoosh of obvious relief. Now I only have to explain the mix-up to one of them—and Lisa’s not the one with the piercing eyes. “Of course,” I say quickly. “We won’t keep you!”
“Although…” Austin pauses. “Why don’t you come along?”
I blink. “Me?”
“Sure,” he grins. “Lisa was just going to do the screening interview, to make sure you were the right fit before we met. But there’s no need for that now, is there? Come on, we can talk in the car. It’ll give me more time to convince you to come work with me,” he adds with an irresistible grin.
Like this man has had to convince any woman of anything since the day he was born.
“I… I…” I stammer, trying to come up with an excuse. I… Have to dog-sit? It doesn’t really work here.
But Lisa is clasping her hands together like it’s a done deal. “This seems like a wonderful fit. Have fun.”
She’s gone just as quickly, and then it’s just Austin left—and his welcoming smile.
Directed at me.
Because this handsome, funny, thoughtful man thinks thatI’mthe answer to all his prayers.
I gulp. Everything has changed so much in the past five minutes that I feel disoriented. I was eating miserable breakfast cake in my apartment less than two hours ago and now I’m in a half-finished spa with a whole-ass man.
Austin holds one hand out, an “after you, my lady” gesture toward the exit. He gives me a soft smile. “I’ve got to say, I’m glad you dropped that client, the one who was such a creep. But I’m extra thrilled that it brought you to my doorstep.”
Welp. How can I argue with that?
I follow him out, keeping pace with his long-legged strides. Maybe it won’t hurt to talk to the guy, I decide. See if there’s any hope in hell of me being qualified for this job. Because looking around, I can tell, it would be an amazing place to work—light years away from Snooze and their decades-old media templates.
Who knows? If there’s even a chance I could straighten out this whole ‘Jennifer Walker’ messandland a great job at the same time, then it really would turn everything around.
And, you know, I wouldn’t have to have a heart attack of looming dread every time I look at my bank account.
“So,” I venture brightly, wanting to get this bizarre interview back on track. “Tell me about this place. I thought you were in the nightlife business.”
