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18
Lucas marched past Lilith, batting her eyes and darting around the corner of her desk, with a handful of phone messages clutched in her fist.
“I don’t have time for that right now,” he said, as he barreled through his office door. It had been a week since his interlude with Birdie, and he had managed to get about three hours of sleep each night, tossing and turning until he’d finally gave up, taking his lurid fantasies in his own hands, so to speak. “Continue taking phone messages and cancel my meeting with Maynard this morning.”
Despite his sense of urgency and obvious need for privacy, she followed him.
Pushing her glasses back, she said, “I don’t know if Mr. Timmons will be okay with that, he was really upset when he called.”
Maynard upset? That was rare.
“About what?” he asked, opening his laptop.
“He said it was a personal matter. Mentioned something about a big-city jackass, who you recommended he meet with. Excuse my language, sir.”
Well then, he must have missed the mark on that potential companion. Surprising. He thought Hal Humphries a perfect match for his friend.
“Fine, I’ll meet with Maynard, but take phone messages for me this morning. I have got to find someone to replace Cindy and I have to do it today.”
“Have you considered my cousin? The one who just graduated from Wayward Community College? I sent you her résumé.”
“The one with a degree in cannabis cultivation?”
“No, not that one. Loretta. The one who majored in public administration.”
How did one person have so many family members in the midst of a job search with subpar academic results and zero work experience?
“I appreciate the recommendation, but I need someone with experience and a degree.”
“Loretta has work experience.”
He really didn’t have time for this, nor the patience.
Pulling over the stack of résumés on his desk, he opened the top folder and sat in his chair, determined to get this settled today. “Although I admire anyone working their way through college, I need more experience than a fast order cook at Del Taco. They need to have actual experience serving the community in a formal capacity.”
Not to mention a candidate without an embarrassingly low grade-point average.
Even though he was aware that low grades didn’t always translate to a poor public servant, as he had come across several people over the course of his career that could manage people and expectations as well as be results driven, despite low grades in college.
This job wasn’t entry level. It required experience, gravitas, and diplomacy.
“How are you supposed to get experience in public administration if you’ve been in college for six years?”
Six years? Good to know. Must have missed that on Loretta’s job application.
“For beginners, you take an entry-level job and work your way to City Manager. I believe the public defender’s office is looking for an administrative assistant. I’d be happy to send her résumé over.” Without his personal recommendation.
He cited what he thought was the starting salary and Lilith balked at the amount.
“Her guidance counselor told her she could earn close to six figures with her degree.”
“Hate to burst your cousin’s bubble, but that’s a flat-out lie. Truck drivers make more money than most entry-level PA jobs. Which, by the way, is a highly respectable vocation. Don’t underestimate the influence of an individual transporting goods and services across the country.”
Lilith seemed mildly perturbed if not pacified. She tapped her pen on her notepad, causing him to look up.
“Mrs. Wahim asked to see you as soon as you arrived. Should I tell her how terribly inconvenienced you’d be if you had to meet with her, in light of having to find her replacement?”
This woman did love to lord over people. Probably lamented over the fact that descriptive terms to label the masses like peons and plebeians were labels no longer in use. At least not in South Georgia.
