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“You didn’t know?”
“No, she appeared one day, but I never heard her speak, and she never introduced herself. I thought she was one of the many production assistants around here. I don’t do the hiring. I don’t know all the people who work here.”
It makes me laugh to think this poor girl has been showing up for work for at least a month and a half, and probably no one has ever told her what to do. I get up from my chair and open the door, attracting her attention.
“What’s your name?”
“Hannah.”
“Can you come in for a moment, Hannah?”
“You remember this is my office, don’t you?” Aaron asks me.
I roll my eyes as I close the door behind the girl, who is turning whiter than ever. I think this is the first time she’s been so close to Aaron, and I don’t even know if she’s breathing. She is wide-eyed and has an iron grip on the notepad she holds to her chest.
“Emily, do you want to explain why you called her?” Aaron raises an eyebrow.
He’s forever subtly scolding me. I didn’t know he was such a drama queen.
“Do you know BookTok?” I ask her.
She nods.
“Do you read romance books?”
The first color on her pale face is a red that lights up her cheeks like a traffic light.
“Yes,” she whispers.
“Okay, perfect. You should help us find good romance books that aren’t yet famous. Something the smaller blogs read but hasn’t reached big blogs.”
She frowns and nods. “A subgenre in particular? Romance is a huge category.”
“Everything from fantasy to contemporary to the regency. Any nuance of romance is fine.”
She nods but doesn’t seem convinced.
“Do you have any other questions?” I ask.
“What should I look for? I mean, aside from being a good book, what characteristics should it have?” she whispers in a trembling voice.
I don’t know if she’ll survive working for Aaron. This man wants determination and boldness. She emits small sighs at most. But if she can overcome her fears, he’ll have so much to teach her.
“You have to love it. It doesn’t matter if the story is extremely well written, as long as it stirs something in you. You have to like it so much that you become obsessed with it and nothing can distract you,” Aaron replies. He seems almost intrigued by the idea now.
I thought he’d given me this job just to distract me, but I think he’s really convinced I can make a tangible contribution to this company.
The girl nods.
“Preferences on the genre to start with? BookTok can be an endless vicious circle, sucking you in,” she says in a firmer voice.
“What’s trending now?” Aaron says, and I see her blush.
“Please tell me it’s something juicy,” I urge her to continue and see a shy smile appear on her face.
“Mainly fae, vampires, shapeshifters… smut.”
I giggle, amused, and understand her blush. Talking to the big boss about unfiltered sex you like to read can be embarrassing.
