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I’ll be the best new employee Stay Inside the Lines has ever seen… right after I actually pee.
10
LIAM
“Vanessa, get in here.” I slam the phone down before she can respond.
My blood is pumping at a ferocious speed as I pace the length of my office, back and forth. Soon enough, the HR specialist knocks and sticks her head around the office door. She gives me a big, brazen smile. “Yes, Mr. Donovan?”
“Where’s the woman who just started?” There’s a hint of a tremor in my voice that almost betrays me, and I mentally slap some sense into myself. I need to stay calm, stay in control.
This is a workplace. That I run. That this woman has essentially entered without my consent.
“Annie?” she asks, pouting her lips.
“Did we hire another new woman I’m not aware of?”
“No.” Vanessa looks at me carefully, then tugs at the hem of her skirt. “She’s in the bathroom, I think.”
Still? What do women DO in there?
“Who hired her?”
She lifts a tan shoulder. “Um, I did.”
“Did Luke vet her application, too?”
“Of course. Regular hiring process. I reviewed resumes, did elementary screenings, compiled my notes for Luke, and then he picked the candidates I interviewed on Zoom.” Vanessa chews her lip and looks at me with fluttery eyes. “Mr. Donovan, is something—”
“Get me everything you have on her,” I cut her off briskly. “Resume, cover letter, any email transcripts prior to her being hired.”
I know I’m being abrupt, but can you blame me? I’m in full crisis mode. Tim Wiseman specifically suggested we tighten up our HR. He didn’t ask for a veritable circus of inappropriacy.
And to haveherworking in my office alongside me… in this tight space.
It just won’t do. There must be some way to get around this.
Not fire Annie, of course. But maybe move her to another area of the office. Somewhere we won’t be forced to see each other all day, every day. I just have to make sure I can do it without alerting Luke. He would have an absolute field day with this.
Vanessa blinks at me. Raises an eyebrow. “You don’t usually take this kind of interest in new hires.”
Busted.
Aware that I’m very low on options for an appropriate response—and now dreading the thought of Vanessa telling Luke anything—I find myself saying, “Do I pay you to make useless observations?”
Nice, Liam.What a guy—opting for the class-act, douchebag special.
I honestly didn’t mean for the words to sound so dick-ish. Like I said, I’m terrible when put on the spot. Liam in crisis is not a pretty sight.
But strangely, Vanessa doesn’t seem bothered. Or maybe she didn’t hear what I said. A wry smile plays on her lips as she leans a hip against my desk. Like she thinks I’m flirting with her or something. Which I’m very obviously not.
I’m about to say something more, backtrack or apologize or something...
Instead, laughter fills the room.
Vanessa and I spin around to see Luke chuckling away, arms crossed and propped up against the doorframe.
He looks at Vanessa. “Liam got his panties in a bunch about something?”
