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Head tipped to study her desktop screen, Sloane lifted only her eyes to look at Rena Ware—best friend and employee. Most of the time, the balance between the two worked well, but Sloane was having second thoughts at the moment. That guy—Jed—was that bad. Who played finger football in the break room on a real job? A professional job? Sure, it was his lunch break, but Sloane wondered what other shenanigans he had been up to while she’d been out of the office. And what was worse, he’d corrupted Rena.
“He’s a child.”
“He’s young,” Rena agreed with a shrug. “But he can answer the phone with the best of them.”
With a sigh, Sloane gave up on the numbers on the screen and flopped back in her office chair. Apparently, Rena read the move as Sloane throwing in the towel for the evening. Sloane watched her kick off her heels and drop to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
“Yes, but is he professional on the phone?” Sloane lifted her arms over her head for a stretch. “And what kind of games is he playing at his desk?”
Rena yawned and rolled her head on her neck. “He actually sounds pretty good on the phone.”
“And you know this how?” Sloane tipped her head and narrowed her eyes at her friend.
“Believe it or not, I’ve had reason to roam through the office while you were gone.” Rena rolled her eyes. “He should be in radio with that voice.”
Sloane sighed again. “As long as he’s just a temp. We still have the ad out there for the position, right?”
“We do.”
“Good. Now we need to put an ad out for—”
She stopped talking when someone tapped on her door. Open ajar, she couldn’t see who stood on the other side of it, so she simply called, “C’min.”
Rena looked over her shoulder as the door eased open and the subject of their conversation peeked his head in. He looked at Rena with a friendly smile; when he turned his attention to Sloane, she dropped her arms back to her lap and scrambled to sit up.
“Relax, Chief,” the kid said. “It’s after hours.”
Sloane jerked her gaze to Rena and tipped her head. Insubordination? Granted, Rena had said things like that to her more than once. But Rena had worked for her for years, and besides, they were friends.
“What do we need another ad out for?” Rena leaned over to snag her shoes and then stood, watching Sloane and waiting for her to answer. “I’ll get on it.”
“Bookkeeping position.”
Rena had turned to Jed, but she snapped her gaze back to Sloane now, obviously surprised by the words. “Why?”
“Because Cheri is leaving.”
“Right.” Rena nodded. “Maternity leave. So, we need another temp—”
“No.” Sloane rested her elbow on her desk and propped her chin in her hand. She was exhausted. Time to get out of here. She’d love to go straight to her townhouse and shower and just relax. Grab a book and curl up on her sofa. Or chill in front of the TV. But she’d been out of town for a few days; she needed to go to the market to pick up a few things. And she needed to get a workout in. She’d skipped it yesterday, and she could swear her skirt felt tighter today than the last time she’d worn it. “Cheri’s decided she doesn’t want to come back. She wants to be at home with her kid.”
Rena groaned. “Great. Glad she waited for tax season to make that decision.”
“Right?” Sloane nodded. Realizing Jed, the temp, was still standing in her doorway, she looked at him again. “What do you need?”
Wasn’t it quitting time? She glanced at the time on her computer screen to see that it was indeed thirty minutes after quitting time. Why was the temp still here?
“Well.” He stepped into the office and slipped his hands in his flat front khakis. Sloane noted the stylish casual dress shoes. The neat tuck of his deep green button-down. The expensive-looking belt that matched the shoe color exactly. Okay, so he dressed appropriately for the job. But still. Had she actually invited him into her office? “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Cheri’s husband just called. She’s in labor.”
“Perfect.” She nodded, and though that news only added to her exhaustion, she popped up from her chair gracefully. Right hand reaching for her mouse, she peeked at him again as she shut her computer down.
Rena crossed her arms over her chest, her heels dangling from her fingertips. “And there it is. Great. Okay. Sloane, I’ll stay now and get the ad set up and out there. And I’ll be in early tomorrow to pick up some of the slack.”
“Thank you.”
Sloane hated to ask so much of Rena, but she was short-staffed right now. Garrison Accounting was a small-scale accounting business, but even so, they had a lot of clients—personal accounts and tax workups as well as business bookkeeping. She was already down a tax accountant after Eileen Masters moved away to be a full-time grandma. Her receptionist had gotten married and the day she returned from her honeymoon, she announced she and her husband were moving to Mitchell, South Dakota.
Sloane, curious but frustrated, hadn’t taken the time to ask Caren what was in Mitchell, South Dakota. She’d simply fired an email to Rena asking her to put together an ad for a receptionist and to contact WorkForce, a temporary employment agency.
