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“Okay. Fine. But I really hope you guys aren’t trying to prove a point.”
He smirked. “No, trust me, I think you’ll like her. She’s got a no-nonsense attitude that will suit you just fine.”
“As long as she lets me drink my coffee without having to hide in the bathroom to do it, I’m good with just about anyone,” I said dryly.
“Then you’ll be happy to know Mabel is upstairs harassing accounts for you,” he said.
I grinned. “Thank God. I’ve been trying to chug this. I’ve burnt my tongue and my esophagus.”
He was still laughing as I walked away. I wasn’t embarrassed by the fact a little old lady could take a big, powerful man like myself to my knees. Anyone that met her would understand why. On my way to my office, a scent hit me. I froze and backed up a couple steps.
It was gone. I started walking again, and there it was—peonies.
Someone was wearing the same perfume as her. I scanned the faces of the women working at their desks. If I started sniffing each of them, it might raise some eyebrows. After casually walking around the area, I determined it wasn’t coming from them. Chalking it up to yet another phantom smell, I went on my way to my office.
I rounded the corner, and like a ghost from the past, she was sitting in one of the chairs outside my office. Her legs were crossed, and she was reading a magazine, but I would recognize her anywhere. She looked up directly into my eyes.
That was when I knew for sure it was the woman that had dumped me in Vegas eight years earlier. I was knocked speechless. She looked at me, but if she recognized who I was, she didn’t show it.
“Hello, I’m Jon Handcock. Are you here for the interview?”
“I am,” she said. “Macy Stiles.”
“Come into my office.” I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down.
The universe had answered my pleas in the worst way possible. How could she be here now? After all this time, she was applying to be my assistant.
This confirmed my suspicions—the universe had a sense of humor.
“Please, have a seat,” I said.
How in the hell was I supposed to interview a woman I had seen naked? A woman I declared my intent to marry only to have her walk out on me?
This was all wrong. There was no possible way I could work with this woman every day. I couldn’t have her digging in my personal or professional life. I needed to protect myself from her cruelty.
I sat down and stared at her from across the desk. She had a fake smile in place. I was pretty sure she didn’t recognize me. The hurt and shock I felt was replaced with anger. The woman was sitting there like we never happened. Like that night never happened. I’d been hung up on it for eight years and she didn’t remember who I was.
“So, Macy, is it?” I started.
“Yes.”
“I’ve been told you rose to the top out of the other applicants,” I said. “You’ve impressed HR.”
“Great. And now I suppose I need to impress you.”
“I’m the boss,” I said. “I’m the man you would be working for. The one you would be fetching coffee for. Is that something you think you could do?”
“I’m a very capable person,” she replied. “I know my way around a coffeemaker, although I would expect the job to be a bit more complicated thanfetchingcoffee.”
“Technically, yes. So, tell me, what makes you a good assistant?”
“I’ve been an assistant to several men the last five years,” she replied. “I think that alone qualifies me. I’m a quick learner. I can anticipate the needs of those I work for.”
I had so many witty things I wanted to say just then. “What do you do in your free time, Macy?”
She looked confused. “I, well, I hang out with my friend. I go to Barre. I like to hang out at the beach when I can.”
“Sounds exciting,” I said dryly.
