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“Jackass,” she said under her breath. “Look—” she set her oversized bag on the floor and leaned forward across my desk— “I need you to hire Emma.”
“No.” The word came out of my mouth without thinking.
“Kyle,” Krista said, undeterred and bringing out her teacher voice. “Emma is well-educated, a hard worker, and the most reliable person I have ever known. She needs a better job. She’s killing herself with these small jobs here and there and I want a better life for her and Lily. You have to have open positions.”
“I’m sure we do, but it’s not good practice to hire friends.” It was a poor attempt at an excuse, we both knew that, and Krista pounced on it.
“Well, Emma is like a sister to me, and Lily is like my niece. Hiring family shouldn’t be a problem at all.”
I cleared my throat. I knew I was in trouble because Krista was right. Emma graduated from a great school and had a good job at a well respected company before that fucking jackass she married made her quit. Brining Emma on my team based on her resume alone would’ve been a no brainer. But, when it came to Emma, I wasn’t always thinking with my brain. My dick made decisions, that was for sure, but my damn heart was trying to get in on the action too.
Being around her every day would be far too risky. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off her.
“Krista, come on. I don’t tell you what to do at your job.”
She sighs heavily, the most dramatic sigh I’ve ever head and I know I’m in deep shit. She isn’t going to let this go. She’d going to get what she wants or she’s going to make my life hell.
“You know how big a piece of shit Brendan was. Well, he’s an even bigger piece of shit now. He totally abandoned them, Kyle. Lily was only four months old when he left, and he hasn’t been back. Do you think he’s paying child support? Sending Emma any money at all?”
My hands balled into fists under the desk. An anger swept through me that not only a man could do that to his wife and child, but to someone as good as Emma.
He isn’t a man at all, I had to correct myself.
“No,” I answered. “I’d guess not.”
“He’s not. Emma works really hard to make ends meet and you know how amazing her parents are. But you also know how stubborn Emma can be. I know it’s killing her to need help. If you give her a job, she’ll work hard and be an asset to this company.”
I shook my head. “Krista, listen—“
“Kyle, please.” Krista dropped all the attitude, all the teasing. She was just asking her brother for a favor. And not even for herself.
I was going to cave. I felt myself wanting to say yes and give both Krista and Emma whatever they wanted. Then, another idea hit me.
“I’ll give her money. Will a million work? Two?” I picked up my phone, ready to make the transfer that minute.
“Have you lost your damn mind?” Krista pushed away from my desk to lean back in the leather chair. “She won’t take your money. That’s not what I came here to ask you for. Hell, when I told Emma I wanted to see if you had any openings, she begged me not to. She didn’t want, and I quote, ‘a hand out.’ What makes you think she’d take you money?”
I ran a hand through my hair. It had gotten long and probably needed cut. “I don’t think you get how much money I have. And I want to give a small portion of it to Emma. I want to help her.”
“Then just give her a fucking job, Kyle. Damn, for someone so smart you sure are dense.”
“You just said she didn’t even want you to ask, what makes you think she’ll accept a position here?” I asked.
“Because she’ll apply and interview just like everyone else, you’ll have nothing to do with the process, and because she’s a damn good mom and this job will make her and Lily’s lives better and she’ll always but Lily first.”
I sighed. She was right, I knew she was right, and she knew I knew she was right. I was out of options. I was out of excuses. I had no choice left but to concede.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll find her a job.”
Krista beamed and clapped her hands together one, her gold bracelets jangling together. “Oh, thank you, Kyle.” She blew me dramatic kiss.
“Let’s see what we have open.” I flipped open my laptop and checked our vacant positions. We had listing for real estate agents, web developers, and a senior accountant. None of those were quite right for her. Then, at the bottom of the list, I saw the perfect position.
Executive assistant to the CEO.
It looked like I’d never hired myself an assistant, a role Emma would be perfect for.
“It looks like I found something that would be a good fit.” I’d done a complete one-eighty. I went from not wanting her to work in my building, to wanting to see her almost every second of every day. It was such a bad idea it was almost brilliant. With Emma so close, we’d have no choice but to face each other and either make it work or get over each other once and for all. “I’ll have the head of HR reach out to her though her LinkedIn. Her profile matches our needs perfectly. She won’t have to know I’m involved.”
