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“Wow.” She went to the window and looked out. “How’d you get any work done? Look at that view.”
“I have a better view now.”
She turned to see him watching her, amused but with a fire in his eyes that was unmistakable. She tried to put a disapproving face. “Mr. McKittridge…there are workplace harassment laws, you know.” Her grin gave her away.
Jay laughed and motioned for her to sit next to him on one of the big leather couches. “Miss Quinn, you’re going to make that difficult. Seriously, though, welcome. I’m really excited about you coming here, I think it will be great for the company, great for you.”
She smiled but her forehead creased in bemusement. “Jay…we’ve known each other for what?”
He checked his watch. “About twenty-four hours.”
She shook her head. “So how do you know I’m the right fit? In that little time?”
Jay’s smile widened. “Most interviews are a lot shorter than that.”
Norah squirmed a little, embarrassed. “I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t because…um…”
“That you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met? That I’m completely entranced with you?”
She flushed, mortified. “God no…”
“Because both of those things are true.” His voice was like melting chocolate and he leaned forward, his face close to enough to hers that she could see the dark blue rings around his green irises. “But that’s not why I hired you. They’re just the reasons that I kissed you. That as soon as the work day ends, I intend to kiss you again…if you’ll let me.”
God, yes. She let a long shaky breath. “Okay then.”
Jay sat back and grinned, his finely honed face relaxing boyishly. “As long as that’s clear. Now, you want to come meet some people?”
***
Hell, she was beautiful. Sloan ducked away from the door where she’d been watching Jay introducing the girl to Sloan’s secretary, Marnie. The jolt that had hit Sloan’s stomach when she took in the long, dark, waves that nearly fell to the girl’s waist, the large soft brown eyes, the curves of her body in that cheap suit was almost agonizing. But nothing to the pain when she took in Jay’s expression, the way his hand rested on the girl’s lower back, the light in his eyes. Sloan dragged a long breath into her lungs, her teeth locking together. Jesus. So Jay was bringing his girlfriend in, giving her a job (and, she’d discovered, a very generous starter salary). Sloan’s heart hardened. There was no way she’d let all her hard work be tainted by an inexperienced gold-digger.
She heard the soft knock on her door and steeled herself before turning. The young woman stood, obviously nervous, with Jay beaming at her side.
“Sloan Farmer, meet our first member of our Graduate Program, Norah Quinn.”
Sloan noticed the confused look that Norah Quinn shot Jay when he’d said ‘first’. Sloan felt faintly amused. Just another bimbo. She held out her hand and greeted the newcomer coolly. She motioned to the chairs across the desk from her own.
“Welcome, Miss Quinn.”
“Norah.”
“Norah. So, Jay tells me we have the privilege of a Harvard graduate joining our team? Why don’t you tell me about your experience.”
Jay shot her a look which she returned evenly, daring him to argue with her. One of them needed to be a professional. Norah Quinn began talking in a low, but steady voice, detailing her time at college, the various part-time internships she’d taken on. As she listened, Sloan found herself impressed with the young woman’s commitment to her career, her obvious passion for her work.
“You did three internships at the same time? Did you sleep, at all?”
Norah Quinn grinned wryly. “Not a lot. But it was worth it.”
Sloan studied her. “Why didn’t you stay in New York? It seems to you had no end of opportunities there. Coming back to New Orleans, you had the grand choice of exactly two; us or Marshall Harrington.”
Norah’s face had shut down. “I had to come back…family reasons.” She offered nothing more and Sloan noticed that it was Jay’s turn to look confused. That was interesting. Sloan nodded between them.
“How long have you know each other?”
Norah and Jay looked at each other and grinned. “A day,” said Jay. “She tried to wreck my Mercedes by throwing herself onto the hood yesterday morning.”
Sloan watched Norah nudged him and hissed “Don’t tell her that!”. They both chuckled which made Sloan want to vomit. So they already shared private jokes. She felt her face set in distaste.
