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His hair was dark and styled in a way that made it look effortless. Jaw chiseled, shoulders broad, and he didn’t look pleased as he approached the desk.
“Whoa, Dude. Is that Georgia Reynolds?” Joey said with a big smile on his face.
“Hey, Joey. How are you?”
“Well, I just got scolded for coming to an interview high, so there’s that. But, I am high, so there’s that.” He winked as his head fell back in laughter. “But I don’t think the boss here was too impressed. I probs didn’t get the gig, did I?”
He turned to look at the man beside him, who made no attempt to hide his annoyance, and Virginia broke out in a fit of giggles. I bit down hard on my bottom lip to keep from laughing when Bossman’s gaze locked with mine.
“It’s safe to say you won’t be returning, Joey,” he said, his voice deep and lacking any humor. “You must be Ms. Reynolds.”
I nodded, but before I could extend my hand, he barked at me.
“I’m Maddox Lancaster. Follow me.”
I widened my eyes as I glanced one last time at Virginia, giving a quick wave to Joey as I followed the man up the stairs. My feet clicked against each of the metal steps, and he looked over his shoulder, and his eyes moved down my legs to my booties in a disapproving scowl.
Damn. My mom was always right. I should have worn the heels.
When we got to the top of the stairs, he walked down the hallway, with me doing my best to keep up. The offices upstairs were not open with glass walls. There were five offices from what I could see on this level, and the only glass wall appeared to belong to a conference room with a table that looked like it had seating for fifteen to twenty people.
He came to a stop at the last door at the end of the long hallway, and he motioned for me to enter.
“Take a seat,” he said, his tone as cold as his eyes, which were so dark, they almost looked black. He moved around the desk and sat in the leather chair across from me. He typed something into his computer and then looked up to meet my gaze. “I’m hoping you aren’t going to offer me a gummy to take the edge off.”
I chuckled, even though he wasn’t smiling. “Nope. No gummies here. Just a résumé.”
I reached into the briefcase that Lila had loaned me and pulled out the peach-colored paper that had light cream flowers in the background, and I handed it over to him.
He raised his brows. “Your résumé is floral?”
“So is my personality,” I sang out, but grumpy Bossman did not smile or chuckle. I did notice his lips twitch a bit before he straightened.
“I’m not looking for a big personality, Ms. Reynolds. I’m looking for a person who can get the job done. I’m a busy man. I don’t have time for ridiculous antics like coming stoned to an interview or the woman yesterday who bad-mouthed my employee who greeted her.” He leaned back and folded his hands on the desk, his gaze boring into me. I crossed my arms over my chest. If he thought he was going to intimidate me, he was mistaken. I had three brothers, my oldest brother being a gigantic, grumpy thorn in my side, so I didn’t scare easily. But I was pleased to hear that Alicia Rogers had shown her true colors so quickly. My competition was weak, and I was not sorry about it.
“Well, I’m certainly not high, and I won’t be talking about Virginia, because I happen to be a big fan. I’m here to tell you why I’m the best person for the job, so prepare to be dazzled, Mr. Lancaster.” I leaned forward in my chair and intertwined my fingers together, resting them on my lap.
I glanced around at how sterile his office was. There was a degree from Harvard hanging on the wall.Shocker.He reeked of Ivy League superiority. I may not have attended an Ivy League college, but I had more life experience than most. I lived that YOLO—you only live once—life better than anyone I knew.
“Not looking to be dazzled,” he grumped as he glanced down at my résumé. “I see you recently graduated from college. You were an art major?”
“I majored in art history and minored in business. This is a publishing company, so I feel confident that I’d bring great value to this position with the combination of skills that my education afforded me.”
He cleared his throat as he read further down my résumé, his brows furrowing when he got to the bottom. “How does being talented atunusual sportsbring value to the position? How did that even make it as a bullet point on your résumé?”
I smiled. “Thank you for bringing that up. I’m happy to tell you. You know how most people shine at football or soccer or swimming?”
He raised a brow. “Okay…”
“I don’t. I have four siblings that were all pretty amazing at every traditional sport. I could never beat them at anything back then because they were older and faster.”
“Is there a point to this story?” he asked, his voice dry and lacking any humor.
“I know. You’re anxious. I get it.” I shrugged. “My point is… I had to be resourceful. I had to find something that I could be the best at. And go figure, I was a freaking rock star at unusual sports.”
He ran a hand down his face and then looked up at me like he was torn between kicking me out of his office and asking me to tell him more. “What sports?”
“Badminton. Let’s just say, my high school PE teacher said I could pursue playing collegiately, but I didn’t feel a passion for it.”
