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For a moment, I thought maybe they were dating, but Priya didn’t react to the sweet comment aside from rolling her eyes again. She gestured to me.
“Luka, this is Julie. She’s here for an interview. Julie, this is our CFO and incorrigible flirt, Lucas Vincent.”
He turned to face me, the full weight of his smile now trained on me. I highly doubted he’d struggle to get women with a smile like that.
“So! You’re the infamous Julie. Bennett hasn’t shut up about you all morning. Please, follow me. We’re doing interviews in the conference room.”
He placed a hand on the middle of my back, gesturing ahead of us. I shot Priya a look over my shoulder and she snickered, waving at me.
“Good luck!”
Chapter Five
LUKA
When Bennett said he found someone to interview for the position, I thought he was joking. We’d gone through all the applicants that HR supplied to us with no luck. Honestly, I was joking when I said to start looking on the street. I figured we’d be forced to settle on someone not quite good enough because we didn’t have any other options. HR brought a few more applicants in this morning and I had to work to not roll my eyes when two of them looked like carbon copies of each other. HR had a type, it seemed, and blonde and ditzy wouldn’t work for Grayson.
“I really appreciate this opportunity. I’ve tried to apply here before, but I wasn’t lucky enough to even get an interview last time.”
I frowned, mostly to myself. I looked through the past applications, thinking maybe HR was skipping over someone based on something stupid. I never saw an application for Julie.
“When was that?”
She lifted a shoulder. “About a year ago?”
My brow furrowed deeper, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I opened the glass door to the conference room, showing her into the space. It was one of many. We had too many meetings now that we were expanding to have just one conference room. This one was the smallest, but I preferred it because the walls were glass and it let in a lot of light. There was a long table in the center and a projector off to one side, if needed. Bennett was rubbing his neck, a look on his face that screamed exhausted. His PTSD got worse if he stressed out. We needed to figure out this secretary thing ASAP, or he’d start having nightmares again.
“Bennie boy, your chosen one has arrived.” I nudged her into the seat across the table, giving her a winning smile when she pursed her lips. I didn’t know her well enough to read her just yet, but it looked like she was fighting off a smile, which was a win for me.
Bennett’s eyes opened, and when he locked on Julie, he actually smiled. “You made it.”
She lit up the room when she smiled back at him and I watched, fascinated, as the tension leaked from his shoulders and he let out a slow breath. That was interesting.
Sitting next to Bennett, I drew her attention back to me.
“So, Bennett wouldn’t tell me much about you. Just that you’re a secretary at a law firm. Why are you looking for a new job?”
She started talking about her interest in the company, the things she liked about our goals here. Basic interview speak. She was good, well prepared, and did her research on us before she arrived. I bet if I asked her what the company mission statement was, she’d be able to repeat it verbatim.
While Bennett asked her about her work history, I studied her. I could see why he wouldn’t shut up about her. She was gorgeous. Her brandy colored eyes sparkled when she spoke, her full lips constantly smiling. She had a dainty nose and a heart-shaped face. Her long brown hair was styled in big loose curls framing her face. She went for business attire with the pencil skirt and blouse, but they accentuated her curvy figure. She wasn’t stick thin like most of the women who’d applied. Her hourglass figure was something else, and if I didn’t take over, Bennett was going to start drooling. He was staring at her intently, a barely noticeable flush on his cheeks. She probably couldn't tell, but I’d been his friend for years. I could read him like a book. He was into her.
“So, Julie, how would you say you could handle an irate boss?”
She tipped her head, considering it. “Well, my goal as a secretary has always been to avoid them getting to that point. If I’m doing my job right, there shouldn’t be a reason for them to be angry. Not at me, at least.”
She was really smart, and I could see her working well with Grayson if she was really that diligent.
“And if an outside source provoked him? How would you handle that?”
She pursed her lips. “However he needed me to, I suppose. Quick action to handle the situation, contacting the departments that can help fix the problem. I’m not a fairy godmother, but I’d like to think I can do my part to make the situation easier on Mr Andrews.”
She didn’t flounder on her answers, pausing only long enough to really consider her response and deliver it eloquently. She wasn’t nervous or jumpy, and she didn’t scoff or act like she had no responsibilities when Grayson lost his temper. It wasn’t like we were expecting them to put up with abuse, but as his secretary, there were little things they could do to make his life easier when things got rough.
“You said you had a business degree. Would you feel comfortable taking on smaller assignments?”
“As long as I’m trained properly to handle them, I’d love that.”
Her response was quick and eager. Bennett mentioned something about her wanting to use her degree. The last few secretaries couldn’t be trusted to do anything like that, but if Julie was as good as she portrayed, maybe I could convince Grayson to let her handle the little things so he could relax for a bit.
