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I really want to impress him in the interview.
So I’m walking along—toward the InFini building and away from Pete—feeling good, and then I accidentally bump into someone.
A guy, wearing what looks to be an expensive suit. He’s holding a takeaway coffee and it splashes all over him.
A pristine, pressed white shirt, and now it’s covered in a big dark stain.
I’m mortified, but I don’t have time to stop and apologize.
“I’m so sorry,” I say without breaking my stride.
I just need to get to this interview, get it done, and start this new chapter of my life.
Brock
Are you fucking serious?
This is a new shirt, I’ve got a packed schedule, and now because some airhead can’t watch where she’s going, there’s a huge brown stain on the damn thing.
Goddamn it, I’ve got a huge meeting with the board today, a ton of paperwork to catch up on, and the interview with Dean’s little sister too.
That woman doesn’t think she has time to stop and apologize? I’m the one with a multi-million dollar deal on the line today.
Just my luck to have a shitty start to one of the biggest days in my career.
I stand there on the sidewalk, surrounded by the milling lunchtime crowd, and wipe at the coffee stain with a paper napkin I snatched from one of the busy food trucks nearby.
Great. The stain is now smeared over an even larger area of my brand-new shirt. I’m just making it worse, and there’s no way at all I’m getting it off.
Breathe, Brock. Take a breath, and cool yourself down. It’s just a shirt.
I pull out my phone and check the time.
Shit. I’m already twenty minutes late for the interview.
Nina, my buddy Dean’s little sister, is probably sitting there outside the interview room, sweating buckets. I vaguely remember her from years back when she was living with Dean just after their parents died in that car crash.
I used to go over there to hang out with Dean, and she was this awkward kid, maybe fifteen or so, and she had the hugest crush on me.
Dean used to rib me about it, but I felt kind of bad for her. She was way too young for me, of course, but she was definitely pretty in her own way.
We never talked about it or anything, but I tried to let her down gently. I avoided spending time alone with her, and I said things like, “You’re like the sister I never had,” any chance I got.
And then she was gone, off to college.
Dean and I have stayed friends even though he still lives in Seattle. Nina’s actually living here in Denver now, but I just learned about that from Dean recently.
Both Dean and I have been so busy with work these days that I don’t get the chance to hang out with him that much anymore. So it was a surprise when he texted me a while back after hearing I was looking for a new assistant.
Yeah, I’m getting an assistant—laugh all you want.
I may be the Chief Communications Officer, but everybody knows I’m also Luke Alder’s go-to guy—a.k.a. assistant. So yes, the assistant is getting an assistant. It’s a challenging job, and I can’t juggle everything all by myself.
Dean promised me Nina was qualified and motivated. And to be honest, I don’t have the time to vet candidates and all that shit. I just want someone to help me out.
So today’s interview is mostly a formality, but I do still want to meet Nina to make sure our personalities don’t clash and she’s not a total flake.
I pull up her contact info and type out a quick text message.
Hi Nina, sorry I’m running late. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just take a seat in the lobby and I’ll be with you ASAP.
Okay, now that’s dealt with I can focus on replacing this shirt. Spotting a Gap, I duck inside.
“Hello, sir. How can I help you?” One of the assistants approaches me with a big, customer-service grin.
I smile ruefully and wave my hands at the huge stain now covering my chest. “I need something to replace this. Your highest quality shirt.”
“Right away.” The assistant nods, his grin widening, no doubt sensing potential for a big commission.
While I wait for the kid to come back with it, I take a seat by the row of fitting rooms.
Things have been manic recently, what with Luke taking a bit of a step back from the day-to-day operations of running InFini. He’s been spending much more time with Tessa and their kid, and I can’t say I blame him.
I’ve known Luke for a long time, and I’ve never seen him quite like this. He’s like a besotted teen, even after a year of marriage.
Tessa tried to set me up with one of her friends, Claire, at the birthday party of Kayleigh, their kid, so I know they probably think I should follow suit.
