Page 41 of Tame Me

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and my frenzied brain hit a whole new level as I wondered why they’d want this information when it would already be on my file.

“Well, I grew up in Mildura, which is a small country town in north-west Victoria. My first job was working in my father’s stationery store.”

My voice quivered so much, I was certain I was indecipherable. “I was there for seven years before I accepted the position as night manager here.”

“You’d never worked in hotel management before?” Romana’s American accent surprised me.

“No. I hadn’t.”

Both the women and the Asian man in the yellow tie scribbled on their notepads.

They continued to fire their questions at me, one after another.

“Tell us what you think of the Hot Horizon Hotel.”

“Do you like working here?”

“Have you had any major issues?”

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

“Give us your opinion of John.”

That request had my heart exploding again. “Mr. Karwatsky . . .?” I cleared my throat and raised my eyebrows.

“Yes. Tell us what you think of him,” Richard said.

“I don’t actually have much to do with him.”

“How so?”

“Well, I work the night shift, so we basically have a five-minute changeover each day, and that’s all I see of him.”

“Is the handover structured?” Brandi’s articulate voice clipped off her tongue like a judge’s sentence.

“Pfft, no.” I said that way too quickly, and the two Asians scribbled something on their notepads.

“What do you know about this Memphis woman?” Romana said.

My heart launched to my throat. I swallowed. Hard. “I, ahhh . . .”

“Jane.” Brandi looked at me in a motherly way, and the change was startling. “You need to be honest with us about her.”

“Memphis?”

“Yes. John told us all about her, and we want your opinion.”

I cleared my throat and stared at my hands. “Memphis is not a prostitute.” The truth was easy; the rest was not going to be, though.

“John disagrees with you. Why is that, do you think?” Richard asked.

I shifted in my seat, stalling for an answer. “Mr. Karwatsky is basing his opinion on Memphis’s appearance. She’s a confident woman who wears provocative clothing and classy shoes and stands up for herself.”

Out the corner of my eye, I think both women nodded.

“John claims you are Memphis,” Brandi said matter-of-factly.

My pounding heart was set to explode as I flitted my gaze from one board member to the next. “I have no idea what to say to that.”

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