Page 40 of Love Not Qualified

“Gorig.” His head tilted forward with the correction.

“Gorig,” I agreed. “We had a technical issue with one of our employees, but I can assure you it’s been already taken care of. If you’d still like to, we could arrange a meeting at a suitable time for you.”

Haelyn fidgeted from side to side and her hip bumped into mine when her heel slipped again. My eyes jumped to her and I caught her by the elbow, making sure she was steady.

“Thank you,” she whispered even though Gorig was two steps away. I lowered my attention to her lips before I returned it to the man in front of us.

I removed my touch from her skin, but it was so soft I rolled my fingers on top of each other to get a sense of how it felt to put my palm on her. It was nothing compared to the real experience.

What the hell was wrong with me? Five minutes ago I wanted her as far as possible and now I wanted her closer.

Gorig looked at Haelyn, then at me several times. It was like a game and he couldn’t decide who to focus on or who to address. When he decided, his gaze settled on me.

“Mistakes happen.” He nodded, moving his palm on the tip of the stick. “And I might be able to change my decision of placing you on the blacklist.” Gorig paused, waiting for our reactions.

Blacklist? For fuck’s sake, if we didn’t get a meeting I was going to strangle Sara for the mess she caused. Once you were on a blacklist, no money or influence could take you out.

So what could possibly make him cut us off from there?

“I have one condition.”

I was tempted to say ‘anything,’ but I kept my mouth shut. That wasn’t the impression I wanted to give.

“May I ask who came up with the idea of scheduling an interview to reach me?” he asked, his eyes squinting at me.

My first instinct was to say anyone but Haelyn, because if he thought it was a terrible idea and that we invaded his privacy, I didn’t want her caught up in the middle. But when I saw the bright flicker in his eyes, I knew Gorig thought it was brilliant.

“Haelyn Ross,” I said, and when I caught her from the corner of my eyes, pulling her chin down to her chest, I wanted to raise it up until she was above Gorig.

A pleased smile reached his lips and he had no shame of letting it lift until it got all the way to his ears. He nods. “You can get a meeting if she’s there.” He pointed his hand at her, then placed the stick on the table, stopping inches from us. “Graves, we’ve been in discussions for years, but I think Haelyn is what will help you get over that horse vision of yours. I have to admit, I’ve never been approached this way before and I won’t lie, it’s genius.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gorig,” Haelyn said with a soft voice.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused, but the chance you’re giving us right now will be worth it,” I promised, stretching my palm to shake hands with him.

He nodded and accepted the handshake, then moved his attention back to Haelyn.

“So you don’t want a job here? Because the job is yours.” Gorig lifted his hands around his body, taking a few steps back.

Haelyn stole a glance at me and her mouth parted open. My heart started racing and my thoughts clouded.

There’s no way I was letting her go. But now that she had the chance, would she leave? After all, she was as creative as Gorig’s team and she was going to be a great fit here, but was she going to leave the company after she tried to get me a meeting?

Before she could reply, I put a hand on her back. “She’s permanently hired at the Graves Company, I’m afraid.”

He laughed—a real laugh—throwing his head back and touching his stomach with his palm. “All right, you have every right to be protective of her. I’ll email you the details.” Gorig took a seat on his chair.

“Thank you,” I gave him a stern nod before I walked Haelyn out.

The door barely closed after us when two small arms circled my neck. My hands remained beside my body as her legs shook with enthusiasm and the thrilled sensation filling my chest was so strange to me.

Sure, I wanted this meeting more than anything in my life, but I never celebrated a victory before it was finalized.

Haelyn squeezed me tightly and I found myself not knowing what to do with the limp hands raised in the air. Before I could decide what to do, she took a step back, one of her palms covering her mouth.

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t… appropriate.” She excused herself and was ready to march out of the building when my fingers grasped her wrist.

I didn’t know what had gotten into me, but not asking her would be something I was going to regret. I was going to spend sleepless nights trying to find the answer to a problem that would bother me all day.

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