Page 3 of His Temptation
“Hi, Kylie. Thanks so much for meeting with me on such short notice. Take a seat.” She gestures to the chair in front of her desk.
I sit down, holding a single piece of paper with my unimpressive résumé on it. “Of course. Thank you so much for the opportunity.”
“I take it, that’s your résumé?” she says as she eyes the paper.
What are the chances I could bolt out of here and find my way out? I do the calculation in my head, trying to remember the twists and turns before I give up and hand her my résumé.
She takes the time to study it in silence while I twist my fingers together in agony as sweat builds on my back.
“You’re only twenty-one,” she says as she continues to scan it. Before I can answer, she continues, “You received your GED. What led to you not being able to graduate high school?”
I take a deep breath. I’m going for honesty. “My parents disappeared when I was sixteen. My brother was only seven, and we had no other family members to take us in. I didn’t want us to go into the system, so I applied for standby guardianship. Since I was able to find full-time employment and get a cheap place in the city, they gave it to me.”
She looks at me thoughtfully. “That’s quite the responsibility you took on at such a young age. And you still got your GED with all of that going on?”
I nod my head. “Yes, I took night classes. I’ve been working two jobs ever since I turned eighteen. It pays the bills, but it’s still not the life I want for myself or my brother.”
“I see. And your work experience, it doesn’t look like you have worked in a business setting before.”
“I haven’t, but I’m a very fast learner. You have to be when you take on what I did at that age. I will work harder than anyone who’s had this position in the past, I assure you.”
She leans back in her chair. “Mr. Monroe is very specific about the qualifications to be his assistant. A GED simply won’t cut it.”
Panic rises in my throat as I think about the money I spent on these clothes and the opportunity that is slipping through my fingers.
“With all due respect, the list of qualifications has not helped you in the past. From what I overheard this morning, you can’t manage to keep an assistant around. I can change that. I havezero interest in dating a hotshot CEO, and I have everything to lose. If I don’t cut it, an opportunity like this won’t come around again. I will be the best assistant he has ever had. And my qualifications can remain between the two of us. I assume someone at Mr. Monroe’s level does not look over his assistant’s résumé.”
Holy shit. I can’t believe I just spoke like that to her. I’m waiting for her to dismiss me, but I see a hint of a smile form on her lips.
“I do like your tenacity,” she says, then sits up straight, “and I am at my wit’s end with trying to find an assistant who Mr. Monroe won’t fire almost immediately. I trust you won’t be like all the other women who’ve been too worried about getting a date with the man instead of his morning cup of coffee.”
“Of course. I absolutely will only worry about meeting his demands. No chance you’ll catch me sniffing around, looking for a date.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this”—she shakes her head—“but you’re hired.”
If I could scream right now and not scare the ever-loving life out of her, I would do it. I want to jump out of my seat and do a victory dance. My heart is pounding in my chest as a heavy dose of adrenaline courses through my body. This stuff doesn’t happen to me. I feel like I’m in the middle of a dream. I’m tempted to pinch myself to make sure this is real. But I need to be professional and pretend like I’m not completely aghast that she just offered me this job.
“Thank you so much for the opportunity. I promise I will not let you down.”
She nods her head, then starts going over details. “I assume you can start today. I will go ahead and notify HR that we need your paperwork and badge taken care of immediately.”
“Oh, I still have the rest of my shift at the café,” I stammer.
She cranes her head to the side. “I assume you want the job. I think the café can manage without you. Follow me.”
I sneak my phone out of my pocket as we weave through the halls and shoot off a text to Miranda, letting her know I can’t make it back in for the rest of my shift. Is it kind of a dick move? Yes. But if being a dick is going to land me this job and the opportunity to send Benny to college, then a dick is what I’ll be.
As I follow her, she talks quickly. “I assume a hundred thousand a year will be sufficient. The job typically pays more, but with your diploma and work experience, I think that’s fair.”
A hundred thousand dollars? I almost trip over myself. I’ll be a dick to everyone I meet for the rest of my life for that kind of money.
“That’s fair,” I manage to reply.
“You will get two weeks of vacation and a week of sick time. We match 401(k) contributions up to five percent and have a great health insurance plan.”
I get to start a 401(k)! And I get HEALTH INSURANCE! I want to cry with the amount of relief that consumes me, knowing that if my brother gets sick, I will be able to get him to a doctor.
Scarlett stops just outside of an office that saysTrudy, HR Manager.“Okay, I’m going to have Trudy get you squared away. When you’re done, I will bring you to your desk. It’s just outside of Mr. Monroe’s office, so he can have access to you at all times.”
