Page 5 of Becoming His Muse
They begin to open the submissions, just like Olani thought the first eight were filled with nonsense. She got to the ninth one and read it over. He seemed like a nice man and consented to the background check. However, they didn’t share any of the same hobbies.
She continued to move on, reading through them. When she came to the sixteenth, she put the submission to the side. They had a few things in common, and she figured there wouldn’t be any harm in sending her survey to him once she’d run his background. When she opened the nineteenth, she was about to place it in the trash bin again because they had nothing in common.
“He sounds interesting,” Xola spoke. “And he likes ice skating and going to plays.”
Olani stuck her tongue in her cheek to keep from laughing. Xola enjoyed going to plays as often as she could and would dragOlani along any time she could get her to go. Her cousin also enjoyed ice skating.
“You know you can always complete a survey and send it to him,” she said, placing the man’s submission into the archive folder.
“I…don’t know about all that.”
Olani continued, opening the others. She came across two more that she saved for later once their background checks were done. When she came to her last one, she wasn’t sure what she had expected. The others she’d sat aside had answered the questions. However, she didn’t think they had been this honest.
He was an artist by profession, a sculptor, and was honest that he found it hard to date with the number of commissions and showings he had each year. They had several things in common, but it was the space where it asked what their favorite hobby was, and he’d stated trying new things. That had resonated with Olani because she was the same way. She always liked to try new things at least once, and he’d been the only one to submit that answer.
Olani placed him in the yes folder and added his information to the list she’d started for background checks.
“Well, it seems like you have a few prospects.”
“We’ll see how many remain once the background checks come back,” Olani responded, closing her laptop and placing it aside. She picked up her glass of wine and took another sip.
Maybe this hadn’t been a terrible idea if at least one of the men she’d set aside was dateable.
3
Olani sat at her desk in her office, running background checks on the men she’d set aside in her yes folder. So far, only one of them had returned with anything on his record, and even then, it was minor. She was just about to run the last name when her phone rang.
“This is Olani.” She stated, picking it up.
“Hey, Lani, there’s a client out here who’s upset and wants to speak to you,” Jasmine, her administrative assistant, stated.
“You can show them in,” Olani responded before hanging up the phone. She already knew who the client was, or well, the soon-to-be ex-client.
Sure enough, Anthony was led into her office, and Olani gestured for him to have a seat. She knew why he was there; it was the second time he’d shown up. However, Olani was determined to make this his last time.
“What can I do for you, Anthony?” she questioned.
“You can send me competent staff,” he responded.
Olani refrained from rolling her eyes. She was sending him more than competent employees. She was simply not sending him the kind he wanted, and she wouldn’t be doing so. Several of the temporary employees she sent to him complained about how he allowed his customers to treat the women, which made them uncomfortable. So, Olani resorted to sending him only male temps, letting each one know that there was a problem when she sent female employees and asking them to report back to her if anything happened with them.
“I’m sending you more than competent employees. They all either meet or exceed the requirements you gave me. So, I’m failing to see the problem.”
“The problem is that it isn’t what I asked for.”
“You asked for employees who could work within a certain time frame, had specific qualifications, and would get the job done, correct?”
“Yes, I did. But—”
“And the people I sent you are doing just that, correct?” Olani questioned, cutting him off.
“They are,” Anthony gritted out.
“Again, I don’t see the problem.” Olani picked up a pen, twisting it between her fingers before leaning back in her seat. “However, I’ve come to realize my error.”
Anthony perked up a bit and nodded. “Good. I’m glad we’ll be able to work this out.”
“My error in continuing to do business with you. I will pull my employees from your establishment. Don’t worry; you won’t have to pay them for the day. I’ll take care of that for you.” Olani turned her attention towards her computer screen. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m very busy.”
