Page 16 of Awakened
“Zach Cain, nice to meet you.” He shook my hand and gave it an extra squeeze before letting go to push his too-long-for-corporate America, curly, black hair from his forehead. His pretty hazel eyes stayed trained on my every move.
It’s going to be pretty hard to focus with this guy in the interview.
We made our way to a conference room on the eighthfloor. Once we were settled with waters and coffee, the questions came flying.
“So, Ms. Spencer, you were with Spencer & Flatz for three years. Why are you looking to leave?” Mr. Hastings asked.
“I’m relocating to St. Louis and would like to advance my career. That’s better done in a larger market.”
Boom! Now that’s an answer!
Nodding, Mr. Hastings gestured to Zach as if passing him the baton.
Mr. Hottie smiled at me. “What can you bring to our team that the other candidates can’t?” I swear he smirked.
Is he calling out my wolf?
Putting on a beautiful smile, I replied, “Well, Mr. Cain?—”
He put his hand up to interrupt me. “Please call me Zach.”
“Okay, Zach. I bring my experience as the sole business advisor for a five-million-dollar-a-year company. I understand that’s small potatoes to Rubin Black, but I did that on my own and would love to bring my knowledge and skills to a team and see where that potential could go.”
The interview went on for another thirty minutes. In the end, I was confident I would receive an offer letter.
After being assured that I would hear from them in the next few days, I booked it to the elevator. I needed to get out of my stuffy suit and into, well, no pants. I wanted no pants.
As the doors to the elevator closed, a hand shot through. They reopened, revealing Zach and his big-ass smile. He got on but didn’t push a button, so I asked, “What floor?”
“Oh, the lobby’s fine.”
I nodded, not sure what to say to him. It’s always awkward when you say bye but then end up going in the same direction. Usually, I would speed up to create distance, but we were in a small metal box. There wasn’t anywhere to go. So, I took out my phone and started to scroll.
Zach laughed, and I looked up, startled by his intense stare. “What?” A blush heated my cheeks.
“Are you using your phone to avoid talking to me? It’s a little pointless, considering we’ll be working together soon.” He gave me another wonderful smile that stalled my brain, but eventually, what he said registered.
“Hold up. Did you just say I got the job?”
“Yep, but don’t say anything when they call you. You’re not supposed to know yet.” He held a finger over his full lips and shushed.
Without thinking, I grabbed Zach and crushed him in a tight hug. If I thought his smile was wonderful, it had nothing on his scent. It was too good. Clean with a little bit of citrus.
Did he have an orange for breakfast?
As I breathed him in, I realized what I was doing and let go—no need to be the freak at work before I even started. Pushing against the wall on the opposite side of the elevator, I put as much space as possible between us.
Great! Way to be a weirdo!
“I love giving good news.” Zach grinned.
My cheeks felt so hot that they must have been full-on tomato red. “Oh, uh, sorry. I’m just really excited. Probably shouldn’t have hugged a new coworker before my first day.”
“So, there will be more hugs after the first day? Good to know. I promise not to tell HR.” As he said HR, he winked at me. He freaking winked.
“Whoa, buddy. Who said anything about more affection? You were just the person here. I could’ve hugged anyone.”
He pouted and threw his hand over his heart. “That hurts. I thought we had something special.” The doors to the elevator opened, and we both stepped out.
