Page 8 of Trouble Me
Emma surged to her feet. While working for a winery wasn’t ideal for obvious reasons, the truth of the matter was, she was beyond desperate. In a town like Madison Ridge, jobs that paid like this one didn’t come along very often. She’d never find another one like this in time to save her family’s land.
“I don’t know why you don’t want to hire me—”
He dropped his hand and his eyes narrowed. “I never said that.”
She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t have to. I’ve used that exact same line on candidates before. I know what it means. ‘We will keep your résumé on file and never call you again. Next.’” She mimed a big check mark in the air. “You said yourself I’m qualified. And I know for a fact you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone in this town to fill the position as well as I can.”
His lips tightened in a thin line and he crossed his arms over his broad chest. It was a feat to keep her eyes from lingering on the play of muscles in his arms when he moved. The business casual slacks-and-shirt ensemble only served to heighten his raw masculine power.
“You think Madison Ridge is my only resource for candidates?” His smile was wolfish. “You underestimate me.”
She shrugged a shoulder, feigning nonchalance. “Maybe. But if you want anyone from Atlanta or the northern suburbs, you’re going to have to pay a lot more for them, to make it worth their time to sit in the traffic that will no doubt plague them.”
“I can afford to do that.”
“But why, when you don’t have to?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation, Ms. Reynolds,” he replied, his tone cold. He paused and looked away, a small pulse under his cheek. He turned back to her, his eyes serious. “But I’ll be honest. You’re overqualified. You have a résumé that reads like a Who’s Who ofFortune 500employers and clients. And yet, here you are interviewing for a position that, while vitally important tomybusiness, is something you surpassed a few years back.” He jammed his hands on his hips and stared her down. “I don’t know what your situation is, but I don’t want my business to be a stopgap for you when one of your recruiters lures you back to the city.”
Emma couldn’t fault him for his reasoning, even if she knew a block of ice had better odds in hell than her recruiters calling to lure her away. She waspersona non gratain that circle, which suited her fine. That life had nearly killed her.
If she were smart, she’d leave it alone and be on her way. But desperation and all. Her gut had never let her down before, at least when she was sober and listening to it.
She raised her chin. “You’re right, you don’t. But before you kick me out, hear me out.” Her stomach was a ball of knots but she forged ahead. “I need this. Besides being the best person for the job, I’m a local. I know people in this town who could help you. It would give you an edge over the other wineries in the area.”
A thoughtful look crossed his face, and before he could say anything, she pushed on. “My family is one of the founding families of Madison Ridge. I may have left to pursue dreams in the big city, but I love it here. There’s nothing more I’d love to see than this community thrive and your company can do that by offering jobs during the remodel and into the future once the winery opens.” She smiled when he narrowed his eyes as though processing implications. “I have a vested interest here, Mr. Kavanaugh. More than any of the candidates you’d get from Atlanta.”
He studied her for several moments with another frown, his fingers tapping against his hips.
“I’ll take that into consideration, Ms. Reynolds.” One side of his mouth curved into a half smile. Emma decided at that moment if she ever did see a full-on smile from him, she would probably faint. “You’re persuasive. I’m beginning to see why you landed so many deals.” The low, deep timbre of his voice vibrated across her skin. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”
It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a hell no either. She’d have to take it for now.
When he held out his hand again, she slid hers into it.
“I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you, Mr. Kavanaugh.”
He kept her hand clasped in his but leaned in ever so slightly, the smell of pine and man surrounding her. It made her knees weak. “I admire your guts, Emmaline. I’m going to need that here. And please. Call me Shane.”
She looked up into his face. “Thank you, Shane.” Her voice was breathy and these were not at all the signals she needed to give off.
His Hollywood-esque smile made her lightheaded. The brooding, grumpy man from the diner made her want to lighten him up by any means possible. But this guy, with the sexy smile?
Yeah, he was definitely going to be trouble.
The fact he could be her future boss put things in a different light. There were no exceptions to her business-and-pleasure rule. Even with her careless ways during her active addiction, it was one rule she had never, ever broken.
That wasn’t going to change now.
He released her and stepped back. His eyes were unreadable as he rounded the desk and crossed the room to open the door. He stood beside it and gave her an expectant look. “Thank you for coming in.”
Mr. Kavanaugh was effective with his dismissals.
Of course, she had no reason to stay. The interview was over. She’d pled her case, and while she may be on the verge of losing one more piece of herself, she had to have some shred of dignity.Fake it ’til you make it, baby.
She nodded and without another word, turned on her heel and left his office with her head held high. It wasn’t until she made it back to her car that she let the starch out of her spine, leaning her head on her hands curled around the steering wheel. She inhaled and exhaled deep breaths until her heart finally beat normally.
If she went to work for him, she was going to have to reinforce her business-and-pleasure rule with a brick wall.
