She wasn’t about to tell Tate his assumptions weren’t too far off the mark. Henry had once or twice let his hands linger just a bit too long on the back of her chair and it made her decisively uncomfortable. More so, because she was sixteen going on seventeen while pretending to be going on twenty-one and the man was twice that with ease.
Mel was relieved when the afternoon and evening sped by quickly although she wished she’d had little interaction with the man. She was going to drop in for a bit in the morning before heading off to her birthday celebration with Tate and she gladly shut down her computer and left.
She was almost to the train station when she felt a slight twinge of fear creep through her. A truck slowed down beside her and her heart pounded as she dug in her bag for her keys, the only thing that she could use as a weapon.
“Melinda?” Mel heard her name said with a deep voice as a window slid down and she relaxed a bit.
“Jordan?” She sighed walking over to the truck giving him a half-smile. “You really shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that; you’re likely to get maced.”
“Sorry, I was heading home from a work site and saw you. Where are you heading at this time of night?” he asked looking around the dark but mostly deserted street. More than half of the street lamps weren’t working, but that wasn’t anything new.
“The train, I live outside the city.”
“And you walked this entire way alone? Where’s your boyfriend when you really need him?”
“Huh? Oh Tate? He’s not…we’re not…” It took her a minute for her brain to figure out what he’d meant but even with that,her heart was fluttering in wild ways that wasn’t from fear. She paused for a moment, getting herself under control but it was difficult when she clocked the darkness in his eyes wasn’t anger at her the way Henry’s typically was. No, his eyes were saying something entirely different and what touched her most was the worry shown for her in them. “Tate’s my best friend and sometimes he jumps into situations thinking he’s protecting me.”
“I see, and he thought you needed protection from me?” he asked his face relaxing into a smile.
“Maybe not you so much as the whole situation, he’s worried that Henry or someone else won’t take no for an answer.”
“Henry’s…”
“Not blatantly enough for me to do anything about it but if he’s not angry he’s…attentive.”
“So why do you stay? Surely you could find somewhere that accommodates your schedule.”
“But they don’t pay as well. It’s fine. I can handle it, really. I’ve been foisting off advances since I was fifteen…”Shit, she thought but he seemed to let it slide right by or took it that she meant longer than just two years now thankfully.
“Hop in, I’ll drop you off at the train station.”
“I…”
“It’ll give me a chance to tell you my offer.”
“Okay,” she agreed, knowing somehow deep down that it was safer than walking the rest of the way alone no matter if she felt a bit tongue-tied around him.
“Now, what’s your current package like?”
“I make about forty-five thousand a year. I’m supposed to have two weeks’ worth of vacation time and sick leave but if you try and use it—well, Henry gets grumpy.”
“And your hours?” he asked, his jaw a little tight after her comment.
“I usually start around one, work till seven or eight and then on Saturday mornings I stop in and catch up on things until I’m finished.”
“Well what would you say to fifty a year, working from one to six during the week and Saturdays seven to one? If you want to take a vacation or are sick, I’ll understand more than Henry I’m sure. We also have health insurance, it’s about sixty a month from your paychecks, and you can set up a deferred comp type plan if you want that’s tax deductible.”
“That’s only thirty-one hours a week…that can’t be considered full-time for health insurance, can it? What kind of work would it be?” she asked, sorely tempted after Henry’s latest scathing remarks towards her.
“It’d be considered a salaried position, so the number of hours actually worked doesn’t matter. You’d basically be running the entire office. I think you can manage it. From what I’ve seen and heard, there’s not much you can’t do. Right now, it’s just me handling the paperwork, payroll, scheduling, contracting, and supervising the work sites. I won’t lie, we’re a fairly new company and it’s a lot of work making sure it stays afloat.”
“Why me then? I’m sure there are a million other people out there who’ve handled way more than I have,” she stated, because she definitely hadn’t been involved in any aspects of payroll or true office management. Yes, she handled more of Henry’s shit than she really should, but the day to day of office management, paying the bills and such she hadn’t touched.
“But they don’t have something you do Melinda,” he said making her brow raise a bit as they stopped at a light. He gave her a slight smile and added, “Your ability to handle the flat-out stares from men, the come-ons is a huge bonus. No matter what the woman looks like, the guys flirt when they come pick up their checks and I think you’ll be able to handle yourself a lotbetter than those others you mentioned. The guys know better than to step over the line, I don’t allow harassment of any sort on my sites let alone in the office, and if you’re worried about the company failing don’t.”
“Okay in one breath you tell me it’s a lot of work to stay afloat and in the next that I shouldn’t worry about it failing…why?” That had her very curious and a little intrigued, especially since there was something about Jordan that drew her towards him, made her feel safe in a way she hadn’t with anyone but Tate.
“Because though I don’t want to, if I absolutely have to take money or jobs from my family I will.”
