“And the second?” I prompted when he paused.
His eyes moved from me to Chris then back. “You’re filling the position because you, Ms. Archer, are being promoted. That means the company is expanding. Since Mr. Barden seems willing to promote from within, I believe this would be a good opportunity for me to learn the ins and outs of the company and perhaps someday, when the company expands again, I would be considered for a promotion as well.”
I glanced at Chris out of the corner of my eyes and saw the way his mouth quirked. Declan Smythe had his attention now.
The interview continued for another fifteen minutes, with Chris asking him question after question and practically glaring at him. Declan handled it all with ease.
Finally, I’d had enough. I interrupted the steady flow of the interrogation.
“Declan, would you mind giving me a few moments to confer with Mr. Barden?”
The young man nodded and got to his feet, walking out of the office and shutting the door gently behind him.
I turned toward Chris and nudged him with my elbow. “Jesus, Chris. You want some steak sauce since you’re grilling him so hard?”
Chris smirked. “Just putting on a little pressure to see how the pretty boy handled it.”
With that, I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled at him. “I never want to hear those words come out of your mouth again. I’ve been exactly where he is. Well, not completely, I worked full time while I got my degree, but I know what it feels like when potential employers and supervisors don’t take you seriously because of the way you look. How do you think I ended up working for you?”
His eyebrows lifted. “I wasn’t—”
I didn’t wait for him to complete that sentence, choosing to cut him off rather than listen to him deny doing exactly what he had done. “You took one look at Declan and decided that he was too pretty to possibly be intelligent. Now, I’m not a supermodel, but I’m well aware of the fact that with my petite frame, curly hair, and sweet-looking face no one took me seriously either. They all thought I looked helpless and assumed that I must be worthless intellectually as well.”
Chris blinked at me but didn’t reply, so I continued.
“Declan Smythe knew exactly what you were doing and it pissed him off. He’s smart, qualified, and he didn’t lose his temper when you patronized him. Considering how often you can be annoying, that’s definitely a bonus. Plus, he’s good-looking enough that your female clients will enjoy coming here just for the eye candy.”
His brows lifted, but he ignored my comment about his ability to annoy. “Are you going to enjoy coming to work just for the eye candy?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m in a relationship and not interested in starting something up with a man who’s nearly eight years younger than me. My point is that while I don’t want to be valued for my looks alone, I can’t say I haven’t used them to my advantage in business dealings before. I’m sure Declan would be the same. I say we give him ninety days to show us what he’s capable of. If it isn’t working out, then we can call some of the applicants we already have on file to see if they’re still interested.”
“You’re in a relationship?” Chris asked.
I sighed. “I thought you weren’t going to talk to me about Landen again?”
He lifted a hand and shrugged. “You’re right, I said I wouldn’t.”
I grinned when he still studied me with obvious curiosity. “I haven’t spoken to Landen yet this week, but we will have a conversation when he gets back from Oregon. If he agrees to my terms, then yes, I’ll still be in a relationship.”
Chris returned my grin, a rare wide smile flashing across his face. “Is it wrong that I’m glad Landen’s around for you to give him hell? It’s a nice reprieve for the rest of us.”
I rolled my eyes. “Now that we’ve discussed my personal life to your satisfaction, can we get back to the business at hand?”
Chris nodded, his gaze sharpening as it ventured back toward the door to his office. “You were right. I dismissed him because he was young and good-looking. I assumed that he would be arrogant and useless. If you honestly think he could do a good job, then I’m willing to give him thirty days, not ninety.”
Judging by Declan’s resume and the confidence with which he held himself, I doubted we would need the full ninety days to determine if he was a good fit. “Fine. I’ll call him back in.”
Chris rose from his seat. “No, I’ll do it.”
He moved to the door, opened it, and stuck his head out to call Declan back in. When the young man stopped at the door, Chris held out his hand.
“Thank you for coming in today, Declan.” When they shook hands, Chris continued, “We’ve discussed it and we would like to offer you the position.”
Declan’s eyes widened and he grinned. Suddenly, he looked very young and extremely cute. He also looked happy. “Really?”
Chris released his hand and gestured for him to sit in the chair he’d occupied earlier. “Yes. You’ll have a thirty-day probationary period and if everything goes well during that time, you’ll have the position permanently.”
As Declan settled in the chair, he nodded. “I understand.”
