“Oh, I’m offering alright,” I said. “Let’s do a tour, then you can come back here and fill out the employee paperwork.”
Nellie
* * *
Noah’s insinuation that I couldn’t keep my hands off him made me want to prove him wrong, and I found myself accepting the job offer before I could really think things through. Not that there was much to think through: I needed this job, I needed to replace my income and start banking hours for maternity leave.
I was too much of a chicken shit to mention my predicament to Noah. I didn’t want him to know, and I didn’t want my situation to either be the reason he gave me the job, or the reason I didn’t get the job. I knew I couldn’t hide it from him forever, but that was a problem for another day.
After the tour finished, Noah led me back into the dining room and left me alone to fill out the paperwork he’d need to process my hiring. Once I was done, it was almost time for lunch. My stomach grumbled, and I was starting to feel nauseous. I hadn’t expected to be there all day, and I was starving. Apparently, if I didn’t snack regularly, my morning sickness revved up.
I was rooting through my purse for the dreaded ginger candies when the scent of cheese and pepperoni reached me. Looking up, I caught Noah walking into the room with a couple of pizza boxes.
“I had Easton go pick up some pizza,” Noah said, setting the pizza boxes down on the table. “I realize you probably weren’t expecting to spend the day here.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s…kind of you.” It was hard to be irritable about pizza, and since I hadn’t expected to be hired on the spot or start working immediately—I hadn’t exactly packed a lunch of my own.
“Like I said, we look out for our employees,” Noah winked, the action sending a strange sensation to my belly. He was undeniably attractive, it was why I’d fallen so eagerly into his bed all those weeks ago. But in addition to his handsome looks, he was charismatic and considerate. A dangerous combination if I ever saw one.
It’s why I’d hesitated at first about accepting the job. Noah was dangerous in a way I couldn’t even articulate to myself. But despite that danger, he didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. If anything, I felt relaxed around him, like I was where I was supposed to be. That was also a dangerous feeling to have, especially given the secret I was keeping from him.
I drew in a breath and smiled. “Well, thank you again. I’ve finished the paperwork,” I told him, collecting it in a neat little pile and handing it to him.
“Perfect. Forgot to mention you get a half hour unpaid for lunch, starting at eleven thirty. Everyone eats around the same time usually, in here. So, the rest will be along shortly.”
“Okay,” I nodded, trying to stifle a yawn. Noah caught me, and gave me a small smile, opening the pizza boxes and pushing them closer to me. One pie was a meat lovers dream, while the other was a basic cheese and pepperoni.
“If you want to call it a day after eating, you’re welcome to. I fully understand that you weren’t planning on starting today.”
“I didn’t have anything else to do,” I shrugged, helping myself to a cheesy slice of pepperoni pizza. “Might as well get paid for my time. Wait, I am getting paid, right?”
“Yup. Your first official workday started the moment we shook on it. I’ll show you how to fill out the time sheets after lunch, then we’ll get started on teaching you how the booking system works and how to put together guest packets for check-ins.”
“That sounds good.” I didn’t have any plans for the afternoon, and the pizza would fuel me for a couple hours more.
I didn’t want to go home yet, I knew I’d end up thinking about what a stupid choice it was for me to accept this job. What was done was done, and I’d rather focus on learning what was expected of me, than sitting around beating myself up for saying yes.
“Great.” Noah sounded relieved. I got the sense that he was eager to pass off the office duties to me as soon as possible. He’d mentioned his usual jobs were maintenance and payroll.
Noah set my paperwork aside and pulled out a seat, sitting down across from me. Before I had time to worry about eating lunch alone with him, the bell to the main office chimed and two people walked into the dining room.
I recognized them as Noah’s brothers, both from their family resemblance to Noah, and from the other night at the park.
“Nellie, meet my brothers. That scowling, scary looking fellow is Damien, although don’t let his gruff exterior fool you, he’s a softie at heart. The one grinning like an idiot is my younger brother, Easton. And yes, he’s an idiot.”
“Hey, newbie,” the younger brother said, his grin widening as he helped himself to a slice of pizza. “Welcome to the ranks. I’m not an idiot, and I’m also not at all surprised Noah hired you on the spot.”
“Easton, knock it off.” The older brother said, his scowl deepening. I got the not-so-subtle impression that Damien wasn’t thrilled with my presence, but I shook it off when he gave me a forced smile as he grabbed a slice.
“Noah’s been whining for days about having to cover the office,” Easton chuckled. “I’m impressed with how quickly he managed to find someone to fill the role.”
“It just worked out like that,” Noah interjected, giving me a soft smile. “We’re lucky that Nellie was available to start so soon.”
Damien grunted, going over to one of the other tables to sit while Easton took the chair beside Noah. Easton opened his mouth, about to say something, when the bell chimed again and two older women walked in.
“Nellie, this is Rhonda and Denise, our head housekeepers. Rhonda and Denise, this is Nellie, our new receptionist.”
The women both smiled in greeting. “Hello,” the one on the right said. I wasn’t sure which one, but never-the-less, I smiled in greeting.
