She ducked her head. "The last place I worked did all of their meetings with Zoom."
"Hate Zoom," I said. "Skype's too laggy."
"Discord?" she offered. "It has a video option now. I mean, it's probably not what you're wanting, but I know that Google has a business option too."
"You used any?" I asked.
"My boyfriend's in Oregon, so I use Discord," she admitted. "It's why I mentioned it."
So I reached over and pushed the button to send all of her calls to voicemail. "Had lunch?"
"No, sir," she almost squeaked.
"Well, grab your purse, or whatever you need. There's a nice place across the street, and I need to pick your brain." I tilted my head toward the elevator in a clear invitation. "How old are you, anyway?"
"Nineteen," she breathed, scrambling to toss her phone into her purse and follow me.
I lifted my hand between her shoulders, keeping her at my side. "Are you interested in fashion, Leslie?"
"Yes, sir! I wanted to be a model, but my parents wanted me to get a degree."
"Ah, a student." I smiled at her to show that was a good thing. "Online or taking a break?" Because if she was here all day, she couldn't be full time.
"This is a summer job, actually." She gave me a weak smile. "When they told me I was going to come work at Risqué, I couldn't believe it. I've followed everything Violet Dawson has done, and the two of you used to be the hottest thing in Paris." Her mouth snapped shut.
"I quit when I got too old," I explained, pressing the button to call the car. "They want lean men, not muscular ones. The broader my shoulders got, the less contracts came my way. Just like how they want girls to be a size double-zero."
"It's stupid," she mumbled.
"Really is," I agreed. "Which is why I don't hire most of the big names, although you have no idea how hard I've worked to convince Violet to gain weight."
"Where?" she asked just as the door dinged, announcing the elevator.
I laughed, holding out my arm for her to get on first. "I like you, Leslie. I'm going to guess that your temp assignment has you working for us for thirty days before we can hire you full time, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"So," I decided, pausing to press the button for the first floor, "how would you feel about speeding that up? I'll give you the week to convince me that you can handle this office, because I'd like to be able to spend some time with my best friend. Things are crazy for her, and while I can work online, she can't."
"You mean Violet?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yep. She just inherited her grandmother's farm. Well, juvenile rehabilitation center. Long story."
"Southwind," she said. "Which is where the two of you met. Her grandmother made a difference in young lives, and you were given a second chance there, which you used to become one of the leading..." Once again, she closed her mouth, and this time she ducked her head. "Sorry. I kinda read an article about it."
"I'm impressed." I rubbed at her shoulder, hoping I could calm some of her nerves. "But yes, Southwind. I'm not sure how long I'll be down there, but it could be months at a time."
Her eyes flicked to the numbers working their way down to the ground floor. "There's no reason that you couldn't fly back to New York every other week for any in-person meetings you'd need and head back the next day, is there?"
"Except that it's a long flight, and a longer drive." But I liked the way she was thinking. "How many of these meetings do you think I really need to be at?"
"Contract signings," she said. "We could always sign them digitally, but it seems like the bigger businesses don't feel as comfortable with that."
I nodded. "Ok, so what if we work that down to once a month? Now, how are we going to explain to everyone that I'm not in the office?"
She looked up at me again. "Mr. Walker is away on assignment. I would have to check his schedule to see if he's acquiring fabric or interviewing models. I do have an appointment open on the third of next month, if you'd prefer a face-to-face meeting instead of a virtual one."
I grinned at her spiel. "I think you're going to be good at this."
