Dad chuckled. “You’re in excellent hands, Leo. Good luck.”
“Thank you, sir.” Leo sounded so respectful. It was sweet, and I had to turn back to my computer to focus my mind on anything other than finding new things to like about him. If he planned on actually working for us this summer, I couldn’t afford to swoon.
“I’ll leave y’all to it. I have a few things to take care of before the day starts.” Dad gave me a thumbs up over his shoulder and started back into the house. I watched as the door closed behind him, silently wondering if he was actually going to do anything productive or just shoot the breeze with Mom. He seemed focused enough on whatever he’d been looking for earlier. Hopefully, that focus spilled into the rest of the day.
“Pull up a seat.” I gestured to one of the wooden stools lining the side of the garage.
Leo grabbed a stool with one hand and placed it in front of me. I crossed my legs, doing my best to angle away from him.
“Maybe we should address what happened at the block party before we get started?” Leo suggested in a hopeful tone.
I shook my head. “Let’s keep things professional. This is a job interview after all.”
“Yeah, I just figured it might be more productive to let it all out,” he explained.
“Well, I think bringing up our past would be the opposite of productive.”
Leo frowned in disagreement. “You’re only saying that because you want to avoid the conversation.”
“And you’re only here to be difficult,” I retorted.
He chuckled. “No, that wasn’t my original goal.”
“Then tell me what was?” I raised a brow and when he hesitated, I continued, “Tell me why a guy from the coast needs a summer job working for a lawn care service? Don’t you have a trust fund or something?”
Leo’s jaw tightened. I knew for a fact he hated when people brought up his parents and their money. Some part of him was embarrassed by it and I’m not sure why. Especially since growing up with money allowed him to fit in with the rest of the kids from Wylan Prep.
“It’s not a trust fund, exactly.” He placed his arms on the table and leaned forward. “It’s just a savings account. And I don’t see how bringing up my parents’ money is professional.”
My cheeks warmed, and I looked away for a second. “You’re right. Sorry. Let’s move on.”
“Gladly.”
“Do you have any experience with lawn care?” I clicked my pen and opened a notebook. Despite this being a formality, I was still going to dot my I’s and cross my T’s.
“Yeah, two summers ago I used to go on rounds with Nate, remember?”
“No. Not really.” I scribbled down a note that read,little to no experience.
“You printed our schedules, Kira.” He sounded amused.
“Moving on.” I paused for a second when I noticed him tapping on the table’s surface. “Why do you want to work for this company?”
“To surround myself with the wonderful staff, of course,” he joked. When I didn’t smile, he added, “It was a lot easier to make you smile when we were younger.”
“Was it?” I made another note,doesn’t have a decent reason to be here.
He leaned forward to peek at my writing. I instantly covered it with my hands. When I shot him a glare, he laughed.
“Probably because you were more tolerable of me back then.”
I shrugged. “Or maybe it’s because you were never funny in the first place and I got tired of pretending.”
“I like mean Kira,” Leo decided with a grin. “She’s entertaining.”
I scoffed. “Glad you’re enjoying the show.”
“I always do.” He got up from his seat before I could unpack his statement. I watched him walk around the garage, studying the piles and piles of lawn care equipment we stored here.
