CHAPTER 6
MEL DIDN’T USUALLYfind herself tongue-tied, but even she would be the first to admit that this wasn’t the usual situation. Far from usual, it was instead both supremely fortuitous and supremely awkward. Awkward because she’d told herself that she really shouldn’t see Kyle Radley again. Fortuitous because she’d been dying to do that very thing. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she’d wanted to wrap herself in his arms just one more time.
And now here he was. Looking fabulous…and sexy…and, dear Lord, she was in trouble now.
She cleared her throat, trying for casual. “I, um, understand you have a job opening.”
His eyes never left hers. “You’re a hard woman to locate, Gracie Melissa Tanner.”
“Yes, well, I—” She blinked, then stumbled over her own thoughts. “You were looking for me?” The knowledge sent a little trill of pleasure shooting down her spine and she stood up straighter.
“As a matter of fact, I was.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?”
The heat in his eyes gave the answer away, and she felt her cheeks burn. “Oh.” She licked her lips. “Kyle, we can’t…I mean, I can’t…” Getting involved with this man would be a bad idea. She needed to keep reminding herself of that.
She lifted her chin, steeling her heart at the same time. “I need a job. That’s why I’m here.”
“A job. Right.” He held up a finger. “Excuse me a second.”
Mel watched, baffled, as he disappeared into the back room, then came out moments later with a woman at his side. He showed her to the door, promised to be in touch and then closed the door after her.
When he turned back to her, Mel raised an eyebrow. “My competition?”
“I’ve got a lot of interviews lined up today,” he said, which only partly answered the question.
“I see.” Mel crossed her arms over her chest, her pleasure at seeing Kyle dissipating as she remembered why she was there. A job. Property taxes. Food. All her other expenses and plans.
She wasn’t a shoo-in no matter how much she wanted to be. For that matter, considering he knewher deep dark little secret, she wondered if maybe she shouldn’t leave right then.
No. This was the best lead on a job she had, and she wasn’t going to blow it.
Determined, she slid her résumé out of her thin leather briefcase, crossed to the receptionist desk, and dropped it onto the desk blotter. “I can type over a hundred words a minute, and I’m proficient in Excel, Word, Access…” She counted the programs off on her fingers. “Pretty much you name it. But I don’t do dictation.” She smiled at him, all bright and cheery. “Not really my thing.” Of course, the truth was thatnoneof it was her thing. But she was determined to get a job and to like it. “Well?” she prodded.
He didn’t say anything, just leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.
Fine. He needed a little convincing. No problem.
She took a seat in the receptionist’s chair, arranged her résumé neatly on the desk, then took two pens out of her purse and sat them alongside it. She picked up the phone, frowned at the odd configuration of buttons, then shook her head at him. “You really ought to upgrade. This system is ancient.”
“I’ll get right on that.”
“Good.” She clasped her hands on the desk infront of her, church-and-steeple style. “Look, just hire me, okay? I know what I’m doing. You won’t be disappointed.” She felt a little pathetic begging for the job, but she was out of options. Unless she wanted Gramps and her out on the street, she was either going to convince Kyle to put her on the payroll or she was going to have to revert to her old career.
Andthatwas something she’d promised herself she’d never do.
She was just gearing up for another round of pleading, when the front door opened and a tall, lanky man with fiery red hair and a smattering of freckles across his nose stepped into the room. He held a Taco Bell bag in one hand and looked much more like he belonged in a cornfield than an office.
“I thought you were working at home,” Kyle said.
The man nodded. “Yeah, but I had to grab some stuff.”
Kyle turned his attention back toward her, then nodded briefly in the other man’s direction. “My partner, Brent.” He gestured between the two of them. “Brent, Melissa. Known to her friends as Grace.”
Considering the way Brent started to chuckle, she could only assume he’d heard their story.
