I know that face.
Strong jaw and nose, one that might be called Roman or Greek, with a slight bump in the bridge. Full lips. Really full lips. And there’s a crease in the bottom one, right down the middle, like someone pressed their thumb there when he was made and it stayed.
I’ve seen those lips before. I’ve seen them twisted in anger while their owner was literally yanking me out of a taxi by my ankles.
His brown eyes go wide at the exact same moment mine probably do.
“You!”we say in unison.
Oh my God.Of course. Ofcoursethis is my luck! Of course theoneperson in this entire city of eight million people that I’ve managed to have a hostile interaction with is the person interviewing me for the one job I desperately need.
“What areyoudoing here?” he demands, and his voice is just as deep as it was on the phone, but now there’s no warmth in it, just pure disbelief mixed with what I can only describe as undiluted horror.
“I’m—I’m here for the job interview,” I manage, even though my brain is screaming at me to run, to just turn around and leave before this gets worse.
“You’reAnnie?” He says it like an accusation.
“You’reLeo?” I shoot back, because apparently when I’m panicking I get defensive.
“This is a joke.”
“Oh, unfortunately, I’m completely serious. I called about the nanny position? We talked last night?” My voice is going up at the ends like I’m asking questions, which I hate, but I can’t seem to stop it.
“Iknowwe talked last night.” He’s staring at me like I’m a particularly unpleasant surprise, which, fair, because that’s exactly how I’m looking at him, too. “You’re the crazy woman who stole my cab!”
“I didn’t steal your fucking cab,” I hiss, keeping my voice low because we’re still in the hallway and I can hear doors and movement from other apartments. “Iwas in it first! You’re the one who physically dragged me out of it like some sort of maniac—”
“You were taking forever to get out—”
“I was gettingin!Because it wasmy cab!It takes more than two seconds—”
“I had somewhere I needed to be—”
“Oh, andIdidn’t? I’m so sorry my existence inconvenienced you—”
“Daddy?” A small, sweet voice calls from inside the apartment. “Who’s at the door?”
We both freeze. Leo’s jaw tightens and he closes his eyes for a brief second like he’s praying for patience, and I realize with a sinking feeling that I’m trapped. I can’t flee now. Not without making this even more awkward than it already is.
He opens his eyes and glares at me, and I glare right back, neither of us willing to break first.
“We are not finished,” he grates out, the words low and venomous.
“Oh, I think we are.”
“Get in here.” He steps back, jerking his head inward, an order not an invitation.
I want to leave. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to just turn around, get back in that elevator, go home to my tiny apartment and start circling ads in the classifieds again. But my feet, the traitors, are moving me forward anyway, carrying me past him into the apartment, because what choice do I really have? I need this job. I needanyjob. My pride is currently a luxury I can’t afford.
I step inside and he shuts the door behind me with a firmness just shy of a slam. I stand in the entryway of his apartment trying not to think about how my entire morning—my good omen, my successful solo subway trip, my carefully chosen outfit and freshly straightened hair and perfectly glossed lips—has just completely collapsed in ruins around me like a pathetic house of cards.
My heart sinks as reality washes over me. There’s no way he’s going to hire me now—absolutely no way in hell. I’m going to have to go back home and tell Cori it didn’t work out, and then I’m going to have to spend another week combing through theVillage Voicelooking for jobs I’m not qualified for, sending my paltry resume into the void, hoping someone, anyone, will take a chance on me.
Back to square one.
I’m so busy catastrophizing that I almost don’t notice the little girl who’s appeared in the hallway, watching us with serious eyes.
She’s beautiful. Like genuinely, startlingly beautiful in that way some kids are, where you can already see what they’re going to look like when they grow up. Blonde curly hair that falls past her shoulders and these rosy pink cheeks that make her look like she just came in from playing outside even though we’re inside.
