Rosa came into his office and leaned on the door jamb. “Do you want to know how the interviews went, or are you still on your leap-of-faith kick?”
“I trust your judgment, but yeah, let’s hear it.”
She grinned. “Okay, so I interviewed a young man this morning. He’s smart, but ambitious. I’d give it three months before he would move away to do something else. It wouldn’t be worth training him. Then, I interviewed three women. One of them says she’s your new neighbor and no hard feelings if you don’t want to hire her.”
“Elinor?” He felt his face flush, and he looked down at the paper in front of him. It was a copy of their privacy policy, which he’d yet to find anyone willing to read in its entirety. But not meeting Rosa’s eyes was important right now. He was imagining seeing Elinor every day at work. He willed his face to be calm, but Rosa’s eyes had already lit up with interest at his response.
“Sí. She’s something special. But seeing as how you’re engaged…”
Edward shook his head. He knew what Rosa was thinking. She was not a Lucy fan. Not by a long shot. Rosa would be thrilled for a little office romance to come between him and Lucy, but was too practical not to point out that it would also be bad for the business.
Except, not hiring Elinor because he was attracted to her was sexist and unfair. If she was the best candidate, he wouldn’t stand in the way of it.
“Rosa, you pick the best candidate. Period. Tell me about the others.”
Rosa winced. “I’m sorry. I was not impressed. There aren’t many people in this town who can run an office.”
“Do you have any more interviews coming up?”
“One more tomorrow.”
She didn’t sound excited about it, which meant she’d already picked Elinor and just wanted his approval. He should have said something the moment Marianne approached him at the bowling alley. He should have said something to Elinor after they were introduced. But he didn’tfeelengaged. Sometimes he even forgot he was. He talked about it as little as possible so he didn’t have to lie about the details.
Even Rosa didn’t know his engagement to Lucy was a sham. She just thought he was a bad judge of character. It was probably the reason she wanted to be in charge of hiring her replacement.
“I’m not in any rush, but you do what you think is best.” It was out of his hands, which he’d never been more grateful for.
“Okay, boss.” Rosa went back to her desk, humming to herself before switching on the radio and leaving it on the local Spanish pop station. She only listened to it after hours when they no longer answered the phones.
It was a little after five. In less than two hours he’d be having dinner with Elinor and her family. He went over buys, sells, and trades for the next day, checked emails, and prepped for upcoming appointments. Rosa left at six, and he left a little after, stopping at the grocery store to pick up a small flower arrangement and a chocolate cake. He’d promised to bring dessert.
No dinner date had ever filled him with this much trepidation, and this wasn’t even a date. He would have to tell them he was engaged tonight. Elinor would be confused, Marianne would grill him for details, and their mother, Carol, would probably congratulate him and wish him lasting happiness. None of those scenarios made him feel better about the situation.
