“I love him,” Lena declared. “He’s my favorite person you’ve ever interviewed.”
“He isnotworking at my front desk.”
“Tragic.”
Emma reached for her coffee. “He did offer to come back and ‘re-interview me’ if I reconsidered.”
Lena dissolved into laughter all over again. When she could speak, she glanced at something off-camera. “Kate should be joining us in about five minutes, which gives you enough time to tell me how things are actually going.”
Emma sipped her coffee, wishing it were something stronger. “Chaotic. Promising. Exhausting. Take your pick.”
“Very diplomatic. Now tell me the real version. Are you eating? Are you sleeping? You look tired.”
“Thatisthe real version. And yes, Mom, I’m eating and sleeping. It’s just been a long day today.”
Emma pulled up the staffing spreadsheet on her laptop, scanning the highlighted sections. “We’re ahead of schedule on hiring, which is miracle-level progress. The kitchen staff arrives next week. I have three strong candidates for concierge, and maintenance is almost fully staffed.”
“Wow. You do know how to live dangerously.”
“You asked.”
“I asked for gossip, Emma. Drama. Interpersonal conflict.” Lena’s smile turned sly. “For example, how’s Zach settling in?”
Emma kept her face neutral. “He’s… thorough.”
Lena waited only two seconds before she pounced. “That pause contained at least three adjectives you chose not to say.”
“It didn’t.”
“It did. I heard them. They wereloud.” Lena leaned closer to the screen, eyes bright with interest. “What happened?”
Emma aimed for casual and knew she missed. “Nothing happened. He’s doing his job. I’m doing mine.”
“And?”
Emma gave up. She never won against Lena. “Fine. He walked into my office this morning and tried to take over my hiring decisions.”
Lena’s laugh was immediate and delighted. “Of course he did. The man thinks security clearances are a personality trait.”
“He wanted to vet my entire candidate pool.” Emma bit out. “Insisted on running background checks beyond what we already require. Said something about ‘potential vulnerabilities.’”
“What did you do?”
“Told him my candidates weren’t his surveillance targets.”
“And?”
Emma’s lips twitched. “He didn’t like it.”
“I bet he didn’t.” Lena’s grin widened. “He makes the Secret Service look casual.”
“That’s… accurate.”
“I’ve also noticed he never smiles, refuses to make small talk, and treats every room like it might contain explosives.” Lena tilted her head. “Is he terrifying you?”
Emma thought about those cold, gray-blue eyes, the way he’d assessed her office like he was cataloging exits and sight lines. The absolute stillness in the way he stood, like violence on a leash. He should scare her, but somehow she knew he’d never hurt her.
“He’s… intense.”
