Again, her eyes darted around the room until she settled on something over my shoulder. “Books.”
“Books?” I asked, looking at the bookcase behind me.
“Brooks!” She shook her head, practically pushing herself against the wall. “Lily Brooks.”
“Okay, Lily Brooks. It’s nice to meet you.”
She nodded, but didn’t make eye contact.
“And why did Ben want you to see me?”
It took forever to drag an answer out of her. She kept ducking her head, trying to work up the courage to talk to me. I was trying to be patient, but I had a shitload of work to get back to, and every minute was a minute longer I’d have to stay tonight.
“A—a job.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. This woman wanted a job, and she wanted to work here when she could hardly stand to be in the same room with me. What the hell was Ben thinking?
But if he sent her to me, there had to be a reason.
“The only position I have open is as a secretary. Do you have any experience with that?”
She shook her head slowly, her eyes dropping to the floor.
“What about filing or typing?”
Again, she shook her head.
“Answering phones?”
She opened her mouth, but I knew the answer before the small squeak popped out. I wasn’t sure what the hell Ben was thinking, asking her to see me. Without any experience, what the hell was he hoping to achieve?
“Alright, how about you give me a minute?” I slowly stood, making my way back into my office.
As soon as I was at my desk, I scanned through my Rolodex, found Ben Parker’s number, and dialed. My eyes kept shifting to the door as I waited for him to pick up.
“Yeah?”
“Ben, it’s Ryder.”
“Ryder, I’m guessing you have a guest there.”
“A Lily Brooks? Is there a reason you sent her to me?” I asked, trying and failing to keep the bite out of my tone.
“She needs a job.”
“Yeah, I finally pulled that out of her moments after she tried to flee from me,” I said, keeping my voice low. “She has no experience. Why the hell would you tell her to see me?”
A heavy sigh filled the line. “She needs to earn some money, but she doesn’t do so well around people.”
“You don’t say,” I chuckled. “I was across the room, and I thought for sure she was going to flee if I moved my hand.”
“Ryder, I’m asking this as a favor. She needs the help.”
“Why me? I need someone who can do basic tasks, and she can’t do any of that,” I hissed, glancing back into the other room to make sure she hadn’t moved any closer.
“Look, I would consider this a personal favor. I’ll owe you big time if you can help me out on this.”
Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose, cursing myself for even considering this. “One week, Ben. I’ll give her one week to prove she can do something other than cower in the corner.”
