Amused by her confident declaration, Travis smiled. “Please, call me Travis.”
He was probably only a few years older than her. Even if he did end up hiring her, it would be weird if she called him Mr Stone. That she’d started off by calling him that indicated a professionalism about her that Travis automatically liked.
“I’d really like this job, Travis,” Courtney said. “I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.”
“In that case, we’ll get started. Can I offer you tea or coffee first?”
Courtney shook her head, but then seemed to think better of it. “Could I have a glass of water? I’m a little warm after walking here in the sunshine.” She ran her hands over her baby bump and added, “I’m carrying a little extra weight right now, which makes getting around harder than it used to be.”
She laughed, the warm tones making Travis’s heart thump hard inside his chest.
“Iced water coming right up.” He jumped to his feet and hurried to the kitchen, glad to have the chance to pull himself together properly before he got the interview under way.
At the sink, he poured two glasses of water and then added ice cubes from the freezer. He paused for a moment in the kitchen, reining in his scattered thoughts.
Never before in his life had he experienced anything like what he’d felt when he opened the front door and saw Courtney Flynn for the first time. It wasn’t just because she was beautiful, with her dark hair and softly angular face and striking eyes.
It was because her smile had punched a hole straight through him.
And it was because she glowed as if lit from within as she’d stood there on the doorstep, bathed in morning sunshine.
Of course, if she glowed, wasn’t that down to the fact she was pregnant? Women who were pregnant glowed, didn’t they? They glowed because of the wonder of the new life they were carrying around inside them.
He was standing here thinking completely inappropriate thoughts about a woman he was supposed to be interviewing for a job, a woman who was pregnant.
A woman who probably had a boyfriend or a partner or a husband waiting on her hand on foot as she prepared to bring their child into the world.
And yet he wasstillstanding here, thinking about her, even as these realities crystallised inside his mind.
Travis shook his head and muttered an oath, then returned to the front room with the glasses of iced water.
“Thank you,” Courtney said, as she took the glass from him and drank greedily.
As she set the glass down on the coffee table between them, Travis couldn’t help slide his gaze over her fingers, looking for any sign of a wedding band.
There wasn’t one. Although that, by itself, didn’t tell him much.
Not that it was any of his business whether she was married, single, in a relationship, or otherwise. She was here to interview for a job, and the only questions he should be thinking about were ones related to the work he needed her to do.
“Okay,” Travis said, settling into the sofa across from her and turning his mind to the matters at hand. “Tell me a little about your work experience. When we spoke on the phone, you said you were working in a furniture shop until recently?”
Courtney nodded and began talking about her job, the tasks she was responsible for, the processes she dealt with. She talkedabout how she’d taken on additional hours in order to work on the shop floor in a customer-facing role and earn a little more money while broadening her skills. She explained how much she enjoyed the administrative office work but also how she’d found herself thriving while dealing directly with customers, helping them with their furniture-buying choices and taking them step-by-step through the purchasing process to make sure they were satisfied with their experience with the furniture business she worked for.
With every word she said, Travis felt more and more convinced that Courtney Flynn had a good head on her shoulders. She was obviously smart and self-motivated, articulate and personable.
While she talked about her job, her work tasks, her skills, her expression was animated, but as she wrapped up her summary, her features grew clouded.
“I would still be working at the furniture shop right now,” Courtney said, her hands twisting in her lap. “But the business went bust. It was completely out of the blue and took all of us who worked there by surprise.”
Travis nodded and frowned. “Your friend, Olive, told me. I’m sorry to hear about what happened.”
“It’s not ideal,” she said with a small laugh. “But I’m not mentioning it to make you sorry for me. I just want you to know why I’m not working right now. I would’ve started maternity leave next month, but with the business being shut down… well, I’m keen to find any work that will help plug the gap.”
“I can understand that.”
Travis saw a flash of something behind her eyes—panic, maybe?—before she smoothed her expression with another smile. Not wanting to dwell on her redundancy, which was understandably upsetting for her, he decided to move on.
“Let me tell you more about the assistant job, to help you get a sense of whether it’s something you feel able to take on.”
