Page 68 of Bulletproof

“Covering until Dane finds a replacement.”

“Oh, yeah, I heard Brooke and what’s his name got the boot.” He shrugged. “But what do you expect when you hire résumé over experience?”

“Agreed.” I nodded. “You wanna come to Dane’s office after lunch today and interview for his assistant job?”

His eyes got huge.

“Well?” I prodded after a minute of him staring.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” I said, “which my brother likes better than yeah. In fact, he hates yeah.”

“Noted,” he rushed out. “But you’re serious? You’re not screwing with me?”

“No. He needs someone stable and long-term, who can then hire a liaison, the person who does all the legwork with clients, and a typist, someone to get the contracts and all his correspondence typed up—which is, if you ask me, the most boring job on the planet.”

“Agreed on the typist job,” he said with a smile. “And so the assistant oversees everything?”

“Yes, and also keeps people away from him. The gatekeeping is of critical importance. No one can get by you to him.”

He nodded. “And you just met me and think I’m the man for the job?”

“A sense of humor is key, as is loyalty.”

“Both would be, I would think.”

“He’s a great boss, but not easy.”

“Nothing great ever is, is it?”

I smiled at him. “No, it’s not.”

“I would really love to do that—interview to work for that man.”

That man.

“He’s scary, right, my brother?”

“Yes, he is,” he agreed. “But I’ve seen him hold his wife’s hand.”

“Ah,” I said with a sigh. “Then you’ve seen it—his heart.”

“I have.”

“Okay, then, come interview.”

“I certainly will. Thank you for the opportunity.”

“You’re more than welcome.”

And it was nice that I didn’t have to look far.

When Pedro was there after lunch, waiting nervously, résumé in hand, I was pleased. When he sat in the chair in front of Dane’s desk, answered questions, and told my brother that if he didn’t know how to do something, he would ask instead of trying to bullshit him, I was even more pleased. It was a good answer to the situation that Dane had posed.

When Dane asked him about loyalty, Pedro said that, of course, he would be loyal to Dane and that no one’s welfare would go before his—except his mother’s. Mothers came before bosses.

“Of course,” Dane agreed, smiling for the first time.