Out of the Ashes (4 page)

“
Oh.  Well if you don’t mind my asking, why would you want to do that?  I mean I’m just here for an accounting position as you probably know.  So I don’t know why you would bother yourself with me.”  The shock is crystal clear on my face but my anger over how he left me last night is starting to filter through.

“Forgive me but it appears that you know a lot more about me than you let on last night.  Did you know you were interviewing at my company today?
” The indignation in his voice grows as he continues. “How stupid of me!  Of course you did.  Did you think last night would earn some special favor?”  His anger and frustration now clear in his voice.  Obviously he was hoping to not have to see me again despite all his declarations last night.  Well, this ship is sunk. Last night, I knew I was playing with fire.  Now I will be burned. 

I fight with my own anger at him and myself. 
Well, he may be hottest man I have ever seen but he is also the most conceited man I have ever met. I knew who Ian Jacobs was and of his reputation, as in Jacobs Enterprises’ CEO, sexy mogul, and playboy.  How did I let this happen?  He’s only been on page six like every week and with a different woman, most of them supermodels, on his arm in each picture.

“
No forgive me, Mr. Jacobs, I did
not
think after last night I would ever see you again.  And with the way you left, I’m presuming you thought the same thing.”  My voice is taut and my words are clipped.  “I was supposed to interview with Ms. Caldwell and had no reason to think that you’d be involved in the decision of whether to hire me or not.  But since you clearly are” – I rise, regaining some of my strength and will, and walk over to him and hand him my resume as I would in any ‘normal’ interview, realizing that I have been very rude to remain sitting while he entered the room – “would you like to see my resume?  Or perhaps there are some questions that you have for me?  Or maybe you would prefer to dismiss me outright since we’ve already slept together and you have nothing more to gain from our relationship.”  My behavior is unprofessional to say the least but he seems to push every one of my buttons, both good and bad.  How can I be so angry and so turned on all at the same time?  Without missing a beat I continue, “As you can see” – we walk back to the table and sit next to each other at one end – “I graduated with honors this past spring from NYU with my MBA and have just completed a six month internship with KPMG.”  I try to focus his attention back on the interview and the job rather than my body, which I once again feel him undressing with his eyes.

He takes a long look over my resume in front of him and then casually turns towards me.  “I see that you have a very impressive resume here
, Ms. Brooks.”  The way he says my name turns my knees to jelly. Good thing I am sitting down or I would have immediately crumbled to the floor.  Does his voice have to drip with sex?  What is this man doing to me? 

He clears his throat jerking me out of my naughty daydreams.  “If you don’t mind my asking, why did KPMG not offer you a permanent position at the end of your internship?”  Jerk!!!  Why would he automatically think I hadn’t been offered a position to stay on?

“Mr. Jacobs,” my voice drips with sticky sweetness, “KPMG made a very attractive offer at the end of my internship and I gave a great deal of thought to accepting it but this position, honestly, was more attractive to me and I saw a greater potential for growth with your company.”  My slight stumble over the word attractive appears not to have escaped his attention and I blush slightly but he makes no mention of it. 

I’m
sure he has women fawning over him all time and unfortunately I’ve just succumbed to his beautiful face and made a fool of myself again in the process.  “I see,” he says running his fingers through his disheveled locks.  He sees?  This man is a giant question mark.  I have no idea what he is thinking and moreover, I still have no idea why he has derailed my interview.  “Ms. Brooks, Celeste, I’m afraid I’ve not been totally forthcoming with you regarding this interview.  I know from my discussion with Rebecca that you are interested in the accounting position and we’d be very pleased to have you on board; however, I have a different position, um, role in mind for you.”  The innuendo drips from his lips.

My mouth is suddenly completely dry; I can’t form any words.  It seems that there is a gap between my brain and my mouth.  Slowly I lick my lips hoping
for some moisture to stop the cracks that are forming and to buy a second to compose myself.  “Mr. Jacobs, what is it you have in mind?”  Oh, shit that sounded more like an invitation to bed.  How can one man so completely unnerve me?

“I would like you to come to work for me as my personal assistant.”

Personal assistant?  “I have never done anything like that.  I’m not sure I would be qualified.” 

He gives me a long glance.  “Ms. Brooks,” he pauses as his lips curl into the most devastating smile I have ever seen.
  Forget panty-dropping, this is panty shattering.  I’m sure if I would stand now they would fall in infinitesimal pieces to the floor at his feet. “I’m sure you are more than qualified.”  Did he just give me another once over? And what the hell is with the temperature in this room?  Why is it so hot in here all of a sudden?  “The job would involve assisting me with the projects that I’m working on, as well as accompanying me to events and travel for meetings.  I have an overseas project that will be ramping up in the next few months and am in talks with a few developers here in the States as well.  So as you can see there’s no shortage of things for you to do and you would have your hands in the budgets of the projects directly rather than on the back end once they hit the accounting department.”  Wow, this sounds incredible.  I thought I’d be spending a year or two as a glorified bookkeeper but was willing to do pretty much anything to get my foot in the door here and now Ian Jacobs, personally, is offering me this incredible position.  Wait a minute; did he say accompany him to events?  Things are suddenly becoming very clear to me. 

“Mr. Jacobs,
this all sounds incredible.  Forgive me though, did you say accompany you to events? And why would you feel the need to do this interview personally?  Even if you are really in need of an assistant, which I’m not sure you actually do, don’t you have an HR department at your disposal?  Surely they would be capable of handling the job search.  I’m just not sure given what has happened between us that it would be entirely appropriate for me to work directly for you.”  I pause for a moment to ponder the offer.  “Though it would be a wonderful opportunity.”  Wait, am I really even considering this?

His smile
waivers slightly like he is weighing the best way to proceed.  “Yes, there would be functions and travel where I would need you to accompany me.  My sole purpose in going to events is to talk with clients or prospective clients and to discuss projects that I am working on.  I would need you to keep a list of people that I need to meet with along with helping me remember information for my conversations with them.  Therefore, it only stands to reason that you would accompany me as you will be involved in the day to day on these projects.  And frankly for most of the people I deal with, a pretty face helps in the negotiations.”  He says this last bit with a slight wink. A wink?  Did he just wink at me?  I am not so naïve as to think that looks don’t play into business but I have never had anyone so blatantly tell me that I was valuable for my pretty face. “As to your other concerns, I assure you that I am capable of being completely professional.  And your
performance
,” the word falls from his lips demeaning me further, “last night really has no bearing on this interview.  I could have had HR do the search but I prefer to handle this matter myself as it is for my assistant, someone whom I will have to be able to work very closely with so compatibility is also an issue.”  The sexual tension in the room just shot up another 100% and his invitation is unmistakable.  My emotions are all over the place with him.  The man switches from hot to cold and back again faster than a thermostat. “While I’m sure there are many people qualified to do the job, if I don’t get along with them it won’t matter how good they are at their job.”  He gives me another panty-shattering smile before he continues. Jesus, I’ll be a puddle at his feet soon if he doesn’t stop. “We already know that you and I are very compatible.”  His voice drips with sex and only leads to more confusion on my part. 

But I refuse to be baited by him.
“I’m sure I should be flattered but I can’t seem to be grateful for the compliment.”  My tone is harsh, much more than it should be in an interview but damn him, he just gets under my skin.  “I have spent the last few years working very hard to get to this position and don’t want all my hard work dragged down to me having a pretty face or how well the two of us get ‘along’.”

“
Celeste!” Oh, we’re on a first name basis now are we?  “I didn’t mean to upset you and I’m definitely not discounting the work you’ve done to get to this point.  I’m simply pointing out a fact; and seeing as you are lovely, it’s an added bonus in my business negotiations.  That’s all, nothing more.  My intention wasn’t to insult you. Or insinuate that our spending the night together has anything to do with this.”  His tone is sharp and forceful.  He’s made it perfectly clear that what happened last night will not happen again.  I let out an exasperated sigh which I’m sure was completely audible.  “Ms. Brooks” – he is back to being professional and slides a portfolio across the table to me – “inside you will find the detailed job offer with salary, benefits, and bonus schedule.  Please take the remainder of the day to look it over and we can meet tomorrow to discuss any questions you may have.  How about tomorrow over lunch?”  As much as my pride wants me to shove the portfolio back in his face, I just smile.

“Mr. Jacobs, I think that would be perfect.  Should I plan to come here tomorrow at noon or is there somewhere that I should meet you?”

“Yes, please come by the office tomorrow at noon and I’ll have Danielle get us some lunch and we can discuss the terms of the contract.”  His tone is completely business-like and his demeanor reflects the same but the look in his eyes says he would prefer to have me for lunch tomorrow.  As I leave the building I wonder if I’ve made another mistake in agreeing to meet him tomorrow to discuss this contract.

Tomorrow cannot come soon enough.  Upon getting home
and opening the last bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the house, I settle into the sofa with the portfolio in hand.  The pay is substantial; much more than I would’ve made working in the accounting department.  With this, I could finally afford to pay some of the association fees for the apartment and get a car.   The benefits and bonus schedule are also more than generous.  Behind all of that is the contract detailing the terms of the job, job requirements and schedules; this explains all of the generosity on the first page.  I’ll basically be devoting my life to this job.  There are no set hours as I will be required at times to spend evenings, very late evenings, into the wee hours of the morning entertaining clients at functions hosted on behalf of Mr. Jacobs and accompanying Mr. Jacobs to other events and charity functions.  Looks like there will be no time in my life for a man now either.  Well, no man except Ian Jacobs.  The idea is pleasant and terrifying at the same time.

Then there
’s the travel; it is spelled out as not less than two weeks every other month to be spent abroad and then various trips within the States.  Poor Gavin, I will hardly ever be home. 

As if he can hear the wheels in my head turning, Gavin decides in that moment to rush into the living room from his bedroom.
“Gav, where’s the fire?”  Gavin Shaw has been my best friend and knight in rumpled armor since I moved to the city three years ago.  He was born and raised here in New York City so he’s my lifeline to everything.  He takes me to all of the parties he’s invited to as part of his modeling and has shown me all the best restaurants and clubs.  If it wasn’t for him and his family, I have no idea where I would be right now.  He saved me without even knowing that I needed to be saved.  

“Oh
Celeste, I’m sorry. I didn’t even hear you come home.  I’ve been so distracted today.  Scatter brained you might even say.”  As if this is anything new. 

My roommate may have a body to die for, at 6’2 he is lean and toned in all the right places with sandy blond hair and just the right amount of chisel to his facial features,
the statue of David really has nothing on this man but sometimes I worry about him.  I’m especially worried now that he will be left on his own so much.  Man, I’m talking like I’ve already agreed to take the job.  “Hey Gav, do you have a minute?” 

“For you
, always.”  He says plopping down next to me and planting a wet kiss on my cheek.  “Oh, oh wait.  You had that interview today.  The one you were so keen on.  Well tell me.  How did it go?” 

Where do I begin?  “It was… odd.” 

“Odd, that doesn’t sound promising when speaking of an interview.”

“I hardly know where to begin.
”  I spend the next few minutes telling him about what happened when I arrived at Jacobs’ Tower. “Finally I’m escorted by this huge guy from security up to the penthouse conference room only to find my interview has been hijacked by Ian Jacobs.”

“Stop right there.  Hot stuff himself did the interview? 
As in the hot piece of ass you had in bed last night interviewed you today for a job, a job I might add that you have been dreaming of since you started NYU?  Did he live up to his panty dropping reputation even in the office?”  He says this last with a huge grin and wink.