Protecting Her Heart (Seals Security Book 3) (3 page)

Evie stood in the lobby waiting on the receptionist to acknowledge her. She was on the phone and had been since Evie had walked in a few minutes ago. As soon as she hung up on one call, it rang again before she could even ask what Evie wanted. She was already running late for her interview because she blew out a tire on the way here. Thankfully she’d left forty minutes early to apply for a waitress job or she would have been more than ten minutes late. She was still freaking out and it made her want to scream at the woman that she just needed her to tell Laney Thomas that she was here for her interview before the woman decided that she was a lost cause.

Evie was already sick of interviews, even if she’d only had three in the last week. The first two seemed to go well and she’d thought that perhaps she would be offered one of the positions but neither had called her. The third had been awful because the minute she’d walked into the room with the manager of the human resources department, he’d flat out told her that he was only doing the interview with her because the company required that they interview all qualified applicants but he knew who she was and he wouldn’t be hiring her. Evie had politely thanked him and left with a sense of dread in her stomach. She even went and splurged on a small pint of Ben & Jerry’s because she’d deserved it after that debacle.

Evie was surprised when she’d gotten a call to interview here and she was disappointed that she wasn’t likely to get the job now that she’d arrived late for the interview. Glancing at her watch feeling her stomach sink, she almost groaned because it was already twenty minutes after her interview was set to start. The woman at the desk hung up the phone and looked up at her smiling.

“Hello, sorry about the phones. How can I help y–” the woman stopped talking because the phone was ringing again. She made a pained face and reached for the receiver. “I have to get that, I’m really sorry.”

Evie wanted to bang on the counter and command the woman to hang up the damned phone and deal with her. She didn’t know why the phones were so ridiculously busy. She wondered if they were always so flooded with calls and if they were, why didn’t they hire someone else to help answer them?

Feeling a muscle jumping along her jaw, she wanted to let out a deep growl of frustrated annoyance. She suppressed the urge however and waited while the woman spoke to whoever was on the phone. She glanced to the left and saw a woman about her height wearing a black pencil skirt and a bright blue top coming towards the reception desk from down the hall. Her reddish brown hair was up in a messy bun on top of her head and she was smiling as she approached the desk.

“Hi, you must be Evie. You’ll have to forgive Rita, we’re having issues with the phones and every call is being routed through the front desk today instead of going to whatever department they’re meant for. I figured you might be here waiting so I came down to check. I’m Laney by the way,” the woman said when she was standing next to Evie. Evie felt relief flood her; maybe Laney wouldn’t find out she’d been late and she might have a chance to actually get this job.

“Yeah, she’s actually right in front of my desk,” Rita said.

Laney looked at Rita, her face creased into an even brighter smile. “Is that Craig? Tell him I’ll call him in a little bit, that my last interview is here.”

Evie listened to Rita relay the message before she paused, then she blushed before she shook her head. “No, I am not telling her that!”

Laney laughed, her smile creasing the corners of her eyes as she spoke. “Tell him to behave. I am assuming he said something naughty since he made you blush.” Turning to Evie, she finished, “He’s always trying to shock Rita with his naughtiness. Sorry, we’re a bit like an extended family around here so you’ll have to forgive us for the level of unprofessionalism.” 

“Um–it’s all right,” Evie replied, unsure how to respond to Laney’s friendliness.

“He said he’d talk with you later and to make sure you call him back, Laney,” Rita said, having hung up while they were talking. Rita smiled before she answered the already ringing phone and Evie wondered if she’d be able to get anything done with those phones ringing like they were.

“Will do. Come on, let’s go to my office.” Laney led her down the hall to her office. It was large with a couch along one wall and two chairs in front of her desk and it looked like Laney was the owner or the CEO. Evie was directed to have a seat and she did so nervously. As she sat she noticed that the little placard on her desk read ‘
Laney Thomas PR Manager’
. Huh, if this was the PR department then the CEO’s office must be huge. Tugging at the hem of her suit coat when she sat down in one of the large chairs, Evie shifted slightly. Laney took a seat at her desk still smiling brightly.

“Well again, sorry about the phones but hopefully the man they sent over can fix it soon or Rita may quit before the end of the day,” Laney joked.

Evie, unsure how to respond, just uttered a quiet ‘no problem’ and waited on the interview to start. Laney lifted a paper she’d had resting in front of her, looking it over before she shifted it aside and looked at Evie.

“Tell me a little about why you left your last employer,” Laney said.

Evie internally cringed a little at that question. Not that she hadn’t answered it at her first two interviews but what she wanted to say and what she could say were two very different things. If she had her way, she’d tell Laney her previous boss was an asshole that fired her so he could hire his mistress after she’d performed slave labor for him for over four years. Only telling her that would make her look as bad as Mr. Grady because it was rude.

“I worked for Clarity Realtors for a little over four years at which time Mr. Grady, my boss, decided I was no longer a good fit for the company.” Evie tried to keep the burning anger in the pit of her stomach from her tone.

“I see,” Laney said and then she made a note on a little pad in front of her. Evie gripped the arm of the chair trying to contain her nerves but found herself tapping her foot on the floor. She shifted again, feeling her stomach knot up, and she knew this interview wasn’t getting off to a good start.

“What types of duties were you responsible for at Clarity?” Laney asked after another moment.

“Basic office duties such as typing memos, answering phones, and keeping Mr. Grady’s schedule up to date as well as some personal errands that Mr. Grady needed me to do,” Evie explained.

“Personal errands?” Laney questioned, a slight frown on her face.

“Yes, I would pick up his wife’s dry cleaning and I walked his dog when he was out of town.”

“Walking his dog? That sounds dreadful. Hopefully he paid extra for that.” Laney had wrinkled her nose, making Evie want to laugh but she refrained.

Walking Horace hadn’t been that bad. He was a sweet little basset hound whom she liked a lot better than she did Mr. Grady.

“No, I was expected to take care of such things.”

“Wow–I won’t tell Luke that if we hire you because he’d be asking you to do all sorts of crazy jobs,” Laney muttered under her breath, making another note on the pad.

Evie listened to about ten more questions and answered them readily and was feeling less nervous by the end of the interview. She almost felt like—dare she say it—she might actually have a chance of getting the job. Laney was smiling and Evie was sure that the interview had gone well despite its rocky start. She was standing up to shake Laney’s hand when she felt her hopes sink as reality slammed her in the face.

“We’ll get back to you later this week with a decision after we’ve done the background check. I’ll be sure to call you and let you know either way. It was really nice meeting you,” Laney was saying but Evie knew that she wouldn’t be working here after they did a background check because as soon as they saw who her father was, she would be passed over so fast her head would spin.
Fuck, why did her life have to suck?

She almost sighed as she exited Laney’s office to take the elevator down to the garage and her little Pinto. She’d better get over to the restaurant she’d intended to apply at and hope like hell they hired her because at this point in a little over a week’s time she’d be living in her car.

Laney reached out and grabbed the phone from the desk after seeing Evie out. As the line rang, she leaned back in her chair. She liked Evie and after meeting her she was convinced that Evie was exactly what Luke needed. The only issue she could see with Evie being hired was that after what he’d been through, the second he saw the background check he’d refuse to give her a chance. Not that Laney could blame him; Melissa had done a number on him and seeing her two years ago hadn’t helped. Laney felt anger slipping through her and her hand tightened on the receiver. She really wished that Craig hadn’t pulled her off the stupid witch when she’d shown up like she had a right to ask for anything from either of them.

She tapped her pen on the desk as she stared at the ceiling listening to the third ring of her husband’s phone. She needed to find a way to hire Evie without telling Luke about her background.

How was she going to get around telling him about the embezzlement?

“Hello, doodles.” Her husband’s smoky voice came over the line, making her smile even though he’d called her that hated nickname.

“Hey, love muffin.”

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t call me that?’ he muttered gruffly.

“And you know I hate that nickname so get over it, love muffin,” she added, snorting out a little laugh when she heard his heavy sigh. “You really shouldn’t embarrass Rita with your dirty comments,” Laney scolded without heat.

“Hmm, you love my dirty comments. I remember you having two orgasms while I talked dirty to you just last night,” Craig husked, his voice filled with the remembered passion of their phone sex from the night before.

“Stop, I’m at work,” Laney whispered, a slight thrill running down her spine, feeling a little melancholy that she wouldn’t have him beside her tonight because he was working on an assignment. He was watching some rich man’s wife on a team with Brent. They took the night shift and Wyatt and Merrick had the day shift. Lawrence was on vacation till next week, when she’d get her husband back.

“Ha, that’s never stopped us before. I enjoyed taking you in the supply closet last week,” Craig reminded her.

“You’re so naughty. Seriously though, I need to think about work so stop,” Laney muttered.

“What’s got you all worked up? I know you’re doing interviews for Luke’s assistant position. Did something happen?” Craig asked.

“Nothing happened, but I found one who I think would be perfect. Only thing is if I show him the background check before she starts, he won’t hire her. After Melissa, we both know he’s very unforgiving and it wasn’t Evie’s fault.” Laney huffed out a frustrated sigh and began tapping her pen again.

“So what’s in the check that you think will influence his decision?”

“Her dad embezzled millions from the company he worked for and ran off to a country without extradition. Evie has been suffering from the stigma since he did it six years ago. All she needs is a chance, Craig.” Laney stood up, pacing back and forth behind her desk, feeling restless.

“Are you sure she wasn’t involved?” Craig asked, worry clear in his tone.

“The FBI is. I got the information through our connection with them and I read the report they did on her. She moved after her mom died five years ago, about a year after the dad ran off, and they thought they’d been wrong and she was involved. They sent an agent to watch her and the report she gave was heartbreaking. Evie wasn’t involved and the agent that followed her felt sorry for her after the way she was repeatedly treated everywhere she went. It’s horrible the way her life was broken apart by what he did. I’m telling you, she just needs a chance.” Laney plopped back down in her chair, still feeling a little keyed up and sorry for Evie. She was such a nice person and meeting her had cemented the idea that she would be the perfect assistant for her brother.

“So don’t tell him. Just say that the report isn’t back yet,” Craig said, reminding her why she loved the diabolical man. He was smart and he knew when she was right about something.

“He would never believe that.”

“After seeing him looking completely frazzled a few hours ago, I think you might be wrong on that account. He’s too stressed out at the moment to care. Having to pick up the slack for his crappy assistants lately has him so ready to find anyone worth a damn that you can slip her in. Once he’s used to her, after say a week, he won’t care what the check says if she’s competent because of all the issues he’s had replacing Maria.” Craig’s voice was amused and she would bet he was grinning from ear to ear.