4. Daisy
DAISY
I bounced my leg slightly, drawing in a deep breath. Why was I so nervous? So far, everything was going smoothly. Dorothy had been very welcoming. I’d even been introduced to one of the other brothers—Chad LeBlanc. He’d been perfectly polite, even wished me good luck.
Even before then, this morning had started off well. I took the encounter with the handsome stranger as a good omen. I’d never given my number to a guy I just met, not even when I was in college. But I’d decided to be impulsive.
The sound of a man clearing his throat pulled me out of my thoughts.
I immediately jumped to my feet, turning around.
Then I blinked several times. Had I stepped into an alternate universe?
There was no way that my new boss was the handsome man I’d flirted with just a short while ago. It just wasn’t possible.
And yet here he was in the flesh, just as attractive as he’d been in that coffee shop. He was tall, with impossibly dark eyes, light brown hair, and an angular jaw that would make him absolutely perfect for any marketing campaign. I was certain he could sell anything.
“Miss… ”
Only, he seemed different from the guy in the coffee shop. For one, he wasn’t smiling. His eyes were serious, almost cold.
Maybe he had a twin brother. Yes! That had to be it.
A twin brother who’s dressed in the same suit, huh?
I was grasping at straws. This simply couldn’t be happening.
“Good morning, Ms. Evanston,” he said.
Damn, it really was him.
“Good morning, Mr. LeBlanc.” I felt utterly and completely ridiculous. Mentally, I reviewed my appearance. I was wearing a demure black dress that was perfect for work. It was my lucky attire, but clearly it wasn’t doing its job this morning.
He stepped inside the office.
“Dorothy let me in. I hope it’s okay. I was just waiting here on the couch.” Now I was rambling. That was just perfect. What was I supposed to do now? Address the fact that we met this morning or completely ignore it?
“Please, call me Anthony.”
Anthony . What a handsome name to go with a handsome face.
Put those thoughts away, Daisy. He’s your boss and nothing else.
“Daisy,” I said, stepping forward to shake his hand. The tingle I felt from our touch was insane. No, no, no. I need this job.
“Please sit down, Daisy.” He seemed unaffected and pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
I scurried over, immediately lowering myself into it.
He walked around to his leather desk chair but didn’t immediately pull it back. He just put a hand on it and rolled his shoulders. And did his nostrils flare? What was he thinking? Actually, I didn’t even want to know.
What felt like an eternity later, he finally pulled back his chair and took a seat. I nervously tapped my fingers on my knees. Then I smoothed out my dress even though there were no wrinkles.
“So, Daisy, Dorothy tells me that you already have a foot out the door.” His comment was belligerent. Almost provocative .
I cleared my throat. “Yes, that’s true.” I’d decided to be honest from the get-go. Samantha had advised me against it, but I didn’t like to lie. “I had an unfortunate situation with a hiring freeze.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You usually work in marketing. What makes you think you’d do well as my assistant?”
I jerked my head back. Was this an interview? I’d already signed the hiring contract.
“I’m a very hard worker. I’ve been doing operational tasks for years. In fact, I started off as a marketing assistant.”
“That’s different from being the assistant of a CEO, isn’t it?”
Well, hell, I wouldn’t have thought the flirty guy from the coffee shop would be such a hard-ass. A handsome one, but still.
“I’m a very fast learner, Mr. LeBlanc.”
“Anthony,” he corrected.
“Anthony.” It felt odd saying his name, almost like it was crossing a line, which was ridiculous. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask. Is this an interview? Because I was under the impression I already had the job.”
He frowned. “No, it’s not an interview. I just want to make sure you know what you signed up for. Make sure we’re a good fit.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why the hell he didn’t participate in the hiring process, then.
“As I said, I’m a very fast learner, Anthony. I can put up with anything you throw at me, I assure you. You won’t be disappointed.”
“All right. I see you got your iPad from Dorothy.”
I held the tablet to my chest, nodding. “She also gave me a phone and laptop.”
“Then we can hit the ground running. There’s a music festival coming up at one of our trademark venues. I’m going on location today to check that everything is going according to plan.”
“Do you have any to-dos for me? ”
“Eventually. However, today you’re coming with me.”
So, when Dorothy said I was to shadow the CEO, she’d actually meant it quite literally. All the better. If I stayed here all by myself, I would go crazy.
I rose to my feet, putting the iPad in my bag.
Anthony came over to me, and with every step closer he took, I felt my body temperature rise. Maybe this morning didn’t happen.
“Daisy.” His voice sounded a tad different than earlier. It was softer. I looked straight at him even though holding his gaze was almost too much. “About this morning…”
Oh crap.
“We’ll forget it happened,” he said, and I exhaled a breath of relief.
“That’s perfect. Yes. I mean, I typically don’t?—”
He shook his head. “We met for the first time when I stepped into this room.” His voice was once again borderline harsh.
“Right. Of course, Mr. LeBlanc.”
“Anthony,” he reminded me. After a few seconds’ hesitation, he added, “There are eight Mr. LeBlancs. I have five brothers, and my dad and one of my grandfathers are also Mr. LeBlanc. It can get confusing.”
Was this his way of explaining his insistence on me calling him by his first name? Or was he letting me know that the flirty guy I met earlier this morning was him? Yet his eyes were still completely serious and bordering on cold. I’d never been so confused in my life.
“Got it!” I told him a bit too enthusiastically, but I was ready for this conversation to be over.
“All right, then. Let’s go.”
“Where exactly are we going?” I asked him as we headed downstairs.
“To one of our venues on the outskirts of the city.”
“Is it one of the concert halls?” I asked, determined to show him I’d done my research .
He looked up. “No, it’s a huge property we use for festivals. We thought about building a concert venue on it, but it didn’t make sense. We have plenty of those anyway.”
I nodded, mentally reviewing the information I’d read about the festivals.
“September is when the All Music Festival takes place, right?”
It was the biggest music event after the renowned JazzFest.
He looked over his shoulder and flashed me a smile. It wasn’t quite the flirty one from the coffee shop, but my heart slipped back into its place again. At least he was being cordial.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“I figured that was the reason you needed an assistant right away. Even one who isn’t a perfect fit.”
His smile fell. Oh, why didn’t I bring up something else?
“That’s right.”
“That means you’re still looking for an assistant, right?”
“Yes. Dorothy and the recruiter are on top of that.”
Once we stepped off the staircase, we went out through the employee entrance. He led me down a narrow street in the opposite direction from where I’d come in this morning.
The alleyway opened into a parking lot, and I blinked in surprise. “Is this your property?”
He nodded. “Yeah, we use it as an employee parking lot.”
Wow. I knew property prices in the French Quarter. They were sitting on a gold mine.
He looked back at me and smiled again. “Waste of money, I know. But we decided that unless we come up with a very clever idea, we’ll just continue using it as a parking lot.”
“Sure. Whatever works for you.”
He led me to a black Lexus. Once we were in the car, I put my bag in the back. With my hands free, I started to fidget. I smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles from my dress again.
God, why am I so nervous? This was very unlike me. Then again, the whole thing was very unlike me .
Here in the confined space of his car, I could smell his cologne. It was manly and very sexy. I’d never been good at identifying any sort of perfume, so I had no idea what it was, but I truly liked it. It fit him.
“So, the job you’re looking for in marketing is at a senior level?” he asked during the drive.
“Yes. But it can take time to find one. I didn’t want to sit around and wait, and the recruiter said it can take longer this time of year.” And I was really hoping the beverage company I was originally planning to work for lifted their freeze and I’d be rehired.
“True. We usually don’t really hire in the last quarter.”
“Except assistants,” I said because I couldn’t help myself.
He glanced at me. “We go on an as-needed basis.”
Okay, Mr. LeBlanc was back. In my mind, Anthony was the guy who’d flirted with me and offered to bring me a better coffee. And my boss was Mr. LeBlanc.
“I’m not used to not doing anything,” I found myself saying. “I like being busy. I grew up on a farm.”
“Really. Where?” He actually appeared curious.
“North Dakota.”
“You’re very far from home, Daisy.”
I laughed. “Oh, you could say that. Growing up, it was my one ambition to leave town, but I never envisioned that I’d end up in the South either.”
“Why did you want to leave?”
“Ever been on a farm?” I answered him with a question.
“No.”
“Ever lived or been to a small town?”
“Also no.” He sounded amused.
“It’s all a bit claustrophobic and very repetitive.
The work on a farm is relentless. Don’t get me wrong, I loved working side by side with my parents.
It taught me a lot of valuable skills, but I knew early on that I didn’t want to join the family business.
My dad was a bit heartbroken when I told him farm life wasn’t for me. ”
“Are you close to your parents?”