Chapter 4
GO WITH HIS GUT
This was better than Christmas morning.
Not only was there the possibility of filling the massive shoes of Blair, but the woman he’d been dreaming about for weeks just landed in his lap.
The fact that she knew him and didn’t say a word about it irked him. Or impressed him at how smooth she was.
He didn’t like anyone getting the upper hand on him and just had to wait out her reasoning.
Nor did he appreciate she’d vanished before he could find out more about her.
But here she was, sitting in his assistant’s office, giving him the opportunity to not only fill one hole in his life, but maybe another.
Stupid to think that?
Yes, it was. And not something he’d ever consider doing in the past.
But those few hours talking to her, then feeling her, yeah, there was something there he’d never felt and wanted more of.
At least to explore.
Would he use her father’s influence to get what he wanted? He might just play dirty enough for it.
He looked up when there was a knock at his door, not surprised to see Norris standing there. He’d let Nora and Blair talk privately while he got back to work.
“Come in,” he said.
“Did Nora leave?”
“She’s in with Blair interviewing,” he said.
“Perfect,” Norris said. “Not to boast about my daughter.”
“Oh, please do,” he said, smiling. This might give him some more insight. It wasn’t as if Norris talked about his daughter much. Not that he could remember.
He’d heard the name a few times, thought she was older than him. Nora had to be younger, at least a few years.
Norris shut the door and took a seat. There were years that Norris didn’t like reporting to Ethan, but he fell in line enough.
With his father still at the helm, it wasn’t as if Ethan bossed those senior staff around much. They came to him when his father wasn’t around, or when he was leading a project.
Ethan knew his place and had plenty under him. Including staff who dealt with his personal investments not tied to Bond Enterprises.
It was a complex position, the assistant he needed, and the right person was proving more than difficult to find.
“I’ll be honest,” Norris said. “You’d know if I were lying. I can’t say much about her work ethic. Nor can I about the positions she’s held. There have been many, but her reasons for leaving have had more to do with learning rather than changing positions.”
Guess Norris was serious when he said not to boast.
Then he reminded himself the guy never said a good word about anyone. Not horrible or critical all the time, just not much along the lines of showing much appreciation.
Might not have been the best father of the year either, but it wasn’t for him to judge any of those things.
“But she’s here now?” he asked. “Without having a job?”
“She came because I asked. Her mother moved out of the country with her new husband, leaving Nora alone in Vermont. We haven’t had the.
.. closest of relationships. I worried about her being there alone and suggested this move.
She’s always been a loner and on the shy side.
I thought she’d struggle. I might have thought she’d have a job lined up, but she says it’s been harder than she thought.
Personally, I think it’s the degree she has. ”
Of course Norris would think that. Because he also thought Nora was on the shy side and Ethan hadn’t witnessed that.
“Seems like she’s well rounded to me. Had to have made an impression on Blair to get this far.”
Blair would have had no problem shutting the interview down if she didn’t like what she saw on paper. His assistant was an expert judge of character and didn’t hold grudges. Nor would she play along and continue something just because Nora knew someone.
“She’s friendly. Much quieter than me. Kind of antisocial. What you will get from her is trust and honor. She won’t be someone out there gossiping with others. She keeps to herself and always has. I wish she were more outgoing, but nothing I’ve said has helped.”
This conversation was giving him pause.
The woman he’d spent the night with was none of the things she was being described as by her father.
Nora had been friendly, yes. But she oozed confidence. She didn’t allow a break in the conversation, giving as much as she took. She wasn’t selfish, she wasn’t cocky, but she had an air about her that said she didn’t care if the night ended with them walking away or landing in bed.
Maybe that was what gave him the nudge to see if he could continue.
He hated women who clung to him. That hung on every word. Who tried to be someone they thought he wanted.
Nora did nothing like that. But she also wasn’t what her father was saying either.
He was going to have to go with his gut and Blair’s.
“Some people take more time to adapt,” he said. “Doesn’t seem as if you’ve been around her much, or am I wrong?”
“No,” Norris said, sighing. “She’s been hours away, I’ve been busy. I saw her more before she graduated high school, then she went to college and life moved on. We kept in contact but aren’t close. I’d like to fix that.”
That made more sense.
And the fact that Nora picked up her life to try, alone, it spoke more of her character than anything else.
“I’m sure I’ll talk to her if it makes it that far,” Ethan said.
“No pressure from me,” Norris said, standing. “Would I love to see her get a job here? Sure, but if she doesn’t end up being a good employee, I wouldn’t want that reflected on my position.”
Dickhead. And those were the things he hated about the guy.
He wondered if it was Norris’s intent to begin with.
To make sure that if his daughter was hired and didn’t work out, no one whispered his name in a sentence.
But that didn’t explain why he made the comment to begin with that Nora was looking for a job.
Unless it was to be a silent pressure or embarrassment to his daughter.
That might be worse.
“Think nothing of it,” Ethan said, forcing a smile.
Norris left his office and he got to work. Twenty minutes later, he looked up when he heard the door open next to him. Blair must be done and he’d see what the next step was.
His assistant came into his office and put her thumbs up, then shut the door.
“She’s great. If you’re interested in interviewing, I can set it up. Your schedule is packed today, but she’s flexible. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to proceed considering who she was and how it happened.”
No way Blair knew of his night with Nora. No one did. He refused to believe Nora would confess that to Blair.
“Meaning Norris’s daughter?”
“Yes. She’s nothing like him. I mean nothing.”
Phew!
“Tell me more,” he said, leaning back. He didn’t care if he was late for his next call. He could show up when he wanted.
“Experience, hands down, she’s got the range of what you’re looking for.
Not the years in each discipline, but she’s touched on a lot, and talking to her, she’s smart and a fast learner.
She picked up her life to start fresh here with money in the bank to buy her time while she tries to reconnect with her father.
We didn’t get into that. It’s not my business and she only brought it up to explain her move and lack of job. ”
Those two stories jived. “Norris popped his head in and gave his version.”
“I can’t wait to hear this.”
“No, you keep going. So far, so good.”
“She’s sweet, professional, and has a quiet confidence. I can see it when she talks about her job, what she liked and what she needs to know more of. She’s more into a closed environment rather than large groups but could adapt to anything.”
“What did you tell her about that?”
“I said that she would only work with a select few most of the time. Many would come to her, rather than her to them. She’d have to learn to say no and weed out the noise. Confidentiality is massive for this role.”
“And her response?”
“She keeps to herself,” Blair said. “And she likes it that way. I don’t think she’s a fan of conflict but didn’t say it. So that could be something to keep an eye out for if it progresses.”
“All that sounds good. Give me your personal take on her.”
Blair grinned. “I think that she’s a younger version of me.
I’m not sure how anyone could handle having Norris as a father and that’s my own opinion.
Doesn’t appear as if they are that close, but they both seem to be trying.
She gets credit for that. She’s got courage to move here and try to figure it out on the fly.
She admitted she is a planner and this is uncharted territory, but she’s adapting as fast as she can. ”
“It’s not Vermont,” he said.
“Norris told you where she was from?”
Guess he slipped there. “I’d heard it before. I remembered it after.”
Not really a lie. “Got it,” Blair said. “I think she’s got ambition, but it’s on her terms. She’s out to prove something, if not just to herself, but I think there is a tiny part there to prove something to her father.”
“So you think she’d take the job for that reason? If she were hired.”
“No, I think she is liable not to take it for that reason,” Blair said, laughing.
“And it scored points for me. So I’m putting it out there, if you want to interview her, I’m sure she’ll do it, but I don’t know if she’ll take it.
It might have to be a sweet deal because when I asked her feelings about working in the same building as her father, she was on the fence. ”
“Understandable,” he said. “Few could do that.”
“I couldn’t,” Blair said. “Do you or don’t you want me to set up a second interview?”
“I’d like that,” he said. If for no other reason than to have a conversation with her about how they’d left before. If Blair thought Nora would be a good fit for this job, he wasn’t going to disregard it.
But they’d have to come to terms on how they’d met prior.
Why she knew him and didn’t say it.
And how they’d navigate the future.
He’d love more than what they’d had. Not just the sex. It was more than that for him.
But he wouldn’t nor couldn’t push and that would be on him to stick to those guidelines.
If his father knew, Mitchell would be the first person in his face saying not to set himself up for any fallout..
Not a whisper of gossip or a threat of a lawsuit.
He knew those things, yet he still said, “Set it up. You know my schedule. The sooner the better.”