“You said that you’re good at this, at getting placements for those with my skillset, basically. How was I paired with you, or was it random? If, for instance, you were suddenly sick for a couple of weeks, would someone else handle my case?”
“Great question, well, questions because you asked more than one. I was paired with you based on your resume, yes. Many of us, however, are capable of handling your case, not just me. We offer full transparency so, if you go to our website and click on my profile name, you will see how long I’ve been doing this, my success rate, and things like that. If, for some reason, I am sick for an extended period of time or, God forbid, something happens to me, someone else would take over your case within a 48-hour timeframe. That would be enough time to get them up to speed.”
“Okay, thanks so much. I’m sorry for crying like I did a while ago. You don’t need that this morning. I know you said it was fine, but I feel just silly about it. That’s not typically my nature. I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately.”
She stood, and he followed suit, waving his hand to dismiss her words.
“No, please, don’t worry about that. No need to apologize. It happens. Everyone gets upset from time to time. You’ve been through a lot lately, I get it.” He extended his hand and she shook it. His touch was firm, but not too tight. Just right.
“Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll walk you out.”
Him walking beside her, they made their way through the maze back to the lobby area. As they journeyed, he waved at a couple of people and smiled. They waved back, some even enthusiastically calling out his name. Everyone seemed to know him… in fact, if she were a betting woman, she’d say he was well-liked. When they reached the door, he extended his hand to her once more. She looked down at it, then slowly wrapped her palm against his.
“I look forward to working with you, Ms. Addison Blue. It was nice meeting you. I like your name by the way. It’s pretty.”
“Thank you.” Heat warmed her cheeks.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be in touch soon and enjoy your time off. I have a feeling you’ll be back in the working world sooner than you think…”
And with that, he turned away and left her standing there. Swallowing hard, she walked out of the building. She suddenly felt taller and couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Perhaps life wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe she would get a fresh start and finally leave the past behind her…
CHAPTER FOUR
Forbidden Fruit and Floral Petals
“Because she’s just not. I’m not dealing with that crap again, not on your life.” Tim chortled. “Besides, she moved back to Michigan.”
“Really, huh? You never told me that.” Aiden took a swig of beer from his bottle. They lounged on his sofa, watching the Seattle Seahawks game from last week that he still had on DVR. The bastards were getting their asses handed to them by the Rams. It was brutal to witness but they both needed the reprieve after a long Friday at the office. “We shoulda gone to Shorty’s tonight.”
“Man, I just wasn’t in the mood.” Tim groaned as he thrust his hand down the front of his trousers. “I had a real live one today…”
“Couldn’t have been worse than the guy I had yesterday who demanded a job that would allow him to park his motorcycle indoors. I swear these people are from the damn moon and Pluto. He was serious, too.”
“As utterly absurd as that sounds, Aiden, trust me, mine was worse. Check it out.” Tim turned to him straight on. “The guy only did construction back in New Jersey, right? He moved here like three months ago for some lady he met online. She was tired of him not working so she sent him our way and he said he’d only accept an office job that paid 70K minimum, but he has no experience whatsoever. And check this out, too, he didn’t want customer service or something like that. It had to be white collar and management. He looked at me like, ‘Make it happen.’ I showed him the exit and told his ass to return when he woke up and came back down to the land of reality. What a fucking waste of time. I can’t believe these people sometimes.” Tim huffed.
Aiden chuckled and got up to go to the kitchen. “I can believe it,” he said. “But trust me, he knew how silly he sounded. He really didn’t want to work, so he put unreachable goals to the test to use as an excuse when nothing comes through. Last week I had a lady who was overqualified for all the jobs she was interested in. I dug a little deeper and found out why. She’d been a convicted arsonist.”
“Fire in the hole!” Tim chortled, causing him to burst out laughing too.
“She neglected to share that bit of primo hot fire information, but of course it popped up on her background check amongst other questionable things. Anyway, how did you deal with the guy today, the one who has been on your back for the past six months? I hope you used some of my pointers.” He pulled out two ice-cold beer bottles from the stainless-steel refrigerator, then returned to the couch and offered one to Tim, who was ready for another round.
“I gave him some job training information but we all know nothing is going to come of that.” Tim popped the cap before guzzling. He swallowed hard and smacked his lips. “Some people just like to pretend they’re looking for work but really aren’t, just like you said. He couldn’t care less. His parents are paying for me to help him; it’s no sweat off his nose. But he’s wasting my time. I’d much rather be productive rather than deal with him and all of his games.”
“Don’t you just hate that?” Aiden grimaced and rolled his eyes as he spread his legs wide and stared aimlessly at the television.
“It cost me time and money that I coulda been talking to someone else—someone serious.” Aiden understood his best friend’s frustration all too well. “So anyway, what’s up with that promotion? Heard anything else?”
“Nah.” Aiden shook his head. “Last I heard is what I told you, that William was keeping an eye out for me and I had his permission to spread my wings, basically. That’s good news no doubt, but I guess the whole process takes a while. Oh…” His lips curled in a grin. “Did you happen to see my 9:00 AM appointment on Tuesday?” The dazzling beauty that had walked into the office had crept into his mind on and off long after her visit.
“Nine on Tuesday…” Tim looked away as is if surfing his memory bank. “Probably not. I think I was on a conference call. I missed some primo princess, huh?”
“Maaaan!” Aiden slapped his leg. “You have no idea. This was better than that Betty chick Pete scored last month that had everyone drooling when she walked in. Her name is Addison, right? Fuckin’ gorgeous!” He kissed his fingers and waved them towards the sky as if he were Italian. “This woman has legs longer than a country mile, man. Her tits, ass, everything was perfect. And get this? She’s got a brain, and seems really nice, too. Not our typical nice-looking clients who have a chip on their shoulder or act like they are doing us a favor by even being there.”