Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 104288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
See? Why can’t Maren look away too?
“Outside,” Maren and I say in unison.
I look at her. “You don’t mind the heat?”
“I grew up in Wilmington, so I’m used to it. Plus, there’s a nice breeze on the water.”
’Course summer girl likes the heat. And the oysters. And goddamnit, how am I just noticing that the T-shirt she’s wearing has a Chapel Hill football logo on it? Her résumé told me she cheered at the University of North Carolina. Makes sense she’d be a football fan. I am too.
Gina seats us at a table in the shade. Even so, it’s late August, and the heat—and humidity—are unreal. I unbutton the sleeves of my shirt and roll them up my forearms. I don’t miss the way Maren’s eyes flick over the tattoos that cover my skin there.
Confuses a lot of people, how a guy like me who walks around in custom-made button-up shirts and slacks is also covered in ink. My job description as CFO of a billion-dollar company may be straight edge. My past, though?
Anything but.
“Beautiful,” Maren says.
I look up from the menu I wasn’t reading. “The view?” We’re overlooking Bald Head’s marina, which is surrounded on all sides by the quaint, shingled houses and shops of Harbour Village.
“Of course the view is beautiful. We’re on Bald Head. But I was talking about your tattoos. What’s the story there? Seems like you have quite a few.”
I grit my teeth. I don’t like her friendliness. Her interest.
Or maybe I like it too much.
I look back down at the menu. “I was in the Navy.”
A pause. She’s waiting for me to flesh out that thought.
I don’t. It’s rude, I know, but I don’t have the time or patience for niceties. If this works out, I’m going to be her boss. Not her friend.
“Right,” she says.
The server, Rose, arrives to take our drink orders. I go with unsweet tea. Maren asks for a half-sweet, half-unsweet tea with lemon. She glances at me when I ask if she’s ready to order food too, but she doesn’t miss a beat and orders the pimiento-cheese-roasted oysters to start and a kale salad as a main.
Rose chuckles as she scribbles on her notepad. “How funny, Tuck. Her order’s exactly the same as your usual.”
I don’t think it’s funny at all. “I come here a lot,” I explain to Maren as I pop a cinnamon Altoid into my mouth. It makes a cracking sound as I break it with my teeth.
“Lucky you.”
Rose takes our menus and heads back inside the restaurant. I check my watch. Maren shifts uncomfortably in her seat.
I lean back and put my hands on the arms of my chair. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to dive right in. I don’t have a ton of time.”
“Of course. Let me just grab my notebook. Thanks for the opportunity to interview, by the way. I’m excited to know more about you and Katie.” She turns to pluck a notebook and pen out of her bag. She opens the notebook to a blank page and uncaps the pen, poising it over the paper. She meets my gaze. “All right, let’s do it.”
My brain latches onto an interpretation of those words that is entirely inappropriate.
What the actual fuck is wrong with me today? I get laid plenty when my family takes Katie for the night, so it can’t be sexual frustration. Maybe this is just panic manifesting in some weird ass way.
Katie really needs to get back into a routine. And I really, really need consistent help. Like, yesterday. I’ve already burned through the first batch of candidates I’ve managed to find. If Maren doesn’t work out . . .
Yeah, I’m screwed.
I hold the arms of my chair in a death grip. “I work long hours. My schedule is all over the place. Unpredictable at the best of times. There’s some travel I need to do too, which is why this is a live-in position. I have a crofter at my house here on the island. There’s an eight-hundred-square-foot apartment above the garage where you’d live. Has a full kitchen, bathroom. Laundry too. It comes fully furnished.”
Our drinks arrive. Maren nods. “Sounds great.”
“Means you’re on call most of the time. I don’t know what your class schedule is like—”
“Flexible. Most of my classes are online. I already have the dates I need to attend in-person, so we can easily plan ahead. If I have to do homework at midnight, then I have to do homework at midnight. I’m used to being up late, which is why I caffeinate often.” She sips her tea. “Tell me about Katie. She turned four in July, right?”
“Correct. I know I’m biased, but she’s very smart. Funny as hell. Tons of energy, though, just to warn you. My kid never stops moving.”
Maren grins. “Energy is good! Usually means she’s curious about the world. There’s lots to learn, and she’s eager to learn it.”