“Well, you certainly made a mess of that,” Marilyn snapped just as soon as Aria flew from the room. She sat frumpily in her seat and glared at Ethan.
“Me?” Ethan asked innocently, gesturing to himself. “What did I do? I only just walked in the room.”
Marilyn rolled her eyes. “That interview was going perfectly until you showed up. She was maybe a little timid at first, but once we got her talking, she proved that she was the right candidate for this job. Then, whew… you walked in the room, and it was as if she lost all sense of where she was and what she was doing.”
“Okay.” Ethan shrugged. “But aren’t there a dozen other people applying for the same posting? Maybe one of them will be just as impressive.”
Marilyn shook her head and sighed heavily. “I don’t think so. We’ve already exhausted the list of applicants. We narrowed the field to three, and Aria Linetti was at the very top of the pile. Don’t you remember? You read that glowing reference from one of her professors?”
Ethan glanced down the table at Marilyn. “I recall reading the recommendation letter, but everyone has solid references. They wouldn’t be able to get you to take a look at their resume otherwise.”
Marilyn lowered her head and looked up at Ethan with her dark grey eyes. “I’m serious, Mr. Devry. I want that girl working in my department.”
Ethan locked eyes with Marilyn and tried to return her heavy stare, but he knew he wasn’t nearly as intimidating. “If you think Aria’s interview went well, except for the part when I walked in the room, I trust your judgment. Go ahead and hire her.”
Marilyn sighed dramatically. She turned to Abe. “Can you try to explain this to him because I don’t seem to be making any headway?”
Abe fiddled with his bright pink power tie, and he shrugged.
“What about you?” Marilyn asked, looking at Anthony. “You’re representing human resources here… so represent them.”
Anthony smoothed down his mustache and then he gave Ethan a smarmy smile. “Marilyn here is concerned that our best candidate won’t accept the job, even if we offer it, because she’s got a bit of a crush on you. Nowadays, it is practically written in every company’s bylaws that romantic relationships between colleagues is heavily frowned upon. With you being the boss and Ms. Linetti interviewing to become an entry-level staffer, this would definitely seem like a conflict of interest.”
“I can’t help the way someone reacts to me,” Ethan said, a little defensively.
“Oh, yes, you can,” Marilyn replied. She leaned back in her chair and angrily crossed her arms over her chest.
Ethan opened his mouth in astonishment. He had known Marilyn for what he liked to think of as the bulk of his life. Marilyn had been with the company for more than twenty years. She joined Devry Media as soon as she graduated from college, and she had always been very loyal to Ethan’s father, Edmund. So, while most bosses wouldn’t have tolerated their subordinates speaking to them in such a manner, Ethan took the rebuke as a matter of course. Marilyn was only looking out for the best interest of the company, and whatever she was suggesting for the good of the group was probably what was also best for Ethan.
How can she possibly expect me to be able to control the way women react to me?
Ethan cast a look at Anthony, but he wasn’t really paying attention anymore. He had pulled out his phone and was typing a very hasty and lengthy email. Ethan turned toward Ms. Shields and realized that she was still taking dictation.
“Ms. Shields,” Ethan said, nodding politely at the administrative assistant. “Please strike the last few statements from the formal minutes of this meeting and feel free to return to your desk. Ms. Cook will be joining you shortly.”
“Of course, Mr. Devry,” Ms. Shields murmured as she clicked the backspace button multiple times, then snapped the laptop screen closed. She rose and walked smoothly out the glass doors.
Ethan waited until she was out of earshot before he engaged with Marilyn once more. “Marilyn, I don’t know why you insist upon lecturing me in front of everyone. How are my employees ever supposed to take me seriously when you do things like that?”
Marilyn smacked her lips in a dissatisfied fashion. “Your father would not have hesitated to point out the obvious, just as I did now. We cannot afford to have every capable person who applies for this job decline our offer because they are smitten with you. It is just not acceptable.”
Ethan adjusted his tie. “I understand what you’re saying, Marilyn, but I also think you are being a tad overdramatic. No one is such a perfect fit for a job that they are irreplaceable. If you don’t like the way the interview went, find someone else.”
Marilyn stood and cast an icy glance at Ethan. “I won’t pretend that I’m not disappointed, Mr. Devry. I don’t know what sort of relationship you had with Ms. Linetti, but I do not like how it just impacted my meeting and the team I am looking to assemble. If you want to hire someone else, you do it.” With that, Marilyn stormed from the room, leaving a stack of resumes on the table in front of her.
Anthony rose as well, and without looking up from his phone, he exited the room right behind Marilyn.
“You know, she’s certainly a lot more pleasant when she gets what she wants,” Abe said carefully. He was still seated at the other end of the table, and he swiveled so that he could look closely at Ethan. “Don’t you think you could at least consider what she said… for the good of everyone else who has to work with her?”
Ethan turned in his own seat, so he could look directly at Abe. “I’d give Marilyn anything she asked for. I told her she could hire Aria. I see no issues with the situation.”
Abe snorted. “Then you didn’t see the way poor Ms. Linetti nearly fell out of her chair when you breezed in the doorway.”
“That bad, huh?” Ethan said, and he couldn’t stop himself from smirking.
Abe lifted his eyebrow in response. “You really didn’t notice?”
Ethan threw up his hands in defeat. “I told Marilyn and now I guess I have to tell you, too. I can’t help the way someone reacted to me. I can’t help it if everyone I meet finds me practically irresistible.”
Now Abe laughed in earnest. “So, what exactly is the nature of your relationship with Ms. Linetti?” Again, this sort of questioning might have seemed inappropriate for someone who was Ethan’s employee to be asking, but Ethan didn’t mind in the slightest. Abe had been Ethan’s best friend since he joined the company eight years prior.
“You remember the girl I met a while back when we went out to Surreal?” Ethan asked.
“That’s the same girl?” Abe replied, obviously shocked by the coincidence. He whistled softly. “Some might think she planned to run into you this way.”
“No,” Ethan disagreed at once. “Did you see her face? She had no idea I was going to be the person walking through that door. Plus…” and now Ethan ducked his head because he was a little ashamed of his behavior, “…I only saw her that one night. When I left her place in the morning, I didn’t leave my name or a phone number.”
Abe grimaced. “That’s pretty cold.”
Ethan leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his thick hair. “What would you have done if you were me? I didn’t ever I expect to run into her again.”
“And yet… here we are,” Abe said, motioning to the stack of resumes still on the table.
“What do you think I should do?” Ethan questioned, leaning over and starting to straighten the stack of paperwork. He liked everything to be neat and tidy, and Marilyn usually did too.
Really shows just how thrown she was by the whole thing that she left the table a mess.
Running his hand over his clean-shaven jawline, Abe said, “Seems to me you’ve got a number of options.”
“Such as?” Ethan prompted.
“Well… you could try being less charming,” Abe replied, giving Ethan a sly smile.
“Not likely,” Ethan commented, chuckling at his own foolishness. “Next option, please.”
“I guess that narrows the choices to just two then,” Abe returned thoughtfully. He pushed the stack of paperwork closer to Ethan. “You can take a look at this load of resumes. If you see someone who is even half as qualified for this job as Ms. Linetti, then you call them up and offer them the job.”
“Sounds fair,” Ethan responded. He plucked the first resume off the top of the pile and glanced over it. “But just so I know, what’s the other option?”
“You could always start by looking at Ms. Linetti’s resume. She really has a wealth of experience, even though she’s fresh out of graduate school. She did well in her interview, too. She was sharp… on her toes… willing to express some unique ideas. Some people play it so safe in interviews. But not her. Right up until the moment you walked in, I’m sure she had the rest of us won over.”
Ethan flipped through the stack of resumes and found the one with Aria’s name on it. “And you think hiring Aria is the right thing to do? Even if we had a dalliance a couple of months ago?”
Abe chuckled. “If we refused to hire everyone you had a dalliance with, we’d never carry a full staff.”
“Hey,” Ethan retorted. “I’m not that bad.” Ethan made it a priority never to mix his business with his pleasure. He respected his father and this company too much to mess with the inner workings.
“You’re right. You’re not that bad,” Abe said slowly. Then, he raised an eyebrow at Ethan. “You sure this was just a one-time thing with Ms. Linetti?”
“Of course,” Ethan replied at once. “I told you. I never thought I was going to see her again.”
Abe nodded. “Then it sounds to me like we don’t have a problem. Take a look at the lady’s resume. If you think she’s qualified, and you believe you can move beyond the one night the two of you had together, then do what Marilyn wants and offer her the job.”
Ethan skimmed through the list of items on Aria’s resume. It was all pretty standard. She had the appropriate education. She had done a series of internships, some for other high-profile companies. There was nothing overly impressive about the document, but then again, Marilyn wasn’t so easily won over by just anybody.
“And you really think hiring Aria is the right thing to do?” Ethan asked.
Abe nodded. He stood abruptly and smoothed down the hem of his suit jacket. “She was the most promising candidate. I always think it is in the best interest of the company to hire the person who is most qualified for the job, regardless of who they are and what they might have done in their past. But I’m an elitist snob.”
Ethan scoffed. “No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m not.” He must have been able to detect that Ethan was really struggling to make this decision and so Abe became very serious suddenly. He leaned forward and whispered in Ethan’s direction. “Not to push you in any one direction or the other, but hiring Ms. Linetti is what your father would tell you to do. He would tell you to put your professional life before your personal life.”
Ethan placed his elbow on the table and then lifted his fist to his chin. He sat there for a moment thinking over the matter. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I’m sorry I messed up the interview. I’ll contact Ms. Linetti at once and find out when she can start.”