Falling for the Boss (3 page)
Read Falling for the Boss Online
Authors: Elizabeth Lennox
Thomas agreed with her. It was one of the reasons he liked his job so much. He didn’t delve into the lifestyle philosophy of her answer though.
“You understand we work most of the time. The schedule usually doesn’t allow much time
to see the places we’re staying.”
Victoria
nodded but there wasn’t any sadness or disappointment in the acknowledgement. In fact, she seemed to become more enthusiastic in the topic. Her shoulders leaned forward almost imperceptibly and her hands curled into tiny fists on her lap
, revealing her excitement
.
“I understand. But even an hour off in each place will allow me to see more than I would otherwise. I could just walk outside in
Italy
and eat a sandwich, watching the sunset. But at least I’d be in
Italy
. That’s something to tell my grandchildren. Right now, I don’t have many stories,” she said, her eyes turning sad
at the idea
.
After a moment, he realized that she was finished and he was just staring at her lovely face
. He scrambled
quickly
to come up with his
next question.
“What do you like about accounting?”
Victoria
shrugged her slim shoulders. “Numbers make sense to me. I like the challenge of finding the story they are telling.”
Good answer, Thomas thought. He wasn’t doing a very good job of disqualifying her. “Have you ever found a story you didn’t like?”
She laughed
and Thomas held his breath at her
beautiful smile and warm laughter.
When she smiled, her whole face
l
it up and the sound seemed to soothe something inside his soul he hadn’t known was wrong.
“Sure! I’ve had to go into meetings to report losses. But I consider that someone else’s story so I just present the data.”
“What’s your story?”
he asked suddenly.
Victoria
was taken aback at the question. She didn’t know how to answer his question. She didn’t want to admit to this dynamic, overwhelmingly gorgeous man that she didn’t really have a story. She’d lived her life quietly without incident and that was part of the problem, part of the allure of this job. She wanted more out of life than what she currently had.
“I’m
not sure,
” she faltered, wondering what the best answer to his question should be. But he interrupted her before she could come up with an intelligent, witty answer.
“
Never mind,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. Not an appropriate interviewing question, he reminded himself. Get on the ball and find something to disqualify her. And stop
looking at her
long, sexy
legs!
Thomas turned and faced the window. Unfortunately, he could still see her lovely reflection in the glass so that didn’t help. “
What would be your top places to visit
?
”
“
Paris
,”
Victoria
said immediately
and nodded her head for emphasis
. “
Or
Italy
– but no specific city. I took French and Italian in college and loved the la
nguages. During history class
, I
always
loved the
Roman Empire
period. I’d be depressed for weeks after the fall
in school
.”
Thomas threw back his head and laughed at the unexpected answer. “I loved history
as well but probably not that much
.”
“But you didn’t major in it,” she said as
if
it were
a matter of fact.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it didn’t make sense,” he replied
, a charming grin on his face as he threw
back her previous answer and was rewarded by her
melodic
laughter in response. For some reason,
he felt privileged to have made her laugh
.
Her laughter
seemed
almost like a gift that she gave out to only the most worthy of people.
Get a grip, Thomas told himself. He wasn’t making sense. The woman didn’t strike him as the type to hoard her laughter. She was just a normal female with what appeared to be a superior knowledge of auditing procedures.
Thomas cleared his throat and looked back down at her resume. “
Can you wait outside? I need to talk to Margie another moment, then she’ll need to speak to you again
,” he said and stood up, reaching out to shake her hand.
Thomas took her shaking hand in his and a protective feeling washed over him. He wanted to reassure her that everything would be okay. But since he wanted to date the woman, rather than hire her, he couldn’t give her any reason to relax.
Chapter 2
As soon as she walked out to the lobby,
he felt like the sun had disappeared behind the clouds. What was wrong with him, he asked himself, turning away from the door she’d just exited.
He picked up her file and went down the hallway to find Margie and tell her that Victoria Anderson would not work out.
Entering
Margie’s
office, he tossed her file down onto her desk. “Find someone else.”
Margie leaned back
in her chair
, not touching the file. “Why? She’s perfect for the job and you know it.”
“No, she’s not.”
“First of all, why are you in a foul mood all of a sudden
?
And second, what’s wrong with her?” Margie demanded.
Not many people dared to stand up to Thomas. But he allowed it with Margie and a few others simply because they’d been around for so long, and they were usually right.
“Don’t worry about my mood,” he snapped
despite the fact that he was acting unusually surly
. “As for Victoria Anderson, she’s not strong enough. We work long hours and she’s too dainty. She’d never last a month, much less my required year.”
“She’s not too dainty.
She’s a strong, effective person with a spirit and drive that is unusual in someone that young. You’re just too much of an ogre to realize that fact so step back and take a closer look.
She
also
has all the experience you need. I’ve given her several
different kinds of
tests and her personality fits into your team
’
s better than anyone else. Good grief, she’s basically a perfect match for you.”
Initially Thomas was stunned by her last comment. But then he considered the idea and realized he
liked the way that sounded too much.
Unfortunately for his current predicament,
he wanted to sleep with the woman, not work with her.
Well, not sleep with her exactly
. His mind instantly pictured several images of what he’d like to do with her and none of them included sleeping. As soon as he realized where his mind was going, he shook his head and
immediately pushed those thoughts aside in order to deal with Margie and the subject of his missing auditor for the team.
Margie stood up, trying to reason with her boss.
“What’
s wrong, Thomas? She
has a boyfriend who is basically her fiancé
and he
is willing to let her travel
all over the world. What are the odds you’ll find someone else with her skills and attitude in addition to an understanding significant other
?
She’s excited about traveling, more than willing to take on the challenges, has all the experience you need and, from what her previous employers say, she has the financial intuition to go along with
that
experience. Give me a reason to reject her and I will.”
The only thing Thomas
heard was that she had a fiance
. That idea made him want to punch the wall but it also gave him the perspective he needed to see the woman more clearly. Having a boyfriend, no a fiancé, he corrected, made all the difference in the world in his mind. That made her off limits to him and therefore,
eminently
eligible to work on his team.
Suddenly, t
he thought that she would be traveling with him, working beside him
,
made him feel one hundred percent better.
He didn’t want to
investigate
that feeling
too closely
.
Instantly,
his mood lightened and he smiled
, ignoring the surprised expression on Margie’s face
.
“Well then hire her and get her started immediately,” Thomas said and walked out of the office, leaving a befuddled Margie to wonder what had just happened.
Margie walked
down the hallway to the lobby
a moment later and motioned for
Victoria
to follow her
back to her office. Once there
, she closed the door and motioned for
Victoria
to sit down in one of the chairs facing her desk. “I guess you heard the conversation?”
Victoria
nodded. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop but it was difficult not to hear,” she said.
Margie laughed. “Yes, I know. Sometimes it gets
eerily
quiet around here. Especially during deadlines.” She shifted some papers on her desk, then folded her hands over the files. “So I
guess you understand that Mr. At
tracelli is serious about the one year commitment
?
”
Victoria
grimaced slightly. “Is he that much of
an
ogre? Does he have trouble keeping people?”
Margie laughed. “Absolutely not. Bob has worked for Mr. Attracelli for almost five years and Ted lasted for three
before deciding
to
get married. He’s now working in one place instead of traveling all over the world
, but still with
ATI
. His wife is happier about the situation
too
.”
“That doesn’t seem very long,”
Victoria
said, still slightly concerned about longevity and job security. The possibility of travel and new experiences overrode those concerns though.
“It is when you understand the demands of the job. Mr. Attracelli wasn’t kidding when he said the schedule
is
tight for the next six months. His schedule has him reviewing ten of the
ATI
companies in six months.
Some of them need some serious revamping
. Mr. Attracelli
generally
isn’t called in unless there is the suspicion of trouble. And it will be your job to find the financial issues.
There are also routine audits, but those don’t take up a large portion of his time usually.
”
“Wow!”
Victoria
muttered, astounded at the possible workload.
Margie nodded. “Exactly. The hours are long but the challenge is definitely there. And the compensation is extremely good,” Margie said and mentioned the starting salary.
Victoria
couldn’t help it but her eyes widened at the figure Margie mentioned. “Why so much?”
“Because Mr. Attracelli demands a lot from his personal staff. He also gives it back. He takes care of his people.”
Victoria
could only stare. The figure was almost double what she was currently earning. That much money would enable her to help her younger sister pay off her college debts a
nd
still
put money away for her wedding.