by Laura Ann
“Me thinks you doth protest too much,” Hayden said with a raised brow.
“Don’t you have a kitchen to fill?” Eli put his stoic face back on and put his eyes on his desk, refusing to look at the knowing glint in Hayden’s eyes.
“You’re right. Maybe I’ll see if she wants to work in there instead. What was her name?”
“If she wanted to work in the kitchens, she would have put that down,” Eli responded too quickly.
Hayden chuckled, and the sound became softer as he walked back down the hall. Eli sat back and tugged at his collar. Shoot. I don’t have enough real candidates as it is. I can’t just not hire her because she made me feel things. He scoffed out loud. “I sound like a woman.” Shaking his head, he wrote HIRED at the top of her resume and put it in a small pile at the top of his desk.
IVY RESISTED THE URGE to fan herself as she walked out of the office and eventually outside to her car. Once seated in the private interior, however, all bets were off. “Whew! That man is positively sinful!” She used both hands to fan her cheeks, knowing her fair skin was flaming from the encounter.
When she felt sufficiently in charge of her body, she turned the key in the ignition and worked her way out of the parking lot. She drove slowly, admiring the resort and surrounding areas. The castle itself was stunning. Although Ivy had never seen it before the renovation, she imagined that they kept it fairly similar to what it had been originally.
Large stones made up the outer wall of the massive building. It was so wide that Ivy couldn’t see any of the landscaping or forest she had heard sat on the back half of the property. But the plants in the front and the fountain that had been put in the middle of the circular driveway were plenty of eye candy.
Color greeted her everywhere she looked. It was obvious the plants were fairly new, since none of them were very large, but they still appeared to be thriving in their new environment. Azaleas and hydrangeas dripping in bright, spring blooms made a gorgeous hedge all along the cold grey of the castle walls.
Ivy knew there was a barn with horses and other outdoor equipment somewhere on the property, but she couldn’t see them from where she currently was. She had also heard that the brothers had hired a landscape architect to design a garden maze. I wonder if that’s already done or still a work in progress?
As Ivy pulled out onto the highway and turned toward her apartment, she let her mind wander. “If the back is as gorgeous as the front, I can just imagine how romantic that garden is. Mmm... a moonlit stroll on the arm of a handsome man.” She smiled. “Perfect. And if that man happened to be as handsome as one, Eli Truman, then even more perfect.”
Within a few minutes, Ivy pulled into her parking spot and bounced out of the car and up to her room.
“Hey, Heidi,” she said as she walked in.
“Hey,” Ivy’s roommate answered back; her nose in a stack of textbooks. “How did the interview go?” Suddenly, Heidi’s head popped up. “Did you actually get to see any of the brothers?”
Ivy felt her cheeks heat, and she turned so her roommate wouldn’t see.
“You did!” Heidi jumped off the couch and shoved her glasses up her nose. “Which one did you see? Are they as handsome as the magazines say?”
With a sigh, Ivy turned around and gave a rueful smile. “I actually interviewed with Eli Truman, personally.”
“Oooh, the oldest one. He always looks so suave in his business suits.”
“Oh, he looks just as handsome in person. That man is hands down the most good looking guy I have ever seen. He was wearing a suit that looked like it was molded to his frame and let me tell you,” Ivy pointed her finger at her roommate, “there is nothing about that man that says he sits behind a desk all day.” Ivy walked over and plopped on the couch, leaning back and closing her eyes as she imagined Eli Truman in her mind. When she had first seen him, she had been knocked speechless; sure she was seeing an apparition. No one should look that perfect. And then when they shook hands, Ivy felt like she had touched a live wire. He very obviously did not feel the same if his dismissal was anything to go by.
“His hair is so dark it looks black. The top strands had that blue glow in the sunlight and his eyes,” Ivy turned her head to grin at Heidi, who had sunk down beside her, “his eyes are this amazing grey tone. Cool and vivid against all that dark hair.”
Heidi sighed and put her hands to her chest. “Wow. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
Ivy sat up straight. “What?” She gave a confused grin. “You make him sound like he’s from another era.”
“He’s like ten years older than us, Ives. The guy is practically ancient.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “That is so dumb. Ten years isn’t that big of a deal in the long run. Are you honestly telling me that if he asked you out you would say no because of a little gap in age?”
Heidi pursed her lips and tilted her head from side to side. “I don’t know. Don’t you think it would be awkward?”
Ivy shook her head. “Absolutely, not. What was awkward was the fact that he was a jerk through the whole interview.”
Heidi’s eyes shot wide open. “What?”
Ivy nodded. “Seriously. He has absolutely no sense of humor and was nearly scowling at me the whole time like I’d done something wrong. He even accused me of being too young to work there.”
Heidi gasped in appropriate outrage. “He did not.”
“He did.”
Heidi stood and walked into their small kitchen. “Well, someday you will be grateful you look so young when the rest of us are old and wrinkly.”
Ivy laughed and stood as well.
“That’s a total bummer that he’s a jerk though, although after his story, you really can’t blame him.”
Being a jerk is a choice. Ivy thought. Lots of us have bad things happen. Doesn’t mean we have to hate the world.
“Oh, by the way, you got some mail.” Heidi waved her hand toward a couple of envelopes on the table.
“Thanks,” Ivy murmured, grabbing them and heading to her room to change from her interview clothes. She ripped one open and pulled out the folded papers. Once she realized what it was, she sighed. “Another bill.”
Ivy added it to the ever growing pile of medical bills left from her mother’s illness and subsequent death. Although, it had been a year since her mother had passed away, Ivy was still working on paying what wasn’t covered by her insurance. Sometimes it feels like I’ll never get out of this hole.
She sat down on her bed. “Hopefully, I’ll get a job soon.”
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Other Books by Laura Ann
It’s All About the Mistletoe Series
Mistletoe Magic
Mistletoe Mayhem
Mister Mistletoe
Mistletoe Mistake
Mistletoe Memories
Mistletoe Maverick
The Overnight Billionaire Bachelor Series
Her Billionaire Boss
Her Billionaire Chef
Her Fake Billionaire Boyfriend
Her Billionaire Gardener
The Billionaire’s Best Friend
Middleton Prep Series
Contemporary Romance with a Fairy Tale Flare!
A Home for the Ugly Duckling
The Librarian and Her Beast
Ms. Cinder’s Prince
Waking Ms. Briar
A Date for the Goose Girl
Running from the Wolf
Ms. Frogg’s Hidden Billionaire
Saving Ms. Gothel
A Billionaire for Ms. Snow
Goldilock’s Misunderstood Billionaire
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