Page 36 of Stolen Kisses

I heard laughter down the corridor and stood ramrod straight.Is it Chase?No, the man didn't laugh like that.

The door opened, and Knox and Finn stepped in. Knox was smiling, and Finn shook his head, grinning.

"Hi," I said, trying to keep my disappointment at bay.

Oh for goodness' sake, why would I be disappointed?

Because you actually wanted to see Chase?a small voice said at the back of my mind. I did my best to ignore it.

"Hannah, good to see you again," Knox said.

"Am I interviewing with you two?" I asked.

Finn closed the door. "Interviewing? That's what they told you? God, no. We just wanted to catch up.”

“Yeah, find out how this happened," Knox added.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Last time Chase spoke about you, he was thinking about hiring an investigator to find out what kind of trouble you’re into."

My eyes bulged.

“Knox!” Finn admonished. "I don't think you're supposed to say that out loud."

Knox waved his hand. "If she sticks around long enough, she'll see how over the top Chase is. All I'm doing is giving her a warning."

I laughed, looking between the two of them. I had no idea what to say, but my mind was stuck on a detail. "He wanted to hire a detective?"

Knox leaned against the door. "He was unusually obsessive, and we helpfully suggested that he could just ask Josh."

"Which he did," I said.

Knox narrowed his eyes. "My brother talked to you about this job?"

"Yes. He didn't tell you?"

"No, I don't think he told anyone. He just emailed Magda. I found out this morning by mistake and figured why not find out what's going on directly from the source?"

"Nothing's going on," I said quickly. "He simply knows that I'm looking for a job, and, well, I thought the company's always looking for brokers."

"We are," Finn said. He sounded more serious than before. "HR was happy with your interviews. You excelled at the test."

"How do you know?" I asked him.

Finn smirked. "I personally receive the scores before the candidates do. The industry cutoff is at seventy. Mine is at eighty. You actually got eighty-five out of ninety. That is impressive."

Knox smiled. "Welcome to Sterling Investments, Hannah."

I was stunned. "I'm hired, just like that?"

"Yes. We have a very automated system. After every round of interviews, the interviewer immediately uploads the scores to the intranet, where we rate candidates. The last piece of the puzzle was the test, and you nailed it. Usually Magda gives the good news, but we felt this needed a more personal touch," Knox said.

"Wow, thank you."

There was a knock at the door.

Knox pointed at me and then at the door.

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