Page 23 of Entwined

Nicole Townsend.

Her.

Now she has something. Something that draws me. Vulnerability. Wariness with a speck of strength breaking through as she stares into the camera.

The lens tells me so much. It captures what the person in the photos don’t say… or write, but Nicole surprises me. She does. She says it all. Her résumé reads more like a memoir, or a diary.

She tells me how much she needs a new job. To leave her old life behind. She needs a new adventure.

She needs me.

Wish granted Nicole.

“Trevor!” I bark, raising a hand in the air.

“Sir.” He scurries from his seat behind me where I heard him tapping away on his laptop.

He gulps as he sees the résumé in my hand. “I tried to take it away before you read it. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. She’s perfect. Call. Set up an interview.”

“For when? How long do you anticipate we’ll be in Kyoto?”

“Fly her in.”

“…from New York City?”

“Yes. Is that a problem for you to arrange?” My voice drips with sarcasm.

“No.” He turns, slowly, the wheels turning in his head. His thoughts transparent. Maybe I have lost my head. Who flies in a candidate to Japan for a first interview?

Me. A man who misses nothing. Miss Townsend won’t say no. She needs a change and I need a distraction.

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