Page 14 of Over & Out

So now it’s my turn to quirk my head. “Okay, so what are you here for, Tru?”

“I’m here to offer you a job. I wantyouto work for Hopper Donnach.”

Chapter 5

Chris

Iburst out laughing. I laugh for a good long while. Until I notice Tru is not laughing at all. She’s resting her laced hands on her round belly, waiting for me to finish.

I cough, growing quiet. “I’m so sorry. I thought you asked me to work for that man.”

“I did. In my place. As you can see, I’ll need to take a leave from this role shortly.” She pats her belly.

I gawk. “You were at that table, Ms. Thomp?—”

“Tru.”

“Tru.” I touch my hand to my temple as if I can physically reduce my confusion. “I’m sorry, but you seem smart. So I’m wondering why on earth you think I might want to spend more than a millisecond more with that man. Especially as his…”

Tru smiles. “Personal assistant.”

I barely keep down the vomit.Assistingthe Dick?As if.

Tru must see me turn green, because she laughs forthe second time in as many minutes. “I thought the very same thing when I was approached. I laughed, actually, just like you. And this was before—well, before things went south. I was the marketing manager for a big lifestyle brand. We were going to hire Hopper to do some advertising for us. This was before he was so…big. He doesn’t do that anymore. Anyway, I lost my temper in a meeting and we lost him. But that’s when Mabel—his manager—offered me a job, said I’d be perfect for itbecauseI lost my shit on him.”

“So what you’re saying is you have to be pissed off to work for him.”

“Sort of. Except what Hopper needs in an assistant isn’t exactly conventional.”

Oh God. “Is this asexthing?”

“It’s not a sex thing.” Luckily she doesn’t sound insulted. In fact, nothing seems to faze her. If that’s what it takes to do this job, I’d be a failure right out of the gate.

“Hopper needs strong women around him, Ms. Maplewood,” Tru says.

“Sorry,” I say, relieved. “But what does that mean?”

“He respects women,” she says, reading my mind. “He was raised by a strong woman. He listens to them. Other men…well, he doesn’t always play nice.”

I would be impressed. But after what I just saw? “I’m a woman, and he sure didn’t seem to have much respect for me out there.”

Tru winces. “I promise that wasn’t personal. Something about this town has got him rattled. But I’ll admit, it wasn’t one of his finest moments.”

Does he have any of those? That man would have to do backflipsfor a year for me to think he’s a decent human being. But his assistant is no slouch, I’ll give him that. “Well, you seem lovely,” I concede. “But working for him sounds like hell, no matter how nice you get to dress. Your outfit is amazing, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I move to get up. “Thanks for the offer! It’s very flattering.”

Tru stays put. “What happened to your shoulder, Chris?”

I freeze, but gravity has me sinking back into the leather. I flatten my lips. Then say, “I was in an accident.”

“Car accident?”

No. I was distracted in my favorite place in the world. I made a stupid mistake and lost my safe place.

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