Page 17 of Stuck with the Hot Boss
Kev’s soft voice said, ‘How do you rate his performance in the job so far?’
Blimey, thought Evie. Could they not have given her some warning? It wasnotfair for them to put her on the spot like this, and that little spark of irritation gave her courage.
‘Is there anything in particular you want to know about?’ she asked Kev. ‘Or are you after my general first impressions?’
Kev’s dark eyes gave nothing away. ‘Let’s start with your impressions.’
Evie pictured Leo out there in their office, putting on that confident face, all the while worrying that he’d be exposed as a fraud. Imposter syndrome, they called it. Associated more with women, but Evie bet that was only because more women admitted they had it. Leohadadmitted it, to her at least. But the way he chose to deal with it – shutting people out, pretending he didn’t need help – made him his own worst enemy.
She had to give Keith and Kev an answer; the only other option was quitting her job and running away. Mentally, Evie rolled her shoulders like a boxer about to enter the ring.
‘Leo is a perfectionist,’ she said. ‘That makes him somewhat of a control freak, but I can deal with that. I like being around people who set super-high standards. He’s also ambitious. He’s already told me how much he wants to succeed in this role.’
Evie paused, unsure how far she should go. But she’d started now, so–
‘Leo also strongly believes in a separation between personal and professional life,’ she said. ‘So, the persona he adopts at work is perhaps not as relaxed as most of us are at Double K.’
She looked at Keith as she said this. Kev was about as relaxed as a trained assassin.
‘It’s barely been a week, so not long to get to know someone,’ she went on, absolutelynotthinking about kissing Leo. ‘But he and I have had some productive chats, and I feel confident we’ll work well together.’
That might be stretching it, but Evie believed in being optimistic.
‘And – those are my impressions so far …’
Her last drop of courage drained away, as Keith and Kev exchanged an unreadable look.
Then Keith smiled at her. ‘Thanks, Evie. We appreciate your honesty.’
And???she wanted to yell at them. But they were both getting to their feet, so she had no choice but to do likewise.
As Keith saw her to the door, he said, ‘Dennis told me you asked some great questions and were very enthusiastic. Says if you ever want a job …’
The door closed. An afterimage of Keith’s smile lingered in the corridor along with Evie’s growing sense of unease.
Whatwasthat all about? Evie’s mind conjured up all manner of scenarios, then organised them from least to most terrifying:
It was normal practice for the big bosses to check in – nothing to worry about.
They’d had second thoughts about Leo – something for Leo to worry about.
Keith’s mention of Dennis was a subtle hint that they’d had second thoughts about Evie and were checking that Leo could do the job without her – a huge thing to worry about. And rude on their part.
Something even huger to worry about that she couldn’t yet put her finger on.
