Page 4 of The Lamb and the Llama
“So, I’ve got the job?” A wide smile bloomed on her face. “That’s fantastic, Mister Anderson. Thank you!”
He nodded. “When can you start?”
“Today! I’ve been doing busywork in Stan’s office, and I was fully prepared to come here and start immediately if the interview went well and you wanted me.”
He wanted her all right… He cleared his throat. “All right. Well, do you need me to show you around?”
“I think I’m good.” She beamed. “Quinn already walked me around a bit and explained things. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take another peek now, start to settle in, and let you know if I have any questions.”
“That sounds fine.”
With a bubbly nod of her head, she stood and walked out the door—almost as elegantly as she walked in. And damn him. He watched every second that ass swayed from side to side before she closed the door behind her.
Wait…Did I just agree to hire her?
No. No. No! This can’t be happening!
Richard went into full panic mode. Amira seemed like a brilliant woman and most likely a capable employee, but how could he work with her? He was too damned attracted to her to even think straight during the interview, so how would he get any work done now that she was just a few feet away and in full view through his office door? Why they’d put windows on the door was beyond him, but they had! And now viewing her at her desk was a tantalizing torture.
No.
He had to find a way to transfer her to another department. Stan would be pissed, but it had to be done. Amira was too much of a beautiful distraction for him. He stood from his desk and charged out his door.
“Is there something you need?” Amira asked, having already settled at her desk.
“No,” Richard grumbled. “I’ll be right back.”
The charge from his office to Stan’s, which was only across the hall, wasn’t enough time for him to cool his temper. He stomped his way through to Stan’s office, not bothering to knock before he entered and slammed the door behind him.
Stan looked at him warily. “What’s wrong with Amira?”
Richard paced in front of his desk. “It’s not going to work out.”
“Why are you telling me this? Why didn’t you just send her back?”
“Because I told her she was hired.”
Stan sat back in the chair, crossed his arms, and let out a long, steady breath. “You hired her, you’re stuck with her. You can’t expect me to accept that you want to fire her minutes after you hired her. What could she possibly have done in that time to deserve that?”
“I don’t think she’s cut out for my CRAP,” Richard lied. He wouldn’t live it down if Stan knew he’d said yes to hiring her without even hearing a word the woman said!
“Are you talking about your Campus Reports Accounting Pettycash or your drama-llama antics?”
Richard pressed his lips together and shook his head. He needed Amira out of his office, but he didn’t want to disparage her credentials. He just also knew that Stan wasn’t going to accept the reasoning that her legs were too long and gorgeous and Richard couldn’t stop picturing her wrapping them around his waist.
Fuck.
It was now Richard’s turn to let out a long breath. He’d hoped it would calm his nerves, especially since he kept thinking about Amira’s cleavage peeking through her pristinely pressed white button-down. Why she had to have three buttons from the top of her blouse undone was beyond him.
“This is your TLC shit,” Richard spat, finally sitting in the chair that faced Stan’s desk.
“TLC shit?” Stan had the gall to look like he didn’t know what Richard was talking about.
“Yeah, I’ve heard all about your matchmaking schemes. Stan the TLC—Tender-hearted Loving Caringbear.” Richard wasn’t the only one with a reputation around the Academy. Stan had one too. Richard hadn’t given much credence to the idea that Stan had turned into some kind of resident matchmaker. He figured it was just a coincidence that four of Stan’s agents had found their mates while on assignment. But now that Amira had walked in and his mind—and dick—was reacting to her as it never had any other woman, he figured there was just one person to blame: Stan.
Stan’s nostrils flared, and he seemed to be about to object to the title, but then a realization hit. “Youlikeher.”
“I’m having inappropriate thoughts about her, yes,” Richard admitted. It was embarrassing, but it seemed like the truth was going to be the only way out of this.
