Page 87 of Heat & Deceit
“Where have you worked before?”
“Oh.” She titters. “Here and there.”
I squint. “Tell me more about there.”
“Oh. Okay.” She glances around. “I’ve worked in marketing before.”
“And what did you do in that position?”
“I did...marketing things. Like making things markety.”
“Interesting,” I say, doing everything I can not to roll my eyes. “And what company was that for? I’d like to check references.”
“Piston Innovations.”
I arch an eyebrow. “You worked for Murphy?” Yeah fucking right. Murphy would’ve eaten her alive. He doesn’t tolerate bullshit, and he most definitely doesn’t hire people to domarketythings.
“Oh yeah,” she says with a big smile. “He loves me.”
“I’ll give him a call.”
She blanches. “But he doesn’t know I’m here, and I didn’t tell him I was interviewing for a new job.”
“I thought you said you did marketingbefore. So you’re still working for Murph?”
She nods. “Yes. I’d appreciate your discretion.”
“You know, Janice. I have to ask. Why would you leave a job at Piston Innovations to manage a coffee shop? Surely, marketing pays more.”
She grimaces. “I just love coffee.”
“Right.” I glance down at the paper and suck in a breath. Time to be a hard-ass. “Janice, I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll get straight to the point. You’re not what we’re looking for.” In a manager or an omega.
“Listen.” She leans forward and reaches for me again. I recoil, and she scrunches her face. “Why don’t I take you to lunch?”
“I’m good.”
“Well, I was only thinking...” She bites her lip and bats her eyelashes. “If you don’t want to hire me, maybe we could talk about other things you might need.”
“No.”
Her face falls. “Are you sure?”
I give her a look. “I’m sure.”
“You don’t have to be such an asshole about it.”
At this point, I think I should change my name to Asshole.
“Thanks for coming in. Good luck with whatever it is you’re trying to do.” I stand and head to the register.
Carmine moves to meet me with a tiny grin. “That went well,” she murmurs, watching as the omega storms out of the shop. “You’re great with omegas. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Hey, I thoughtIwas the asshole. No role reversals allowed, Carmine.”
She snickers and shakes her head. “Sorry, that looked super painful. Did she...” She trails off. “Never mind.”
“Did she what?” I drop my hip against the counter and glance around. “It’s slow. You need a break.”
