Oh, God, she hadnt meant to say all that. Please, sir, I want some more. Could she humiliate herself any further?
Max studied the woman sitting across from him. Hed been surprised as hell to find out she was Jane Selwyn. If hed known, he never would have even scheduled an interview.
But now that she was here, he felt obligated to at least consider her for the position. After all, shed gotten dressed up in that Queen Elizabeth suit for the occasion.
The first time hed met her, shed looked quite different. Shed been wearing a bikini, in fact. And what a bikini. Sure, bikinis were pretty much par for the course in Port Clara, but Jane wore hers better than any other hed seen. In fact, hed like to see-
He gritted his teeth. Best not to dwell on what she looked like under that suit. He tried desperately to think like a businessman.
Hiring Jane Selwyn would be illogical. Hed already interviewed a better-qualified candidate who was perfect. But though Carol was right that hed made a decision, he hadnt yet contacted the artist to offer the job.
He could still reconsider.
Janes portfolio showed talent, but it was decidedly amateurish. And despite the small-town atmosphere of Port Clara, he had no intentions of limiting his services to local used-car dealers and barbecue joints. He intended to compete with agencies from Houston-New York and San Francisco, too. Jane was so underqualified.
But the biggest reason of all not to hire her was what she did to him on a physical level. Hed never met a more beautiful woman. Not just your average beautiful, like a model or a beach bunny, but an ethereal, angelic beautiful. With her black, wavy hair, her high forehead and her lush red lips, she reminded him of one of those 1940s movie stars-Vivien Leigh, maybe.
Her husband had been right to punch Max in the face. Although he hadnt made any outrageous come-ons when hed first met her, his thoughts had been decidedly carnal, and good ol Scott had sensed it.
Max had been in the business world long enough to know that work and sex mixed together like nitro and glycerin. Workplace affairs caused no end of heartache, not to mention the loss of productivity. If he hired Jane, their relationship would have to be strictly business.
Of course, hed decided long ago he would never act on his attraction-the minute hed seen her darling, bright-eyed, blond-haired little girl.
Single moms were off-limits for Max. He didnt need that lesson shoved down his throat again.
Ill work for free, she said, breaking into his thoughts.
Excuse me?
Give me a two-week trial, and you wont have to pay me. We can call it an internship. Let me prove what I can do. Ill work twice as hard as anybody you could possibly find. I wont complain. Ill take work home with me at night. IllIll She trailed off as she apparently ran out of incentives.
Thank God she hadnt offered fringe benefits with the boss, or he might have snapped up her offer.
As it was, he couldnt help but consider what she had proposed. The one problem with the other artist was the salary hed demanded. Launching this business had been far more expensive than Max had planned for. His cousin Reece, who was also his CPA, was having kittens over the cost overruns for the office remodeling. Getting free graphic arts services would help with his bottom line.
But he quickly nixed the idea. It wouldnt be fair to Jane. She obviously needed a job, which meant she needed money, too. She had mouths to feed.
And he had to hire the best-qualified candidate.
Max stood, signaling an end to the interview. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Jane. As I said, I havent made a final decision yet, but Ill let you-
You arent going to hire me, are you?
Im still considering all-
My ex-husband and I finalized our divorce because of you, she said abruptly. You owe me.
He hadnt seen that coming. Cheeky move. Oh, really? I thought I did you a favor.
No, actually, I did you a favor. If I hadnt agreed to Scotts rotten divorce terms, he was going to claim you and I had an affair and drag your name through the mud. He said he would ruin you and your business here in Port Clara before you even got started. And he could, believe me.
Max sat back down with a thud. I remember he made some threats, but I thought that was just heat-of-the-moment stuff. Did he actually think we were involved? Based on one conversation?
Jane nodded. He thought I was having affairs with everyone, from his brother to the pool boy. But in you, he found someone he could actually damage. And not just with his fists. He knew where you came from, all about your family. He could have caused you considerable embarrassment with his lies, if nothing else.
Why didnt you let him? You barely know me. He couldnt have proved anything.
She blew out a breath and massaged her temples with two well-manicured fingers. You seemed like a nice guy. You didnt deserve to have Scott as an enemy. He wouldnt have been able to prove anything, but by the time we went to court, the damage would have been done.
They sat silently for a few moments. She was right-he did owe her. Still
I cant believe I just did that, Jane said finally. Trying to force your hand. It was something Scott would do. Please, forget I even brought this up. She stood and gathered her things. I dont want to be hired if Im not the best qualified.
Wait a minute, Jane-
No, really, its okay. This never would have worked out, not with this history between us. I shouldnt have even sent my résumé in. Ill see myself out.
She fled his office, and he let her go before he said or did anything hed regret. He watched the way her hips moved when she walked, the little hitch that said she was only the hottest woman hed ever met in his life. But he couldnt think about that, he had to think about the big picture.
He felt sorry for her, he really did. She was obviously in dire straits if she would resort to using guilt to get him to hire her.
She had talent-lots of talent. She needed the job, which meant she would work hard to please Max and his clients. Her salary demands as outlined in her résumé were modest, unlike those of the candidate hed been leaning toward.
Max took a sip from his coffee cup and grimaced when he realized it was left over from this morning and stone cold.
Had he really been a factor in Janes divorce? Allie was tight-lipped where Jane was concerned. But shed given him the impression that Janes marriage had been on the rocks long before Maxs ill-fated flirtation that had resulted in a black eye and a fat lip.
Max sauntered into the reception area, where Carol presided over their only coffeepot. Hed ordered another one for the office break room, but it hadnt yet arrived.
What in the world did you do to that girl? Carol asked. She flew out of here like her hair was on fire.
We have a history, Max said, hoping that would end the matter, but of course it didnt. Carol always wanted to know everything that was going on and she had an unhealthy interest in Maxs love life. But she was very good at her job, juggling phone calls and packages, soothing ruffled feathers and keeping all those plants alive. She was a keeper, even if she was a tad nosy.
Carol removed her reading glasses and arched one well-plucked eyebrow at him. I gathered that. I guess you arent going to hire her.
ActuallyIm thinking about it.
Mm-mm, Mr. Remington, are you letting your hormones make decisions for you? Ill admit Jane Selwyn is a beautiful woman, but-
Shes very talented. And she needs the job. That was something Carol should understand. She was recently divorced, too, and she hadnt been the most qualified candidate, either. But hed followed his instincts and hired her. His instincts seldom led him astray.
So what were his instincts telling him about Jane?
The jury was still out.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for looking after Kaylee, Jane told her friend Sara, who happened to be married to Reece Remington, another of Maxs cousins. Port Clara had experienced something of a Remington invasion back in the spring, when the three cousins had inherited the fishing business from their uncle.
Jane thought it rather peculiar that two of her best friends were now married to Remingtons, but they all seemed so happy. Around them, she always tried to reflect back that happily-ever-after feeling they both radiated.
Ill watch her any time. Sara still held on to Janes three-year-old and seemed reluctant to turn her loose. Shes so good. Plus, when I have my own kid Im hoping youll return the favor. Sara patted her tummy, though her pregnancy didnt show at all yet.
Jane sighed and sank into one of the overstuffed chairs at the Sunsetter Bed-and-Breakfast, which Sara and Reece had recently bought. How much could I make as a babysitter in Port Clara? That may be all thats left for me.
So the interview didnt go well?
It went about as badly as an interview can go. To start with, Max has already made a hiring decision. He saw me out of courtesy, probably because of my association with Allie and Cooper. But I lost it. I acted like a harpy. I told him he owed me because it was his fault She stopped abruptly, not wishing to talk about Scott or the divorce in front of Kaylee. Her daughter, almost four, was growing bigger and smarter every day. She was a sponge, soaking up everything she heard and often repeating it.
Sara understood anyway, and her eyes widened. Jane, you didnt.
It just came out of my mouth.
It wasnt really Maxs faultwas it?
No. Scott and I were attempting a reconciliation that weekend, but it never would have worked. If it hadnt been that incident, it would have been another.
I know its all for the best. But that doesnt change the fact that I need work and I just blew my last chance.
You know, Sara said cautiously as she disentangled Kaylees grasping hands from her long, curly brown hair, I could ask Reece to put in a good word-
No, please. This whole thing has been humiliating enough. Im an intelligent, responsible adult with a college education. I should be able to get a job based on that. I refuse to use connections to get what I want. Thats too much likewell, you know.