“Dad, could you not brag to the other kids at the playground until I’m sure there’s something to brag about?” I joked.
“Deal. But if you sign him, can you get me some autographed baseballs? It’ll up my street cred.”
As I sat back down at my desk, I dropped my head in my hands. “The fact that you just used the term ‘street cred’ already means you don’t have any, Dad.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He chuckled. “Back to this interview, why are you so nervous?”
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “Well, for starters, my father, who only watches sports for the gambling, knew who he was, and second, he’s very sought after right now. My boss even called him last week and tried to get an interview, and was turned down.”
“Wow, that’s great, kiddo. Why are you nervous, then?”
“I want this, Dad. I want this bad. I just started with this company, and I feel like if I swing for the fences on the first pitch and miss, I’m gonna be benched.” I lowered my voice. “However, if I hit it out of the park, I’m gonna do a little victory dance as I run around the bases, that’s for sure.”
“What about this boss of yours? You haven’t said a word about him . . . or is it a her?”
“No, it’s a him. His name is Andy Shaw.”
“And?” he asked sternly.
“And what?”
“And do I need to fly there and kick his ass like the other guys? Those douche brothers or whatever they were called?”
“They were the Leighton brothers, and no, you don’t have to fly here. Stow the gun, Daddy, Andy has been very respectful so far.”
Unfortunately.
“Hm,” he groaned skeptically. “You just let me know if you need me there, and I’m there. Anything for my girl.”
“Liar,” I teased. “You just want to come here to meet Kyle Keegan.”
My desk phone rang loudly, causing my heart to plummet all the way to my shoes. “Hang on, Dad,” I said quickly, before setting my cell down and picking up the office line. “Yes?”
“Ms. Douglas, Mr. Keegan is here to see you.” Ellie’s super professional voice made me laugh because I was so used to her being her goofy self in my office.
“Thank you, Ellie. I’ll be right out.” I hung up the office phone and picked up my cell again. “I gotta go, Dad. He’s here.”
“Wait,” he pleaded. “Can you put it on speaker and just let me listen? I promise to be quiet.”
“Good-bye, Dad,” I said with a laugh as I hung up on him.
So much for that pep talk.
I quickly hid the mirror back behind the bookshelf and took a deep breath as I straightened out the wrinkles in my skirt. “Okay, Dani. He’s young, not much younger than you. Be tough, be strong, and tell him what you would’ve wanted to hear at his age,” I said to myself. “Ha! Suck it, Dad. Who needs your pep talks?”
I opened the door to my office and strode out as confidently as I could. Kyle was standing near the waiting area, talking to Andy, who was grinning from ear to ear. I’d watched him interact with athletes enough over the past few weeks to know that his salesman face was on full force. He was agreeing and laughing, harder than he usually did, at everything Kyle was saying, and it annoyed me. I’d worked too damn hard over the last week to get Kyle to come in and meet with me for Andy to swoop in and steal my deal. From behind Kyle’s back, I narrowed my eyes at Andy as I walked up to their conversation.
“Hi, Mr. Keegan. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” I looked him square in the eye as I held my hand out.
He shook it and smiled back but didn’t say anything.
I put my hand gently on Andy’s arm. “Hopefully this guy didn’t bore you too much while you were waiting.”
Kyle’s lips curled up, and he cracked a big smile as he looked from me to Andy. “Actually, no. He was just telling me what a big help you’ve been and that I’m in great hands with you.”
“Oh.” I jerked my head back slightly, trying not to let my surprise be too obvious. “Well, thanks for that.” I nodded at Andy before motioning toward my door. “Why don’t we go into my office?”
As he walked past me, I stepped in right behind him, turning right before we got to my office to see Andy still standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching us.
When conducting an interview, I look for clues from the person I’m talking to as to what they really want from me. Kyle Keegan was a quiet, awkward young man who clearly relied on other people to run a conversation. When I asked him a question, he’d either give me a one-word answer or simply nod his head. The only tiny bit of information he’d given me was that he was obviously a total mama’s boy, and the only reason I knew that was that in the ten minutes he’d been seated in my office, he’d already brought her up three times. I wasn’t a mother myself, nowhere near it, but I had to go with what I knew.