Willa looked back and forth between the men. It was an interesting, protective brother type of comment.
Clay held out his hand and enveloped Willa’s in his. His smile was smooth. “He was threatening to disfigure me if I’m anything but a gentleman with you, but he doesn’t scare me.”
From Kenzi, Willa knew the two men were good friends. They probably bantered back and forth like this all the time. She tried to extricate her hand, but Clay held on to it. She pushed back a sense of panic as she remembered what Lexi had said about not taking him seriously. He might be testing me. Well, I’ll show him I’m not as timid as people think I am. With that thought, she gave his hand a hearty squeeze.
He gave her another once-over. “I’ve met plenty of twins in my life, but you and your sister are spot-on identical. That’s rare.”
With one sharp tug, she pulled her hand free. “It’s the whole ‘two from the same egg’ thing.” She held up a manila folder. “I brought my résumé and references. Although much of my previous work was cataloguing art for an auction house, I’m excited about the opportunity to take on new responsibilities. I’m a quick student of almost any computer program. People think artists can’t create spreadsheets, but I love them. You should see my grocery lists. They’re alphabetized.”
Clay pocketed both of his hands. “About the job I offered you.”
Willa searched both men’s faces. Neither looked happy. I don’t get it. Was I supposed to flirt back? It didn’t seem like Dax would have wanted her to. The whole situation was confusing.
Dax cleared his throat. “I have several entry level positions here. Kate will take you down to HR.”
Willa blinked a few times quickly. Dax doesn’t want me to work for Clay.
Clay shrugged. He was having trouble meeting her eyes. “I don’t even have an office in Boston. I asked you to interview before I thought the whole thing through.”
“Oh,” Willa said and hugged the folder to her stomach. She told herself it was for the best. A job was a job. She should be grateful Dax had something for her.
Clay shot Dax a sullen look. “You’re making me look like an asshole.”
“You are an asshole,” Dax countered.
“Is this better? Look at her, she’s about to cry.”
Thanks for making this less awkward by pointing that out. She could only imagine how her nose had reddened with emotion, and her eyes were probably all glassy with tears with a mix of embarrassment and disappointment. “I’m fine,” Willa said but took a step back. “I’ll come back later.”
Dax barked to his secretary. “Kate, call Kenzi.”
Willa shook her head and forced another bright smile. “No need. I’m perfectly fine. I just need a different résumé to apply here. I’ll go home, write it up, and come back to see Kate.”
Clay shook his head in amusement. “You’re in trouble either way, Dax, ol’ buddy. You should have let me hire her.”
Willa stopped. Now that it was out in the open, she couldn’t not address it. She pinned Dax down with look. “Did you ask him not to hire me?”
Dax glared at his secretary. “Now.”
Kate hurriedly picked up her phone and made a call.
Why? “Why don’t you want me to work for your friend?”
Clay smiled. “Yes, Dax. You’ve never been afraid to say it as it is. Why don’t you want Willa working for me?”
Dax frowned. “Don’t fuck with my family, Clay.”
Eyes round, Willa watched the two powerful men bicker.
“I won’t sleep with her,” Clay said as if he could have if he wanted to.
Okay, that’s offensive. Willa opened her mouth to say, “Damn right you won’t,” but neither man was paying attention to her so she swallowed her protest.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Dax growled. “Find something else to entertain yourself with.”
Ouch. Entertain?
There was a mix of defiance and sympathy in Clay’s expression. “Why don’t we let her decide what she wants? Willa, I’m a royal pain in the ass. I don’t make plans ahead of time unless I have to. I like to sleep until noon and work until three in the morning. There is no actual job description. All you have to do is make sure everything is where I need it to be when I need it to be there. In exchange, I’ll pay you a generous salary and,” he looked her over in a not so flattering way, “give you a wardrobe budget.”
Deliberately ignoring the reference to her clothing, Willa considered the job. It was a job description Willa normally would have run from. Saying yes didn’t make sense.