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“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. I’m Vivian’s assistant. The two of us aren’t together.”
Elijah surveyed her from under his eyebrows for a few moments. “Oh,” he looked surprised, “Hmmmm.”
Vivian didn’t want to offend him, but she did not like the direction this conversation was heading. She’d been prepared to deal with business questions, not assumptions about her personal life. He certainly was eccentric, more so than she had realized.
“Elijah, I’d like to go over some graphs with you, if that’s okay with you, to show you what we could do with your money in a year, five, and even ten years if you choose to invest in us.”
Elijah waved a hand. “No, no, graphs aren’t necessary. I did not ask you here to show me what I can already find online. I know you are good at your job—that much was easy to see from very little research. More important is who I’m investing in. The character and drive of those running the company. So, tell me, Vivian, who are you?”
Vivian was flummoxed. She’d never had an interview like this. What could she really say? That she lived alone and avoided all personal connections? That was hardly going to sway Elijah into investing with them, but she wasn’t going to lie to get his money, either.
There were several moments of silence before Emma’s voice cut in.
“Ever since I have known Vivian, she has been one of the most compassionate employers I’ve ever worked for. She goes above and beyond to help the people who work for her grow and develop. Everyone in the office knows that if they have a problem—and not just work-related problems—they can go to Vivian, and she will move heaven and earth to help them.”
“She holds us all to high standards, making sure we work to our fullest potential, but she also knows that no one is capable of giving their full effort one hundred percent of the time. She values honesty, loyalty and hard work, and she leads those values by example. She is calm under pressure and doesn’t let emotion get in the way of leading a good company.”
“She could perhaps have furthered her business more by resorting to underhanded tactics, like many in the corporate world do, but Vivian would never do that. She is someone I am proud to work for, and if the time comes when I am looking for somewhere to invest my money, I wouldn’t hesitate in choosing Vivian and Sterling Enterprises.”
To her intense mortification, Vivian found herself fighting back tears. To know that Emma thought so highly of her… Well, it meant more to her than she could explain in words.
“Ha! Yes, good, very good! Such a glowing recommendation from an employee! Yes, excellent. And she is truthful, too. I can see it in her eyes. The eyes always give away a lie.”
Vivian held her breath, wondering if Emma’s speech could do what the carefully prepared graphs and business plans she’d brought with her couldn’t.
“Very well. I will invest with you—the full amount we discussed.”
Vivian felt an incredulous smile unfolding on her face. “You won’t regret it, Elijah, I can promise you that.”
“Yes, yes, I know. Now, I will let Annika finalize the details with you—she takes care of my books. Now shoo, off with you. It’s time for me to check on my mushrooms.”
Vivian and Emma graciously allowed themselves to be shooed off the property.
As soon as they were in the car, Emma started giggling. “That was the strangest meeting I’ve ever been to.”
Vivian couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Me too. That was some speech—you’re certainly getting one hell of a bonus when that money comes through.”
“I meant every word.”
Vivian’s face went pink in the most adorable blush. “Thanks, Emma. You should know that I appreciate you every bit as much as you appreciate me. You’re an incredible assistant. You bring light and joy to the whole office. Everyone is always happier with you around.”
Emma wondered if Vivian was including herself in that assessment but didn’t ask. “We still have three more days at the hotel,” she pointed out. They had both expected the negotiations with Elijah to take longer. “Do you have any other business here, or would you like me to change our flights and send us home early?”
“Well, I was actually thinking that after such a successful deal, we both deserve a bit of a break. What do you think about staying here for those few days, maybe seeing what the city has to offer? Of course, if you’d rather get home to Lily earlier, that’ll be fine, too. It’s up to you.”
Emma thought about this briefly. She missed Lily, of course, but she knew that her daughter would not be happy to be pulled away from her multi-day sleepover with Miriam early. And if she was being honest with herself, she really wanted to spend more time with Vivian.
The thought of getting to know her outside of a work setting was enticing. Emma was surprised Vivian had even offered it—this wasn’t her usual style. She was probably riding a high after their meeting, just like Emma was. Once Vivian settled back into her normal mindset, this opportunity would probably never come again.
“Let’s stay. It’s been ages since I’ve had a real holiday. The hotel has a hot tub.” She didn’t know how well this idea would go down, but to her surprise, Vivian smiled.
“I love hot tubs, though it’s been ages since I was in one. Let’s check it out when we get back?”
“Perfect.”
They arrived at the hotel shortly and took turns changing into their swimsuits in the bathroom. They both wrapped themselves in fluffy white towels before making their way down to the pool level.
Emma was surprised but pleased to see that the hot tub was empty. She sneaked yet another peek at Vivian’s body. Emma pretended to look out of the window at the view for a moment so that Vivian would get in first, giving Emma a perfect look at lean body and surprisingly shapely ass. Vivian’s bright red swimsuit complemented her skin tone perfectly, and the V neck gave Emma a good view of her cleavage.
