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“I do,” Sera said mildly. “Can you bring the rest of those gifts in from the truck when you’re done eating?”
“Of course. What my wife wants, my wife gets.”
And that was how it was done. Boom. Sera had my brother in the palm of her hand. Their relationship had been a whirlwind romance. Sera was a widow with three kids and my brother had taken one look at her covered in flour at her bakery and decided she was the woman for him. Now they were married, a baby on the way, and Cash had fallen into the role of stepfather handily. They were an amazing couple and family and I’d enjoyed living with them for the summer, but I was sure they would appreciate my getting my own apartment sooner than later just as much as I would.
Cash eyed me as he picked up a plate. “Don’t be nervous. MacKay will go easy on you. Just relax and be yourself.”
I wasn’t sure what kind of advice that was, especially considering Cash had never interviewed for a job in the traditional sense. I wasn’t even sure what anyone meant by “by yourself.” But it was time to end this conversation. “Sure. I’m not intimidated, you know. I spent my whole life bossed around by five older brothers. I can handle it.”
Hopefully.
“Fair enough. Just don’t drink,” he said, with a grin.
I smacked his arm. “Be quiet.”
* * *
I was nervous, in spite of what I had told my family. It had taken me longer than I had expected to pick out what to wear. I’d tried on and discarded half a dozen outfits before finally settling on a narrow black skirt and a simple white button-up shirt. I gave it a French tuck. I was wearing what amounted to a steel bra, strapping the girls in place so they wouldn’t move around, drawing attention to them. I have a big chest and a push-up bra was absolutely out of the question. The bra was monstrously uncomfortable, but I could deal with it for an hour. Keeping the makeup office appropriate, I did curl my hair into waves, and indulged in statement earrings. But I kept the shoes at a mid-heel and pulled out my designer satchel handbag, a graduation gift from Cash that my mother had picked out. I needed to look the part.
The goal was to leave the interview gainfully employed, not freshly railed.
Be professional.
Be polite.
Be smart and ask questions. Show what value I could bring to Four Brothers Distillery. I had spent the night before researching the business. It was impressive what MacKay and his brothers had managed to do in creating a distillery out of thin air. Bourbon seemed like a tight market and it was a risky venture. Starting any business was a risk, but they were having a great launch.
This may be a charity hire, but I was determined to make the best of it.
What I didn’t expect was to wind up in an office alone with MacKay with his hand on my ass. I failed not to flirt. I wasn’t professional.
I’d told Cash I could handle it.
Five minutes in, I wasn’t so sure.
MacKay
Monday morning. Eight-thirty sharp Faith arrived at our offices, a full thirty minutes early. Our distillery and barrel storage were in Kentucky, so our offices in Nashville were rented in a co-op space. We had three offices and a conference room. A very simple set-up.
My brothers were due to arrive in the next twenty minutes, wanting to interview Faith together. That was a pact we’d made when we’d started the business. That all decisions would be made together unless a brother opted out of the process. Because I’d said Faith was interviewing for senior marketing, these assholes had all decided they wanted to show up. I didn’t blame them. They were looking out for our investment.
But I didn’t want them to say no.
It felt like the right thing to do was at least give her a warning.
So when she texted me that she was there and I went down to let her in at the main door to the building, I felt compelled to warn her. I could have buzzed her in but I wanted to walk upstairs with her, and give her the skinny on the situation before my brothers arrived. I could see her standing on the front walkway in a tight skirt and a button-up shirt, her hair flowing in loose waves. She had a purse over her arm and large sunglasses covering her eyes.
Instantly, I was turned on. Which was ridiculous. She wasn’t dressed suggestively. Everything was covered. Her heels weren't particularly high. But she could be wearing a potato sack and it didn’t change the fact that I knew what was underneath that fabric.
“Hi, thanks for coming.”
Her eyebrows rose above the sunglasses. “That’s my line,” she said breezily.
Damn. I shot her a look, wanting to shut this down at the same time I wanted nothing more than for her to suggestively flirt with me. “Is that how you speak to your potential boss?” I asked, voice a little rougher than I intended.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Thank you for the opportunity, sir.”
It was breathless and sexy. It was also sarcastic.
