Page 245 of Mario
I debate whether I want to force more truth out of her or not, and decide to let her sit halfway.
She clearly doesn’t want to mention her broken engagement, and I know Dante wouldn’t bring her into our home if there was a chance it would hurt us, so I leave it for now.
“Your father is a judge with influence in this city.”
“Yes,” she says carefully.
“You understand that creates complications.”
“My father creates complications by existing.”
This time, I do smile faintly.
Her mouth curves in return.
“What does Judge O’Brien think of you working here?”
“He does not know I am interviewing here.”
“Will that become a problem?”
“Not for you.”
That is not the same as no.
I note it and move on.
“You understand the nature of this company.”
“I understand Conti Enterprises is a private holdings and management company with interests in hospitality, logistics, real estate, security, and several ongoing acquisitions.”
“You speak Italian?”
“Yes, as well as Spanish, French, and Mandarin conversationally. I’m learning German as well.”
“Tell me what you think this job is,” I say.
“I think you need someone outside your family who can manage access to you without being intimidated by the people who want it.”
Accurate.
“I think you need someone organized enough to run your schedule, communications, internal requests, visitors, documents, and office flow without needing to be watched.”
Also accurate.
“And,” she adds, “I think you recently had someone fail in that exact position, which means your tolerance for error is probably low.”
My mouth curves.
“Extremely.”
“I prefer clear expectations.”
“You would have them.”
“Good.”
There is steel under the polish.
