Page 16 of Naughty Heart

Relief swept through Malcolm. Clearly, he had assumed I’d violated some rules and had been fired for doing something shady. “I want to say I’m sorry to hear that, but I’d be lying if I did.”

“Pardon?”

He shrugged. “Well, it’s just that if the company hadn’t terminated your position, you wouldn’t have been out looking for a job on Saturday morning, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet you.”

That made sense.

“Right. Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“So, I guess I should clarify one thing. Technically, you weren’t wrong. If you were interviewing for a traditional position within the company, we would have set you up for an interview with our hiring team.”

My body tensed. “This isn’t a position within the company?”

“It is.”

Tipping my head to the side, I searched for answers on his handsome face. I found none there. “I don’t understand.”

“I’d like to offer you a job as my personal assistant, Evelyn,” Malcolm declared, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

My eyes blinked rapidly again, but this time, it wasn’t because I was going to cry. I was completely dumbfounded. “I’m sorry. What?”

Malcolm stopped fighting it and allowed the smile to form on his face. “Would you like to be my personal assistant?”

“I… uh… yeah. I mean, I’d love to, but don’t you need to interview me?” I questioned him.

He shrugged his shoulders for the second time. “For what? I need an assistant, and you need a job. I don’t think there’s any reason we should complicate this.”

This had to be the easiest thing I’d ever done in my life. It also had to be the best thing that had ever happened to me.

“I really appreciate the offer. I’d love to work for you, but I feel like I should be honest. I don’t have experience in this type of position. But I am a hard worker and a fast learner,” I remarked.

A look of admiration washed over him. It seemed he appreciated my honesty. “I think you’ll do just fine. We’ll figure it out together as we go along.”

“Thank you. When would you like me to start?” I asked, hope blooming inside me.

He considered the question for a moment. “You look like you’re ready to go now. Can you start today? If not, we can start tomorrow.”

I shook my head. “Today is good. Perfect, in fact.”

“Great. When it comes to your salary, did you have any specific requirements?”

I wanted to burst out laughing. He asked that question as though he believed I had a say in the matter. Of course, I realized people made salary requests, but I wasn’t in a position to be making demands at all. I was grateful to have the opportunity to work again.

“With all due respect, I’m not sure I can answer that question. I don’t exactly know what the going rate is for a position like this,” I answered.

“Do you mind me asking what you were making at your previous job?” he asked.

Would he laugh in my face? “My gross pay was $33,000.”

“And you survived on that income?” He seemed to be in a bit of shock.

I lifted my shoulders toward my ears. “I wasn’t exactly swimming in the lap of luxury. Having said that, I was making it work as best I could, even if things were a bit tight.”

Malcolm grew quiet again, but I could see his mind working. I was so curious to know what he was thinking. “Okay, well, I suspect you’ll have a much different workload here, so it’s only fitting the salary matches that. I’d like to start you at $75,000, and after you’ve been here for a month, and we get into the swing of things, we’ll reevaluate.”

My lips parted in shock. That was more than double what I was making at my old job. “Are you… are you serious?”

“Is that okay?” he countered. He seemed to be genuinely curious, which left me feeling completely baffled. Why would he think that wasn’t okay? “I could probably up it to $100,000 if you think that’d be more appropriate.”