Page 51 of Home Again

“How soon would you need me to start work?” she asked. Again she gave him her wide-eyed innocent look.

Fontenot stared at her for a moment, then he reluctantly crossed the room and moved behind his desk. He picked up her resume and scanned it. “Why don’t you sit down?” he asked.

Gianna sat on the edge of the chair, her knees clamped shut and her purse tight on her lap. “Your establishment is really impressive. We don’t have anything like this back home in Kentucky. How did you accomplish something like this?”

He picked up the pack of cigarettes that had been lying on the desk and shook one out. After he lit it, he leaned back and looked at her. “You’re a long ways from home. What brought you to Louisiana?”

“My boyfriend.” Gianna tried to think fast. “He just got out of the military and came back to be close to family. I came to be close to him.”

“Last thing I need is for my waitresses to be bringing in jealous boyfriends and causing trouble,” Fontenot said as he blew out a stream of smoke.

“My boyfriend wouldn’t,” Gianna assured him. Her eyes darted above his head to black and white photos of him shaking hands with different men. It reminded her of the photos that she’d seen in Lazar’s office. “Who are they?” she asked as she pointed to the wall.

Fontenot turned his head to look back at what she was pointing at. He grinned back at her. “Those are some pretty important men. One of them’s the governor.” He stood up and rounded the desk, then leaned against the front so that he was towering over her. “Pretty impressive, isn’t it?”

Gianna forced herself not to tremble. She hated him getting so close to her, but this was exactly the kind of information she’d been wanting, so she looked up at him and smiled. “The governor?”

“Yep,” he leered down at her. “He and I did some business awhile back.”

“You’re involved in politics?” Gianna breathed out. “I’ve never met a politician before.”

Fontenot laughed. “Sweet thing, I’m more honest than a politician. Now let’s get back to your waitressing experience.” He took another deep puff on his cigarette then blew it out, the stream of smoke hitting Gianna square in the face.

When she started to cough, he laughed again, then reached over and patted her on her back. Gianna arched away from his touch. “You’re making me uncomfortable.”

Fontenot pulled his hand away and gave her a piercing look. “Kind of touchy for some girl coming looking for a job, don’t you think?”

“I’m just being honest, sir.”

Fontenot shook his head and sat back down behind his desk. “Look, you’re not waitress material for the Blonde Bayou.” He picked up her resume, turned, and threw it in the waste bin behind him.

Darn, she really wanted more information. At the same time, she didn’t want to be pawed. Gianna smiled timidly. “Do you have any other businesses where I might get a job?” she asked.

Fontenot rolled his eyes. “What makes you think I have other businesses?”

Gianna pointed to the pictures on the walls. “I just thought if you had all of those friends, you probably did more than own this big bar, that’s all.”

She watched as a slow grin crossed his face. “Well, you’re right about that, little lady.” He rolled back his chair and grabbed her resume back out of the trash, then gave her another considering look.

“Besides waitress, what else can you do?”

“I’m good with the entire Microsoft suite of tools. I’m very organized. I’ve worked the front office in a dental office for six months.”

Fontenot looked down at her resume. “Okay, I see that. Meet me here tomorrow at one o’clock and I’ll take you over to my office in downtown Baton Rouge. There might be a position open for you there.”

“Can’t I just meet you there?” Gianna asked.

He glared at her. “You’ll ride with me. Either take it or leave it.”

She stood up and held out her hand. He grasped it. His big hand was huge and sweaty, and he held onto hers far too long. “We have a deal, Mr. Fontenot.”

“Call me Bradley.”

* * *

Sebastian was stretched in the bed next to Gideon’s, watching the news with the volume off while his teammate worked at the little desk provided in the hotel room. The man dwarfed it.

Gideon growled, then started typing faster on his keyboard.