Chapter2
Kyle hadn’t known what to expect of her when she walked in, but it certainly wasn’t the elegant and sensual woman who was coming toward him. He rose from his chair and watched her walking. She was poised and confident, graceful and strong. Not unlike a wild cat approaching something that it was curious about. He allowed himself a brief moment to glance at her body, his eyes quickly tracing her curves and lines, before he looked back up into her face and reached his hand out to her.
“Good morning. I’m Kyle Drake. Thank you for coming in,” he spoke clearly and evenly.
She smiled, and warmth seemed to spread from her face like the morning sun outside—so bright and comforting. As she leaned forward slightly to shake his hand, he caught the subtle scent of her perfume, and it stole his thoughts away for a second to something like summer, flowers, sweetness, and softness. He wanted to breathe more of it in, but he withdrew his hand from hers and indicated that she should sit in the chair before his desk.
“Thank you for interviewing me. I’m glad to get this chance to meet you and talk with you.” She looked to him as if she might be there interviewing him as well, and he smiled a little, pleased at her obvious confidence.
“I see that you’ve been working for the firm for five years. How do you like it here?” he asked, not bothering to look at his notes or her file. He already knew quite well what it said.
“I love it here. This was my dream job straight out of college, and I was lucky enough to get it. I’ve never wanted to work anywhere else, and now I’m hoping that I’ll be able to work for you. It would be the best part of my time at this firm.” She smiled again, and he noticed her teeth were even and white, complementing her milk chocolate and golden honey skin tones.
“Why do you want to work for me?” he asked, pushing a little to see what she’d say.
There was no hesitation. “I am a dedicated woman; I work hard, and when I commit myself to anything, I commit all that I am to it. You’re a winner. You’re one of the best attorneys this firm has ever brought in, and I want my hard work to count toward something successful. I know that if I were working as your associate, I’d be a strong asset to you, and you would be a solid investment for my time and efforts.”
He drew in a long slow breath and nodded. “Good. I like that you know a bit about me already, and I like that you’re so focused.” He touched his hand to the file before him without looking down at it. “Your records speak for themselves; your tremendous successes in college, and your dedication and hard work here.” He was quiet for a moment as he studied her face and her eyes.
“I see in here that you have a family. Would you tell me about it, please?” he asked, his gaze locked on her.
She hadn’t expected him to bring up her family, and she wasn’t sure what it would have to do with her job, but she was willing to answer his query. “I have two children. Twins. A boy and a girl. They’ll be a year old in three months. I also have a sister and a grandmother here in Manhattan.”
He lifted his hand and touched his fingertip to the front of his chin in a thoughtful way. “Do you think that your children, being so young, will cause you to need excessive time out of the office?”
She shook her head. “No, I have a good babysitter, and if it becomes necessary, I have my sister and grandmother to rely on if I need help.”
Kyle listened quietly and lowered his hand so that it rested at the edge of the arm of his chair. “What about a husband or a partner? Is there some kind of father figure who could help you while you work long hours, now and then?”
His eyes were deep and intent on her, and she felt her heart pick up its pace. “No, there’s no one but me.” She felt hot blood begin to course through every vein even faster, and she wondered what it was that was making her react the way she was. “It’s not a problem, though. I chose to become a mother on my own, and I’ve handled it just fine on my own this whole time. It’s never been a problem for me here at the firm.” She hoped that he couldn’t sense her confidence wavering.
She glanced from his silvery blue eyes to his mouth and felt her heart begin to race even more. He was distractingly good looking. She raised her eyes to his again and saw him watching her.
“I see that in your file here. Your children are mentioned, but there has never been a problem with your attendance or your work. That’s admirable.” He studied her closely and tilted his head slightly to one side. “This is a personal question, and you don’t have to answer it, but I’m curious… what made you decide to have children on your own while you were beginning to build a career?
“That’s a considerable commitment to two different things that could conceivably pull you in opposite directions.” He was fascinated with her, and he was quickly discovering that the more he got to know about her, the more he realized he didn’t know nearly as much about her as he thought he did, and it made him hungry for more information.
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “I knew I could do it. I can do anything that I set my mind and heart to, and I knew what I wanted. I wanted a family, and it was clear to me that creating a traditional family wasn’t going to be possible in the time frame that I wanted to start a family, so I did it on my own, and I’ve worked hard to make it a success. I balance my personal life with my children and my commitment to my career evenly, and it’s working well.”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile, and his eyes seemed to spark with a light behind them that left her mystified. Her stomach tightened as her skin began to warm beneath his steady gaze. “Good. I’m really glad to hear that,” he returned simply.
“What are your goals here at his firm?” he asked, feeling as if he could spend the whole morning peeling layers upon layers of information out of her and still want to dig deeper for more.
“I’m here long-term. I don’t want to be anywhere else. I want to be an associate, then a junior partner, and if I work hard and the managing partner sees me as an asset, then I’d like to be a senior partner someday. I’m willing to stay here and work for it. It’s what I want more than anything,” she stated honestly.
“Except a family…” he added as he raised one brow.
She gave him a nod. “I have both now, and I will keep both well-balanced.”
He leaned forward then and peered intently at her. “And what if you meet someone and fall in love and decide that you want to have a traditional family in addition to everything you’ve got so carefully balanced now? What then? You won’t have time for the job, the children, and the love interest. That would throw off one of the other plates you’re spinning, and my guess would be that the job would be the first to suffer that imbalance.”
Curiosity was pulling hard at him as he waited for her to answer. He had to know what she would say; how she would react and handle the problem scenario he put before her. He wasn’t wrong about it, and they both knew it.
“I don’t have time for anything more than the job and the kids right now. It’s what I have, and it’s all I want. I’m not interested in changing my situation,” she answered unwaveringly. “I’ve outlined my priorities for you. They aren’t going to change. I know what I want, and I go after it. I wanted the babies and I got them. I wanted this job at this firm, and I have it.
“I don’t need anything else except to work for you and show you why you can’t do your best here without me.” She left it at that and watched as he smiled slowly, looking as if he had been trying to resist smiling at her and could no longer hold it back.
“Well, then, I guess I’d better hire you. I have to do my best, and I can see that you’re right. There’s probably no chance that I could do it without you.” He stood up and held his hand out to her. “Congratulations, Aleisha, you’re my new associate. I’ll have your office set up beside mine today, and you’ll start tomorrow.”
Aleisha rose from her chair and placed her hand in his, giving his a solid shake. “Thank you, Mr. Drake. You’ll be glad you did this.”
“Please, call me Kyle,” he added with a wider smile. “And I think I’m already glad I did. Good luck.”
She grinned back at him and turned to leave, trying to breathe in slowly and deeply as she walked out of his office, not wanting to give away any tell-tale bounce in her step or squeal of delight. She closed his office door behind her and caught Grace’s eye when the older woman looked up over the top of her glasses at her expectantly.