The Lying Season (Seasons #1) - K.A. Linde Page 0,36

breath, “Asshole.”

English snorted. As she walked toward the door, she flipped me off. I burst into laughter, watching her ass disappear around the corner. She was the best.

I returned to my work, prepared to get a deep dive into the new field positions we were looking to bring on for the summer to help with outreach leading up to the August primary. Then my office phone buzzed. I pressed the intercom button.

“Lark, I have a call with the mayor on line one,” Aspen said.

“Great. I got it.”

I lifted the receiver to my ear and pressed the line to Leslie. “Hello, Leslie. It’s Lark. How can I help you?”

“Lark, would you mind coming into the conference room for a few minutes? We just finished up the first round of interviews for Court’s publicist, and I wanted to go over something with you.”

“Of course. I’ll be there right away.”

Leslie hung up the phone, and I hastily stuffed the rest of the granola bar in my mouth as I stood to go meet her. I wondered what this was about. I didn’t normally talk to her about hiring. In fact, Kelly from HR usually did most of the hiring. The fact that Leslie was involved at all meant that she was taking Court’s situation seriously.

I brushed a crumb off of my black skirt and pulled on my matching blazer before heading down the hallway to the conference room where Leslie and Kelly were holding interviews. But when I stepped inside, Leslie was all alone, staring down at what appeared to be three résumés.

“Shut the door, would you?” Leslie asked.

I did as she’d instructed and then stepped up to the table. “How did the interviews go?”

“Surprisingly well,” Leslie said. She rubbed her forehead. “I wish I didn’t have to sacrifice an afternoon for this. I really need to be at City Hall right now. Which means I have to make this decision today.”

“Of course. Your time is important.”

“It is,” she agreed. She smiled kindly at me. “I want to hire Anna.”

“She’d be wonderful for the job,” I said, beaming.

“She would. But have you met my son?” Leslie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Of…of course.”

“She’s too pretty.”

I guffawed at the explanation. I hadn’t been expecting that. “What?”

“Court is a known womanizer. She’s gorgeous. She looks like a supermodel. And he’ll eat her for breakfast.”

I shook my head, barely suppressing a laugh. “There is no way. For one, English…uh, Anna is a complete professional. She didn’t get into this business to sleep with her clients. And two, she’s married.”

Leslie waved her hand. “That doesn’t matter.”

“She’s married to Josh Hutch,” I finished.

Her mouth popped open. Now, I’d surprised her. “The movie star? He’s talented.”

“He is,” I agreed. “He’s also probably the most-sought-after man in Hollywood. I don’t think English has any interest in another man when she has that to go home to.”

“I really enjoyed his latest Bourne remake,” Leslie admitted. “He’s a sight. That’s for sure.”

“She is immune to Court’s charm. Just…give her a trial run. Let me go with her and see how she handles Court. I can report back, and you know that I’ll always be honest with you.”

“You will,” Leslie conceded. “You’ve never failed me.”

“If you think she’s the most qualified, then I think it’d be worth it.”

Leslie nodded. “Okay. We’ll start with a trial this weekend. If Court doesn’t manage to seduce her”—she rolled her eyes skyward—“then she has the job.”

15

Lark

“A trial run?” English groaned later as we took a cab north.

“I know. I knew you wouldn’t be happy about that.”

“It just…doesn’t make any sense. I have the credentials. I’ve been doing this for years. I’m at the top of my game. Why wouldn’t she want me?”

I’d been debating on telling English what Leslie had said. I still didn’t know if I should. Leslie had called English back into the conference room and offered her a trial to see how she worked with Court. Of course, she’d acted like she was thrilled for the opportunity. Until she got in the cab and was allowed to be frustrated by it.

“Like, what’s the deal? Does she want someone with more experience with all you Upper East Siders?”

I sighed. She wasn’t going to let it go.

“No, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Court.”

“Please, I’ve dealt with plenty of entitled assholes.”

“No…it’s more that…you’re beautiful.”

Her eyebrows rose. “So?”

“She thinks he’s going to try to seduce you.”

“Oh, gross. Who would ever hook up with their client? You know everything about them, and they