Dad rattled off. “I did a background check on him, you know, as I do on everyone I hire.”
“Already?”
“I ran it after I reviewed his résumé. We do live in a world dominated by tech, you know. Anyway, he was so outstanding on paper, I knew I’d want him on board.”
“Makes sense.”
“His record is pristine. Never been in trouble with the law, outstanding work record, good family, nothing there to make me nervous about the two of you together.”
I held up a hand. “Hold on a minute. Aren’t you jumping to conclusions? He may not even be interested in me.”
“He is. I saw the way he checked you out.”
“Checked me out? Dad, you’ll be his boss. That’s weird.”
“How so?”
Was he serious? “Um, weird as in dating the boss’s daughter. How will I know if his motives are sincere or not?”
Dad threw out his hands. “Jesus, English. There’s nothing in it for him. He’ll be freelancing for me. It’s what he wants. There is no ladder to climb.”
“Don’t be obtuse. You’re famous. It’s why he’s here and if he dates me, that puts him even closer to you.”
“But it won’t make a difference. If he’s good at what he does, I’ll put him to work and pay him well, whether he dates you or not. He’ll be close to me either way.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
Dad laughed. “Now you’re the one jumping to conclusions.”
“No, you are. You think he’s going to fall all over me.”
“Why don’t we see where the pieces fall after he works here and not before?”
“Sounds like a plan.” I huffed and brought my gaze back to the screen.
“What’s wrong? You’re not still entertaining the idea of allowing that shithead access to your daughter?”
“Yes, why?”
“Because it’s a terrible idea.”
“That’s your opinion, Dad, and thanks for sharing.”
“Not just mine alone. It’s your mother’s too.”
“That’s nice. But this is my decision.”
“It certainly is. Please, for the sake of your daughter, make this decision with careful consideration.”
“Dad—”
A hand came up. “That’s all I’m going to say on the subject.”
Stuart had a right, as her father, to have some kind of relationship with her. I didn’t want Easton to resent me in the future for not allowing it.
Chapter Four
English
On Monday, Tristian showed up at the office right after me. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and looked mighty tasty. It made me think about the last time I’d been with a man—it had been with Stuart way back when. This girl needed to get laid.
As I stared at him, he said with raised brows, “Hope there isn’t a dress code here. I forgot to ask.”
I held back the urge to fan myself. “Gosh, no. We wear whatever is comfortable, unless you’re on a shoot that demands different attire. Dad should be in soon.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Should I call him Mr. Bridges?”
“Pretty sure he’ll tell you to call him Beck. But if I were you, I’d call him Mr. Bridges the first time. He likes to have respect shown.”
“I totally get that. Then show me to my workstation.”
It was more of a demand than a request. It sort of rankled me, but I let it pass, figuring he wanted to get a start to make a good impression on my dad.
“For the first week, you’ll work with him in his office.” I pushed away from my desk and signaled for him to follow me. “This is where you’ll be hanging.” I pointed to the spare desk in Dad’s office. “Follow me.” We went down the hall to the space where he’d be on the regular. “This will be yours and you can do whatever you want with it. If you need something that isn’t in here, just let the admin, Phyllis, know. She should be in any moment.”
He entered the room, which contained a desk, computer with dual monitors, lots of shelving, and a large printer that was used for photos. “This looks good. I’ll be using my laptop so I probably won’t need those.” He gestured to the dual monitors on the desk. “You can remove them.”
Damn, he was bossy. “Maybe you should give them a try first. Once you get used to them, a laptop becomes pretty lame for photos. It can be okay to load and look, but the duals help you decide with a better eye.”
His eyes narrowed critically. “Don’t think so. I know what I like already.” Was he dismissing me like some nitwit who didn’t know this business?
I rubbed my palms together, itching to remove