The Millionaire's Intriguing Offer

The Interview

"I thought you were headed back to Boston," Jonathan said.

"I am." Her voice was cool, sophisticated. Her expression showed no hint of nerves. But she was tapping her foot slightly, a nervous tell that reminded him of someone he'd known a long time ago.

"I'm going back to Boston tomorrow." She shifted her gaze to Tito. "But I'm available on short notice to come back again if there's a second interview. Also, if I'm offered the position, I'd need a few weeks to make arrangements to relocate."

What the hell was she playing at? If she's offered the position?

Jonathon stiffened. "This is a serious job, Bailey. It's not a hobby to relieve boredom."

"I'm aware of that."

Tito gave him a look. "You do understand what the term 'sit in' means, right?"

Jonathon leaned back in his chair. "Sorry. Please, go ahead."

Tito hesitated for a moment, no doubt picking up on and wondering about the tension that hovered in the air between Jonathon the board member and Bailey the job applicant, then gave a short nod.

"Ms. Reid, I appreciate you coming her for an interview in person. I'm sorry we really couldn't afford to pay expenses."

"Please, call me Bailey. And that's fine. I know how tight the budget is for organizations like this, especially when you are still in the start-up phase."

She paused. "Plus, I have a good friend in the area so I didn't have to worry about hotel accommodations."

"Not Mr. Berrington here, I presume," Tito said, with a sidelong glance at Jonathon.

"No," Bailey said, "not Mr. Berrington. I was referring to a good friend of mine from college, Mitsy Hamilton. I included references from Mitsy and her husband Trip when I applied for the position."

"Yes, I reviewed those. Along with your resume, which is impressive."

"I have another copy here if you'd like to go over anything with me," Bailey said, reaching into her tote and pulling out a single page document on expensive paper stock.

"I'd like to take a look at that, if you don't mind," Jonathon said, reaching for the paper. He was surprised she got it all on one page, since she probably had dozens of committees she could list.

Then he was more surprised not to find a single one. He noted that she had graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, then went on to complete her Masters in Social Work at Boston University with high honors. Apparently she'd been steadily employed since graduation by a nonprofit organization in Boston, writing grants.

Of course, sitting in an office putting together grant applications was a far cry from working in the field with actual people who depended on the services that money provided. As a grant writer, Bailey didn't have to get her hands dirty. Jonathon set the resume on the corner of Tito's desk and tuned back in to the conversation.

"I recognize," Bailey was saying, "that the kind of field experience you're looking for isn't apparent from my recent work as a grant writer, but I did significant hands-on work with clients at all three of my internships during graduate school. I included letters of recommendation from those programs, as well as from my academic advisors."

Jonathon listened to Tito ask Bailey standard questions, and her parrot back the right answers. Damn, she might actually get the job. Well, hopefully Tito wouldn't offer it to her on the spot - not before Jonathon had the chance to have a few words with him.

If this whole thing was on the up and up, Bailey would have mentioned the interview to him. They were together all weekend, trapped by the storm, with nothing to do but talk and have sex. Well, he guessed there hadn't been much talking.