Page 16 of A Vegas Crush Collection #2

shower dreams

Boris

Talia’s office is so small. Too small, really. I feel like a bull in a china shop, especially since Talia still hasn’t unpacked the boxes upon boxes of files stacked all over the place.

There’s still only the one extra chair, and it is home to a large stack of said files at the moment.

So when the second candidate that Talia has chosen to interview for this position she thinks I need comes in, there’s still nowhere for the candidate to sit.

The first interviewee was clearly very thrown by the not sitting, and paced nervously the whole time.

This candidate, however, looks around and says, “What a cramped space. I’m Ally. Well, Allesandra really, but I go by Ally.”

Talia shakes Ally’s hand. “Yes, well, maybe the next position I fill will be for a person to help make this space more functional. Let me introduce you, however, to Boris Dr?ghici. He’s a new center for the Crush, just moved here from Austin, and in need of someone to help manage his calendar, bills, and calls. ”

Ally, to my surprise, shakes my hand and then begins moving files around. She starts with the chair, grabbing the whole stack of files and moving them to the file cabinet along the wall. She peers at the boxes and then starts moving things into more permanent homes. All the while, she talks.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she says. “I’m a little OCD and my mind just automatically goes to organization. I won’t be able to focus until I’ve done this, and hopefully it will help you have a more functional office space, regardless of whether I get the job or not.”

I look at Talia, unsure if this is good or not good.

Talia wears a small, sly smile, as if she purposely left the files on the chair to see what people would do.

I can suddenly see the design of this, the purpose for leaving her office so disorganized.

She wants a self-starter. And Ally seems to fit the bill.

“Ally,” Talia says, “tell us about you.”

“Well, I’m getting my master’s degree in business management at UNLV.” Ally shuffles some files into a drawer. “I only have ten to fifteen hours a week to work, and this seems like it would offer great experience in schedule management and client support.”

“Do you have experience working with sensitive information, Ally?” Talia asks.

“I worked as a student caller during my undergrad program, so I had access to a lot of personal information through that.”

“And what about serving in a gatekeeper capacity?”

“I worked closely last semester for a professor who had me managing his scheduling. He was in the middle of a huge research project and needed close time management. I screened all requests for meetings and worked with him to prioritize, so he could optimize his work time.”

“Boris, do you have any questions for Ally?” Talia shares a look with me but I’m not sure where she’s going with this.

I shrug. “Not really. I am not sure how I would utilize a person such as yourself. This idea is new to me.”

“What is your relationship, may I ask?” Ally asks.

Talia sits back in her chair, her eyes narrowing. “Mr. Dr?ghici has hired me to take over his investment strategy.”

“So it’s solely professional?”

“Yes,” I say, just as Talia answers the same.

“Thanks,” Ally says. “So, Ms. Wentworth, since Mr. Dr?ghici says he’s not sure how this position will work in his life, I assume the genesis of it comes from you?”

“Yes,” Talia answers stiffly. “I suggested that Mr. Dr?ghici hire someone to assist him in organization. He’s got a brutal training schedule and needs someone to help him fit in other important appointments, manage his bill payment schedule, and keep him otherwise organized.

Maybe more importantly, he needs someone discreet and trustworthy. ”

“What am I missing here?” Ally asks, looking at me.

“I am getting ripped off by my current investment agents,” I tell her.

Talia groans. I’ve let the proverbial cat out of the bag, I think.

But I see no reason to hide it. Whoever we hire needs to know what this job is really about.

“I have severe dyslexia and need someone to assist in reading my mail, organizing it, and instructing me on due dates and required follow-up.”

“Ah,” Ally says, finally shutting the file cabinet drawer and sitting in the now-empty chair. “That makes so much more sense. And it sounds like you understand what value this role could bring to your personal life.”

“I am starting to see it, the more we talk about it,” I admit.

“Well, since I would be working for you, I’d love to talk with you at some point about how we might work together,” Ally says. “Perhaps over coffee?”

I open my mouth to answer but am not sure what to say. Is this appropriate? I have no idea of the rules of engagement here. I just answer, “Perhaps, if we decide to move you forward as a candidate, we can do that.”

Talia winks at me, a smug smile on her pretty lips, and I know I answered correctly. She says, “Okay, Ally. Well, we’ll talk about each candidate once we’ve finished interviews and get right back to you.”

Ally stands and shakes both our hands, giving us a firm grip and a final statement regarding her interest in the role. She leaves and we both stand in silence for a moment.

“You liked that she organized those files,” I finally say.

“I did.” Talia grins. “I wanted to see if anyone was self-starter material. She definitely was. Though I didn’t like the question about our relationship. It seemed inappropriate. And asking you to get coffee and talk without me in the room? What was that?”

“I think she was trying to figure things out,” I suggest. “She was trying to figure out who she would really be working for.”

“You, of course.” Talia tilts her head at me and gives it a little shake.

“But I’m not sure you gave her that impression.”

Talia pouts, sticking out her bottom lip a bit. It’s very cute and I want to laugh, but I pretend a cough instead.

“I just want to make sure we get the right person for you, Boris.” She’s eyeing me suspiciously now.

“I know, and I appreciate it. I guess I don’t really care who we hire.”

“Which is exactly why I’m being such a hard-ass in these interviews.”

“And I’m okay with it.” I shrug it off, hoping she lets it drop.

“So while we’re waiting on the third candidate, I should tell you about my conversation with Vlad Nechaev.”

“Yes, he called me after to make sure you were really acting on my behalf. Apparently, women sometimes call and pretend to be girlfriends or wives in order to try to access the finances of their clients.”

“Really? People do that?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I assured him you were who you said you were.”

“Well, he was weird to me.” Talia sounds annoyed which I also find cute. “He’s a bit of a chauvinist.”

“That’s probably true.”

“He said he’d talk to your advisors and have them get in touch if that’s what you really wanted. Honestly, though, I am weirded out by the fact I can’t just call them myself, professional to professional. Aren’t you weirded out by that?”

“It has always been this way.”

“Did you hire these guys yourself or did someone hire them for you?”

“I have been making money playing hockey since I was very young, Talia. I was fourteen when I left home for training and started getting a stipend from the Russian Olympic committee. It was put into an investment account right away and has been managed there ever since. Even after I came to the United States, my money went to that account. Some is directed to my local checking account, but most goes to the investment accounts. I have never met the person who makes these decisions.”

“It just seems crazy to me.”

“It probably is, but I didn’t know any different and I’ve never needed much to live on, so it did not occur to me to get serious about my investments until my most recent contract.

Scott, my agent, actually suggested I not divert money to overseas account managers.

He helped me set up local banking, so none of my new money would go to these people.

This is the first time in my career I’ve thought maybe I needed someone else to review how I was doing. ”

“I’m gonna give Scott a big kiss the next time I see him. He did you a huge favor.”

I don’t reply.

Scott may have indeed done me a favor, but I sure don’t like the idea of Talia kissing him.

Even though I know I shouldn’t think this way, I can’t help feeling jealous at the idea of her kissing anybody else.

But me.

But me? Where did that come from? Talia told me that she didn’t look like a librarian or was sexy. At that moment, I didn’t comment, but in my head, I disagreed firmly. I don’t know what a librarian looks like, but I do know what a sexy woman looks like and Talia is that. But how can she not know?

My life has been full during the last week and a half, but it doesn’t mean my mind stopped wandering to Talia.

I had blamed that on the interview with Scarlett, and time with Pam too.

Both women had implied that it wouldn’t take long for a woman to want me, Boris, and not the NHL star player.

And each time, my thoughts turned to Talia.

Funny, quirky, and seriously sexy Talia.

And now…now I don’t want her lips anywhere near Scott’s.

Or any other man’s. Like I always do, though, I file those thoughts away and focus on the task Talia has for me today. Interviews.

We interview two more candidates and it is obvious, when we finish, who the best candidate is. We call Ally Armstrong and ask if she’s available to come back to Talia’s office.