Page 49 of Savage Suit

“The perfume house?” she gasped.

“One and the same,” I concurred, and detailed the job.

“You had one person overseeing the special perfume and the marketing account, so why create two positions now?”

Discomfort was a novel experience for me as much as uncertainty on how to answer. Apparently, I took longer than necessary to reply because she suddenly narrowed her eyes.

“The article,” she guessed. “One position has become two so you can hire two women to show the world how unfairly maligned you are.”

I covered my admiration, and my fucking guilt, with a glare. “Ihavebeen unfairly maligned,” I stated coldly. “And if I hire you, Iwillexpect you to attend a press conference that’ll introduce you.”

“That isn’t standard procedure. As I recall, KMG announces new hires on the company’s website and with a news release. Not full-court press.”

“I employ whatever resources are at my disposal to achieve the outcome I desire.” I gave her a level look. “The pace at T.S. Marketing is not what you’ll find here. The position or positions I am looking to fill will be high-intensity and high pres—”Pressure.Horror washed through me when the word registered. Precisely what had killed my mother—the pressures of being a businesswoman and a mother.

“Mr. Keegan? Noah? Are you okay?”

Ryan’s concern pricked my dread. “Are you planning to have children?”

Her worry morphed into indignation. “Why? Are we about to discuss the maternity leave your company offers? Oh, no!” she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Keegan Enterprises has no such thing because women are in the minority.” Glaring at me, she sniffed. “My desire for children isn’t your business.”

A muscle ticked in my jaw, and I glowered at her.

“There’s no looming threat of pregnancy to interfere with the work you require,” she huffed. “God knows this is none of your business, but I’m on birth control.”

The words bounced in my head and a dawning sense of…Fuck!

“Too much information?” she ranted, unaware of my thoughts. “Good. Maybe, you’ll realize what a chauvinistic jackass you are. I’d bet my fortune you wouldn’t ask a guy if he planned to have kids.”

“Did you just call me a chauvinistic jackass?” I asked, my brain slow to catch up because I was too busy studying her mouth, listening to the cadence of her voice and not her actual words, searching her eyes for any sense of recognition.

There was nothing. Unless I dreamed the entire encounter, Ryan either wasn’t that woman or she’d been drunker than I thought and remembered jack shit.

“Ms. Hagen…Ryan…the work that’ll be needed from you will be highly stressful. You’ll barely get any free time in the first few weeks. There’ll be long hours, short deadlines, and little rest. It’ll require a lot of energy and thick skin.”

“You make me sound like a Dresden doll,” she complained. “I’m not that fragile. I won’t break.”

“Do you have any illnesses I should know about? Any heart issues?”

She frowned at me. “No. Do you?”

“We aren’t discussing me,” I said tightly, her reaction at my worry over her health making me feel like a paranoid jackass. I backed off. I didn’t intend to marry her, so my irrational concern for her was out of place. “What was the best thing about working at T.S. Marketing?”

“The work environment. Mr. Smith had an office, but we had cubicles and got along well. Mr. Smith’s generosity allowed me time on my assigned laptop for personal use. A perk I miss. My laptop is so old, I worried it would crash before I submitted my application package.”

Standing, I opened my coat and dug into my interior pocket for my cell phone before sitting again. “You’ll be happy to know you will get a laptop. It will be yours to do with as you please in your free time.”

The joyful surprise lighting her face made my idea worth it. Smiling, I opened my text app, chose the head of my IT department, my brother, and Rosa.

Purchase top of the line laptop for Ryan. STAT. I expect it to be at her apartment by the time she arrives home.

“What will you bring to KMG?” I asked, waiting for confirmation they would follow my directive.

She opened her mouth, but I held up a hand as Rosa answered.

I would think a MacBook Pro would work better for her in consideration of her position, Mr. Keegan.

Depends on what she’s hired for,my IT guy, Kim-Michael Lennox, added.We have departments that are strictly PC and others that are Macs.