Page 9 of Too Good to Be True

“Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked.”

She continued the tour as if he hadn’t. “This floor contains accounting, information technology, and human resources. We also have a marketing department, but they mostly work off-site.”

She led him down the hall and pointed out the different areas, pretending like it was any other day and he was any other trainee. However, every female they passed did a double-take, and a few didn’t even bother hiding their enthusiasm.

“Ohmigod. Are you Fran’s nephew? I heard you were starting today.” This from a young woman in accounts payable.

“Yes. Nick Perez.”

“I’m Ashley. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

It wasn’t long before they were stopped again.

“You can’t be Fran’s nephew. You don’t look anything like her.” This from a middle-aged woman who worked in IT.

“I am. And you are?”

“Janet. If you have computer trouble, I’m the one to call.”

“I’ll remember that. Nice to meet you, Janet.”

“Smooth,” Stacy mumbled.

When he laughed, she realized she’d said it aloud.

They’d just come to the human resources department when the administrative assistant, Britney, came rushing out of her office to greet them.

“You must be Nick,” she said, sounding out of breath even though she’d only covered a few feet.

“That’s me.”

“I’m Britney. We talked on the phone, remember? About your employment papers.”

“Yes. You were very helpful.”

Britney preened like he’d just crowned her Miss Michigan. She tilted her head and tossed her long blonde locks over her shoulder. “I was happy to help.”

Stacy shifted her feet as a subtle reminder that she was standing there, waiting.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work. It was really nice meeting you, Nick.”

“You too.”

As they went back downstairs, he said, “I can see why you like working here. Everyone’s really nice.”

Stacy eyed him closely, wondering if he meant it or was being facetious. He must have realized that it was the women who’d been especially nice and that he’d created quite a stir. He seemed unfazed, though, like he was simply pleased with his new work environment. Of course, they hadn’t started working yet.

“Would you like anything to drink before we get started?” she asked as they neared the lounge.

“I wouldn’t mind some water.”

“Not a coffee drinker?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Never acquired the taste.”

“Hmm.”