boring. How exciting was farm equipment if you weren’t a farmer?
“Bring her right in,” he said impatiently as he got to his feet. Did he think she would turn around and leave again if he kept her waiting for more than ten seconds?
He barely had time to smooth down his hair before Suzy reappeared with Lizbeth, who hovered in the doorway while Suzy handed him her résumé.
“Have a seat,” he urged, hoping his face didn’t betray the extent of his pleasure. Inside he was beaming like a kid with a treat.
“I’m glad you could make it,” he said as Lizbeth perched on the edge of a chair facing him, her dark skirt almost reaching her knees. With it she wore a tailored blouse and toned-down makeup. Even the tiny hoops in her ears, a far cry from the glittering bangles, seemed to whisper serious applicant.
“Anything else?” Suzy asked from the doorway.
“Coffee?” he suggested as he sat back down behind his desk.
“I’m good, thanks,” Lizbeth replied, crossing one slim leg over the other.
“Hold my calls,” he told Suzy. “Thanks.”
After she had shut the door behind her, he set aside Lizbeth’s paperwork without a glance.
“Did you have any trouble finding us?” he asked.
The sun that streamed through the window turned her hair a hundred shades of fiery copper. Whether or not the visual feast was her natural color, it emphasized the chocolate brown of her eyes.
“Marshall pointed it out to me once,” she replied. As soon as the words were out, she shifted uncomfortably. “I mean…no, I didn’t have any trouble.”
It was no secret that she had dated his brother before Marshall hooked up with Mia Smith. Hell, Mitch doubted there was any woman in town who hadn’t dated Doctor Dazzle, as he sometimes thought of his outgoing sibling.
“Please don’t feel uncomfortable, Lizbeth,” Mitch reassured her. “I’m aware of what it’s like to live in a small town where everybody knows everyone else’s business. It’s no big deal.”
She appeared to relax. “Please call me Liz.”
“So how have you been?”
“You’ve probably heard that I’m no longer engaged.” She stuck out her bare left hand as proof. “Maybe you noticed when you were in the Lounge the other evening.”
He hadn’t, but he didn’t figure that kissing her hand now would be a good idea, so instead he tried to appear sad for her. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” If this had been a fairy tale, his nose would have grown like Pinocchio’s for telling such a whopper.
She tossed her head, making her small gold earrings sparkle. “Like you said, it’s not a big deal.”
He wondered how Dax could bear to lose her, but for once his buddy hadn’t said a word.
“Does that have anything to do with your interest in changing jobs?” he asked curiously.
His question seemed to catch her by surprise. Her gaze darted around his office.
“It made me realize that I can’t depend on anyone but myself, so it’s time to get serious and start working on a career plan like I mentioned the last time we talked. I just wasn’t ready to go public with being dumped then.”
“Sounds like you’ve sworn off men,” he replied regretfully. Maybe trying to hire her wasn’t a good idea after all.
She started to smile flirtatiously, but then her expression sobered. “I’m putting myself first,” she said firmly. “I want to be independent, to take care of myself instead of relying on some man.” She leaned forward with a touch of earnestness. “I’m willing to work hard and learn all I can. What I’m asking in return is that you give me a genuine opportunity. I’m done being window dressing.”
Mitch had been picturing himself leaning over her shoulder, basking in the scent of her perfume while she gave him a list of his phone calls. Admiring her legs as she perched on the corner of his desk or soaking up the admiration in her big brown eyes when he outlined some new product idea.
Reluctantly, he realized he’d been guilty of the worst kind of chauvinistic fantasies between a boss and his secretary. That attitude was not only wrong, it was unfair, especially when he considered himself a progressive employer who gave his workers respect and loyalty.
In the lengthening silence, Liz had begun to pick at the hem of her skirt. Her chin went up in a gesture he was beginning to recognize as a defensive reaction.
“Perhaps I’ve misunderstood your offer.” Her voice had cooled, its former enthusiasm gone as she started to rise.
Mitch gestured for her to stay put. “Believe me, my need for a full-time assistant is legitimate,” he said insistently. “I’m looking for someone who wants Cates International to be part of her future.” He took a deep breath. “Come on. I’ll explain more while I show you around.”
“I can’t believe you’re really doing it,” Kay Costner, Liz’s closest friend in Thunder Canyon, said from the next chair as Shandie Solomon spun Liz around to face the mirror.
“What do you think?” Shandie asked Liz as the they both studied her reflection. Shandie had recently begun working at the beauty shop and Liz liked her youthful attitude as well as her knowledge of trendy styles.
Liz studied her hair with mixed feelings. “It’s funny,” she replied as she tipped her head first one way and then another. “Last week I was thinking about adding scarlet or purple streaks and now I look more—”
“Like a secretary?” Kay supplied.
“Like a serious professional person,” Liz corrected her. She met Shandie’s gaze in the glass. “It’s perfect.”
A few minutes later, as Liz and Kay walked to their cars, Kay looked her up and down with a considering expression. “I hope this new job will make you happy,” she said with a sincere tone. “Dax is a rat, but I’m worried that you’re overreacting.”
Liz grinned at her friend. “You mean because I’ve quit my job as a bartender, undergone a complete makeover and maxed out my credit card on a new professional wardrobe?” she asked teasingly.
“That, too, I guess,” Kay replied with an airy gesture. “I was actually referring to the neutral polish color on your nails. Not a rhinestone or a butterfly in sight.”
As Liz gave her a playful shove, they both laughed. “Funny,” Liz replied. “When a girl is starting a new phase of her life, she needs to look the part.”
“And, girl,” Kay said as they high-fived each other, “you’re gonna knock your boss’s socks off.”
“All I want to do is to show him that I take this opportunity very seriously,” Liz reminded her. “And that I’m a complete professional.”
She glanced at her reflection in an adjacent storefront window, cropped top under her denim
