Wait. What?

My skin felt like it was barely keeping every emotion bottled up as I made my way down the hallway to my sister’s office. My interview with Margery Grant, the hiring manager for a legal proofreader position I applied to, went extraordinarily well. For the first time in a long time, I felt like maybe my life was headed in the right direction. 

“Hi,” I greeted Lydia with a contented sigh. I drifted into her office to one of the two chairs facing her desk as if I floated in on a cloud. 

 “Hi,” she replied, a curious eyebrow arcing as she eyed me over. “What’s up with you?”

I hunched my shoulders as I took in a deep breath. A goofy, thin-lipped grin formed on my face while I closed my eyes and replayed snippets of the interview. “I’m pretty sure I nailed my interview. I will be an employee at Morgan, Morgan, and Hill Law Firm soon enough.”

  “Oh,” Lydia responded, her lips stuck in the rounded position. Her eyes blinked rapidly, bidding her time while she searched for words. I knew my sister better than she realized. 

  “What now?” I quickly cut to the chase. “What do you know that I don’t know? They already have someone in mind, and it was just a curtesy interview?”

Lydia cringed and shuffled some papers around on her desk while she mumbled, “Something like that.”

My shoulders slumped and I threw my head back as defeat slowly crept over me for what felt like the millionth time since I started applying for jobs again. “Why? Why does this always happen? I mean, if they had someone in mind, why appease people and interview them when you’ve already made your mind up? It’s almost soul-crushing at this point.”

  “You’re being overdramatic,” Lydia bluntly stated. “They kind of have to - it’s an HR thing, really.”

I covered my nose and mouth with my hands while I processed the possibility of not getting the proofreader job. Tears began to form at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them spill, even if it was just me and my sister in the room.

 “But that’s not what I meant when I implied they had someone in mind when they interviewed you,” Lydia continued, resting her forearms on her desk. “They had you in mind.”

I dropped my hands from my face and allowed my jaw to gape open. I felt a slight tinge of hope and excitement while I tried to piece together what I knew. “Wait. What? But that doesn’t make any sense.”

Lydia gave me a look that hinted it was easier to figure out than I made it. 

 “Did you say something to someone?” I scowled at her. My blood boiled at the thought. “Lydia, I can interview and get a job on my own. I don’t need-“

 “Whoa. Wait just a minute, B. It wasn’t me,” Lydia interrupted me. “Think about who else would have any sort of influence around here.” Lydia’s eyes drifted to her right which made me follow her thought direction.

 “You think Mick had something to do with this?” I asked once it finally clicked. Lydia raised her eyebrows and turned back to her paperwork. 

My face flushed with embarrassment from the accusation I made against my sister. My cheeks burned even hotter when I thought about the charming, handsome lawyer who sat just a few offices down from my sister’s office.

 “But Mick and I have only been dating for the past couple of weeks.”

Lydia nodded. “Yeah, and he really, really likes you. Of course, he would want you to be happy and put in a good word for you. It’s not a huge deal. I just thought you should know.”

 “So, you’re sure then? That he said something to someone that may help me get the job?”

Lydia cringed again. “Well… I may have heard something from someone,” Lydia hesitated and bit her lip to try to keep the secret to herself. 

I abruptly stood from my seat and stomped out of her office, down the hallway toward Mick’s office. I heard Lydia’s frantic, low whisper screams from behind me that begged me to stop, but I had already made up my mind. I wasn’t about to stand by and let him think what he had done was okay. I wanted a fair and honest shot at something because I was qualified, not because I knew the right people.

Mick’s office door was closed when I got to the end of the hallway, but it didn’t stop me. I knocked and then opened the door without waiting for a response.

 “Mick-“ I stopped short when I noticed an older man dressed in a gray suit stood on the other side of the door with his hand on the doorknob staring back at me. Mick’s face lit up with a wide smile when he realized I opened the door. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize-“

  “No, no, it’s okay. I was just on my way out to a meeting,” the man in the suit interrupted me. “Please come in.” He gestured for me to walk into the office.

  “Bianca, this is my uncle David,” Mick introduced as he stood and buttoned the front of his black suit jacket. “David, this is Bianca.” Mick’s smile grew even wider when he said my name the second time around and made my heart swell. 

 “Ah, Bianca! Michael has told me so much about you. It’s nice to finally put a face to a name,” David beamed, offering his hand to me. 

I forced a congenial smile while I shook his hand - it wasn’t his fault his nephew was the meddling kind. “Very nice to meet you.”

 “Michael, we’ll catch up some more later,” he directed toward Mick and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. My smile slid off my face as I turned back to Mick who had made his way closer to me. 

 “Hi,” he greeted before he kissed my cheek. He looked so handsome when his eyes glimmered in the light, I quietly thought to myself when he pulled away. I swallowed back the thought and tried to hold onto the reason I stomped my way into his office in the first place.

 “Yeah, hi,” I replied quickly. I flashed him a quick glare and pushed pass him to sit up straight in one of the chairs facing his desk. “Your uncle doesn’t call you by your nickname?” I asked coolly.

He let out a small chuckle as he walked back around to the other side of the desk, unbuttoned his jacket, and sat down. “Yes, since we work together, he prefers to call me ‘Michael’ instead of ‘Mick’.” He studied me for a moment before he said, “You’re mad at me.” Amusement played in his eyes and subtly quirked up the corner of his mouth.

 “He works here? And, yes, I’m mad.”

He leaned forward, rested his folded hands on top of his desk, and cocked his head to the side. “About what? I would have thought you’d be in a great mood after your interview. Or… maybe it didn’t go well?” he hesitated to ask the last part.

I crossed my arms over my chest, fuming. My black blazer was tight around my shoulders and made me feel uncomfortable, but I was determined to stand my ground. “It went really well, actually. Maybe too well.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

 “Too well?” He asked cautiously. We hadn’t been dating for very long, but I knew he was always thoughtful about what he said and how he said it. 

 “Lydia told me you said something about this job to someone. Is that true? Did you get this interview for me? And maybe even this job?”

 “That’s extremely vague, Bianca. I ‘said something about this job to someone’?” I rose my eyebrow at him to confirm he heard me correctly. “Okay. So, maybe I did ‘say something to someone’. Why does that upset you? You want the job, right?”

 “It upsets me because I thought I had applied to this job and got the interview based on my qualifications. I thought I rocked the meeting because the position is a great fit for me. I want this job because the person who interviewed me thinks I would be a good addition to their team, not because someone told my interviewer I should be hired,” I felt myself start to ramble and get all worked up.

Mick sat back in his seat and stayed silent for a moment. I couldn’t tell whether it was because he thought I had more to say and wanted to wait for me to say it or whether he was busy forming an opinion on what I had said.

I had more I wanted to say, but if there was one thing my mother taught me when I was little, it was if I couldn’t say something nice, I shouldn’t say anything at all. Or maybe it was Thumper from Bambi who taught me that. Either way, I didn’t want to end up saying something irrational out of anger and regret having said it later.

  “Okay. I get it and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interfered,” Mick offered. “I’ll talk to my contact and tell them I was wrong and that you should no longer be considered for the position.”

My mouth gaped open again and I dropped my arms to my sides. “Wait. What?”

A mischievous grin appeared on his face. “Well, if you really believe that the only reason you did well in the interview is because I may have played a hand in your opportunity, then I agree, you shouldn’t be considered for the job.”

  “But-“

 “No. You’re right, Bianca, you wouldn’t do well in a position that isn’t well suited for you and that would look bad on both our parts. I’ll get everything settled this afternoon.” 

I pursed my lips while I eyeballed him, trying to figure out what game he was playing. He was up to something. “Mick-“

 “B,” he interrupted. “Before you say anything else, please just know I only had your best interest in mind when I asked Margery to review your resume and to take you into consideration for an interview.” He licked his bottom lip and sat up in his chair to lean against his desk again. “I wouldn’t have recommended you to the interviewer if I didn’t think you would do great and love the job.”

 “But Mick, you hardly even know me enough to recommend me for a job.”

 “B, I know you have two jobs you are very dedicated to, even though you love the one and only sometimes tolerate the other. You love working in the bookstore because when you’re done with all the silly little tasks Mr. Trayor asks you to do and you’re not busy helping the customers, you can sit back and read whatever you want. Which is why whenever I get the chance to spend time with you, you’re always in the middle of a different book from the last time I saw you. I know that, even though your job at the diner stresses you out and from the sounds of it, the customers can be pretty rude, you are always pleasant and pay close attention to detail. I also know that because both your sister and boyfriend are lawyers, you’re more familiar with legal jargon than you realize. So, again, I apologize if I crossed a line, but I promise I only had my girlfriend’s best interest at heart.”

 “Huh,” I grunted while I mulled over his speech. He had me pegged a little more than I’d realized. “I feel like you just lawyered me a little bit.”

Mick laughed at my rather simple response. “Yeah, okay, it was a bit of a rebuttal.”

 “Was that all you did, though? You only asked Margery to look at my resume and consider interviewing me?”

 “I promise I didn’t say or suggest anything else to Margery.” His eyes drifted before they landed back on me. “But I may have told my uncle you were interviewing for the legal proofreader position. I can’t guarantee what he will or won’t do with that information.”

 “Mick…” I groaned with a scowl. “Well, I mean, does he have any kind of pull in the company I need to worry about or-“ I stopped mid-sentence when I noticed his face scrunched in response. “What?”

 “My uncle is David Morgan. I’m surprised you didn’t know. I really thought Lydia would have mentioned something to you.”

My stomach knotted into a giant, messy ball. David Morgan was one of the two Morgan’s in the law firm’s name, Morgan, Morgan and Hill. 

I shook my head, my eyes wide with shock. “Nope. So, that’s why you work here? Because of him?”

 “Sort of. My aunt and uncle never had kids, so they’ve always kind of treated me like their own. They always wanted me to come work for them so then maybe one day I could take their place in the firm. You know, keep it in the family.”

 “Wait, what? ‘Work for them’? Both your aunt and uncle work here?”

 “Morgan and Morgan. Yes,” he answered as he stood up, walked over, and knelt down next to me. Mick grabbed my hands from my lap into his and looked up at me. “Again, I’m sorry. I swear it was only casual conversation when I mentioned it to him, but I if I know my uncle, he’ll say something to Margery. If you don’t want his help, please say so, and I’ll fix it.”

I gulped. I didn’t want the help, but I wanted the job more than any job I’d applied to in a long time. 

The entire week up to the interview I fussed over silly minute things. Lydia came over to my apartment and helped me pick out my most impressive, professional-looking outfit. I researched possible interview questions and carefully tailored my answers in preparation. Getting this job meant I didn’t have to work at the diner anymore and only had to work at the bookstore part-time if I wanted. I didn’t need to work two jobs if I was lucky enough to get the proofreader position.

It didn’t matter, though. What mattered most to me was I earned what I got. I avoided having to ask my parents for financial help for the past four years with the two jobs I worked; I wasn’t about to bend my personal ethics for the guy I just started dating.

 “Mick, please talk to your uncle and ask him not to say anything. Let Margery make a decision based off of her own opinion. She’s the hiring manager, so let her do her job.”

 “Okay. I will. I promise,” he quirked a crooked smile up at me and made me blush. “Are you still mad at me?”

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and pretended to think about it but ended up breaking into a smile. “No, I’m not mad anymore, but I really wish you would have talked to me from the start about all of this. Could have saved me from rudely busting in on you and your uncle.”

 “But I got an afternoon visit from you as a result,” he beamed up at me. “So, was this our first fight?”

 “I’m not sure if it really qualifies as a fight, but let’s not make this a habit. Deal?”

 “Deal,” he easily agreed, “even though you’re cute when you’re angry.” Mick gently kissed my cheek before he stood up and helped me to my feet.

 “You know, you called me your girlfriend during your little speech.” 

A bashful smile spread across his face as he wrapped both arms around my waist. “Oh, you caught that, did you? I also called myself your boyfriend,” he added, a timid tone settled into his near whisper of a voice. “Was that okay? Or was it too presumptuous?”

I sighed coyly. “I think it all depends on how often you plan to interfere with my major life decisions,” I smiled, satisfied with my rather clever answer while straightening his tie. 

 “If I’m being honest with you, I’m only just getting started,” Mick replied with a warm smile and a glimmer in his eyes before he pressed his lips softly against mine.