Wrapped Up for Christmas. Katlyn Duncan

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       Chapter 6

      On the way back to the office, Nick couldn’t believe he had run into Angie again. When he first saw her, he had noticed how she avoided his eyes. After not thanking him for paying for her food, he wanted her to be uncomfortable about the other day. But it seemed that it all was a misunderstanding. The banter they had from their brief encounter had returned, and he found himself wanting to be around her. It was a strange feeling toward someone he barely knew, but a sense of urgency had forced him to invite himself to eat with her.

      Nick wasn’t happy that Angie lost her job. But with her applying to the mall an opportunity to help her appeared in front of him.

      Maya oversaw the interviews, so she would have all the resumes. When he returned to the office, he couldn’t help gravitating toward her desk.

      ‘Did you have a good lunch?’ he asked, propping his arm on the divider of her cubicle.

      ‘It was fine,’ she said, sorting resumes.

      Nick peered down, looking for Angie’s name at the top of one of them.

      No such luck.

      Nick couldn’t imagine Angie doing anything to have a strained relationship with Maya, but one thing he knew of the HR head was that she didn’t care for people who were on her bad side.

      ‘What’s going on with you?’ she asked.

      ‘What do you mean?’

      Maya sat up in her chair. ‘This isn’t the time of year for you to be so happy. Or lie.’

      Nick dragged a finger over the top of the cubicle. ‘I’m in a good mood. I had lunch with someone. It was interesting.’

      She raised an eyebrow. ‘Interesting, how?’

      Nick shook his head. ‘It’s not important. But I have a few minutes. Did you need me to approve anything?’

      Maya trapped her bottom lip under her teeth. ‘Actually, yes. I wanted your opinion on a potential applicant for the information specialist position. I went to high school with her, and she’s a bit overqualified. I’m not sure if I should keep looking or not.’

      Nick cleared his throat, leaning closer. ‘Who is it?’

      Maya handed over a piece of paper.

      Nick held the paper in front of him as if it was from any other applicant.

      Angela Martinelli.

      He pocketed her last name for later. Scanning through, he found out she had worked at a prestigious hotel as an event planner since she’d graduated from college.

      Nick was more than impressed.

      ‘I have a few teens looking for work,’ Maya said, sifting through the other resumes. ‘They’re seniors, but all of them brought phones to their interview. They seem more into looking as if they are working than actually doing the work.’

      Nick tapped his finger against the EMPLOYMENT HISTORY section of the resume. ‘Under relevant work, Angie – Angela, I mean, has worked at the booth. She has training.’

      ‘There isn’t much training involved, though. Is it weird if I pick her? She seemed a little desperate and sad. I don’t want this to be a conflict of interest. Since I know her.’

      ‘That was years ago. To me, it doesn’t seem like a conflict of interest.’

      Maya raised a questioning eyebrow. ‘At least, I’m assuming, from what you said,’ he said quickly. ‘You have to trust your judgment.’

      Maya swiveled in her chair. ‘I’ll think about it a little more.’

      Nick placed the resume on her desk. ‘I know you’ll make the right choice, Maya.’ He walked into his office, not wanting to interfere with the hiring process. It wasn’t his place, but he hoped Maya would give Angie the job, he wanted to get to know her a little better. As he sat down, he woke up his computer. His eyes strained to stay on the screen instead of checking in on Maya.

      The front of his office was all glass, giving him a view of Maya’s desk. He left his door open to hear her making phone calls to the applicants. After some time, his ears perked up when Maya said Angie’s name. She was on the phone, the top of her head barely visible over the cubicle wall.

      Nick hadn’t expected to hear anything from that distance, but he crossed his fingers that Angie would accept. His water bottle stood empty at the edge of the desk, offering the perfect opportunity to fill it at the water cooler out front.

      Nick slipped by Maya’s desk, but she wasn’t on the phone anymore.

      With each desk he passed, his smile widened. A few of the other employees blinked away their surprise. Nick wasn’t the grinning type at work, especially with his father around.

      With a full bottle, he made his way back to Maya’s desk. ‘How goes it?’

      ‘Fine.’ She lifted a piece of paper in front of her. It wasn’t Angie’s resume.

      ‘Good. Did everyone accept?’

      ‘I’m still making phone calls, Nick.’ She wheeled her chair around. ‘What gives? Are you checking up on me?’

      ‘No, not at all.’

      ‘Why don’t I believe you?’

      ‘You should because it’s the truth.’

      ‘All right,’ she said, eyeing him.

      When he returned to his desk, Nick let out a sigh. He couldn’t let Maya know why he wanted Angie to get the job. But it was the least he could do to help a new acquaintance for the holidays.

      ***