Bill was silent for a few seconds before saying, "If you think she can handle it, I’ll have HR make the changes."
"Thanks. Stephanie has my calendar so—"
"Stephanie quit, Maisie."
"What? Why?"
"According to HR, she was bored and got a better offer," Bill said. "She didn’t co back after lunch."
I squeezed my eyes shut and dropped my head back. "Well, shit."
"It’s not the end of the world, Maisie."
I scowled. "It’s a little difficult for my company to run without , my personal assistant, and the CFO, Bill."
"It’s going to be a little confusing for a few weeks, I agree, but you have a well-oiled machine here. It’s not going to fall apart any ti soon."
I stuffed down my irritation and chose my words carefully. "You’re right. I appreciate all your help on this. I’ll let you handle the legalities of all of this and check in soon."
"Sounds good. Take care, Maisie."
"Thanks." I hung up and fought the urge to throw my phone across the room. "Bastard."
"You okay?"
"Our lawyer’s a male chauvinist arsehole," I snapped. "He speaks to like I’m the little woman." I groaned. "I need to replace him."
"So replace him."
"It’s not that simple, Hatch, but Ali and I were starting the process... well, before. And my assistant quit, which just adds to the stress."
"Okay, baby. We’ll figure it out."
"Really, Hatch?" I snapped. "Do you know where I can find a highly organized person who knows every computer program on the planet, who can navigate the world of sex toys and weed out the creepos? Oh, and preferably has an aptitude for numbers, because we now have to hire a CFO and Nicole’s gonna need help?"
"," Cricket said, as she and Poppy walked into the room.
"Cricket’s here," Hatch provided.
I rolled my eyes. "I see that."
"What happened to Stephanie?" Poppy asked.
"She quit," I said with a frustrated sigh.
"Oh, good. She was a bitch."
"Language," I warned.
Poppy dropped her head. "Sorry."
I didn’t miss Hatch’s slight smile as he studied . He slid his hand to mine and squeezed gently. "We’ll figure it out."
"You say that a lot, do you know that?" I ground out.
"Can you realistically do anything right now, Maisie?" he challenged.
"Yes." I raised an eyebrow. "I can make so calls."
"Bill’s doing that."
"I need to talk to HR about getting the job posted and then I need to look at résumés."
"Baby, it can wait a few days."
I pulled my hand away. "Don’t pretend to understand what I’m up against here, Hatch."
"Seriously." Cricket stepped forward. "I can help. I’m graduating in a few months with a forensic accounting degree and a minor in marketing, plus I’m a quick learner. I hate working at the shop, no offense, big brother."
"So taken," he returned.
"I want a real job. Bartending was a good option... well, until, you know...," she nodded toward Hatch, "...but it’s not really what I want to do in the long run and if I can get in as an assistant, maybe I can use my degree."
"Poppy has my email address in her phone. Send your résumé and a list of references and I’ll have a look. If it looks right, I’ll forward it on to HR," I said, but realistically, she sounded pretty perfect. And Poppy liked her which gave a good feeling. My daughter was right, Stephanie was a bitch, but she knew the business so I’d kept her around.
"But that’s not gonna happen for a few days," Hatch challenged.
"I have to get this sorted," I argued.
"You don’t have to get it sorted today, Sunshine, because your priority is getting well and goin’ out with your man." He craned his head to look behind him. "And Cricket’s gonna respect that."
I t Cricket’s eyes. "Is he always this bossy?"
"Pretty much," she said.
"And you listen to him?" I asked.
She grinned. "Only to his face."
"Well done, love."
Hatch moved so he could block my view of his sister. "You, on the other hand, are going to relax. Get ?"
"There’s no reason why I couldn’t help out while you’re healing," Cricket said. "I can type dictated emails, run errands. I’m happy to sign an NDA or whatever and work as a contractor for the ti-being."
"Christina," Hatch said in a warning tone.
"That sounds good, Cricket. Thanks." I focused on Hatch and smiled. "You want to swear right now, don’t you?"
"More than you can imagine," he admitted. "But I do like to see you smilin’, baby."
"I’m going to freshen up and then we’ll go, okay?"
"Sounds good," he said, kissing quickly, and I headed to my bedroom.
Hatch drove us to the restaurant, only it wasn’t the Q.
"Where are we?" I asked, as he parked behind a brick building.
"Friend’s place. Don’t move," he ordered.
"Where am I going to go?"
He grinned and climbed out of the truck, coming to my side and pulling open the door. "I’m gonna lift you down."
"You are not."
"Babe, just let do this so you don’t fall."
"I can climb out of a bloody car on my own, Hatch," I argued.
I released my belt and turned my legs, but he stopped , leaning in, eyebrows drawn together. "Don’t move."
"Hatch—oh!" His left arm slid around my waist and he tugged gently forward, lifting out and setting on my feet. "Bloody hell, love, you could have thrown your back out."
He frowned. "Don’t say shit like that, Maisie."
"Well it’s true."
"It’s not true, baby." He softened his expression and went into an Eastern European accent as he continued, "I’m strong like bull,"
I chuckled. "Sorry if I made it sound like you’re not a big strong man."
"Not about that," he corrected.
My stomach did a few flip-flops and I smiled. "Is that your round-about way of telling to stop calling myself fat?"
He winked. "You’re learnin’, Sunshine."
"You’re a cheeky buggar, aren’t you?"
Kissing gently, he led inside, and we comnced our first "official" date.
"Hey, Hatch," a deep voice called as a bouncer checked our IDs.
Hatch gave the man a chin lift and smiled. "Ryder. This is Maisie."
Ryder grinned and I lted a little. Lordy the man was pretty. Shaggy blond hair, blue eyes, and he was tall like Hatch, but clean shaven.
"Nice to et you," he said.
"You too."
"I got a table open in the VIP section if you want it," he offered. "I’ve gotta check on a liquor delivery, but I’ll co say hi when I’m done."
"Sounds good, brother, thanks," Hatch said, and we followed him to a private table where we were wined and dined and treated like royalty. Hatch had dialed the romance up a notch and the whole evening had rocked.
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