Those of the Margin: a Paranormal Suspense Thriller (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 2) (29 page)

"Not sure if you understand how job interviews are supposed to go. See, I ask the questions and you give the answers."

"Cole," Victoria said, slowly shaking her head, "this isn't an interview. This is an intervention. I'll tell you what we're gonna do: You play the owner's role and ask me some lame ass questions about how I would respond to an angry client. Ask me about a time in my career when I had to choose between doing what was best for the client or the business. Shit, ask me about my favorite position in bed if you think that will help. Go ahead and ask me anything that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy.  After this sit down, I'll pretend to sit by the phone, hoping that you call me and offer me the job. I'll come into your shit office next week, all dressed up as pretty as I can make all this," she said while she gestured towards her face and body, "and you can tell your buddies down at the Legion about how tough you are when interviewing people."

"I still don't think you understand what I'm looking for," Derek said.

"You may think that you know but I'll tell you what you
should
be looking for. You need someone that will keep you organized, focused and with clients pulling out their wallets, begging for you to take their case. You need someone to turn your little no-name agency into one of the top investigative firms in the country. You may not know it yet, but you need to decide whether you want to keep doing 'okay' or you want to really make an impact. Hire anyone else besides me and I will guarantee that either they quit after four months or, worse yet, stay as your pretty little assistant for 30 years.

"You got a huge gift when your face and name were spread across the country on that TV show. You can either get damn used to turning clients away because you can't handle more than a few cases a year, or you can maximize the opportunity and make a name for yourself. I get it, it's your call. You're the boss. You decide. But I'll tell you this; make the easy decision and hire an ex-librarian with fake tits and a mouth filled with corrective dental work, and you'll be shitting all over this opportunity. What's your decision?"

Victoria Crown started as Derek's assistant three days after the interview at Denny's.

"I don't want you calling me Victoria. My father had a sick sense of humor naming me after a Ford car model. It's Crown or Vic.  Not Crown Vic. Call me Victoria and I'll slip something nasty into your morning coffee. And if you do ever ask me to make you coffee in the morning, I'll piss in your coffee mug. Deal?"