Alison Ridgefield glanced at her watch, briskly making her way up the flagstone path to the front door. To her surprise it was slightly open and she could hear an angry voice inside. While her gut was screaming at her to run she knew the right thing to do was stay. This was, after all, an interview.
The mellow chimes of the doorbell brought an end to the loud voices. A second later the door swung open to reveal a very tall, very good looking, very pissed off man. He glared at her in welcome. "What?"
Undeterred she smiled. "I'm Alison Ridgefield and I'm looking for Mr. Cole Montgomery."
Cole stared at the petite woman in front of him. Good lord she was short! The top of her head barely made it to the middle of his chest! She'd mentioned her name and he belatedly remembered who she was. "Right," he ground out. "The housekeeping assistant job."
She nodded, her brown eyes sparkling as she tucked back a strand of dark hair. "Yes."
That damn woman started screeching through the phone in his hand and he glowered at it.
"Would you be able to come back some other time? Now's not a good time."
She pulled out her Blackberry and nodded. "What day works best for you?"
What day? Hell if he knew! He shoved a hand through his short dark hair. "Tomorrow morning, same time but at the office," he finally said.
"Address?" He gave it to her and she smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good day, Mr. Montgomery."
He stood there for a second then remembered the phone. God he'd be lucky if he ever dated another woman after today!
Hoping he was in a much better mood today, Alison gave her name to a man in the lobby who phoned Cole's office. "He'll see you now," he said politely and directed her to his floor.
She knocked on his door and at his bidding entered an office the size of her studio. The man behind the desk kept those midnight eyes on her while the other four turned to watch her. She smiled and shook his hand. He waved for the two in front of his desk to offer her a chair and she smiled her thanks.
He didn't say anything when she sat down so she tucked her legs beneath the chair, folded her hands and waited.
She had great legs, he noticed and fought the urge to stare. They weren't exactly slim; they were toned, the muscles defined with each step she took in her high heels. He followed her legs to the floral print skirt to the v-neck white shirt to the silver chain around her neck to those brown eyes that were smiling at him. "Ms. Ridgefield, thank you for coming."
"You're welcome and it's just Alison or Ali."
"Very well, Alison, and it's Cole. These are my colleagues." He named off each man starting with the two on her left, Mark Gilbert and Travis Hamilton, to the two on her right, Josh Miller and Sam Harper.
"Nice to meet you all," she said politely.
He glanced over her resume but didn't know what the hell he was reading. "Alison, I'll be honest. You look too young to do this job and I'm looking for someone who can hold their own. I don't have time to be overly sensitive about someone's feelings."
She regarded him in silence for a moment then said, "I know that I don't look old enough to handle this job but I assure you I can do it. It's not just determination; it's experience. Sometimes the best experience isn't gained from a job but from life."
"That may be so but I won't waste my time trying to figure you out so I don't offend your or make you feel uncomfortable. It's not just my job that's stressful; it's my personal life. You need to take orders without questioning me. You need to understand that if I snap at you it may have nothing to do with you at all. The people in my life can be just as demanding and they're in my home or office and I ask you to assist them, you'll need to do it without complaining."
"And I can do that," she insisted. "I'm not some hormonally sensitive high school teenager. You being demanding and maybe a little insensitive to my feelings is expected. I'm not going to run away crying about you having hurt my feelings. I can do whatever you need me to do to make your life and home more manageable."
Cole leaned back in his chair, thoughtfully tapping his pen against his desk. He reread her resume; combined with what she'd just said he knew she was capable of doing the job. He just felt a bit guilty about jading her at such a young age. "How old are you, Alison?"
She blinked, slightly taken aback by his question. "Twenty-six."
It was his turn to blink but with surprise. "Twenty-six?"
"Yes." Understanding lit her eyes and she chuckled softly. "How old did you think I am?"
"Not twenty-six!" he said gruffly.
Two of his colleagues shifted and smirked. Ignoring them she said, "I assure you I'm old enough to do this job and old enough to do it well."
He nodded, glaring at his colleagues. He released a deep breath and leaned forward. "You start tomorrow at seven. I don't care if you're an hour early but do not be late."
The warning was clear and she nodded her understanding. He wrapped his fingers around hers in a firm handshake and eyed those legs as she walked out.
Alison wasn't prepared to meet his family. They were warm and friendly and loving, yes, but their straightforwardness shocked and amused her. And Ray's question &hellip; That threw her. The problem was she couldn't not answer it; the entire table had fallen silent awaiting her answer.
She glanced around at the faces of his family, ending with a hard swallow when she settled on Cole's face. What did she think of him? Keeping her gaze on his she said, "It's not what I think, Ray, it's what I know. He's got a great laugh, a killer smile, is amazingly polite, courteous and sincere, can be serious about business and easy going everywhere else. He's got great friends who compliment his personality and keep him in line. I may have just met you guys, but I know he's got an amazing family that wants what's best for him even if you guys are pretty blunt and he doesn't like it so much."
She didn't know what to expect when she'd stopped talking but the slack-jawed, wide-eyed stares was not it. She glanced from them to Cole who wore the same expression and she wondered if she'd answered wrong. "Did I say something wrong?"
That jarred Ray to life who came around to sweep her into his arms and he kissed her cheek.
"Honey, are you sure you're not more than his assistant?" he laughed.
Gary chuckled. "What he means is you're observant. I don't think any of his ex-girlfriends were that insightful."
She blushed. "It's hard not to notice when I work for him," she mumbled, tugging at the hem of her shirt nervously.
Ray snatched up her hand, bringing her wary gaze up to meet his. "Don't be shy, sweetheart," he grinned. "You're just what Cole needs in his boring life!"
He gave her one last hug and laughed his way back to his seat. The others, she noticed, were just as amused with her answer. She twisted her fingers together and dared a glance at Cole. He was looking at her intently with those gorgeous midnight eyes of his but she couldn't read anything in them. She gave a small smile and he smiled slowly. She breathed with relief; at least he wasn't upset.
With the promise of meeting for breakfast, they started back to their hotel. Alison, he noticed, was unusually quiet during their ride back and it wasn't until they were safely in his room that he asked, "Something wrong?"
She shrugged and opened the connecting door. "I'm sorry if my answer upset you."
He stared at her. "Upset me?"
"You didn't say anything afterwards and I couldn't tell if I'd upset you," she explained.
He chuckled and closed the space between them. "I'm not upset, Alison, I promise. Your answer shocked me, that's all. I didn't realize you were so detailed."
She looked at her feet.
"Besides, I'm pretty sure your answer won over my entire family." He leaned against the door jamb and crossed his arms. "You didn't upset me, Alison."
She looked at him, uncertainty still in her eyes. "Really?"
He brushed her hair from her shoulder. "Absolutely." His fingers trailed down her arm to entwine with hers. "I wasn't sure how they'd behave around you. I didn't want them scaring the crap out of you. We've got an entire weekend with them and they can be intense."
She smiled and said lightly, "I think I'll live. I'm just glad you're not upset."
Ah, honey, how could I be when you were only saying the truth?
Breakfast, she found out, proved to be just as insane as dinner. They talked over each other, talked across the table, laughed loud, joked and teased mercilessly. Alison discovered that Ray and Faith, Gabe and Hannah had left their kids at home. Hannah explained, "They would've torn down the hotel by now and asked to rebuild it!" Her amusing statement gave testimony that the rambunctious attitude of the Montgomery men had been passed down into their children.
The women were organizing a few hours without the guys today and they wanted her to join them. "Come on," Faith urged. "Hang out with us. Cole can hang out with his brothers and do whatever guys do."
The invitation was too much to turn down. She really liked these women, really wanted to spend time with them so she accepted.
"Have fun," Cole smiled. "You guys be nice to her."
Hannah laughed. "After what she said last night, why would we be anything but?"
Before they piled into the huge SUV rental, Cole caught her arm and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you later," he promised and sauntered after his brothers, leaving her red faced and with butterflies in her stomach.
They ended up shopping at a huge indoor mall, purchasing a few items before having lunch followed by a manicure. As they sat in the salon Diane asked, "How long have you been working for Cole?"
"Two months."
"And in two months you observed all that?"
Alison shrugged but nodded, the question leaving her a little uncomfortable.
Diane looked thoughtful. "Most of Cole's ex-girlfriends were not interested in him as a person."
Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "I'm sure you know he's not exactly dirt poor, Alison."
"Well, yes but it's just money."
Faith chuckled. "Honey, to some women that's all it's about. I'm amazed you've stuck around two months. His last assistant quit because he could be so &hellip; so &hellip; What's the word, girls?"
Diane laughed. "Intense."
"Irritating," Hannah supplied.
"Not that any of those things are bad," Faith added, "but he's a Montgomery and all Montgomery men are intense by nature."
Alison laughed. "He's still all those things at times but not as much now than when I first started." She paid and tipped the woman as they rose to leave. "He really is a great guy."
Hannah nudged her. "Sounds like you have a crush on him!"
Alison blushed and it sent the women into peals of laughter. "I can't help it!" she said defensively.
Diane hugged her. "Ah, sweetie, don't get uptight. You're perfect for him. He just has to realize it."
"I don't want a relationship with him if he feels forced."
Faith chuckled. "You can't force Cole to do anything. Give him time. He'll come around." She kissed Alison's cheek. "Trust me, honey, he'll come around."