‘Good memory.’ Angie hesitated about the real reason for her being there, but she needed to get over herself. ‘I applied for a job today.’
‘Here?’
She inwardly cringed, unsure about how much she wanted to reveal about her life to this guy. ‘Yeah, I’m unemployed right now. I worked at a hotel as an event planner in California. Right now, I need a temporary place to work until I get back on my feet.’
‘Well, you came to the right place at the right time. The holiday season is perfect for a temporary job.’
‘When I was sixteen, I worked here. I blew all of my paychecks on new clothes.’
‘Which store?’
‘Oh, everywhere. I started at the Smoothie Shack, then the movie theater as an usher. I worked for a little while at Bloomfield’s department store. I was the best bow-tie-er in town.’ Angie laughed, and he joined her. ‘That was during the break of my freshman year of college. I never came back after that.’
‘You got around,’ Nick said. His eyebrows rose as if he was impressed. Angie’s barometer of men was off lately, and she wasn’t sure what to make of him.
‘Well, I only did one sport, and I loved to shop.’
‘I’m sure you have a good shot at getting the job.’ He took a bite of his sandwich as the words hung between them.
Angie had the urge to engage him more. The image of the door closing behind her in his face brought another wave of flames over her body. ‘For some reason, I was nervous about the interview. To make it even worse, I know the girl who interviewed me. We didn’t get along well in high school. I know I’m more than qualified for the position, but I hope she doesn’t use that against me.’
‘It couldn’t have been that bad,’ Nick said.
‘It wasn’t great. It makes me slightly anxious to think that Maya holds my future in her hands.’
‘I’m sure it will all turn out as it’s supposed to.’
Angie was supposed to be in California with her boyfriend and the life she’d spent so many years building. Working at her high school job wasn’t exactly her plan.
‘Do you come here a lot?’ Angie asked him. ‘Since you work nearby?’
Nick wiped his mouth with a napkin and smirked. ‘I like the food here. I’m not much of a cook. You?’
‘I know my way around a kitchen.’ Thanks to her mother. ‘But the takeout in California was much tastier than what I could cook up with the amount of time I spent at work.’
‘Did you go out a lot with friends?’
Angie tried to hide her burning cheeks. ‘Sometimes.’ She wasn’t ready to admit that she had the tendency to get swept up into the life of whoever she dated that she ended up seeing less of her friends than she liked. It was a habit she would make a point not to continue in the future.
‘I bet the nightlife is better there than here.’
‘I’m sure it’s not so bad.’
‘I bet you could make a night out here fun for anyone.’
Angie’s gaze dipped to the table, as a tingling sensation skittered up her arms.
Nick cleared his throat. ‘But I also bet you’re leaving town right after the holiday?’
‘It depends on if I get a more permanent job nearby.’ Would she go out with him regardless? There was no harm in having a little fun for herself. Though that was what got her in trouble with Brett to start.
‘I’m sure you’ll hear back from someone soon. If it were up to me, I’d hire you.’
‘Thanks.’
Nick wasn’t as bad as she originally thought. But the last time she fell for a handsome guy in a suit, he uprooted her life and forced her home. He was cute, but she wasn’t going to go down that rabbit hole again.
‘Well, I should get back,’ Nick said, crunching up the wrapper in front of him.
Angie sat up straighter. Seeing Nick twice in one week seemed like a strange twist of fate. ‘Maybe we’ll run into each other again?’
‘I hope so.’ He flashed a heart-melting grin. ‘See you, Angie.’
‘Bye.’ She watched him walk away and couldn’t help the slump in her shoulders. There was no way she would consider starting a new relationship with someone, never mind a crush. It was better this way.
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