“Or we’d be out, too?”
“Probably. Well, not Jessie. She’s the daughter of the former owner, and Ramirez is still working in management. She does good research.”
“Oh.” April looked down at her hands, hating that she felt so unsure about what she was about to ask. “Why did you hire me?”
“I thought that was obvious. I liked what I saw in your portfolio.” Running two long fingers over his lips, Samson regarded her seriously. “Also, I knew that you went to Parsons when I suggested that you apply. Not to be a snob, but your education is far out of this firm’s league. You took Hutchinson down a peg today. Impressively. You know his business better than he does, which is an accomplishment, since you’ve been in it for such a short time. Don’t let a man like him cause you to doubt what an asset you are.”
“I, um. Ugh. You’re right. I’m sorry.” April felt her cheeks burning even more brightly.
“I’ll admit that I like to see you blush, but righteous indignation looks so much better on you.”
April laughed and pulled some loose hair behind her ear. “I have to be that way,” April swallowed. “I lost my last job because my boss sexually harassed me. He started with jokes, and when I humored him, he started grabbing me.”
Samson’s brows shot up.
“So I don’t mean to come off as demurring, or unconfident. This job is simply so much more important to me than working as a waitress, and I don’t want to lose it.”
Samson furrowed his brows, then narrowed his eyes as he chose his words. “April, I promise you that your employment here will always hinge on the work you do, not how I perceive our relationship. And I will never lay a hand on you without your consent.” He smirked. “You’ve seen the papers. You know that I don’t have to do that sort of thing.”
“I never thought you did. But bosses I’ve had in the past, they just sort of liked having the power to do whatever they wanted to their employees.”
“That’s not me.”
April drew in a deep breath. “You know, I really believe you.”
“Come over here and have some sushi with me. Babette definitely ordered enough for two. I need your opinion on what this vendor is saying about materials.”
April dragged her chair over to his side of the desk. It was pleasant, almost fun, going over what was and wasn’t possible. He even asked her questions about other projects that were going on at the firm, bringing up other designs for her consultation. Before she knew it, half an hour had passed, and Garcia was texting for her whereabouts.
“Oh, damn. Um, I need to get back.”
“Tell Garcia that the bossman is boring you with details and you’ll be back when you’re free.”
“I’m typing that exactly.”
“Tell me. Now that your team is missing a leader, who do you think should take over? Someone in the team? Should I bring in another person from management?”
April though about that, though she kept staring at her phone to avoid meeting his eye. The idea of another Hutchinson, who looked down on them all and hadn’t updated their understanding of architecture since the 70s, was abhorrent.
“I don’t know that we need a leader, but if we have to have someone, it should be Garcia.”
“Really?” Samson moved closer to her and watched her closely. “Not yourself?”
“What?” April let out a sputter of a laugh. “I don’t have nearly enough experience to head up a project like this. I’ve observed, in my internship, but you need a lot more than that to make this a success.”
“That’s too bad. I liked seeing confidence on you.”
“There’s confidence, and then there’s arrogance. Ask me again when we’ve completed few projects, and I’ll take on the whole world for you. I need to know how it works first.”
Samson smiled slowly. “You’re really quite pragmatic, aren’t you? Well, I suppose you’re right. I’ll tell Garcia later today. I’ll also tell him to let me know if you need any other members once you get going. So far, the three of you seem to be handling the work well enough.”
“We were splitting it between ourselves anyway. And to be fair, Garcia is the one who pushed me to take over the drafting.”
“He knows how to use his assets.”
“If you call me an asset one more time, I may start hearing the word incorrectly.”
“Oh yeah? I wonder what you might mistake that word for?” Samson turned back to his computer. “I’m going to take you on a trip with me.”
April twisted her fingers nervously. “A trip?”