Mr. Big Jerk: A Forbidden Second Chance Romance (Kinda Cocky Series Book 3), стр. 23

I smiled. “Good to know, Clint.”

He leaned against his desk. “I took another look at your resume.”

I paused. “Oh?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Yep. And after reviewing it a few times over, I know why it’s been bugging me all this time.”

“I’m sorry, you called me up here to talk about my resume?”

He blinked. “What did you think I called you up here for?”

To bend me over your desk? “I just thought it was work-related. File-pulling, or something like that.”

He shook his head. “No, nothing like that.”

“Are you about to fire me? Is this because of all those alarms I--?”

He interrupted me. “I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re too qualified for the job you’re doing.”

I licked my lips. “But, you’re not firing me?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“So, what are you doing, then?”

He grinned. “I’m promoting you.”

“To…?”

“To the assistant manager of my foremost security team.”

My mouth went dry. “Come again?”

He stood up, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Roxy, you’re good with people. You’re good at figuring out problems and dealing with their shit while still putting them in their place. You’re headstrong, not easy to manipulate, and you’re independent. I know that even if I didn’t set out a schedule for you, you’d still abide by one. It’s just how you work.”

“So, how does that make me qualified to do anything with your security teams?”

“The men I hire are ex-military and very stubborn. They need someone who’s more available than I am to give them what they need, whether it’s time off, or more hours, or a stern talking to. You’re good at that kind of stuff. You have a mind for organization, and you don’t have the stomach for anyone’s crap. Those are two necessary components for this kind of job that not many people have enough of, in my opinion.”

“So, you want me to manage one of your security teams.”

“Well, I technically manage all of them. But, you’d be assistant manager for the only team I hire full-time.”

I nodded slowly. “Right.”

I wasn’t sure where all of this was coming from. I mean, I hadn’t worked very much in my life, which was obvious on my resume. The damn thing was only three or four lines with a bunch of filler to beef it up. But, I wasn’t going to question things. A change of scenery would be nice, especially if it came with a pay bump.

And now, I wouldn't have to lie about things in order to crane my neck just to catch a glimpse of Clint whenever I wanted.

He cleared his throat. “There will be a raise, of course. And an increase in benefits. You’d be doing more work, possibly even taking some of it home. So, that would be compensated accordingly.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“But, should you choose to take the job--.”

I smiled. “I accept.”

He paused. “Well, good. I’m glad. Because I already have your first assignment.”

“Shouldn’t I meet the team or something first?”

He reached around and plucked a file off his desk.

“One of our bigger clients is a casino here in Vegas. They employ my full-time security team, so this job will technically introduce you to them. The casino has asked that I personally install a new locking device on their safe beneath the casino. I want you to come along with me so you can meet the team you’ll be managing, and so you can survey some of the work we do on a regular basis to keep things running smoothly.”

“So, it’s common practice for someone to ask for something like this?”

He nodded. “Yep. We don’t just track down bad guys and shoot them in the head. We deal in every kind of security our clients might need. From around-the-clock interpersonal security to installing security systems, to safe implementation and maintenance, we do it all. This happens to be a maintenance call, and I want you to ride with me on it. You up for the task?”

Anything to be near you. “Of course. But, who’s going to run the front desk?”

“Don’t you worry about that. I’ve already got it covered. A new gal will be taking your place tomorrow morning.”

“Right. Gotcha.”

He walked over and handed me the file. “Read through this while we’re riding over there. It’s about a fifteen-minute drive, so I expect you to have it--.”

I took the file from him. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just lead the way.”

I distracted myself during the entire ride with the file in front of me. I looked over schematics. I didn’t understand and familiarized myself with the names and faces of the five men on this security team. I was familiar with the casino, though. It used to be Kelly’s favorite spot. The Wild Coyote was known for its spectacular drink specials, gut-bombing food, and crazy concerts. It was a hell of a place to be at any given hour, but especially on the weekends.

“Tell me what you would do first,” Clint said.

I looked up from the file. “What?”

He pulled in behind the casino. “Tell me what you would do first if you were installing this yourself.”

I looked over at him. “Uh, are you kidding me?”

He parked. “Nope.”

“I’ve got no idea what to do first.”

He turned off the car. “Look through the file while we get into the basement, then I’ll ask you again.”

I sighed. “All right, fine. I can do that.”

I followed him mindlessly through the back entrance of the casino. A guy I recognized as ‘Bart’ from the file led us down a flight of steps. I followed the sound of Clint’s footsteps as I looked over the schematics again. It all looked like rubbish to me, until I saw the notes in the margins.

“Oh,” I said.

Clint chuckled. “What do we do first?”

I looked up. “We have to disable the cameras. The facial recognition program is going to set off the alarm if it clocks our faces.”

“Exactly. Give me one second.”

I looked up at the massive facade on this safe and felt my jaw slowly unhinge. Holy