CHAPTER 4
1184 Words
Ava Grady. Her name was in bold and underlined, with a blue and violet logo stamped underneath. I picked up the paper, realizing it was a resume, and studied it. It looked great and I thought perhaps I could do something similar to my resume. If I didn’t get the job at the mall, I would need to find something soon.
Scanning the page, I noticed Ava attended the same program in college as me, only she hadn’t graduated with honors. I grimaced; it was petty of me to notice. Looking down the page, I read that she belonged to a Youth Group at her church and served as President for three years. Her resume had a lot more extra-curricular activities than mine did, but we were similarly qualified. Maybe Erika was right and I should apply for a PA position.
Definitely not this one, as I wouldn’t want to work for someone I imagined naked at least once a day. But maybe somewhere else.
“What are you doing in here?” A deep voice called from the side of the room.
I jumped, clutching the paper to my chest. I opened my mouth, but Colton Crawford’s incredulous face as he stared at me rendered me speechless. His gaze raked across my body until his eyes landed on the paper. He walked over and plucked it from my hands.
“Ow,” I hissed, shaking my hand. A faint red line sliced through my index finger, and I instinctively put it in my mouth and sucked. His eyes followed my movement. I felt the heat behind them and dropped my hand, as though burnt by his stare.
Leaving him to read the resume, I turned toward the door. “Wait,” he called.
I halted, prepared for his scolding, an apology ready on my lips. “Take a seat, Ms. Grady.”
Ms. Grady?
Still holding the paper in his hand, he said, “Look. I won’t waste both our time with interviews. Your resume looks fine, and frankly, what I need to know about you will come through your work, not your words. When can you start?”
“Oh, no,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not. I mean, I didn’t come here for…”
“Right. You came to talk about salary. I understand how these interviews work.” He took a seat at his desk. “The position pays eighty grand a year to start, with benefits. You can go over the details with Frank in HR.”
“What? Eighty thousand?” I asked, certain I hadn’t heard him correctly. “You’re kidding, right?” That was more than double what I made in the mailroom.
“I wasn’t. But I don’t have time to waste, Ms. Grady,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “One hundred thousand, but I need you to start tomorrow. Can you do that?”
One hundred thousand dollars. Holy Mother of… gah! That would take years for me to earn, and he was offering it to me in twelve months. Well, to Ava Grady.
I couldn’t take the job. I wasn’t Ava Grady. But that money would pay for Marco’s entire college career and clear my own debt. No. I couldn’t lie, and especially not for an entire year.
What if it were only for two weeks? A voice whispered in my head.
That first two-week paycheck would be enough to pay for Marco’s first semester. We’ll figure out the rest later, but it would be enough for now. Two weeks, ten business days. I could keep up the pretense for that long.
“One hundred thousand,” I said. “And I need the first paycheck in cash.” I certainly couldn’t cash a cheque made out to an Ava Grady.
He tilted his head. “Are there any illegal activities I need to know about?”
“No,” I squeaked, then steadied my voice. “Still settling some things with my bank.”
He tossed the resume into the wastebasket and turned toward his computer. “Fine. You start tomorrow,” he said, and began typing, rudely dismissing me.
“Tomorrow,” I repeated as I smoothed down my skirt and turned to leave. “Ms. Grady,” he called.
I slowly turned to face him and held my voice steady. “Yes?”
“Welcome to Crawford Corporation,” he said and cleared his throat. He continued to stare at his screen while straightening his tie, his lips twitching as though it pained him to be nice.
I swallowed with difficulty. “Feels like I’ve already worked here for years,” I said and rushed out before he read the truth written all over my face.
Erika’s bulging eyes and open mouth would have been comical if I wasn’t so terrified. We were sitting at Katy’s deli and I’d just told her what I’d done. When I’d left Colton’s office, I was too scared to stop and speak to Erika in case he came out and overheard us.
“You did what?” she asked for the second time.
I inhaled a deep breath and closed my eyes. “I took the PA position.” “But you didn’t apply for the position.”
“I know. It was a mix-up. When I held Ava Grady’s resume in my hand, he thought I was her.”
“I don’t know about this, Frances,” she said, staring at me.
“I just have to keep up the ruse for two weeks, then I’ll quit,” I said. “And I’m supposed to pretend that I don’t know you?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “This sounds like trouble.”
Yes. Big trouble. What the heck was I thinking? Maybe it wasn’t too late to call it off. But then what? I still didn’t have a plan to help Marco.
I couldn’t let him down when there was something I could do to help him. And maybe, well, maybe there’d be something in it for me, too. “With the experience, I’ll feel more comfortable applying for PA positions with my real name.”
She blew out a breath. “I don’t like this, Frannie. You’re a terrible liar.
Remember when we tried to sneak those boys up into your room?” “Are you kidding? My grandmother would have killed us.”
“What about when you tried to return those shoes and the clerk asked if you’d worn them and you’d said, ‘only once’?”
I twisted my lips. “This isn’t the same thing.” “No. It’s worse. You could lose your job.”
She was right, but I wasn’t turning back now. “I’m doing this for Marco because I would do anything for him. Besides, you know better than I do, Colton Crawford rarely speaks to his assistants. He just barks orders at them. I only have to stay quiet and get the work done. I can manage that.” I was trying to
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