The Allure Of Julian Lefray Part 3

Before closing down my computer for the night, I opened a new email window and started typing away before common sense set in.

Subject: Interview Request from Julian Lefray

Chapter Six.

Josephine I woke up bright and early the morning after the gala, ready with a full cup of coffee and chock-full of false optimism. I was planning on checking my emails, finding my most businesslike outfit, and then waltzing down to Lorena's office for an interview. The fact that I had no clue where her offices were seemed like a negligible detail.

Unfortunately, my go-get-em att.i.tude wasn't needed. The first email, sitting right at the very top of my neglected inbox, was from Mr. f.u.c.k-Me himself. Er, I mean, Julian Lefray. It had been sent at 1:14 AM, which immediately made me wonder if he'd been up late thinking of me, but I knew better. Nope. No. Don't go there. You need a job and he's looking for a new a.s.sistant. Nothing more, nothing less. Ignore the tall, dark, and handsome vibe. Book boyfriends exist for a reason.

Julian needed an a.s.sistant, and while being organized wasn't exactly my forte, I needed this job badly enough to pretend it was. One look at the mountain of bills sitting on my kitchen-turned-bathroom counter drove that point home.

I immediately replied to his email with my availability, and then dragged my laptop right back to bed to type up my next blog post.

What Jo Wore Post #1250: Job Interview Attire (Or how I pretend to be much more professional than I actually am...) Comments: 55 Likes: 513 Tomorrow I have a super important job interview. I know, YIKES. Send some positive vibes my way!

You guys are always asking me to do posts about workday attire, so I thought I would share three of my favorite interview outfits with you all. Most of the items are thrifted or from a few seasons ago, but I've linked to the few items you can still find around the web.

Also, disclaimer: I snapped these photos using a timer on my camera so please excuse the poor composition. I've yet to find someone to help me with photographs in New York. I used to bribe my best friend Lily to take my photos back in Texas. Let's hope for y'all's sake I find someone soon! For now, just squint and pretend these are awesome photos!

Until tomorrow, XOJO.

The day of my interview, I woke up extra early and slipped into a pair of fitted navy slacks and a cream long-sleeved blouse. The day before, I'd researched Lorena's company while watching a marathon of murder mystery shows. Sure, I was now highly paranoid about getting kidnapped, but at least I felt prepared for my interview.

Julian wanted me to meet him at Blacksmith Coffee at 9:00 AM, sharp. Once again, I tried not to read too much into his choice of venue. Late night emails, coffee shop interviews...sure, most interviews were conducted in a boardroom with stuffy, boring businessmen, but maybe Julian liked to stretch his legs.

I was nearing the coffee shop, giving myself an internal pep talk, when my phone buzzed in my hand.

Lily: Good luck with your coffee date. Oh, I'm sorry, "interview". ;) Josephine: STOP. Seriously. There is no hanky panky happening. I'm a professional career woman.

Lily: I looked him up last night per your email... Y'know, maybe you should have mentioned the fact that he is a 10/10 on "Josephine's hot guy scale"?

Was he?

Josephine: I hadn't noticed.

Lily: I'm so calling bulls.h.i.t on that.

Josephine: Lalalala. Can't hear you over the sound of my future calling. Oh, and it's Vogue. I better take it.

Lily: You are so lame.

I pocketed my phone, pushed my shoulders back, and held my head high as I pulled open the door to the coffee shop. I couldn't let Lily get into my head. I needed to get into business mode. I am Josephine, hear me roar.

The scent of roasting coffee overwhelmed me as I stepped into the shop. It was a small, intimate s.p.a.ce. One wall had been left with exposed red brick and another was covered in shiplap wood. Mercury gla.s.s chandeliers hung overhead and two antique green velvet couches sat at the front of the shop for people to sit and wait for their coffee.

I kept walking, past the start of the coffee line, scanning the room for Julian. There was a small, secluded room in the back and when I stepped past the central brick archway, I spotted Julian at a table against the wall. My stomach dipped at the sight of him. He was dressed down compared to the tuxedo he'd worn for the gala, sporting a crisp white shirt, sans tie. The top b.u.t.ton was undone and he'd rolled the sleeves to his elbows. He adjusted on his chair and reached down to smooth the thigh of his charcoal gray pants. I studied his hand and its placement on his thigh before he glanced up at the girl in front of me who was bee-lining for his table.

She giggled as she sat, saying something annoyingly cute, I'm sure. I was fifteen minutes early for our scheduled appointment and it appeared he wasn't yet done with the interview before mine.

Why did that bother me so much?

I turned to move away, feeling like a weird voyeur just standing there and watching them, when Julian held up his hand.

"Just give us ten more minutes, Josephine," he said with an apologetic smile.

Oh G.o.d, he saw me standing here.

I forced a polite nod and moved to join the coffee line. The entire time I waited for my vanilla latte I wondered just how much Julian could get away with when he used that apologetic smile of his. Those deep-set dimples. The genuine look in his hazel eyes. The man probably hadn't heard the word "no" since he was five years old.

By the time I had my drink in hand, the seat across from Julian was empty and I made my way over. Was the girl before me qualified for the position? More qualified than me? Julian was typing away on his iPhone as I approached, but when he caught me out of the corner of his eye, he pocketed his phone and stood to pull out my chair for me.

"Why, thank you," I joked.

He smiled.

"Sorry that interview ran a little overtime. I hope you weren't waiting long," he said, bending forward so that I could hear him over the background noise of the coffee shop.

My body was interpreting the entire situation wrong. The way he'd pulled my chair out and leaned in close so that we were only a small table away from each other. The way he scanned over my features before taking a sip of his coffee. My heart thought, "Wow this date is going well!" while my brain screamed at me to remember that this was a job interview.

"I'll admit, I sort of thought I'd be the only applicant meeting you here today," I said, unsure of where the honesty was coming from.

"Why would you think that?" he asked with a bemused smile.

I shrugged, glancing at the table beside us while I processed my answer. "I guess because this seems like kind of a strange place to conduct interviews."

Julian frowned, scanning over the shop. "Ah, I admit, that's my fault. Lorena was operating her business out of a dilapidated warehouse in Brooklyn. I had to decide whether to have you all drive out there and risk getting teta.n.u.s from a stray nail or line you all up outside of my hotel room."

An image of him in his hotel room, sans suit, instantly jumped to the front of my thoughts. I pushed it aside and tried to ignore the hint of blush I knew was now very prominent across my cheeks.

"Well, for the record, my teta.n.u.s shot is current," I said with a smile, still attempting to quell naked Julian thoughts.

He laughed and I took the opportunity to pull out my resume and slide it over to him.

"I read a few of your blog posts last night," he offered before leaning back in his chair and studying me, completely ignoring my resume.

"Really?" I asked, shocked by his admission.

He nodded. "They were charming. Very real. I liked them."

I don't think my eyes could have been any wider.

"Wow." I nodded, tucking his words away in my mind so I could extract them later when I needed a little pick-me-up. "Thank you."

"Do you think your blogging would get in the way of this job?"

What?

"Oh. No! No. I write my posts at night and take my outfit photos on Sat.u.r.day mornings. I'm very flexible."

He nodded, seemingly pleased by my answer.

"Tell me a little bit about your background."

I smiled. I loved talking about my home. Growing up in a small town in Texas made for quite a few interesting stories. I decided to leave out the cow tipping and bonfires in favor of my family life and college years.

"I loved it, but as soon as I could, I moved here."

"So you came to New York a few years ago?"

My hands twisted together beneath the table. "Uhh, actually it's been about two weeks."

"Wow, so the move is still fresh," he said.

"Very fresh," I admitted. I was still learning how to handle the big city. As soon as I thought I'd seen it all, I'd step off the subway and in the span of three blocks I'd see a couple fighting, breaking up, and then getting engaged. On any given day, half of the subway cars smelled like urine, and attempting to get anywhere on time was nearly impossible. It was stressful to live in the city and I still hadn't found my niche, but I had dreams. One day when I'd paid off my ma.s.sive pile of student loans and was working for Vogue, I'd move to the Upper East Side and get to experience the city in a whole new light.

"So you studied at a fashion school in Texas?"

He was doing his best to withhold judgment, but I could tell he was less than impressed by my lack of experience.

"I a.s.sure you, I had a great education there. Very hands on cla.s.ses and I interned with Kendra Scott while in school. She's a Texas based jewelry-"

"I know who she is," Julian interjected, scanning down to my resume.

"I might not be as qualified as some of the other applicants, but what I lack in experience, I make up for in commitment and work ethic."

He studied me intently as I spoke and something in his gaze forced me to glance down at my coffee to regroup. Having his attention on me, his eyes on me, was hard to stomach. It felt like a rare treat, something not every woman was fortunate enough to experience in her lifetime. I wanted to savor his attention while I had it.

"I'd like to offer you the position."

My gaze shot back up to him to see if he was kidding. The dimples were there, but the smile was gone. His eyes were bright and clear. His sharp features were relaxed and focused. He wasn't kidding.

How many people had he interviewed before me? Two? Three, tops?

My mouth opened but it took a few seconds before words finally spilled out. "You're offering me the job right now? What if someone better comes along this afternoon?"

SHUT IT. He's giving you the position.

"My gut says to go with you and it's yet to fail me." He smiled, brushing off my concerns so easily.

Well that's because your gut is probably made up of rock hard abs; they wouldn't fail anyone.

"I have one condition," I said.

His brow arched.

"I think I could use my skills as a blogger to rejuvenate your brand's image. For the last few years, Lorena has been focused solely on her designs, not the branding side of things. She's not utilizing social media like other fashion brands. I mean Rachel Zoe and Diane Von Furstenberg have camera crews following them around 24/7 for reality TV. We need to get Lorena Lefray out there in the public eye."

"And you think you can help with that?"

I straightened my back. "I have a pretty large following on YouTube and Twitter. I know I can do it."

"Excuse me," a sweet voice said from behind me. I twisted in my chair to see a woman about my age, standing with a padfolio clutched in her arms. She was pretty, angelic really.

"Are you almost done?" she asked, flitting her gaze between the two of us. "I don't mean to be rude. It's just that the other interviews only lasted about five minutes and I have to run back across town for an appointment in fifteen-"

Julian waved his hand, silencing her and standing at the same time. He reached for his suit jacket and looked out toward the other few applicants who'd gathered in the room without my notice.

"I think we're all done here." He paused and glanced my way. "That is, if you're ready to accept?"

I had two seconds to make a decision. Two seconds of staring into Julian Lefray's f.u.c.k-me eyes and deciding if I wanted a job where I could stare at him all day, every day.

Easiest decision of my life.

I nodded and stood to shake his hand. "I accept."

I tried to conceal my megawatt smile as his warm hand engulfed mine once again.

He nodded and glanced back to the small group of applicants. "Thank you all for coming today, but the position has been filled."

I smiled.

Now if only he could fill something else...

And so the s.e.xual fantasies begin. Lovely.

Chapter Seven.

Julian "I think they're trying to poison me here."

What?

I glanced over at Lorena to see if she was serious. My sister, the eccentric artist of the family, sat up in her bed and crossed her arms. She pointedly stared at the food in front of her. It looked decent enough to me, albeit a little bland.

"Relax, Lorena. You're in the top rehab facility on the east coast, not with Nurse Ratchet."