Yeah, I'm running a little late today. I was trying to get as many paperback reviewed as I could before today when I needed to buckle down and get writing down. At least, we have hot water and heat again! I'll take that as a win for the month of August!
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Aisha gestured for her interviewee to sit down, and she settled on the couch opposite from him. Her foster brother Jeremy had obviously coached the young man. He was dressed in a navy suit, white dress shirt, and a matching navy and gold striped tie. His haircut would have cost more than the kid’s rent, but she knew Jeremy or his husband Leonardo had styled it for free. The young man was nervous, but not to the point his palms were super sweaty when he shook her hand.
She smiled. “So, Mr. Keeler, tell me about yourself while we wait for Ms. Ames.”
“Please, call me Dajon,” he said.
“All right, Dajon.”
“Well—” He cleared his throat. Maybe he should have taken Steve’s offer for something to drink. “I have a Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. I worked for Early Bird Daycare while I was in school—”
Aisha waved a hand for him to stop. “No, I’ve read your resume. Tell me something else. Like what you do for fun.”
“Um…” Dajon’s skin was just light enough to turn a deep rose.
She laughed. “I grew up with Jeremy Harkness. If you met him through Lady Jaye’s Review, that’s actually a point in your favor.”
“Oh.” Dajon released a deep breath. “Did he tell you about my last job?”
“If you mean the crazy mom who got you fired, yes, he did.” She shook her head. “Parents can overreact when it comes to their kids.”
“I swear I’d never endanger any child in my care.” Dajon signed a cross over his heart.
Aisha’s office door opened, and Patty slipped inside. She had a soda in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. After setting the water in front of Dajon, she plopped onto the couch next to Aisha.
“It’s not the kids’ safety we’re worried about here, it’s yours,” Patty announced before she twisted the cap off her bottle.
“I beg your pardon?” His attention flipped from Patty to Aisha and back again.
Aisha glared at Patty. Sure, she needed to be involved in this decision because the nanny they hired would be watching both of their children. But she didn’t need to scare any potential hire right out of the gate.
Patty shrugged. “He needs to understand what he’s getting into.” She turned back to Dajon. “Did Jeremy tell you what type of law firm we are?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dajon nodded. “He said you represented superheroes.” He licked his lips. “But from what I’ve seen in the news, your firm has been doing a lot of criminal defense work.”
Aisha resisted the urge to groan. However, Patty giggled.
“It’s not by choice,” Aisha said. “There were extenuating circumstances.”
“I understand Ultramegaperson.” Dajon cocked his head. “She’s already a superhero client of yours who was wrongly accused. I’m talking about Miss Purrception and that attorney who tried to kill your partner, Ms. Winters.”
“You don’t have any say in the clients we represent,” Aisha said coolly. She’d told Harri representing the supervillain was a big mistake even though Aisha owed Miss Purrception for helping out Aisha’s husband Rey when Professor Paranoia kidnapped him and whisked him to Indonesia.
And the incident with Carol Inunza still left a bad taste in her mouth. Not just from representing her after she helped Miss Purrception escape from prison, but putting her in the position that she had to save her previous employer from plummeting to his death.
Patty laid a hand on Aisha’s forearm. “He has a right to ask about situations he might face.” She turned back to Dajon. “Those aren’t even the people you need to worry about, though it’s good you did your homework about a potential employer.”
“They aren’t?” Both of Dajon’s perfectly plucked eyebrows rose.
“Nope.” Patty shook her head, her blond curls flying. “Actually, it’s the kids who live in the building.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t say it was the attorneys,” Aisha said dryly.
Patty ignored her. “You’ll be taking care of my daughter Grace, and Aisha’s son Mitch, except during college breaks when you’ll have Francisco to watch, too.”
“Why would I be watching a guy old enough to go to college?” Poor Dajon looked totally perplexed.
“Francisco is only eight,” Aisha clarified. “He’s our building manager’s son and a certified genius. He finished high school last year.”
“Oh.” Relief passed across Dajon’s face. “That makes a lot more sense.”
“You will also be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement,” Aisha added.
Dajon waved both of his hands. “I’d never post anything regarding your children on social media. I’m all too aware of the pervs out there.”
Aisha tilted her head. “Actually, it’s because you may accidentally run into clients, but it’s good to know you’ll protect our babies.”
“You’ll also need to take some weapons training,” Patty said.
Aisha looked over at their assistant’s notepad. She really should have gone over Patty’s interview questions with her prior to their first potential candidate. Patty was usually so practical, but some of her statements would sound crazy to a person who’d never been involved in real super culture, and not the crap they saw on videos and entertainment programs.
“Weapons training?” Once again, Dajon’s eyebrows rose.
“Just in case a supervillain shows up when no one else is in the building,” Patty chirped. “We’ll totally brief you on all the building’s security measures.”
“Supervillains waltz right into your office?” A tremor filled Dajon’s voice.
“They’ve tried,” Aisha bit out. “Your priority if security is breached will be to get the kids to safety. Just like if there was a fire, an earthquake, or any other emergency situation.”
The young man leaned back against the couch. “Jeremy said you all would have some crazy requirements, but I thought he was yanking my leg.”
A sinking feeling dragged at Aisha. They were losing this kid though he was the best candidate she’d talked to on the phone.
“They’re not that unusual,” she said smoothly.
“Unless Grace’s biological father shows up,” Patty said.
“Is it a joint custody arrangement?” he asked.
Patty snorted. “Not after he killed my boyfriend Arthur and tried to Harri. The judge gave me a restraining order after that.”
“Your ex killed your boyfriend?” Fear rolled off Dajon. Aisha wished she could ditched her heightened sense of smell. It was bad enough she knew when Mitch soiled his diaper before he even woke up.
“There’s a little more to the story than that,” she said calmly.
“I’m sure there is,” he said with an air of doubt.
“I know how crazy this all sounds.” Patty leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “I didn’t really understand what superheroes go through until Harri and Aisha started this firm. But they’re dedicated to both their clients and their jobs, and they do right by both.”
“So…” Dajon drawled. “My real job is to give my charges a sense of normalcy out of their parents’ crazy lives.”
Aisha and Patty looked at each other before they both turned back to their candidate and nodded.
“That pretty much sums it up,” Aisha added.
“I can do that.” Dajon grinned.
“Did you have any other questions for us?” Aisha said.
He turned solemn. “I do, but it comes from a safety concern. Are either of the babies supers themselves?” He held up both of his palms when Aisha opened her mouth. “I’m not being nosey for the sake of gossip. I just don’t want one of the babies to set fire to the other one.” He shrugged. “Or if there’s the potential, we make sure there’s plenty of fire extinguishers in the daycare room.”
Aisha could feel Patty staring at her. She swallowed hard before she said. “Yes, they both are.”
Dajon nodded. “I swear that information will not leave this building, ma’am. Jeremy also mentioned you may be expanding the daycare down the road?”
Aisha nodded. “We’re looking for an associate or two. We want to make the daycare an option to any potential employees.”
“Even me?” Dajon said tentatively.
“Of course,” Patty volunteered. “But just to warn you, everyone at Winters and Franklin is a little too involved in each others’ lives. How’s your parents going to handle spending holidays with us?”
“Uh, my parents kicked me to the curb when I came out of the closet,” he said stiffly.
Aisha stifled the urge to hug Dajon. No wonder Jeremy took the kid under his wing. Her parents had taken in Jeremy after his parents did the same thing to him when they caught him kissing his boyfriend their freshmen year in high school.
“Then we’ll be the insufferably family you wish had,” Patty said brightly.
That seemed to lighten his mood. “Did you have any other questions for me?”
“You never said what you do for fun,” Aisha said.
He lifted his chin as if daring her to make a nasty comment. “I crochet while I watch TV.”
“That’s awesome! Me, too!” Patty said. “I’m still learning the shell stitch. I’ve been working on blankets for all the kids, but I want to stretch…”
Aisha’s mind glazed over as Patty and Dajon compared lemons and primroses and puffs. Then they switched to the different types of yarns. Natural fiber versus artificial fiber. Plant versus animal. The different types of hooks. Metal versus wooden versus plastic.
“If you two want to continue your conversation, why don’t you adjourn to the conference room?” Aisha cocked her head. “I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
A horrified look appeared on Dajon’s face. “I, um, I—”
Patty winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. It’s not like any of you gals here are into the same things I am.”
Aisha smiled. “I didn’t say you couldn’t continue talking. Don’t worry, Dajon. If I held people’s hobbies against them, I would never be partners with Harri and Susan.” She leaned forward and mock whispered, “They like golf.”
He laughed. “Well, it is a white thing.”
Patty stood. “Come on, Dajon. You and I are going to continue talking. She does have to make the money to pay our salaries.”
He stood and held out his hand to Aisha. “If you decide I’m the right one for this job, I’d be honored to work your firm, Ms. Franklin.”
She rose and shook his hand. “Thank you for coming in, Mr. Keeler.”
He followed Patty out of Aisha’s office, the pair animatedly talking about a local craft shop.
Aisha shook her head while she crossed to her desk. She plopped on the office chair and reached for the file at the top of her to-do file. Hopefully, Patty wouldn’t make the kid an offer before talking with the partners. They still had three more people to interview.
On the other hand, Patty and Arthur may end up adopting Dajon, even though he was only a year younger than her from Patty’s animated conversation with their potential nanny.
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