Nerves seized Tessa, but she reminded herself that she was smart and capable and she knew her library sciences. Not only could she do this job but she could do it well.
She and Jenna followed the receptionist to a door near the end of a long hallway decorated with oil paintings of past deans. Not one of them looked fully human. The woman knocked on one of two doors in an alcove.
A voice called for them to enter. The receptionist smiled, opened the door and stood out of the way.
Jenna went in first. In her uniform, she was an ever greater presence than she usually was. But then, Jenna had embraced being tall and beautiful and a valkyrie.
Jenna nodded at the imperious man on the other side of the table. “Hugh.”
“Deputy Blythe.”
“I know we’re early, but I thought it would be you and Sebastian.”
Hugh smiled tightly. “It will be. He’s running a little late. This is your sister?”
“Yes, this is Tessa Blythe. Librarian extraordinaire.” Jenna smiled at her. “Tessa, this is Hugh Ellingham, one of the founders of the town and this academy.”
Tessa nodded and shook his hand. “Thank you for the interview.”
“Your resume is exceptional. Perhaps a little light on years of experience, but otherwise very impressive. I apologize for my brother’s tardiness. If you’ll just have a seat, I’ll text him and see how much longer he’s going to be.”
Tessa nodded as Hugh picked up his phone.
Jenna leaned in and whispered, “I’m gonna go. Knock ’em dead.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you later.”
The door burst open before Jenna had taken two steps toward it. A tall, handsome, and very agitated man strode into the room with all the dark, stormy presence of Mr. Darcy. He looked like a slightly older, sterner version of the man she’d just met. “Apologies for being late, Hugh, but bloody hell, you will not believe the morning I’ve had. Evangeline is in town.”
Hugh’s mouth gaped. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, very.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I won’t go into it all now, but I need a woman. Who do you know that might be willing to pretend to be my betrothed for an evening?”
Jenna snorted. “That’s gonna be a short list.”
Both men turned and the man who’d just come in eyed Jenna and Tessa like they were interlopers. He looked back at Hugh. “You could have mentioned the interview was here.”
“You didn’t give me a chance.” Hugh gestured toward Tessa. “This is Tessa Blythe, Deputy Blythe’s sister. Tessa, this is my late brother, Sebastian.”
Tessa lifted her fingers in a small wave, hoping the man’s less than cheerful disposition didn’t affect her interview.
Jenna laughed. “I see what you did there. Late brother. Funny.” She nudged Tessa. “Because he’s both a vampire and not on time.”
“I get it,” Tessa whispered. Her sister’s fearlessness around these men was astonishing. Sure, they were vampires and they looked appropriately intimidating, but they were also in charge of the hiring. That was a far more daunting bit of information where Tessa was concerned.
Sebastian gave them a curt nod before turning back to his brother. “I can’t do this interview right now. I need to sort out this problem. Evangeline’s coming to dinner tomorrow night and expects to meet my fiancée.”
Hugh shook his head. “Why on earth would she expect that?”
Sebastian frowned. “Because I told her she would.”
“And why did you tell her that?”
Sebastian’s frown hardened into something more serious. “Pride.”
Hugh glanced at Jenna. “How about the deputy here?”
Jenna crossed her arms. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
Sebastian’s brows knit together, his unhappy expression unchanged. “Why not? I’ll compensate you for your time.”
“I appreciate that, but, and I say this with the utmost respect, no one would buy it. As best I can tell, we have nothing in common. You rarely leave your house, and when you do, you’re dressed like you’re off to a business meeting. Which you probably are because you’re the CFO of this town. And that’s all great, but my idea of fun is four-wheeling through the mud or getting a little range time in with my service weapon.”
“Or wrestling a perp to the ground,” Tessa added.
Jenna nodded. “Exactly. See? My sister gets me. Hey!” She looked at Tessa with a bright smile. “You could do it.”
Tessa swallowed as a surge of anxiety attempted to close her throat. “What?”
Sebastian expelled a gruff sound of disbelief. “This mouse? No offense, but Evangeline would eat her for breakfast.”
Tessa’s eyes rounded.
His hand shot up. “Not literally. I just meant—”
Jenna cut him off. “I know what you meant. You think because my sister looks like a librarian and is a librarian that she’s too timid and quiet for anyone to buy that she’d be your fiancée. Well, I’ll have you know that she might look harmless but she’s a valkyrie, same as I am, and one of the fiercest women I know.”
Tessa almost groaned at Jenna’s lie. Fierce? She might as well have said Tessa could leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Sebastian’s brows lifted as his gaze swept Tessa from head to toe. “She doesn’t look like a valkyrie.”