"Then give me that damn file."
Kai complies with a shit-eating grin. Raylen tries to hide how much he wants to open it and pore over its details, but he gives in after a few seconds of pretence. Obviously, he cannot fool his best friend. He is not sure why he even bothered.
"It's alright. You can open it. I promise to do my best to avoid judging you," Kai quips. Raylen is sorely tempted to throw another paper plane at him.
He studies Janus's résumé like it can answer his lingering questions. Who is she really? What connections, if any, does she have with Delaney? What does she want from him?
And, of course, the secret, guilt-ridden question he has always wanted to ask—is her personality as similar to Delaney's as her appearance is?
As expected, her résumé fails to satisfy his curiosity even one bit. He already knows all the information in it thanks to the little digging he had one of his private investigators do.
"You're disappointed," Kai notes.
Raylen sighs. There is no point in lying about something so blatant, especially to his closest and oldest friend. "Yes," he admits. "I was hoping I could find out more about her."
"You can always have your private investigators snoop around more thoroughly. They didn't even break any laws the previous time. Not any law that I know of, at least. I could find out what they did with a simple online search."
"You are right, but I do not want to invade her privacy."
"You like her too much given that she is the one who got you into trouble. Whatsherface may have caused a bigger scandal, but I seriously doubt that Janus Allister has no ill will towards you. Remember, she is not Delaney, and there surely were times when even Laney wanted to strangle you."
Raylen is inclined to agree with Kai. "I do not dispute that. Besides, I find it odd that she applied for a job here after the uncomfortable interrogation we put her through."
"Exactly. But you're still going to shortlist her, no?"
There is no need to respond to Kai's question because they both know the answer.
Raylen sleeps poorly that night. Not only does the bed feel extra large—and empty—without Livia, he is also preoccupied with how the interview may go. It feels remarkably silly. He is the CEO, so why is he worried about some candidate? Just because she bears an uncanny resemblance to his dead love?
It is foolish, and he knows it. But he cannot help it.
When morning comes, he sighs at the mirror. He can see his dark eye circles, glaring reminders that he is now thirty-five, and way past the age of staying awake till dawn to wait for someone who may or may not show up.
Kai, on the other hand, looks as fresh and cheerful as ever. But Raylen can detect the underlying jumpiness that only Kai's closest friends can.
He, like Raylen, also cannot wait for noon.
When Janus Allister finally shows up right on time, Raylen feels himself tensing up. From the corner of his eye, he can see the smile freezing on Kai's face.
She is in a pale pink vintage circle skirt decorated with pintucks, pleats, and buttons. Her long pale hair is arranged neatly in a braided crown.
Funny, Delaney was fond of old things too. She often wore her hair in braids as well.
It is almost like Janus is deliberately trying to haunt them both.
"I will cut to the chase, Ms Allister. Why should we hire you?" Raylen asks.
Janus gives him a piercing look and tilts her head just ever so slightly in unmistakable arrogance. "Why not?"
It is as if she knows that he cannot bear to let her go a second time, as if she is daring him to call her bluff.
Kai coughs lightly. "Ms Allister, you're confused. We are the ones asking the questions her—"
Janus does not even deign to answer that. She simply turns to face Kai, and that is enough to silence him.
Raylen does not fault him the slightest. They are both talking to the dead here and, for once, after nine years, the dead is answering back.
He hesitates, unsure of how to continue. All those sleepless hours have amounted to nothing particularly useful.
He does not know what he is doing. "Do you have any relevant experience in public relations?"
"Not directly, no, but does it matter?"
'No,' concedes Raylen silently. 'You were hired the moment I saw that you had applied.'
"In normal circumstances, it should matter."
"But," she retorts, "this is not a normal circumstance, is it?"
'You are correct. I just wish you would not rub it in our faces.'
Kai coughs again—he must be running out of things to mitigate the awkwardness with—and rubs his neck. Janus turns towards him with a steely expression. "Am I mistaken, Mr Blackwood?"
As Kai struggles to come up with a response, Raylen takes the chance to really observe Janus.
She is confident the way Delaney rarely was, but something about the way she carries herself is also decidedly similar to his dead partner.
The wryness, the perpetual amusement that is always tinged with bitterness, and the tendency to treat everything like one colossal joke…
He still does not know what he is doing.
Neither does Kai, it seems.
"Let me," he begins, "rephrase my question. Why should I hire you after you put me on the spot?"
Janus shrugs nonchalantly. "It just shows that I take my job seriously. What kind of reporter would I be if I didn't ask hard-hitting questions? Besides, are you really going to hold that against me?"
Raylen refuses to answer the question lest it shows how much she has him wrapped around her little finger. "How long is your notice period for your current job, Ms Allister?"
"Two weeks."
He wishes he knew what he was doing.
"Excellent." His mouth seems to move without his control. "Welcome abroad, Janey."