Damien (Slater Brothers #5)(39)

“Hey!” He gasped, feigning offence. “I was tryin’ to make you feel better about starin’ at me and droolin’.”

“I didn’t drool!”

I wiped at my chin just to make sure, and Morgan grinned. “Gotcha.”

I tried not to smile as I glared at him. “You do realise I have the power not to give you this job, right?”

“Yeah, but then you’d have to settle for someone with regular coloured eyes, and where would be the fun in that?”

Oh, he was good.

“I suppose,” I mused. “Eye colour is everythin’ when workin’ in design.”

“You’d best snap me up quickly then ’cause I heard a bunch of other designers are hirin’ nowadays.”

I snorted.

“This is gettin’ worse and worse for you,” Morgan said with a shake of his head. “You stare, you drool, you once had webbed toes, and now you snort when you laugh? The list is never endin’ with you, huh?”

I picked up my napkin and threw it at him. He caught it before it could hit him in the face, and he had a killer grin in place as he did so. It wasn’t until that moment that I realised he was flirting with me, and I was flirting back. I didn’t mean to, but his easy-going aura relaxed me. I cleared my throat, straightened up, and tapped on my papers.

“Interview time.”

He sat up straight. “I’m ready.”

“What made you apply for me assistant job?

“Easy,” Morgan said. “I’m a huge fan of your work, and I’ve been followin’ you, or it, for a long time. When I saw that you were lookin’ for an assistant, I jumped at the chance to apply. I can draw, too, and selfishly, I was hopin’ to learn from you as well as work with you.”

My lips parted. “You want to learn from me?”

“Definitely. Your work is inspirin’.”

I felt my cheeks stain with heat.

“Thank you,” I murmured before looking back down at the questions I had prepared for him. “You’re aware of what your job will entail?”

When I looked back up, I found him nodding.

“Overall business management.”

“And you think you can handle that?” I quizzed. “The number of job offers I’ve received in the past year has tripled, and I can barely read through them enough to organise and prioritise projects that interest me.”

“We can devise a system,” Morgan said. “Once I know what kind of projects you are drawn too, I can categorise which jobs to prioritise and which ones not to.”

I nodded and looked back down to my questions.

“You said you had experience, and I’ve read what you’ve previously done, but what do you think you can bring to my business?”

“A strong work ethic that will achieve efficiency for your company,” Morgan answered. “I will do everythin’ that keeps you from sketchin’ right now, and I’ll make it better.”

I looked up and grinned at his confidence.

“Make it better how?”

“Your work is outstandin’, but as of right now, you don’t market that very well.”

“Job offers have tripled for me in the past year,” I repeated. “That seems like marketin’ is doin’ just fine.”

“But that is through word of mouth and referrals, correct?”

I hesitated. “I guess.”

Morgan nodded. “That is fantastic, but I can market you on a higher level and reach people who don’t know you from Adam. Advertisement is the key to success in graphic design. We need your work pushed into potential clients’ faces. You need to be picky and aim for projects that will be successful on their platforms. I’ve seen your designs on book covers, but only one of those has become relatively successful.”

“So, you think I should work on projects where they will be successful in their own market to draw attention to my designs?”

“Exactly.” He nodded. “I’m not sayin’ you shouldn’t work on other projects because success can come from anywhere, but right now, you need to get your name known.”

I nodded, finding myself agreeing with him.

“That’s another thing,” he said tentatively. “Your business name.”

I frowned. “What’s wrong with Go-to Designs?”

“It’s quirky, but not somethin’ that reflects your talent at first glance. You need a business name that will make people take the time to click on your website or social media pages. The name will draw ’em in, and your designs will keep ’em interested. You aren’t a typical graphic designer. You don’t use someone else’s images to create a design; you sketch and make somethin’ completely original. Your images don’t look sketched unless it’s a client’s preference. Your designs look like photos before you scan them to a computer, and we need to market that talent.”

I felt my ears burn at the praise.

I lifted my cup of tea and took a sip. “I’m assumin’ you have some names in mind?”

Morgan’s lips twitched. “A few.”

“Let’s hear ’em then.”

“By a few, I really mean one.”

I laughed. “Go on.”