The hopeful expression on her face was instantly dashed. What she’d hoped for from Elliot, I could have only guessed.
“You have questions?” I asked under my breath.
“I do.” He raised a brow. “Don’t you?”
“Yes. This is my interview.”
He flipped his hands over on his legs. “Then I’ll just sit back and listen. Two heads are better than one, right?”
A part of me felt like I should have been arguing with him over this, but I really couldn’t think of a reason why. Elliot was well versed in interviewing, and even though I hated to admit it, I was relieved to have him beside me.
“Right.” I turned to Mary and pushed out a smile. “Let’s get started.”
We ran through the basic questions. Mary really did have an impressive résumé. I would have taken that with a grain of salt since I knew all too well how easily résumés could be faked, but an agency had vetted her, so I accepted it at face value.
Elliot, not so much.
“And you don’t mind if we call the last family you were with?” he asked, taking charge.
Mary shook her head. “I don’t mind at all. In fact, I expect it. I know it’s difficult for first-time parents to cut the cord and let go of complete control.”
I bristled at her words. Yeah, it was hard to let go, but I wasn’t a hover mother or anything. Well, I sort of was, but Mary didn’t know that, and I didn’t care for her implying there was something wrong with being nervous about leaving my baby with her.
Elliot was on a roll now. “Isn’t it understandable parents might be apprehensive?”
Mary melted into a saccharine smile. “Of course it is. I do my best to alleviate those nerves.”
“That’s a relief,” he stated dryly. “I’d like to ask what you would do in a few different situations. I’m sure hearing your answers will further calm our nerves.”
She stacked her hands on her knees. “Yes, feel free. I’m happy to answer all your questions, Elliot.”
Oh, this chick. My middle finger was twitching hard. No way was she getting this job. I was, however, eager to see her get the Elliot Levy treatment since he appeared equally unimpressed with her and her attitude.
Elliot rapid-fired a couple scenarios at her, and to her credit, she had very good answers. She clearly knew a lot more about taking care of babies than I did. What she didn’t have was warmth. I couldn’t imagine her snuggling a baby to sleep or comforting a small child. There was nothing nurturing about her. I might not have known when to seek medical attention should Joey have a fever—I refused to believe she’d ever get sick, but if she did, I’d be in her doctor’s office faster than he could say influenza—but I did know how to give powerful hugs and patch up a boo-boo.
“How do you handle bad days when a baby is fussy for no discernible reason?” he asked.
Elliot was pretty good at patching up boo-boos too, come to think of it. We both had a leg up on this chick.
I laid my hand on his arm. “Not that Joey’s fussy. She only really cries when she’s hungry.”
Mary quickly but unmistakably rolled her eyes. The gesture hadn’t escaped me. From the way Elliot tensed beside me, it hadn’t escaped him either.
“Well, I—”
Elliot cut her off by raising his hand. “How am I to interpret your eye roll?”
Her mouth flapped open and closed. “What? No, I didn’t—”
“No, you did,” he replied. “From where I’m sitting, you rolled your eyes because either you don’t believe Josephine isn’t a fussy baby, or you don’t consider what Catherine had to say about her own child valid. Which is it?”
She grew beet red from her throat to her forehead. “That isn’t what I meant, Elliot. It’s just—”
“It’s Mr. Levy, and I know exactly what you meant.” Elliot rose to his feet, towering over Mary and me. “We’ve heard enough, Mary. We won’t be using your services. I’ll show you out.”
Before I could utter a single word, Elliot hustled Mary from the room, leaving me gawking after them.
I had whiplash. Elliot had hijacked my interview then dismissed her without any say from me. Not that I’d been planning to hire that awful woman, but still, it was the principle. This was about my child. If anyone was going to do the dismissing, it should have been me.
Moments later, Elliot reappeared, hands in his pocket, a deep frown tugging his mouth down.