The Swear Jar by Audra Osorio

to play it cool. 
“Miss Meara’s a talented librarian.  If you offer her a job and she takes it,
there’s nothing I can do.  I would caution you there’s a fine line between
romance and harassment, Russell.  It’s not my job to notice if a staff member
is attractive or not.  It’s my job to do what’s best for the community.”
    Russell felt Duncan’s annoyance
although he was trying to hide it.  He had hit a nerve about her.  He was going
to make Duncan squirm.
    “Duncan, you old dog!  You HAVE
noticed Meara is attractive.  I’m sure I’ll be able to offer her something you
can’t.  And if for some crazy reason she won’t work for me, maybe I’ll ask her
out.  You’re not interested in dating her, are you?  I would find that hard to
believe.”
    Duncan’s annoyance blossomed into
full blown indignation.  “Russell, I’m not going to let you turn this into
something personal.  Miss Meara is more than capable of making her own
decisions.  Interview her, date her or both.  It’s your choice to try.  And
regardless of whether or not I’m aware of how attractive someone is, I’m a
gentleman.  I wouldn’t discuss it with you.”
    Russell grinned evilly. 
Bull’s-eye!  Duncan liked Meara.  Russell was in his glory.
    “I didn’t know you felt so strongly
about your Miss Meara.  We’ll have to see if she’s happy with you.  With your
library, I mean.”
    Duncan rolled his eyes.  He needed
to hang up or he was going to lose it.  He didn’t realize how much he cared about
Meara.
    “If there is nothing more to
discuss, I do have a library to run.  I’ll see you at the next directors’
meeting.  Bye.”  Duncan sighed.
    Russell wondered if Duncan Phillips
was a human being after all.  Meara might be the key to shattering the cool
reserve Duncan had.  Russell had no intentions of dating Meara.  If he could
ruffle Duncan’s feathers by luring her away and filling the gap in his own
Youth Services Department, it would be a win-win situation.
    Cradling his face in his hands,
Duncan wondered how the day could have gone so wrong, so fast.  It was supposed
to be a great day.  Now Russell was going to try and take Meara away.  She
might be attracted to Russell since he was younger and had an outgoing
personality.  Russell was a jerk, but he might change if she cared about him. 
Even though he had only recently met her, Duncan felt he was changing for the
better.  He wasn’t even sure she cared about him, but it didn’t matter.  He
wanted to get to know her.  He wanted her in his life.  His thoughts were
interrupted by Tom.
    Tom said, “She’s back.  She’s happy
too.  Was Russell calling to complain she beat him up?”
    “No, he was calling to say he wants
to hire her,” replied Duncan.  “Or date her.”
    “Duncan, talk to her.  Give her
some credit.  Besides, this IS Russell we’re talking about!”
    Taking a deep breath, Duncan
followed Tom to the Circulation Desk.  Meara was chatting with Lucy and gave
him a huge smile when she saw him.
    “I’m back,” she said, waving. 
“I’ll get on Summer Reading right away.  I like Susan and Marie.  They’re a
little overwhelmed.  I promised to help them.”
    “I don’t mind you helping them just
don’t wear yourself out,” he said.  “Russell called.  He’s quite impressed with
you.”
    “He called?  That’s nice, I guess,”
she replied, grimacing.  “I appreciate the warning, Mr. Phillips.  The less I
see of Mr. McMahon, the better.”
    He felt a ray of sunshine pierce
his gray day.  “Russell wants to recommend you for Chairperson of our Youth
Services committee.”
    “He mentioned it.  However, any
director who lets his Youth Services Department go for over half a year without
a librarian is not someone to be taken seriously.  He should solve his own
problems before interfering with the committee.”
    His mood dimmed.  “I let my
Department go without a librarian.”
    She shook her