Fresh Temptation: Barboza Brothers, Book One (6 page)

He flattened his palms,
sliding them against his suit to make sure they weren’t sweating.
He hadn’t been this nervous about a woman in years. As he rushed
around his desk to his chair, he pushed a button on his desk phone.
“You may show her in now.”

When the door opened,
Victor stood behind his desk, waiting and watching. Cara’s long
blond hair floated across her shoulders as she turned around to
smile and say, “Thank you,” to Gary, who held the door.

Cara then looked straight
ahead at Victor and said, “Hi,” before her eyes went around the
room, bouncing among the furnishings. The door closed softly behind
her. “Nice, big office you have here. I’ve never seen anything like
it.”

“It’s a perk of being one
of the partners.” Victor grinned. “We always get the best
stuff.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you
were a partner. Your title is ‘Chief Consultant,’ right?” She now
stood in front of his desk, clutching her briefcase against her
stomach.

He gulped as he peered
into her shimmering green eyes. “Yes. But it’s just a worthless
moniker. I made it up myself. I stay out of the day-to-day
operations and try to keep a low profile.” He gestured for her to
have a seat.

She nodded and smoothed
the back of her black skirt before sitting.

He waited until she was in
her chair before he sat. Then he clenched his teeth, feeling like
an idiot. He had forgotten to shake her hand. That would certainly
tip her off to the informality of this interview. Nonchalantly, he
slid his hand across his pants and rose slightly in his chair. “How
rude of me. I didn’t shake your hand.”

She followed his lead and
stood up just enough to lean forward, reaching across the desk. “I
guess that’s the proper job interview protocol, right?”

Victor smiled and kept his
eyes on hers as they exchanged a firm handshake. Unfortunately, she
had bent forward enough to barely show her full breasts peeking out
atop her tight blouse.

As she eased back down in
her seat, her hand went to her blouse’s top button, tugging it up
toward her neck.

Shit, she caught me
looking
, he thought.
Time for a quick subject change
.
“So, Ms. Green,” he said, “I’m glad you were able to meet with me
on such short notice.”

She shrugged, then pulled
a notebook and pen out of her briefcase. “It’s not like I had
anywhere else to be. You knew that, Mr. Barboza.” She smirked.
“Would you mind telling me how you knew about Doyle
Construction?”

“I knew where you worked
because your mother mentioned it when we spoke.”

“Yes, but how’d you know
they were shut down this morning?”

He half-smiled and folded
his hands on the desk in front of him. “Coincidence, I guess. New
York is a big city but it’s still a small world. You’d be surprised
how many people I know around here.” Before she could speak again,
he picked up her resume and continued. “So, you’ve worked for two
companies since graduating college. One of them Fortune
500.”

“Yes.”

“Which company was your
favorite?”

“Lowdon and Shore,
definitely. They promoted from within and offered a wonderful
benefits package. I would have stayed there if they hadn’t cut most
of my department. I hoped to stay till retirement.”

“That’s good to hear.”
Victor stared at the resume, thankful he’d made notes in the
margins to remind him of what to ask. Otherwise, the excitement he
felt from seeing her right in front of him would have caused his
mind to go completely blank. “We’re looking for employees who wish
to stay with us for the long haul. And we offer excellent benefits
as well, to ensure we keep our best people.” He put the paper down
and looked at her. “Are you planning a move back to Chicago, or
would you like to stay in the area?”

“If I can find a decent
job here, I’ll gladly stay.”

“Great.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “If
you don’t mind, could you tell me more about the position I’m being
considered for? I couldn’t find any job listings on your company
website.”

“Yes.” He breathed deeply,
trying to remember the vague job description that he now realized
he should have written down. “It’ll be called Public Relations
Liaison. You’ll work with each division as needed to help us
streamline our overall business marketing plan.”

“Who would I report
to?”

He glanced down at her
resume. “This office. So, do you have any experience in finance at
all?”

“You mean, I’d report
directly to you?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never heard of a job
like this before. The duties sound awfully vague.”

“They’ll firm up as we go.
It’s one of our newer positions. Like most companies, we have
openings we don’t advertise because we wait till we meet the right
people to fill them. It usually happens through
networking.”

“But you don’t know me at
all, yet somehow you think I’m the right person for the job because
your girlfriend got me fired the other night?” Cara crossed her
legs.

Victor inhaled a rush of
air, his heart pounding a fierce new rhythm. Her dark skirt ended
just above her knee and contrasted perfectly with her light, silky
skin. Her legs looked completely bare, like she wasn’t wearing
pantyhose. He imagined sliding his hand along her thigh to see if
her skin was as soft as it looked.

After a few seconds she
began pulling at the hem of her skirt, trying to cover her
knee.

Victor felt his cheeks
flush; she’d obviously caught him staring. He cleared his throat
and decided not to draw attention. “I’m sorry, what was your
question?”

Cara swept a lock of her
blond hair onto her back. Her cheeks were getting red as well. “I
was just asking what made you think I’m the right person for this
job? You don’t even know me. Is it because your girlfriend got me
fired the other night? Are you
that
motivated by guilt?”

Victor’s jaw almost
dropped, but he caught himself and began to chuckle instead of
getting angry. He should kick her out of his office for her snarky
attitude about his generous offer. But he quickly remembered what
her mother told him about her independence. Cara was the type of
woman who’d rather live on the street than find herself beholden to
a man. He was now seeing it for himself, and it only piqued his
interest even more. “First off, that woman is not my girlfriend.
And second, this isn’t about guilt. I can read people pretty well
from a first impression and I can tell you’re a hard worker and a
fighter. Exactly the kind of person this company needs.” He cocked
his head to the side. “And by the way, I called your references,
the ones I found on the second page of your resume. The only bad
quality anyone mentioned was your stubbornness.” The part about her
being stubborn was the only thing he made up, but he wanted to see
if she’d squirm.

Cara’s lips pursed in
defiance. “So, there really is a job and you’re not just some rich
psychopath who’s decided to stalk my family for no reason?” She
uncrossed her legs and brought her knees close together, but folded
her arms over her chest.

Before he could respond to
her question, his eyes went to her cleavage, which was now more
prominent with the way she was sitting. Her tight beige blouse
peeked out from under her black blazer, the material straining
against those full mounds. He looked into her eyes, hoping he’d
stopped before making an ass out of himself this time. “Yes,
there’s really a job. And it’s yours.” He smirked, making sure his
voice oozed sarcasm. “That is, unless you have another high-level
receptionist job lined up at another shady construction company.
I’d hate to take you away from that.”

Cara narrowed her gaze at
him, her tone slightly subdued. “No, I have nothing else lined
up.”

“So you’ll take the job
then?”

Cara’s eyes rolled.
“There’s something weird about this. You must have an angle. This
is all a little too…convenient.”

Victor shrugged.
“Sometimes things are convenient. Life doesn’t always have to be so
hard.”

“Strangers aren’t this
nice to each other for no reason.”

Victor sat up straight,
then leaned forward for emphasis.
Why is
she so resistant?
His gut feeling told him
there was something more than a stubborn personality, but his only
concern right now was getting her to say she’d take the job. This
sexy, luscious woman had captured his attention like no woman had
in years. “Don’t worry about my reasons. Just do the right thing
for your family.” Hastily, he took a pen and scribbled on a nearby
notepad. “I’m writing down a number. You tell me if this annual
salary is acceptable to you.” When he finished, he shoved the paper
across the desk.

Cara’s eyes grew wide when
she saw the figure. It was almost double what she made in Chicago.
“I don’t know if I can live up to this. I’m pretty sure the head of
my department didn’t even make this much money at my last
job.”

“Cost of living. It’s much
higher here than Chicago. Come on. We can use someone with your
skills.”

“The cost of living
isn’t
that
much
higher here.”

He put his hands on his
desk, fingers laced together. “In these situations you’re supposed
to negotiate a higher salary, not a lower one.”

“I guess I’m not like most
people.”

“No, you’re not. That’s
why I need to hire you. Come on. Say you’ll work for
me.”

She leaned forward in her
chair, staring at the scrap of paper atop his desk. Her voice was
weak. “Yes. I’ll work for you. I’ll do my best to live up to your
high expectations.”

“Great.” He displayed a
grin, not the beaming smile he hid inside. “You can start on
Monday.

“Monday? I can start
tomorrow morning if you’d like.”

“No. Please take the rest
of the week to care for your son.” Victor smiled. “And tell him Big
Toe says hi.”

Cara blushed at the
remembrance of his conversation with her son. She nervously bit her
bottom lip. “That’s it? We’re finished with the
interview?”

His jaw firmly set, he
confidently said, “Yes, that’s it.” He knew he should have kept the
interview going a little longer but she’d caught him off guard with
her own line of questions. “Oh, and here.” He pulled an envelope
out of his top drawer and handed it to her. “It’s a small advance.
It’ll be withheld from your upcoming paychecks at a rate you can
determine when you fill out your new hire paperwork.” His friend at
the IRS had informed him that most of the employees at Doyle
Construction had not been paid in a while.

She peeked inside the
envelope and let out a tiny gasp. “Are you sure? Is this because
you feel bad about—”

“Ms. Green, if we’re going
to have a good working relationship, you’re going to have to stop
asking so many questions about how I do business. Your job will be
to streamline our public relations. Employee benefits are
determined elsewhere.”

“Okay…if you’re sure about
this.”

“Absolutely.” He turned to
his computer, typing. “I’m sending an email to HR. Take the
elevator down to the third floor and follow the signs to the main
HR reception area. They’ll get you all set up.” He finished typing
and stood. “Now, let me show you out and I’ll see you
Monday.”

They both walked to the
door. Cara said, “Thank you again,” and reached down to turn the
knob at the same time as Victor. When his hand covered hers, she
inhaled a gasp in embarrassment, expecting him to move.

But Victor’s eyes caught
hers. His hand lingered for a moment before he took it away. “See
you Monday.”

He was still looking into
her eyes when she opened the door to leave.

* * *

Marcy and Patty bombarded
Cara the instant she walked through the door.

Marcy yelped in excitement
and took the giant Macy’s bag full of clearance rack clothes from
Cara’s arm. “Tell me everything! Tell me everything!”

Patty took her daughter’s
wrist and pulled her into the living room. “Yes! Don’t leave out a
thing.”

Cara unbuttoned her blazer
and kicked off her shoes. “Where’s Isaac?”

“Don’t worry,” Patty said.
“I finally got him to take a nap a few minutes ago. He’s fine. Come
on. What happened?”

Marcy sat on the couch,
dumping the contents of the bag beside her. “Holy cow! The new job
must be upscale. Look at these.”

Cara, in a daze, shook her
head and took a seat on the opposite side of her new pile of
clothes. “No, they were all on sale.”

Patty sat in the recliner,
her eyes huge behind her wide-rimmed glasses. “So, out with it.
Tell us all about your big day.”

Marcy and Patty both
looked at Cara, who was now staring straight ahead at nothing,
wondering where to start.

Cara took another moment
to think, then put her hand on her chest, over her top button. She
let out a sigh of relief. “Oh good. It held. I’m about to bust out
of this top. Thank God for safety pins.” She stuck her palms
against her eyes, whining. “Oh shit, I think he noticed, too. He
thinks I’m too poor to buy clothes. That’s why he gave me a check
today.”