by Cora Brent
“Oh yeah, Gio mentioned that in the interview. Your family used to own a restaurant there, right?”
The door suddenly swung open, and two sweaty men inched through it. They were struggling under the weight of a gigantic gray slab.
“You guys stop for a tea party on the way back?” Dominic growled as he stalked over to help.
“Gimme a fucking break,” one of the men whined. “It wasn’t at the warehouse where it was supposed to be, so we had to drive to Mesa.”
I stood back as the men wrestled the long slab into the room and carefully set it down.
“Is that granite?” I asked, feeling as if I needed to pipe up and say something relevant.
“Quartz,” said the second man as he took a crumpled, red bandanna out of his back pocket and wiped his forehead.
Dominic was crouched beside the slab, inspecting it and running his fingers over the surface. I picked a few pieces of cat hair from my sleeve—I felt like I was in the way, but I didn’t want to seem anything less than completely enthusiastic.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
One of the workers poked the other one with a smirk. I hadn’t introduced myself, and now I didn’t feel like making the effort.
Dominic remained hunkered down on the floor. He squinted up at me. “Can you fix toilets?”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet? Are you in plumbing school?”
“No, I’m—never mind. I just wanted to let you know that I’m ready to pitch in.”
“Right now I need someone to pitch in and repair the toilets.”
“Well,” I said helplessly, “I can’t help you there.”
“Then you should go back to Espo 1 where you can be useful. Gio’s probably got a stack of invoices that ought to be dealt with.”
“All right, but he told me to come here.”
Dominic stood up. The look he gave me made me feel like I was the slowest learner in the class. “And I’m telling you to go back there. Now.”
Suddenly I’d had enough. I needed this job, and I was eager to make a good impression, but I wasn’t some mealymouthed “yes” girl who would happily put up with this jerk’s bad mood. I damn well had a right to be treated with professional courtesy.
“Yes, sir,” I snapped, stiffening as I shouldered my purse and headed for the door. My dignified departure was somewhat ruined when my heel caught on an exposed nail and I stumbled.
“You okay?” Dominic asked. And suddenly he was close enough so that I could smell the spicy scent of his aftershave.
“Fine,” I muttered and straightened to smooth my skirt out, even though there was no reason to do so. I hadn’t fallen; all I’d done was prove that Dominic was right. I didn’t have a good reason to stick around in the middle of a renovation zone. “But I still think I’ll take your advice and find a nice desk at Espo 1.”
Dominic raked a hand through his black hair and sighed. The two contractors had lost interest and were assessing the installation site.
“Listen,” he said quietly, “sorry about the attitude. As you can see, this is chaos right now.”
“I understand.”
“Gio can get you all set up at Espo 1 for the time being. I’m moving as fast as I can, but the office space won’t be ready for at least a week, so you can tell him I said you don’t need to worry about coming back here for a while.”
“Okay. I won’t worry about it.”
He flashed a sudden smile. I really wished he hadn’t. That smile caused all kinds of confusing things to erupt inside of me.
“Well,” I said, straightening to my full five-foot-four-in-heels height and trying to sound as crisp and proficient as possible, “I appreciate the chance to work with you, Dominic. I’m looking forward to it.”
Dominic nodded absently. “Nice meeting you, Melanie,” he said and then turned his back. It wasn’t quite the sentiment I was looking for, but it would have to do.
“Hey,” he called just before I stepped outside. “Do me a favor and prop the door open.”
I picked up a nearby brick and placed it at the base of the open door. Then I stood on the other side of the threshold and paused for a moment. The dusty interior of the restaurant must have really gotten to me because I felt a little light-headed. After a few deep breaths, the feeling passed.
Just before I walked away, I turned around one final time. Once I was outside in the sun, I couldn’t get a clear view, but I could have sworn I saw Dominic Esposito turn his head sharply, almost like he’d been watching me and didn’t want to get caught.
The idea made my cheeks flame, and I hurried back to my parked car.
CHAPTER FOUR
DOMINIC
The days were flying by as I worked like a dog at Espo 2. An entire week had passed since Melanie Cruz walked in here and stumbled on a loose nail. I’d had to stop over at Espo 1 a few times, and she always cornered me to ask when her office space was going to be ready.
“No idea,” I told her yesterday, and even though her face didn’t bend into a scowl, she crossed her arms and seemed annoyed.
“Do you have an estimate?” she asked as she tapped her foot, which I noticed only because I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes off her legs.
“Frankly, it’s not my number one priority,” I said shortly and then left her standing there before she realized I’d been checking her out.
One thing was for sure. I really needed to stifle my impulses before Melanie was right here in front of me every day. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d felt such a formidable attraction to a woman I’d just met, and I almost cursed out loud the day she shook my hand and explained that she was my new employee.
But today I was trying not to picture what Melanie looked like without her clothes on.
Instead I was reaching into the depths of a century-old wall when I heard Christmas music. Not just any Christmas music, but a little-known, irreverent tune that someone in particular had been teasing me with for years.
“For god’s sake, get another opener, Jay,” I groaned as I withdrew my hand, shaking the chalky residue off. I looked up to see my best friend casually parked just inside the door, his iPhone blasting “Dominic the Donkey.”
Jason’s grin switched to mock seriousness, and he held up one finger. “Hold on, Dom,” he warned. “Don’t interrupt the chorus.”
I finished brushing a hundred years’ worth of Phoenix’s dust off my skin while Jason obnoxiously hummed along to the old song about an Italian Christmas donkey named Dominic.
“You don’t even have the season right,” I observed when he finally grew tired of his own joke and shut the music off. “Christmas is months away.”
“‘Dominic the Donkey’ transcends the holidays,” he told me. “Kind of like you.”
“That doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.”
Jason pointed at me. “You’re working too hard, buddy. Losing your sense of humor.” He came closer and peered at the wall I was just plundering. “What the hell are you doing anyway?”
I pointed to a box on the floor. “Trying to install these lighting fixtures without ruining the historic integrity of the building and bringing the crushing wrath of the Phoenix Landmark Society down on my head.”
Jason squinted at the hole in the wall. “Yeah, I ran into those ladies when I worked on the bank project up by the art museum. You’ve just got to know how to handle them. Start with sweet talk and then move up the ladder.”
“I’m not sure I want to know what ladder you’ve been climbing, my friend.”
He chuckled and then hopped up to sit on my very expensive quartz counter. “All I’m saying is that a few mimosas and an erotic foot rub work wonders with Bitsy Carlyle.”
Bitsy Carlyle was the uptight Scottsdale socialite who currently presided over the Phoenix Landmark Society. She seemed like she’d be about as eager to collect an erotic foot rub as a tiger would be to receive a perfumed bubble bath. Jason was something of a marathon womanizer
, but he was also a bullshit artist.
“Jay, she’s like seventy years old.”
He shrugged and scrolled through his phone. “She’s got a nice ass.”
I snorted. “Dude, you did not fuck around with Bitsy Carlyle.”
“You don’t listen, Dom. I didn’t say I fucked her. I said I delivered her favorite alcoholic beverage and then indulged her fetish of choice.” Suddenly he held his phone out. “Photographic evidence. Take a look.”
I recoiled. “Hell, no.”
“Ah, never mind. Now that I examine it more closely, I see this is actually a photo I took beside the ostrich pen the last time I went to the zoo.”
Chuckling, I grabbed a broom to sweep up the mess I’d made. “What are you doing out here anyhow?”
He scowled. “You never have time for me anymore. You don’t answer half my texts, and you haven’t been out with me in months.” Suddenly he slapped his palm hard on the counter and jumped off. “Jesus, listen to me, I sound like a neglected woman.”
“Watch my counter there, pal. Yeah, I know I owe you about twenty rounds of drinks and a half dozen lunches. I swear I’ll catch up when we’re closer to opening.”
Jason looked around. “When’s that going to be? Looks like you’ve got a ways to go. And why the hell are you playing with electrical work yourself?”
“Because the last two electricians I hired never showed up.”
“Nothing as bad as unreliable contractors.” He snapped his fingers suddenly. “I know a guy I can send your way. He’s done a ton of work on my projects, and I know he’ll prioritize the job if I ask him for a favor.”
“Great. Give him my number.”
Jason grinned. “I will. If you come hang out right now and listen to my problems.”
“What problems?”
“I’ve got three equally voluptuous options taking turns in my bed, and I’m not sure which one I like best.”
I laughed out loud. In truth I had a to-do list a mile long, but I could use a break. Even though Jason could be trying at times, I really missed the guy. He was my age, and we’d been best friends for nearly ten years. The first time I met Jason Roma, he was standing at the curb in front of the house next door, moodily kicking the tires of a fairly new silver Lexus.
“Hey,” he shouted. “You the new renters?” He pointed to the Santa Fe–style house at my back.
“No,” I answered shortly, not really in the mood to socialize. Only a week had passed since Gio and I had moved all the way to the other side of the country with our grandmother. She’d owned the house for years, and luckily the place was between renters at the time, so we were able to move right in. I was still having some trouble getting my bearings and was not excited about finishing my senior year at an Arizona high school where I didn’t know a soul.
Luckily the kid next door wasn’t put off by my attitude. He approached with confident nonchalance, pushing his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes. I kept my arms crossed as he stopped two steps away and sized me up.
“Name’s Jason,” he said. “Jay for short. You like beer?”
I paused. “Yeah. I like beer.”
“Good.” He nodded approvingly and gestured that I ought to follow him. “Let’s go find some.”
“And then what?”
He smiled. “Then we’ll get shit-faced, you can tell me your life story, and I’ll supply intimate details about every fuck-worthy girl in the zip code.”
I hesitated only for a second. “Sounds good,” I said, deciding that any offer of friendship in a new place shouldn’t be turned down.
Jason had a clever kind of sensitivity, even when he was being a jackass, as well as a wide streak of loyalty. I was always grateful we were still friends. Too little of Jason Roma in my life left a void, and besides, too much of my time revolved around work these days.
“Give me a few minutes,” I finally told my old friend. “I want to get these boxes stacked up. Then I’ll pay for lunch at whatever hole-in-the-wall establishment you choose.”
“Excellent.” Jason clapped his hands together, then bent down to pick up two of the boxes I’d mentioned. When I stacked up a few and started carrying them away, he followed.
“They’re going in the office for now,” I said, heading down the short hallway and then turning left.
“Shit, Dom,” Jason said after he dropped the boxes off and looked around. “What the hell is all this?” He nudged a box with his shoe. “How many of these are empty?”
“A few,” I admitted, setting the boxes down.
“You want to stack them against the wall?”
“No. Middle of the floor is fine.”
Jason shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
I didn’t want to explain that I’d been deliberately using the office as a haphazard storage space to postpone setting it up for its real purpose. Gio was puzzled. He kept assuring me that Melanie was doing an excellent job, that she wouldn’t get in my way, that it would be wise to move her to Espo 2 where she could get all the staffing and administrative ducks in a row before we were down to the wire.
I knew he was right. Melanie was obviously smart and hard working. I sure didn’t want to be fucking around with invoices and human resources paperwork when I had a restaurant to get up and running. But the problem was I turned into a caveman whenever I was in the same room with her.
Melanie Cruz was my employee. I shouldn’t want her. But that didn’t matter much when it came to basic instincts.
“Are we going to stand here and stare at boxes all day, or are we going to eat?” Jason said.
“Stand here and stare at boxes.”
“Fuck you. Buy me lunch.”
Jason favored eclectic restaurants that were unknown to all but a handful of people. Today he’d decided on a tiny Cajun place in a half-empty strip mall on Indian School Road. Over plates of crayfish étouffée, Jason entertained me with tales of his revolving list of female companions, and it was exactly what I needed. It got my mind off Espo 2 and the new assistant manager.
When we were done, I figured Jason would just drop me off, but he said he wanted to take another look around.
“Hey, what’s your opening day again?” he asked as I fumbled for the keys.
“October third, but we’re doing a friends and family soft opening two days before that.”
“Great. I’ll be expecting an engraved invitation.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course you’re invited, Jay.”
Jason nodded with satisfaction.
“What’s wrong?” he asked a few seconds later as he noticed me scowling at the door. My key had turned without a telltale click, and I realized the door was unlocked. I was sure I’d locked it before we left. And I was pretty sure I knew who had come here and unlocked it.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I said. “We have a visitor, though, so behave yourself.”
She must have seen us approach from inside Espo 2. She was leaning against the counter, shapely legs in black heels crossed at the ankle, hands on her hips. I knew that Gio had told her casual attire was just fine, but for some reason she kept showing up every day, looking like a hot Wall Street executive.
“Hello, Dominic,” said Melanie. She was wearing glasses, and her long black hair was tied up in a bun, but that didn’t distract from the fact that her gray business outfit hugged every blessed curve like it had been painted on. The short-sleeved blazer buttoned underneath her full breasts, which were tucked primly behind a white blouse. The skirt wasn’t short, but its shape gave a mouthwatering view of her figure. I pictured her tugging this ensemble on this morning, probably congratulating herself on looking so practical and professional, not realizing her sicko boss would start running a pornographic movie through his sex-deprived mind at the sight of her.
I just want to tear that shit off with my teeth.
Damn, I was a fucking dog.
“Hey, Melanie,” I answered in a bored, casual voice. Jason, however, had a mind even dirtier than m
ine. I heard him let out a low whistle as he looked her over.
Melanie didn’t seem to hear him. She stepped forward with her hand out and a smile on her lips. “I’m Melanie Cruz,” she said, “bookkeeper and assistant manager extraordinaire.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jason said, and shook her hand a few seconds longer than necessary. I shot him a look, but he was too busy being enchanted. “I’m Jason Roma, Dominic’s oldest and best friend—no matter what he says. By the way is that your official title?”
She laughed and withdrew her hand. “Why, yes. I’ve asked for that exact language on the nameplate for my desk.” She raised an eyebrow in my direction. “Providing I ever get a desk.”
“It’s on order,” I said vaguely, trying not to look at her. I could smell her freaking perfume—floral and sexy—from where I was standing.
“Still, huh?” She took a step closer and peered up at me, eyes narrowing in a way that let me know she knew I was full of shit. “Must be some desk.”
I locked eyes with her and felt my pants tighten. “Must be.”
Melanie held my gaze for a couple of excruciatingly long seconds and then looked at Jason. “You know, Jason, the other Mr. Esposito sent me down here to find out what was going on. Looks like I’ll be returning with the bad news that the office is still cluttered with boxes and, alas, there is no room for me.” She cocked her head and glanced at me regretfully. “It’s a shame because I have a long list of things I’d like to start tackling, and it would be much easier to work if I wasn’t playing musical desks over at Espo 1. Hopefully soon there will be a place for me here because I really am eager to do a good job.”
“Really?” I could hear the amused interest in Jason’s voice and tried not to wince over it. He knew me too well. “Our Dom is guilty of being kind of a loner. I think the company of a colleague would be good for him.”
“I’m not a colleague, I’m her damn boss!” I snapped.
Jason snorted and then tried to cover it up with a cough.
“Of course you are,” Melanie said, looking at me a little funny. “Look, I’m really not trying to intrude. I know you have a lot to do in the next few weeks, and I promise not to get in your way.”
