Fresh Temptation: Barboza Brothers, Book One

by Reeni Austin

  “That was a Lifetime movie. It wasn’t real.”

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure it was based on actual events.” Cara knew it was a stretch but she had grown tired of her mom’s nagging. “Think about it. A guy like that could ruin our lives. He might be a total nut job.”

  “Sure, he might be. Or he might not be. Seemed like a nice guy as far as I could tell. Very down to Earth. And he loved my cooking.”

  Cara sighed as she walked upstairs. “Everyone loves your cooking. Especially psychos.”

  “I don’t care what you say. If you don’t call him, I will.”

  Cara shook her head. As she approached Isaac’s room, she thought she heard him talking aloud, maybe to the television. But her mouth dropped open when she saw him laughing with her cell phone to his ear.

  “Uh-huh,” Isaac said into the phone, laughing hysterically. “Cwoaky fwog.”

  Cara ran across the room. “Who are you talking to?”

  He put both hands on the phone, holding it like he didn’t want to let it go. “Bictow.”

  “Big toe?” Cara snatched the phone and brought it to her ear. “Who’s this?”

  A man laughed. “Big toe.” He laughed some more. “I mean, Victor.” He cleared his throat. “Victor Barboza.”

  Her eyes and mouth both dropped open. She stared at Patty as she rushed to the hallway for privacy. She stumbled over her words, nervous. “Um…um…my son isn’t supposed to be using my cell phone. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who called him. Smart little guy.” Victor paused. “So, I hear you might be in need of new employment.”

  Oh Lord, he really is psycho, she thought. How did he know that already? Had he planted a microphone in the house? “Uh…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll come to my office to interview for a position. It’s in public relations. We could use someone with your experience.”

  “How do you know anything about my experience?”

  “Found your resume online.”

  “Oh.”

  “Says here you ran some national projects. Very impressive. Too bad the company’s doing so poorly or they’d probably rehire you. Anyway, be here this afternoon. Two o’clock. I’ll email you with directions.”

  “Well, uh…sure, I guess.”

  “Good. See you then.” Victor hung up.

  Perplexed, Cara stared down at the phone in her hand. “How did he get my number?” In a huff, she walked into Isaac’s room where her mom was watching him drink juice, a big smile plastered across her face. “Mother, dear,” Cara often used this term for her mother when she was upset, “do you know how Mr. Barboza got my phone number? Because it sure wasn’t from me.”

  Patty set her smile on Isaac as she said in a singsong tone, “I don’t know, I may have given it to him when he stopped by a few days ago.”

  “Mom!”

  “What? He asked for it. And he was so polite.”

  Cara paced the floor. “Well, he already found out, somehow, that I lost my job.”

  Patty’s eyes met Cara’s. “What?”

  “Yeah. How did he know that? I didn’t put my new phone number or Doyle Construction on my online resume. He wants me to interview for a job at two o’clock today.” She lowered her voice and leaned in closer, covering most of her mouth so Isaac couldn’t see. She whispered, “Psycho!”

  Patty’s lips formed a thin line. She spoke quietly, her mouth barely moving, “You need a job, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but not like this.”

  Patty’s eyes rolled. “You better go pick out what you’re gonna wear to that interview.”

  Cara groaned. “Oh…” she paused, looking at Isaac as she stopped herself from saying “shit.” She hit her forehead with her palm. “I hope something fits. It’s been so long since I had to wear one of my nice suits.”

  “You’ll be fine. You have time to go shopping. I’m sure the mall has plenty of clearance racks this time of year.”

  Isaac’s eyes lit up. “The maw?”

  Patty shook her head, angry with herself for using one of their forbidden words. “Not today. Maybe next week.”

  Isaac pouted. “No maw?” His expression quickly changed to a smile. “What about the pawk? Mommy said I could go.”

  “No,” Cara said. “I’m right here and I said you could go outside for a minute. Not to the park.”

  Isaac’s smile disappeared. “Can Bictow take me to the pawk?”

  Patty laughed.

  Cara answered. “No, baby. Drink your juice and you’ll be back at the park in no time.” She kissed his cheek, then turned around and left the room, ignoring her mother’s snide grin.

  Chapter Four

  Victor smiled at the clock. It was one-thirty. Cara had replied to his email with a simple, “Thank you. See you at two.”

  He sensed her hesitation and he tried to see it her way. Maybe it was strange that he was so forward, inviting her to an interview, knowing she’d lost her job that morning. But she needed his help and he felt justified in his actions. After all, Doyle Construction was already under scrutiny of the IRS. All Victor did was call in a favor to speed up the process. Soon, she’d have a better job in a nicer environment. That’s all that mattered.

  He went over her resume again for at least the twentieth time. Thankfully, a lot of people owed him favors or he’d never get anyone to make room in the budget for a new employee, especially someone in public relations. It was one of the few areas that had to make cutbacks. He pored over her skills and experience, trying to think of a brand new position he could create just for her. Something that would overlap to his division. Then he let out a soft chuckle. Hiring Cara was a done deal. He could always think of reasons to borrow an employee. Why was he stressing about it so much? He’d keep her duties vague for now until he really found something for her to do.

  The woman had some kind of hold on him. It was undeniable. His heart raced every time he thought about her. The sound of her melodic voice on the phone drove him wild. She was a breath of fresh air in his life. Fresh air he didn’t know his life was missing.

  The phone on his desk buzzed at fifteen minutes till two.

  “Yes?” he answered.

  Gary said, “Ms. Green’s here for her two o’clock.”

  He swallowed, tempering his voice in case she could hear. “Thanks. Please ask her to have a seat in the waiting area. I’m almost ready.”

  Victor stood and walked to the sideboard, straightening his tie in the mirror on the wall above it. He had to calm down and act like he was really interviewing her. Like he hadn’t invented a fictitious job posting to spend time with her. He made sure he had a list of questions to ask, printed straight off the Internet. Screening new employees wasn’t one of his usual duties. The last person he’d interviewed was his assistant, Gary, and that was almost an entire year earlier.

  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.”