Fresh Temptation

Is that why he’s single?”
    Rhonda’s brow arched and she looked around the room, suddenly feeling the urge to confide a piece of juicy gossip in the new girl. “You can’t repeat this. Hell, you could find it online if you knew where to look. But there’s a rumor his engagement ended because of infidelity. We all think he cheated with a girl who got fired the week before it happened.”
    “Oh no!”
    “Yes. Of course, it’s just a rumor, but still.” Rhonda sighed. “So, tell me a little about you. New to the area? Married? Kids?”
    “I’m from Newark originally but I just moved back home after losing my job in Chicago. This is my first real job in months. Never been married. One kid, Isaac. He’s three.”
    Rhonda grinned. “I got a three-year-old, too. A girl, Justine. Also got a five-year-old, Aidan. And I got a no-good cheatin’ ex-husband. The divorce was final last month.”
    “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
    “It’s okay. Could be worse. Could’ve had that third kid we were trying for when I found those pictures on his cell phone. What about you? You got a cheatin’ man, too?”
    “No.” Cara nervously straightened the cuff of her sleeve. The situation with Isaac’s dad was a secret she’d decided long ago to take with her to the grave. It was easier to tell everyone she never knew his dad than to tell them the truth. “Isaac was my gift from a one-night stand my last semester in college. Never saw him again. I consider my son to be my graduation present.” She smiled.
    “Ah. Well, you’re better off anyway.” Rhonda looked at her watch. “I gotta get back to my desk but I’ll come over for some chitchat later if you like. They give you an office or a cubicle?”
    “An office.” Cara swallowed, hard. After this conversation, she was reluctant to mention she’d been given a spacious office with a spectacular view.
    “Okay. I’ll come over there and find you later.” Rhonda patted Cara’s shoulder. “Take care. Nice meeting you.”
    Cara waited until Rhonda was safely out of the break room before leaving herself. It was good to make a friend at her new job so soon, but with Victor keeping such a low profile, she wasn’t sure it was smart to hang out with one of the office gossips so quickly.
    No matter. With her head held high, she left the break room and went back to her office, trying not to obsess about this new information she’d received about her boss. Was he really a playboy? Did he cheat on his fiancee? Is that who he was with the night they met? It would make sense and possibly explain why that lady was so furious about him talking to another woman in front of her.
    Cara had to get herself to stop thinking about it. After all, he was just her boss and this was simply her work place. Nothing more. What he did in his personal life was none of her business.
    She took a deep breath with the realization that she definitely had a crush on him. And that sucked.
     
    * * *
     
    “Damn it!” Victor was almost angry enough to curse aloud in Spanish today.
    If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. A meeting ran too long. Then a traffic jam. An important business associate needed an hour-long phone call to make a simple decision. And now, another traffic jam. He had looked forward to this morning for days, and it seemed like fate was working against him. But he would not be discouraged.
    All morning, his thoughts were with Cara. Was she happy in her new job so far? Had Gary made her feel comfortable in the office?
    Was there any chance at all that she had been thinking about him the way he was thinking about her?
    His interest in Cara had grown immensely since he’d last seen her, made worse by the fact that he’d done some informal detective work…via Facebook. She only had five pictures available for public view and he could’ve probably found a way to see them all, but it made him feel creepy. Successful businessmen don’t cyber stalk, do they? He chuckled to himself. It didn’t matter what others did. He had to find a way to see her and he was grateful for the pictures.
    There were, however, no public pictures of Isaac. Victor could still hear his high-pitched voice on the phone, mispronouncing words. So cute. He had never thought of dating a woman who had a child before, but now, he wanted to.
    Victor wasn’t much older than Isaac when his own father passed away but some of those early memories stuck with him in tiny fragments. The most vivid memories were of the