Fresh Temptation

shook his head and put his elbows on the table. “Let’s get a few things straight.” He cleared his throat. “First, you don’t need to be so formal with me. I’m only a few years older than you. Please, call me Victor.”
    “But Gary doesn’t—”
    “I know, and I tried to get him to call me by my first name too but he said it didn’t feel professional, being that he’s my assistant. So, I got used to it. I’d prefer not to get used to it with you.” He smiled. “And second, you’re not a charity case. You’re obviously a strong woman and I most certainly did not hire you out of pity. When I was twelve, my mother moved me and my brothers from Guadalajara to a small town in Texas, outside San Antonio. It was a little ranch town, and we’d been asked to live there if we’d work on his ranch.” He let out a friendly chuckle. “It may have been a legal gray area for the ranch owner to have three kids and their mother living there, working for room and board. But it was a hell of a lot better than what we were used to. That man became like a father to me and my brothers. He paid our way through college. I wouldn’t be where I am today without his act of kindness.”
    “Why did he do that?”
    “Believe it or not, it was because of my little brother, Armando. The man, Henry Platt, said my brother was nice to him when he’d gotten lost one day, doing some kind of business deal in the town where we lived. He never forgot about it, even after he went home. So, he came back several years later, tracked him down and offered him a job. Pretty soon, we all moved there.”
    “I’ve never heard of anything like that before. So that’s what you’re doing with me? Paying the good deed forward?”
    Victor’s eyes locked on Cara’s. How was he to answer this question? And why did she always have to be so direct? He chose to let his actions speak for a second, holding her gaze a bit longer than necessary until he thought he saw her expression change from suspicious to curious. Then, for the briefest of moments, he let his eyes fall down to the expanse of skin at her neck, her collarbone, then a little further down to the top of her ample cleavage. When his eyes snapped back up to meet hers again, he gave her a half-cocked smile and said, “I told you before—you ask too many questions.”
    Cara’s cheeks immediately flushed a light shade of pink. She looked away at nothing and reached for her drink.
    Amused, Victor leaned forward in his chair and watched with intent as her sumptuous lips curved perfectly around her straw.
    Perhaps this is enough for today , he thought. He merely wanted to pique her interest and give her a scant clue about his true intentions. And he knew he was treading a fine line. A stubborn woman like Cara would certainly be the type to file a sexual harassment complaint against him. It wasn’t as if that sort of accusation could ruin his career, but it could ruin his reputation with Cara. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off by being too bold, or make her think he wanted some kind of sexual repayment for the good deed he’d performed. He just wanted to get to know her, and be near her. It wasn’t his fault she was in a bad situation when he found her. It was only too easy for him to fix it, and no matter what happened between them in the future, he would never regret giving her a job.
    For now, he simply had to observe her responses and plan his next move.
     
    * * *
     
    Alexis Whitt couldn’t believe her eyes.
    When she saw Victor cross the street with the full-figured blonde, she had assumed it was a business meeting. Victor was a creature of habit, frequenting the same three restaurants at lunchtime. His penchant for routine was something she both loved and loathed about him.
    But when she entered the deli and saw Victor cozying up to the stranger at the small round table, looking at her like there was no one else in the room, Alexis almost shrieked.
    She missed that look. And she’d do anything for him to gaze at her that way again.
    She ran back out of the deli and hid across the street where she could watch them leave and keep an eye on the lobby entrance at Victor’s company.
    Lunchtime came and went, and Alexis was still standing there behind a stone column, waiting for Victor to exit the deli. But when she saw Gary, she had an even better idea. She waited several minutes, hopefully giving him enough time to take the elevator to his floor and get situated