Fresh Temptation

cause.”
    Her silence conveyed her disappointment loud and clear. But Victor went on, striking up a conversation with the couple sitting next to him.
    After numerous attempts to get his attention, she interrupted him mid-sentence with a loud whisper in his ear. “Please talk to me.”
    Knowing her too well, he closed his eyes and leaned a bit closer. Might as well get it over with . “What is it?”
    “I’m sorry I had to do this. You ignore my calls. I need to speak with you.”
    “Then get on with it.”
    She stammered in response to his sharp tone. “I just…think…we should give it another shot. I…” She gulped. “I was wrong. It’ll never happen again.”
    His head shook. “We’re finished. I know who you really are now.”
    “No, you don’t.”
    “Yes I do. Trust me. This little stunt you pulled tonight is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re so selfish; you’ll do anything to get your way.” He finally made eye contact with her, leveling his glance just enough to show the woman he could not be charmed by her loveliness. Yes, she was an auburn-haired vision to behold but he wouldn’t be made a fool twice. “I only came here tonight out of respect for your family and this organization. I would walk out of here right now, chica , but that would only cause you and your family embarrassment. You want people to talk about us tonight and think we’re back together but I don’t care what they think.”
    Alexis pursed her lips, hoping to contain her tears. She remembered when he used to call her, “ mi amor .” And now, “ chica ?” It rolled off his lips in such a tawdry fashion. “You’re making a mistake.”
    “Well, you made one first.” Victor scooted his chair as far from her as possible and struck up a new conversation with the couple sitting beside him.
    After several unsuccessful attempts to get his attention again, Alexis excused herself from the table. Victor didn’t turn around to see where she went.
     
    * * *
     
    Cara Green held her cell phone at her thigh and tried not to let her supervisor see she was reading a text message. Luna Lee Catering had a strict policy against cell phone usage, and as much as she needed this weekend job, she had to know if her three-year-old son, Isaac, was all right.
    The text message from her mother read, “In ER right now. Temp 103.”
    Cara’s eyes welled up as she slid the phone into her pocket. She wanted to stay home and take care of him today, but it wasn’t possible. Between her three jobs, she would soon have enough money to pay the outrageous co-pay for the tonsillectomy Isaac desperately needed. She mustered a grin and tried not to think about how miserable and fussy he had been since yesterday. When she left the house for work today, he launched his warm little forehead against her chest, crying for her to stay. As long as she didn’t picture his sad face, she was fine.
    Isaac was prone to ear, nose, and throat infections. The doctor made it perfectly clear that a tonsillectomy was inevitable. “Simple procedure,” he said, “kids recover fast.” The doctor went on and on trying to convince her, but Cara was already convinced.
    If only her insurance company wasn’t such an asshole.
    Trying to save money, Cara swallowed her pride and moved in with her mother. So far, it wasn’t nearly as bad as she had feared. She was just another of the many people she knew who had to move back in with their parents after layoffs, divorces, inability to find a job. For Cara, being a twenty-seven-year-old single mom while living with her mother was a nightmare come true. But she tried to stay positive. She just knew she would get another public relations job once the economy turned around. This life of working three jobs and barely spending time with her son would end once she had a nest egg saved up. During the week, she was a receptionist at a ramshackle construction company that she was pretty sure doubled as a front for a money laundering scam. On the weekends, she worked for Luna Lee Catering when they needed her. And if that wasn’t enough, she helped an old high school friend, Marcy, with her new office cleaning business in the evenings.
    This week, Cara had seen Isaac a total of twelve hours. And for most of those hours, he was asleep with his latest sinus infection.
    On the bright side, this was the swankiest party Cara had seen in a long time. The staff had already been alerted that there would be plenty of trays of