Fresh Temptation: Barboza Brothers, Book One (22 page)

“I really need to get to
the office. And I think you probably need to put some clothes on.”
Victor glanced around the large entryway, looking for the butler.
“Where’s Clifford, by the way?” Surely Alexis didn’t usually walk
around the house in such skimpy clothes where the help could see
her. She had to be doing this for him.

“He’s probably helping
Mother in the kitchen. What? Am I making you
uncomfortable?”

Victor cleared his throat
and set his eyes on hers, careful to look nowhere else. “I’m deeply
sorry for your loss, Alexis.”

Tears filled her eyes, her
voice cracking as she spoke. “Thank you. It doesn’t seem real to me
yet.” She quickly wiped her tears away with her fingertips. “So,
will you be taking the private jet to the memorial
service?”

“No. I won’t be
attending.”

“What? Why
not?”

“I just can’t work it out.
I already explained it to—”

Alexis inched closer. “But
I need you. Remember? Daddy asked you to take care of
me.”

“He wasn’t in his right
mind. You know that. I need to—”

She interrupted by
launching her scantily clad body against his, her arms tight around
his back. “Please stay.” She cried against his suit. “It’s been so
nice to be with you again. I need you.”

Victor stood completely
still, arms at his sides. “Let go of me, Alexis.”

“Please,
Victor!”

He lifted his hands
against the front of her shoulders, pushing her away. He stayed
there for a moment longer as he looked in her eyes to make sure she
heard him. “Don’t test me. I’m sympathetic, but nothing’s changed.
We’re over, and you need to leave Cara alone.” He let go of her and
straightened his tie as he prepared to leave.

“Cara.” Alexis let out a
disgusted huff.

“You apologized yesterday.
Remember?”

“Yes. But that doesn’t
change how I feel about you. I’ll always want you back.” She stared
at him, pleading. “I know you got involved with her after I got her
fired. If you’re trying to prove a point, consider it proven. I’ve
learned my lesson. Please, stop punishing me.”

“Punishing you?” Victor
chuckled as he turned to exit. “Cara is not your punishment. She’s
my reward.” He opened the door.

He had only taken a few
steps outside when he heard Alexis behind him.

She said, “You may want to
ask
your reward
why she didn’t tell her baby’s father she was
pregnant.”

Victor stopped. “Excuse
me?” He looked back at her, one eyebrow raised.

She took a flirtatious
stance in the open doorway, a hand on her hip. “Yeah. I’ll bet
she’s never mentioned that, has she? I think it’s terrible when a
mother keeps a young boy from knowing his own father, don’t
you?”

In his calmest voice,
Victor replied, “I’m sure she had her reasons. Now, leave us alone
or there
will
be
consequences.” In no mood to ask how she had obtained such
information, he walked to his car without looking back.

* * *

It was almost lunch time,
and Cara hadn’t heard from Victor all day. No text message, no
email. Just silence. And every time she caught herself wondering if
he was somewhere comforting Alexis, she distracted herself with
thoughts of Chicago. Usually, she restricted her personal Internet
searches to her phone, but today she didn’t care. The search
history from her computer would clearly show a person who was
contemplating a serious move.

The clock struck noon and
Cara was seconds away from reaching for her purse to go to lunch
when Rhonda appeared at her door. With a blank look on her face,
Rhonda waved and said, “Hey.”

“Hey there. You
okay?”

“Yeah. You got a
minute?”

“I guess so. Have a seat.”
Cara motioned to the seat beside her desk.

Rhonda looked outside for
Gary, who was nowhere to be seen, then closed the door and sat
down. “Do you know Sally in accounting?”

“I don’t think
so.”

“Well, anyway, she sent me
something and told me to show it to you. It’s in my personal
email.” Rhonda winced as she handed her phone to Cara. “I’m not
sure what it means to you, exactly…”

Confused, Cara took the
phone. “A video?” Then she immediately hit play. It was a short
clip with no sound. She saw a woman, who looked like Alexis from
behind, speaking to Victor. “What the…she’s almost
naked.”

“I know.”

“Is this a security
video?” Cara gasped when she saw Alexis fall against Victor’s
chest. The video ended a few seconds later. “Were they kissing? I
can’t tell from this weird angle.”

Rhonda shrugged. “I don’t
know. I’m really sorry. I don’t know why she wanted you to see
that.”

Cara gaped at the video as
she hit play for a second time. “This date stamp says today. Oh my
God…”

“Oh sweetie.” Rhonda
frowned. “The rumors are true, aren’t they? You and
Barboza?”

Cara put her elbows on her
desk, her palms against her forehead. “Oh my God…oh my
God…”

“Oh no. I’m sorry. I hear
he’s a heartbreaker. If I were you I’d—”

“Get out.” Cara put her
hands down on her desk, glaring at Rhonda.

“Please, let me
help—”

“No. Get out. And close
the door behind you.”

Without another word,
Rhonda stood and walked out the door. As soon as it closed, Cara
clicked her mouse to open a new browser window. “I’m
so
done with
this.”

* * *

Patty answered the door
just as Victor was about to ring the doorbell for the second time.
She heaved forward, sighing in relief as she greeted him. “Well,
aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

Victor walked inside as
she closed the door behind him. “Is Cara here? I’ve been trying to
call her all afternoon. My assistant said she left early and…” He
stopped talking when he realized Patty was crying. “Oh no. What
happened?”

He was startled when Isaac
ran into the room screaming, “Mommy Mommy Mommy!” as he usually did
that time of the day to welcome his mom home for the evening. Isaac
stopped at Victor’s feet, his eyes lighting up as he inhaled a slow
gasp, excited to see his friend. He reached up and put his hand
around Victor’s thumb, ready to pull him into the living room.
“Wook what I got—”

Patty tapped Isaac’s
shoulder. “No, sweetie. Not now.”

Isaac’s face instantly
puckered. He produced a high-pitched whine.

Victor bent down to hoist
him up into his arms. “Hey buddy.” He patted his back.
“
Mi amigo
.”

Isaac smiled at that. He
let his head fall against Victor’s chest for a moment, then leaned
back to look in his eyes as he began a story. “Today me and
Gwammah…”

Victor nodded along and
tried to interpret as much of Isaac’s chatter as he could, asking
occasional questions for clarification. He slowly walked to the
living room and sat down, keeping Isaac on his knee. Patty sat
beside them. When Isaac finished talking, he hopped out of Victor’s
lap and walked a few feet away where he sat on the floor and turned
his attention to a television show he had forgotten he was
watching.

Patty teared up again.
“See? You’re so good with him.” Her voice got softer in case Isaac
could hear. “I don’t know why my daughter’s so stubborn about
you.”

He placed a gentle hand on
her arm. “Please tell me what happened.”

“She swore me to secrecy,
of course.” She chuckled sadly and wiped her eyes. “I’m not
supposed to tell you she’s on her way to Chicago. Going back to her
old job.”

“What?” Victor’s heart
raced with worry. “Without saying goodbye? Or taking…” He nodded
toward Isaac.

“She went for the weekend
to find an apartment. Get a few things in place.” She sighed. “And
no, apparently she wasn’t going to tell you. She was just
not
going to show up for
work on Monday morning.”

“I can’t believe she’d do
that to me. What happened? What’d I do?” He leaned toward her, his
eyes piercing hers. “Tell me exactly where I can find
her.”

* * *

Cara stepped out of
Justine’s car and waved a quick goodbye to her old friend. Then she
pulled her sweater tight across her chest to protect herself from
the chilly evening wind. As she ran inside through the revolving
glass door, she smiled at what a good decision she had made to
splurge on herself for once, booking a room at a nice hotel in
downtown Chicago instead of in a quieter neighborhood outside the
city. The combination of elegant surroundings and wine-induced
euphoria made it easier for Cara to forget about New York for a
little while.

Tonight, she could take a
break from the tangled mess of anger and heartbreak that had surged
inside her. Tonight was the start of a new journey. A new life for
her and Isaac. They could both move on, go back to their old lives
in this familiar city as if they had never left. Ahead of her
tomorrow was a long day of touring apartments, and she hoped to
sleep well tonight. Unlike last night, when she stared at the clock
until three in the morning, crying and unable to calm her
mind.

Cara charged through the
lobby to the elevator and pressed the button to go upstairs. Then
she looked at her watch. It was only ten o’clock. She had time to
soak her tired body in the whirlpool tub in her room before
relaxing in her luxurious bed for the night.

The elevator arrived
quickly. Soon she was on the tenth floor, yawning as she fished for
the key in her purse. Her door unlocked with a loud
click
. Immediately, she
heard the same loud
click
from the room behind her. She heard the stranger
take a few steps into the hall, then stop, as if they were waiting
for her. The silence made the hair on the back of her neck stand
up.

She pushed her door open,
intending to run inside as quickly as possible. Then she heard a
voice.

“This is how you break up
with me?
”

Cara froze, her eyes shut
tight. Her stomach did a somersault.
Of
course he’d find me…

“What? No answer?” Victor
came up next to her and leaned against the wall outside her door.
“I never took you for a coward, Cara. This is what cowards do. They
run. You should’ve given me a chance to explain. Your mom told me
you saw a video. It wasn’t what you think. It was—”

“It doesn’t matter!” Cara
opened her eyes, glaring at him. “I’m not stupid. I know she
could’ve rigged that video. I left because I got tired of working
someplace where I felt like a pawn in some high school game.
Sneaking around, dating my boss, with some jealous psycho
ex-girlfriend trying to sabotage me? I need a real job. A real
life. I’m doing what’s best for me and my son’s future.”

He smirked softly. “Have
you ever thought that maybe
I’m
what’s best for you and your son’s
future?”

Tears filled her eyes.
“Victor—”

He put his hands on her
shoulders, turning her to face him. “I know what you’re thinking.
I’m not talking about my money. I’m talking about the way I feel,
for both of you.”

She did her best to look
away. Look anywhere but into his eyes. “I have to go to my room.
It’s been a long day.”

Victor let his arms drop
to his sides. “So you’re freezing me out?”

Cara pushed her door open
and flicked the light switch on the wall. “I’m going to
bed.”

“Great idea.” He rushed
after her, letting the door slam shut behind him. “I’m going with
you.”

She let out a cold laugh
as she slung her purse onto the top of the dresser. “I don’t
think—”

Before she could finish
her sentence, he spun her around, smothering her words in a kiss.
His hands were everywhere at once, pulling at her clothes as he
guided her toward the bed.

A voice inside Cara told
her to resist. She didn’t make this emergency trip just to give in
to him like some flighty, horny teenager.

But then his hand went up
her skirt. His lips went to her throat, then trailed warm, wet
kisses up to her ear where he whispered, “Don’t leave me,
Cara.”

She grabbed the back of
his head. “Victor…”

“Please,
mi preciosa
. Please,
stay with me.” He withdrew his hand from her skirt and used both
hands to quickly unbutton her blouse, immediately pulling it down
her arms, along with her sweater. His mouth attached to hers as he
reached around her back to unhook her bra.

“Oh!” Cara let out a
startled moan as she landed softly—and unexpectedly—on the bed
behind her.

Victor tugged at the hem
of her stretchy elastic-waist skirt and yanked it down to her
shoes. Next came her panties and pantyhose, which he tossed on the
floor with the rest of her clothes. Now that she was nude, he fell
into bed beside her, his arm sliding under her head to cradle it as
he kissed her. His other hand cupped her breast.