outside the room.
Victor waited until Gary shut the door before his eyes flew to Cara’s. His tone was soft. “So, how are you this morning?”
“Um…” Cara stammered, caught off guard by his easy question after the tense phone call. “I’m not quite sure what to say.”
“Not quite sure, huh?” He stood up and casually strolled around the desk to sit in the chair where Gary had been. He swiveled it to face her then leaned forward, elbows against his knees. “Tell me the truth. How are you this morning?”
“I don’t know. I expected it to be awkward.”
“Yeah. Me too. But you know what? I woke up this morning and realized it didn’t need to be awkward. I don’t need to feel embarrassed that I made a pass at you. I don’t need to be paranoid that you’ll try to file sexual harassment charges against me.” He chuckled and flashed her a lazy smile. “What I need is a way to spend more time with you so we can let things happen naturally. And I think Mr. Kincaid may have just made that possible for me.”
Cara was so flustered, it took a few seconds to remember that Mr. Kincaid was the client with whom Victor was speaking. “What?” She swallowed. “More time with me?”
“Yes.” Victor held her gaze for another moment then picked up a file on his desk and handed it to Cara. “Familiarize yourself with this company. The Lochmere Group. It’s Kincaid and his partners. I’ll need you to provide some expertise.”
“Me? What about Gary? You’re training him to do what you do, right?”
“Yes, but I need him here. He takes care of everyone while I’m out of the office, which is almost constantly these days. From the call just now, you know The Lochmere Group has a lot of political interests and they’re afraid of being seen in a negative light for investing in a foreign company. It’s not true, though. There will be absolutely no jobs added overseas and the U.S. factories will see significant growth. Anyway, we’ll need your public relations help to put the right spin on this endeavor.”
Cara cleared her throat, determined to act like she had actually been able to pay attention to the phone call. “Don’t they have their own public relations staff?”
“No, actually. It’s not a big corporation, just a group of investors. They can either hire a publicist or they can let me take care of it so they’ll like me enough to continue to give me their business.” He smiled. “So, what do you think? Will Isaac be okay with me taking his mommy away for a few days?”
“What?” Cara’s eyes were wide. “You want…me…away…with you? For a few days?”
“Yes. Is that a problem? Because you don’t have to go. I won’t fire you.” He lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll be disappointed, but I definitely won’t fire you.”
Cara gulped. “Are you sure?” Her stomach was suddenly in knots. “Listen, no matter what happens, I really can’t afford to lose this job. I—”
“Stop.” He put his hand on her knee for a brief moment. “I know what you’re gonna say and you have nothing to worry about. If, for some reason, you end up hating me and you don’t want to work for me anymore, I’ll make sure you still have a job. I promise. I can always have you transferred to another department or find you a job opening with one of my clients. Honestly, don’t let yourself be worried about that.” He looked in her eyes. “Just say you’ll come on this trip to Houston with me. It’s only for a night. We’ll fly out first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll have you back here before the end of the next business day, if all goes well.”
“Just so I understand, you want me there because you really need my help?” She paused for a deep breath. “And, you want to spend time with me?”
“Yes. Please, don’t be nervous. I don’t like to play games.” With a lighthearted shrug, he added, “And I guess that means I’m not very good at this. I’m a simple man. I see something I want, I
Victor waited until Gary shut the door before his eyes flew to Cara’s. His tone was soft. “So, how are you this morning?”
“Um…” Cara stammered, caught off guard by his easy question after the tense phone call. “I’m not quite sure what to say.”
“Not quite sure, huh?” He stood up and casually strolled around the desk to sit in the chair where Gary had been. He swiveled it to face her then leaned forward, elbows against his knees. “Tell me the truth. How are you this morning?”
“I don’t know. I expected it to be awkward.”
“Yeah. Me too. But you know what? I woke up this morning and realized it didn’t need to be awkward. I don’t need to feel embarrassed that I made a pass at you. I don’t need to be paranoid that you’ll try to file sexual harassment charges against me.” He chuckled and flashed her a lazy smile. “What I need is a way to spend more time with you so we can let things happen naturally. And I think Mr. Kincaid may have just made that possible for me.”
Cara was so flustered, it took a few seconds to remember that Mr. Kincaid was the client with whom Victor was speaking. “What?” She swallowed. “More time with me?”
“Yes.” Victor held her gaze for another moment then picked up a file on his desk and handed it to Cara. “Familiarize yourself with this company. The Lochmere Group. It’s Kincaid and his partners. I’ll need you to provide some expertise.”
“Me? What about Gary? You’re training him to do what you do, right?”
“Yes, but I need him here. He takes care of everyone while I’m out of the office, which is almost constantly these days. From the call just now, you know The Lochmere Group has a lot of political interests and they’re afraid of being seen in a negative light for investing in a foreign company. It’s not true, though. There will be absolutely no jobs added overseas and the U.S. factories will see significant growth. Anyway, we’ll need your public relations help to put the right spin on this endeavor.”
Cara cleared her throat, determined to act like she had actually been able to pay attention to the phone call. “Don’t they have their own public relations staff?”
“No, actually. It’s not a big corporation, just a group of investors. They can either hire a publicist or they can let me take care of it so they’ll like me enough to continue to give me their business.” He smiled. “So, what do you think? Will Isaac be okay with me taking his mommy away for a few days?”
“What?” Cara’s eyes were wide. “You want…me…away…with you? For a few days?”
“Yes. Is that a problem? Because you don’t have to go. I won’t fire you.” He lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll be disappointed, but I definitely won’t fire you.”
Cara gulped. “Are you sure?” Her stomach was suddenly in knots. “Listen, no matter what happens, I really can’t afford to lose this job. I—”
“Stop.” He put his hand on her knee for a brief moment. “I know what you’re gonna say and you have nothing to worry about. If, for some reason, you end up hating me and you don’t want to work for me anymore, I’ll make sure you still have a job. I promise. I can always have you transferred to another department or find you a job opening with one of my clients. Honestly, don’t let yourself be worried about that.” He looked in her eyes. “Just say you’ll come on this trip to Houston with me. It’s only for a night. We’ll fly out first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll have you back here before the end of the next business day, if all goes well.”
“Just so I understand, you want me there because you really need my help?” She paused for a deep breath. “And, you want to spend time with me?”
“Yes. Please, don’t be nervous. I don’t like to play games.” With a lighthearted shrug, he added, “And I guess that means I’m not very good at this. I’m a simple man. I see something I want, I
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