Tempting The Boss

Mallory Crowe

Tempting The Boss

Mallory Crowe

written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Fonts used with permission from Microsoft.

Mallory Crowe (2015-03-28). Tempting The Boss (Billionaires in the City Book Three) Kindle Edition.

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CHAPTER ONE

Dean cursed under his breath as the screw dropped from his hands and clattered onto the tile

twenty feet below him. What kind of idiot designed a light that needed screws to change a damn
bulb?

He hoped the small ping of the metal hitting the ground wouldn’t attract much attention, but

Victoria Green’s head whipped around to stare disdainfully at where the screw rolled to a stop.

“Shit,” he muttered as he descended the ladder, two steps at a time. Even so, he had no chance of

beating the CEO to the offending piece of metal.

She narrowed her gaze at him as she picked it up off the floor, and he stopped in his tracks.
“What is this?” She held the screw in front of her.
Dean glanced over his shoulder, hoping Grace would pop in to save him from whatever hell was

about to be unleashed. “It slipped out of my hands.” He squared his shoulders as he stared her down.
“I would’ve picked it up.”

Victoria tilted her head and stared him down. Even in her three-inch heels, Dean towered over

her, but she didn’t seem the slightest bit fazed. “This is an employee appreciation dinner. I don’t think
my employees will feel very appreciated if they have to dodge nuts and bolts on the dance floor, do
you?”

He gritted his teeth. “It’s not a nut or a bolt, it’s a—”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t take this. Where’s Grace?”
Dean took a deep, calming breath. Shit. He really didn’t want Grace pissed at him. The work she

gave him wasn’t too steady, but she paid well and he normally got some pretty amazing food out of it.
“Last I saw, she was going into the kitchen with the caterer.”

“Thank you,” she said with obviously false sincerity, before she sauntered away.
Don’t look at her ass. Don’t you dare look… Dean couldn’’t help his gaze from following the

sway of her hips as she crossed the large hall.

Not exactly what he pictured when he thought of the CEO of a nationwide hardware retail store.

Especially not one named Green & Sons. Rumor had it that her brother was so incompetent when it
came to running the company that he was forced out by his sister, Victoria. It wasn’t really surprising
that the tabloids were a fan of hers. She was smokin’ hot and surrounded by family drama.

At least, that was what Grace had told him in the quick debrief before the job. He didn’t need to

read tabloids. He had enough family drama of his own back home. After he pulled another screw out
of the toolbox sitting next to the ladder, he climbed back up. He just needed to get this job done and
go the rest of the night without pissing off the richest person in the room.

~~~~~

“Your handyman is trying to kill my guests.” Victoria pushed through the swaying kitchen doors.
Grace’s jaw dropped open while the man in the white chef’s jacket awkwardly stepped back.

“We can finish this later,” he mumbled before he made a quick exit.

By the time he was gone, Grace had regained her composure. “I’m reasonably certain Dean isn’t

trying to murder anyone.””

Victoria held up the tiny piece of metal in her hand. “I saw him drop this. Who knows how many

other deathtraps are littered around this floor waiting for someone to trip and crack their head open?”
She knew she sounded way too anal retentive, but she desperately wanted this night to go perfectly. It

was more important than ever that the company was on her side, and she hoped this spontaneous
employee appreciation dinner would do the trick.

Grace sighed and gave Victoria a comforting smile. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing.

Dean is completely trustworthy. He’s been doing this for years, and, except for Andre, he’s my right-
hand guy. Unfortunately, when setting up events of this caliber, things are bound to get missed.” Grace
held up her clipboard and pointed to number twenty-three on the checklist.

Victoria leaned forward to read the small print on the massive list. 23. Final sweep of floors.
“I always make sure that after everything is set up, the floors are swept. Between flowers, table

covers, centerpieces, drinks, and the number of people walking around, there’s always stuff that needs
to get picked up. But I can assure you that I’’ve dealt with this all before, and it’s not new to me. I can
promise you that there won’t be any debris around to trip your employees.”

Heat crept up Victoria’s cheeks. Great. She’d made a fool out of herself in front of the damn

handyman for no reason. “You seem to have a handle on things.”

“I do. I promise. By five p.m., this place is going to look amazing and will impress the hell out of

everyone, Ms. Green. All you need to do is follow the agenda I gave you. I’m taking care of everyone
else.”

Victoria nodded. “That’s probably best.” Sometimes delegation was the most productive way to

lead, and Grace was the best of the best when it came to event coordination. And Victoria prided
herself on surrounding herself with the best people. Speaking of… “Is Simon still around?”

Now it was Grace’s turn to blush. Victoria narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything. Instead,

she filed the little tidbit away in her mind. So her business consultant and the event coordinator
were a thing? Interesting.

“There was a conference room on the forty-eighth floor that he’s set up on. I think he was getting

some work done. Do you want me to call him down?”

Victoria’s gaze slid over to the window in the kitchen doors, and her focus immediately fell on

the handyman, who was working on installing another one of the green lights. “I should probably go to
him. If he’s working on my company, I don’t want to interrupt him.” She glanced back to Grace with a
smile.

“I’ll be around if you need anything else, Ms. Green. If you can’t find me, feel free to call.”
Victoria nodded and strode back into the large hall. As she crossed the room to the elevator bay,

she once again found herself looking at Dean, and she frowned at herself. Not that Dean wasn’t
attractive. His jeans fit him far too well, and he had the chiseled jaw of a movie star. But he was so
far from her type, she couldn’t imagine why she couldn’t drag her eyes away.

Though she definitely wasn’t leaving behind a trail of exes, she had an established pattern. Her

high school boyfriend was one step away from valedictorian (behind her, which was part of the
reason their relationship never made it to college), her late college boyfriend was an intern at the
governor’s office, and her latest failed attempt at balancing her professional life with her personal
one was with the CFO of Green & Sons.

When she had the chance to step up and lead the company out of the hole Terry dug it into, she’d

had to choose between dating John and becoming the CEO of the family company. It was, sadly, an
easy decision.

Dean didn’t look like a CFO or politician. He looked as if his hands were rough and callused and

as if he didn’t get his muscles from any gym. They were the product of hard labor, and every inch of
him was probably ripped.

The elevator doors opened and Victoria forced herself to stop imagining the handyman’s muscles.

What the hell was she doing? The entire world was falling apart around her and she was

throwing a damn party. And an expensive one at that. The elevator door opened and she strode out
and into the hallway. She didn’t know which room Simon was set up in, but she turned right and eyed
the open doors until she found her favorite consultant.

“Are those the Miller plant projections?” She walked into the room, deciding to announce her

presence before she surprised him.

Simon West turned around, not seeming surprised to see her at all. “I didn’t think you’d still be

here.”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” she lied. “Why are you still hanging around? Wouldn’t have

anything to do with the pretty party planner, would it?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Grace is an event coordinator, not a party planner. Trust me, she’s had to

remind me over a dozen times.” Simon glanced to the clock on his computer. ““There’s still time to
stop at the hospital, you know.”

And just like that, her headache was back. “What’s the point?” She pulled out a chair.
Simon leaned back and was silent for a moment. “It will make you feel better,” he said softly.
She stared him down as an unexpected wave of grief washed over her. “Seeing my father

unconscious on a hospital bed won’t make me feel better. I promise. Stick to what you’re good at and
tell me how the Miller plants are looking.”

In a heartbeat, he was back to the professional she was used to. “It looks risky. The price is

amazing, but that’s only because they’re not bringing in any profit.””

“What about the scrapping project? Have you looked over the projected revenue increase if we

install it into all the plants?”

He ran his fingers through his short red hair. “I wish I had a definitive answer for you, but I’m

still researching. I don’t want to tell you anything when I’’m not sure myself.”

“Fine,” she said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. Her consultant wasn’t consulting, the

handyman had completely showed her up downstairs, and she had no idea what Terry was up to. “Can
you at least tell me if you’ve heard anything about my brother?”

She didn’t know how it was possible, but somehow Simon’s face became even more somber.

“The guy I have tailing him says he splits his time between the hospital, his lawyer’’s office, and with
his girlfriend.”

Even though she wasn’t surprised, the news still felt like a blow to her gut. “His lawyer? He’s

not getting the company, Simon. I won’’t let it happen.”

“I’m on your side,” he pointed out. “I know firsthand what happened to Green’s when Terry was

in charge. But you’re going to have to fight for it. If your father did change his will before his heart
attack last week, there’s a good chance that the court will honor that, even if he does take you to court.
But if your father hasn’t changed it since Terry was CEO…” He trailed off, not needing to say what
they both knew.

As her face fell, he continued. “Keep doing what you’re doing. As long as the profits stay up and

the employees stay happy, you have a leg to stand on. If you show any sign of weakness, Terry will
jump on it. You can’t give him any advantages in this fight.”

Simon and she really thought alike sometimes. He knew she couldn’t sit back, so having a goal

was exactly what she needed. And right now, her goal was to make damned sure her employees
would defend her if Terry did try to take over. “I’’m on it.” She stood. “Keep me updated on the
scrapping project numbers, all right?”

“Of course,” he assured her.

She walked out, thinking over Simon’s advice. Stay strong. Don’t show weakness. Easy peasy.

She’d been doing that for years.

CHAPTER TWO

Dean rolled his shoulders. He loved working gigs with Grace, but he sure as hell hated wearing a

suit. He never understood how people wore them day in and day out. He’d never be able to get any
work done if he felt as if he were trapped in a fabric prison all day.

But everyone else seemed to be comfortable enough. Of course, considering how busy the open

bar was, that might be the alcohol working its magic. He wouldn’t mind a glass for himself, but he
had a lengthy night ahead of him. Long after everyone cleared out, he’d be overseeing the teardown.
But he could make more working one night with Grace than an entire week of house calls back home.

It didn’t used to be this hard to make a living. When he worked with Bill Heder, the jobs were

steady enough and pay was reasonable. But when the economy went south, so did Bill. In the years
since, Dean had scrambled to make a name for himself: working nights, weekends, holidays and any
job that would give him some advantage in a crowded market.

A flash of dark hair caught his eye and his gaze landed on Victoria Green. She definitely looked

different than when he’d managed to piss her off earlier. For one, she was smiling. Instead of the
tense, uptight woman he’d met hours ago, she seemed happy and relaxed. No one changed moods that
quickly.

No. This was an act. He’d been to so many of these fancy parties, he could recognize the fake joy

from a mile away: rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty, pretending to be best friends with
everyone.

“Please stop looking at the client like you want to strangle her.” Grace came up to his side.
Dean ripped his gaze away, trying not to let his embarrassment show. He owed it to Grace to at

least be professional. “Sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“Umm hmm,” she muttered. “What’s going on with you? I know she pressed a few buttons, but—”
“It’s not her,” he bit out even as his eyes once again found Victoria and lingered a few seconds

too long on the little black dress that hugged her curves just as well as her pencil skirt from earlier
that day. “I’m stressed, that’s all.”

Her brow drew together. “Is everything okay with Katy?”
Instinctively, he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check for any missed messages. Not that

there’d been any ten minutes ago, but he never felt comfortable when he was out of town. “It’s her
first time alone.” He put the phone back in his pocket.

“Wow. That’s a big step.”
“I’m trying my best not to think about it.”
“How’s that working out for you?” asked Grace with a subtle grin.
“Like shit. I never should’ve left her alone. When she was begging and pleading in front of me, it

made so much damn sense, but somehow all of her magical powers seem to slip away once she’s
gone.”

Grace let out a laugh and he glared at her. It wasn’t fucking funny.
“She’s a good kid, Dean. I don’t think she’s ever broken a rule in her life.”
“That makes it worse! It’s always the good ones that fall hardest, Grace. I’m telling you, I

should’ve never left her.”

“Dean, I’m sure—” Grace abruptly stopped talking and a big smile filled her face. “Victoria, are

you enjoying yourself?”

Dean jerked as he realized she’d walked up right behind him and he’d hardly noticed. He forced

a tight smile, but Victoria was more focused on Grace.

“Everyone seems to be having a great time.” Victoria’s previously fake grin was replaced with a

more hesitant smile.

This was a woman who’d obviously prefer to be anywhere else, thought Dean.
“If you hear any complaints at all, let Dean or I know. Andre is also around here somewhere

too.”

Finally, Victoria looked at him. Her lips tightened. “What do you specialize in, Dean?”
He shrugged, but Grace answered for him. “Dean does everything. Hard labor, electrical,

plumbing, even security on a few occasions. He’s great to have around when a fuse blows or an outlet
decides it doesn’t want to work.”

“If I don’t know how to do it, I’ll figure it out.” It sounded like bragging, but that should really be

his life’s motto: figuring out how to do jobs he never wanted in the first place.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Victoria held her hand out to him.
He stared at her manicured hand; the matte white nails caught his eye. He’d crawled in some of

the hotel’s dirtiest and nastiest corners before he’d cleaned up and slipped into the suit. It almost
seemed wrong to touch her.

But it seemed as though she was doing her best to apologize, and he respected that she wasn’t one

to hold grudges. Especially over a damn screw. He met her handshake, surprised at her firm grip. As
quickly as possible, he pulled away, not wanting her to feel the rough calluses on his palms or notice
how beat to shit his own nails were. He might be dressed the part, but he sure as hell didn’’t fit in
here.

“I need to keep making the rounds, but I’ll make sure to let one of you know if anything comes

up.”

Dean stepped back and allowed her room to move past. “We’ll be around,” he assured her as she

strode to a well-dressed couple who sat at a table behind him.

“Hey Dean,” said Grace.
He raised his brows. “Hmm?” he asked, still looking at Victoria.
“Still worried about Katy?”
He jerked around to stare at Grace. “No. Why?”
A knowing smile covered her lips. “Didn’t think so.” She walked away and left him alone as he

realized just how transparent he’’d been.

~~~~~

Victoria flipped through the flashcards in her hands. Her heels were the only sound in the quiet

hallway as she paced back and forth, trying to commit all her talking points to memory. Public
speaking had never been her forte. Even at more informal parties like this.

All she wanted to do was go up there and give a small speech about why her employees were so

important and tell them everything they had all achieved together.

But she also wanted to spotlight a few exemplary ones, and she didn’t want to say any names

wrong or confuse any of the award winners. But, no matter what, she didn’t want to be that CEO who
needed to look at flashcards to remember her employees.

If she were walking down the hallway in her office, this wouldn’t be an issue at all. But once she

was in front of a crowd, with her voice being the only sound in the room, suddenly her mind would go

blank.

“Focus,” she said to herself as she quickly went through her speech out loud. “Thank you so much

for coming. Green & Sons is honored, blah, blah, blah. Joke about the Henderson surprise order last
month. Segue into how it wouldn’t be possible without the hard workers. Then I—”

A slight shuffling from behind her caught her attention, and she turned around. The hallway was

well lit, and considering she stood at the end of it, there wasn’t any way for someone to sneak up.
Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’’t alone. Quickly, she hid the cards behind her back.
How disingenuous would everyone think she was if they thought she couldn’t remember all her
employees?

Taking a deep breath, Victoria decided to head back to the ballroom. She was as ready as she’d

ever be. Her presentation was scheduled to begin in fifteen minutes, so she could freshen up in the
bathroom and check in with Grace once more before she went up.

The man came from out of nowhere. One second she was completely alone, the next she was

body slammed by someone wearing all black and shoved into the wall. Her head hit so hard it seemed
to bounce off; pain shot through her body.

Before she could catch her bearings, something small and tight wrapped around her throat. As her

air was completely cut off, Victoria’s eyes widened. This wasn’t some drunk guy who couldn’t hold
his liquor. He was strangling her.

Whatever he was using, it was painfully cutting into her neck hard enough that it felt as though it

must be cutting through the flesh. The abrupt attack, combined with the claustrophobia of being cut off
from oxygen, set off a panic.

As her assailant pulled harder, her feet lifted off the floor. She leaned back against him, trying to

get even the slightest bit of air, as she turned her high heels into weapons. She kicked back as hard as
possible. She wanted to elbow him too, but she couldn’t bring herself to let go of the bastard’s wrists,
even knowing she wasn’t getting any air while holding on. Somehow she felt as though if she let go,
he would pull hard enough to completely remove her head.

Frantically, as her vision blurred, she kicked back even more. Black splotches appeared as the

hallway disappeared. Shit. She was never going to make it…

Her body crumpled to the ground. She was so unprepared, she didn’t get a chance to brace her

fall. Luckily her shoulder hit before her head and slightly cushioned the fall. As she gasped for air,
she tried to see what was happening. But her eyes were so blurry, it was no use. The sounds of the
struggle came to her first. Then she made out the two black figures.

One mercilessly pounded the other one with punches, but Grace didn’t recognize either. She

pushed herself up and finally saw the man on the receiving end of most of the punches wore a face
mask, only his eyes and mouth visible.

Alarm bells went off in her mind. She needed to do something. Help her strange savior, call for

help. Something. But before she managed to make herself useful in any way, the attacker pushed
himself up and ran.

The one helping her took a step after him, but abruptly halted and turned back to Victoria.

Recognition snaked through her. “Dean,” she croaked out. Embarrassment shot through her. Somehow
the thought of him seeing her like this seemed so much worse than a random hotel worker.

“Are you okay?” He quickly looked to the attacker’s form as he disappeared down the hall. But

instead of chasing the man down, Dean pulled his phone from his pocket and punched something in.

That was all Victoria needed to spark the life back in her. She forced her shaky legs to strengthen

and shot up as she snatched the phone from Dean’s hands. “What are you doing?” she snapped.

He looked at her as if she were insane. “I’m calling the cops. That guy was trying to kill you.”
Victoria backed away, struggling to stand in the heels that normally didn’t bother her at all. “I

can’t be swarmed by police! I have a speech to give any minute now!”” Even she knew how
ridiculous it all sounded, but she held her head high, refusing to let this night get ruined. Strong. She
needed to be strong.

If the press got wind of the attack…
“You’re in shock.” Dean tried to grab his phone, but Victoria took another step back. But her luck

was determined to stay in hiding for the night, and her heel landed at just the wrong angle. She started
to tumble right back onto the cold tile, but Dean’s strong hands wrapped around her arms and pulled
her up and against him.

Victoria took a stuttering, deep breath. Heat rushed to her face. She opened her mouth, but

promptly shut it again. Good grief. She’d almost been murdered, but somehow this embarrassed her?

“We need to call the police and alert the hotel before he gets away.” Dean leaned forward and

twisted his phone out of her hand.

“I need to go give a speech,” she insisted, pushing herself back and finally standing without

wobbling.

“Giving a speech is not more important than your life,” he bit out, staring her down as though she

needed to be institutionalized.

“It is to me.” She pushed her way past him. As soon as her back was to him, she took the

opportunity to feel her neck, where the small rope had bit into the skin, but didn’t have time to dwell.
She heard Dean’s footsteps close behind her.

“How can you say that?” he asked.
Her hands fisted at her sides. The handyman could prove to be a big problem if she didn’t nip his

curiosity in the bud. She steeled herself and turned to face him. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

He clenched his jaw. “Of course I do.”
“Then let me handle this. I have people and the resources to take care of messes just like this one.

I don’t need your help anymore, but I do appreciate the offer.”

His eyes dropped down to her neck and back to her face. “You’re going to do your big speech

then?”

“Yep.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
He nodded. “If you say so. But you might want to figure out how you’re going to explain the

massive bruise on your neck.”

~~~~~

“Damn it,” muttered Victoria. Her hands bolted to her hair and pulled at the pins and ties holding

it in its firm updo.

Dean let out a small laugh at her frantic motions, and she glared at him as she got the last few pins

out. “Don’t look so smug. I have lots of hair.” With that, the long, dark strands fell down and cascaded
over her shoulders and just past the generous swell of her breasts.

His jaw clenched, and Dean ripped his gaze away. Fuck. The woman was almost killed and he

was checking her out? If she had a death wish, it wasn’t his problem.

The thin red line along her neck was still visible, but much less noticeable now with her hair

covering most of it. He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. Do whatever the hell you want. No skin
off my back if a killer goes free.” He walked around her and stopped right before he was out of

earshot. He looked over his shoulder at Victoria. “Unless he comes back.”

Without acknowledging him, she turned and walked the opposite direction towards the bathroom.

All he could do was stare at her retreating form. What the hell was wrong with that woman? On one
hand, she was remarkably calm under pressure, which he could respect. But she was also the most
idiotic person he’d ever met.

Some crazy willing to strangle women was running around the city without a fucking care in the

world thanks to her stubbornness. Even if she didn’t care about herself, that man was dangerous. If he
had known that Victoria had a death wish, he would’ve left her on the floor while he kept on chasing
the son of a bitch. But by the time it finally sunk in that she wasn’t going to do anything, the man
could’ve been anywhere.

He probably wasn’t a professional. Not that Dean knew a damn thing about professional

assholes, but it had been a bit too easy to fight off the other man. He bet that if Victoria was better
versed in self-defense, she could’ve managed to get away long enough to call for help.

And help was only a short distance away. Why would someone attack her in such a public place?

~~~~~

“What’s wrong?” asked Denise.
Victoria put on her best poker face and turned to her assistant. “Nothing’s wrong. Aren’t you

having a good time?”

Denise smiled in the way that Victoria was so used to seeing when Denise knew Victoria was

lying to herself. The biggest problem about Denise was also her best attribute. She knew Victoria
inside and out. Victoria had to resist the urge to rub at her sore neck or Denise would ask too many
questions.

“I know you’re worried about your father. I’m sure he’s going to pull out of this and be even

stronger than before, Vic.”

Victoria bent her head and rubbed at her temples, which allowed even more of her hair to cover

the bruise. Well, Denise was right about her being out of sorts, but a bit off on the reason. Probably
the only benefit of someone trying to kill her was the fact that she’d hardly thought of her father in the
past hour. “Do you think I should be there?” she asked quietly. “Instead of here, throwing a party, you
know?”

Denise set a comforting hand on her back and Victoria felt her first bit of relaxation all night. Her

assistant had worked at the company for almost thirty years. When Victoria first took over the reins,
Denise’s subtle advice had been invaluable. Her salt-and-pepper short hair, oversized glasses, and
soft voice always made Victoria think of her more as a sweet relative than employee.

Or maybe it was because Victoria was seriously short on sweet relatives.
“Your father likes getting things done. When he wakes up, he’ll be grateful you weren’t at his side

the entire time. The idea of not being as efficient as possible would upset him enough to give him
another heart attack.”

Victoria scoffed, her guilt leaving her completely. This is what her father would want. Fighting

for the company he worked his ass off to build. It didn’t matter what her brother, Dean the handyman,
or even her would-be assassin thought.

Speaking of the handyman, he currently stood across the ballroom, talking intently to one of the

event coordinators, Andre, but she hadn’t missed the constant looks in her direction. Damn it. Why
couldn’t he just let it go? He saved her, she was grateful, event over. She could have some of the best

people in the city looking into Terry’s connections first thing in the morning. She didn’t need him
running to the police and making a huge mess out of this.

She needed her own people, people she could trust, looking into who attacked her. If the press

thought she was weak or in danger, they’d have a field day. So far, Dean was the biggest loose end
that could make this whole fiasco blow up even bigger.

Just then, he moved away from Andre and walked across the ballroom until he disappeared into

the kitchen area. “Excuse me, Denise. I need to check in with the event coordinators.” She made her
way over to where Andre was surveying the room. Now that Denise wasn’’t watching with her eagle
eye for detail, it was impossible to keep her fingers away from her now aching throat. And the pain
was only going to get worse over the next few days. She’d probably have to fit in some time to go
scarf shopping……

“Hello, Ms. Green. I hope you’re having a good time.” Andre smiled.
If he only knew how horrible her evening had been so far. “It seems like everyone is enjoying

themselves,” she told him.

He nodded and looked her over, as though trying to guess what she was going to ask before she

said anything. She doubted he’d be able to, so she saved him the trouble. “What can you tell me about
Dean?”

He blinked a few times, unable to hide his surprise at her abrupt question. “Our Dean?”
“The giant you were just talking to,” she confirmed.
Andre shrugged. “What do you want to know about him? I’m not sure how he and Grace met, but

he’s our go-to for the more hands-on jobs when throwing the events.””

“Why don’t you just tell me everything you know and I’ll decide if it’s important.”
A sly grin covered Andre’s face. “Ohh... You’re curious about him?””
Her eyes widened at the implication but she quickly tamped down the surprise. So what if Andre

thought she was interested in a less than professional relationship with Dean? The man was
definitely handsome in an undereducated sort of way. But underneath the sarcasm and calluses was a
classically handsome face and enough muscle a girl could sink her nails into. ““Does he live in the
city?” she asked, not correcting Andre’s assumption.

“I gotta be honest. Dean’s a Class-A guy. Lives out in the burbs with his little sister. Their parents

got hit by a drunk driver and Dean’s raised her ever since.””

Little sister…she could use this. “So they have a good relationship? Him and his sister?”
Andre smiled over at her. “Well, she’s a sixteen-year-old and he’s her sole guardian. They have

their ups and downs.”

Victoria nodded. “Is she applying for colleges yet?”
“I think so. Dean’s been trying to pick up as many extra jobs as possible, so Grace and I think

he’s trying to save as much as possible for Katy.””

A smile curled Victoria’s lips. This was perfect. If Dean needed money, she could give him

money. Hell, she could put in a good word for his sister at any university in the country. This could be
easier than she thought.

But she’d have to hold off on making any offers. Her experience with bribery was thankfully

limited, but she knew not to rush into it.

CHAPTER THREE

Dean stumbled into the house, cursing the pair of tennis shoes that blocked the entryway. “Damn

it,” he muttered under his breath as he caught his balance, knocking into the small table lining the
hallway, causing the lamp to sway precariously back and forth. He held himself stock-still.

He let out a sigh of relief as the lamp finally came to a halt. But before he could get used to the

silence, he heard the frantic scraping of claws on wood as sixty pounds of fur and muscle clamored
down the stairs and came to a miraculous halt right in front of him in the cramped hallway.

Although Dean was always happy to see Rigby’s energetic greetings, he knew that if he was

loose, then…

“You’re home already?” asked Katy from the top of the stairs.
“You’re still awake,” he countered as he set his work bag in the closet.
She smirked at him as she started down the stairs. “I have a curfew, not a bedtime. There’s no

rule against staying up late.”

“Late? It’s four in the morning. The sun’s coming up soon.”
“Come on. It’s Saturday. I don’t have to be up early for anything and there was a Project Runway

marathon on the DVR.”

He eyed Katy. It wasn’t her staying up late that bothered him. It was why she might be awake. Her

hair was in a messy ponytail, but she still had what looked like a full face of makeup on. Did teenage
girls put on makeup when they weren’t going out? Even if she had gone out with friends, would she
wash off the stuff before bed?

For that matter, she hadn’t expected him home until morning. Should he check her room to make

sure she was alone?

“So why didn’t you stay in the city?” She bent down to rub the back of Rigby’s head.
He rolled his neck and rubbed his shoulder. His sore muscles protested the motion, once again

reminding him that he’d barely prevented Victoria Green from getting murdered. “I wasn’t tired.
Figured I’d rather get here late and sleep all day tomorrow instead of getting up early and driving
back.”

Katy glanced up at him through tired eyes and Dean felt a bit better. She didn’t look partied all

night exhausted. She looked as if she’d been relaxing and he’d surprised her. He was okay with that.
As long as she wasn’t out all night with a boy. Or drugs. Or alcohol. Really, his chances of having a
premature heart attack would decrease dramatically if she just stayed inside the house and never left.
But, as Grace continually pointed out to him, that was illegal.

“I didn’t think I’d make such a big entrance,” he muttered. ““You can head on upstairs. I’ll be

unloading for a while still.”

She pushed herself up and let out a yawn. “Don’t stay up too late.” Katy motioned for Rigby to

follow her. “Greg stopped by earlier asking if you were available for an emergency fix-up
tomorrow.”

Fuck. Dean ran his hands through his hair. “Did he say what the emergency was?”
“Some rich dude is trying to get a new club or something open, but the health and safety guy said

nothing could happen until the wiring was all up to code. Greg said if you could show, he’d make it
worth your while.”

He let out a tired sigh, and Katy set a hand on her hip. “Don’t let Greg push you around. You

already worked all day Saturday. Take tomorrow off. Greg can get someone else to help.”

“I’ll think about it.” But Dean knew he’d take the damn job. After working an endless stream of

overtime and weekends, he’d finally managed to save enough to give Katy a head start for college, but
as soon as he started to feel as if he wasn’t a complete failure as a brother, the damn roof started to
leak again.

No, that wasn’t true. He wasn’t a complete failure. In fact, he was way too good at raising Katy.

If she’d skipped all her classes and never done her homework, he wouldn’’t have to think about how
she could afford to go to NYU. But he’d lucked out with a straight-A student who was determined to
become a vet.

He sighed and headed up the stairs. There was a lot more of his gear still in his truck, but if he

was going out with Greg in the morning, he might as well leave it out there.

At the top of the stairs, he turned left and entered the only door on that side. The house was a

small two-story, with two bedrooms on the upper floor and the living area, kitchen, and bathroom on
the first floor. It wasn’t much, but considering how expensive real estate was so close to the city, he
was happy with it. It allowed him to work some of the higher-paying jobs in Manhattan, but keep his
steady, suburban work up for the weekdays.

He pulled off his white, buttoned-up shirt and his undershirt before he sat on the bed to start

working on his shoes. Dean sighed at the relief of getting the shoes off and fell back on the bed. He
still needed to take the damn pants off and brush his teeth, but all he could manage was to roll over on
his side, the exhaustion taking over.

The blaring of his phone pulled him awake just before he was fully asleep. He groaned as he

pulled his phone out of his pants and answered. “Katy told me about tomorrow, Greg,” he mumbled.
“I’ll be there.”

“This isn’t Greg,” said a feminine voice.
Recognition shot through him and he bolted into a sitting position. “Victoria?”
“I’m sorry for calling so late,” she said. “Honestly, I wasn’’t expecting you to answer. I thought

I’d get voicemail.”

Dean rubbed at his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept through a phone call. “I just

got home. What the hell are you still doing awake? You live in the city, don’t you?” Her ride home
would take less than half the time of his drive.

“Well, as you’re aware, this was a stressful night. I’ve been thinking a lot.”
Well, that was something. Thank God the woman had the sense to be worried. She’d seemed so

nonchalant about the murder attempt at her party. But he supposed he could understand the need to
keep things together in front of the public. Didn’’t make her any less of an idiot for waiting this long to
do anything about it. “So you’re going to the police?” He hoped she didn’t expect him to hightail it all
the way back to the city at this hour.

“I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I don’t want to be responsible for a murderer, or

attempted murderer, walking free. I’’d like you to come into the office on Monday.”

“Not tomorrow?” he asked. But they already lost the guy. Would one day really make a

difference?

“I want to organize a few things before I talk to anyone. Besides, it sounds like you have plans

with Greg tomorrow.”

“And I work on Monday,” he reminded her. Fuck. Whatever time she asked him to come back,

he’d be working. It’s all he ever did these days.

“I’ll make sure you’re reimbursed. You saved my life, Dean. I know I owe you.”
He frowned. He’d never thought of it like that. He’d saved Victoria Green. One of the richest and

most powerful women in New York, and now she owed him a favor. He had no idea what he’d need

from her, but it was nice to know.

“I can make it on Monday,” he said.
“Great.” He could practically see her smiling in victory in some giant penthouse apartment. “I’ll

tell the receptionist to expect you at ten a.m., so hopefully you’ll miss some of the morning rush.”

“I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Thanks again,” she said before she hung up the phone.
He stared at the cell in his hand for a moment. Had Victoria Green really just called him at four

in the morning? This was probably the strangest night of his entire life.

He fell back on the pillows. The sooner he got to sleep, the sooner it would all be over.

CHAPTER FOUR

Dean had the distinct impression he was overdressed as he walked into the Green & Sons

corporate offices. They were located on the thirty-first and thirty-second floor of the Hunt Building in
Manhattan. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but the laidback reception area certainly wasn’t it.

The walls were a dark gray with stainless steel and wooden trim, seamlessly mixing a modern

and rustic look. The only time he’d met Victoria had been at the party, so he had expected some sort
of state-of-the-art, classic office space. Somehow he forgot that Victoria was the head of a hardware
store chain. Of course the offices would reflect a more masculine atmosphere.

A small, older woman smiled at him from behind the reception desk. “Good morning! How can I

help you today?”

Here goes nothing. “Um, I’m here for Ms. Green.” He held his breath, half waiting for security to

kick him out for even daring to ask for one of the most powerful women in the city.

But instead of kicking him out, the receptionist’s grin got wider as she stood. “Mr. Carey. You’re

scheduled in conference room twelve. It’’s right over here.”

Huh, he thought. This really was happening. He’d assumed that after Victoria completely blew

him off at the party, he’d go on living his life, forever remembering her as the socialite who brushed
him off after he saved her life.

Maybe she’d come to her senses and called the police. Of course, if that was the case, he should

be at the police station, not “conference room twelve.”

The receptionist held open the door to the conference room for him. “Here you go. Would you

like some coffee or a bottle of water?”

Dean took in the massive table in the center of the room. It was in the same style as the rest of the

office, with a light finished wood surface and stainless steel pillars holding it up. The far wall was
entirely made of windows that overlooked the city skyline. He then remembered that he’d been asked
a question. “No. No coffee, thanks.”

The woman smiled. “Well, my name is Denise. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll let Victoria

know that you’re here.””

He nodded as Denise let the door fall shut. He thought back to the brief phone conversation with

Victoria. She said she’d make this worth his while. What the hell did that mean? Pay minimum wage
for his time plus mileage? Or maybe she’’d give him some sort of reward for saving her.

He didn’t want to be greedy, but he sure as heck wouldn’t mind an extra chunk of change. Though,

Greg hadn’t been lying about the rich guy needing help. He’’d made a few hundred from only helping
Greg out for eight hours on Sunday.

Even though Greg could get cheap labor if he wanted, Dean was certified and had more

experience than a bunch of the young high school dropouts who knew how to wire in a light switch
and suddenly thought they were experts.

So between Greg and Grace, he’d had a lucrative weekend. Now after he paid his truck payment

and got groceries for the week, he’d have a bit more to store in Katy’s college fund……

The door pushed open. Victoria walked in with a man in jeans and a sport coat following her.

“Dean,” she said with a smile. “I’’m really happy you made it.”

She looked completely different than she had at the fancy party. Her hair was pulled back in a

tight braid. Her eyes were wider, fresher looking with the bright sunlight streaming in through the
wall of windows. Though every other employee was dressed casually, she still looked like a CEO in
heels, a skirt, and green blouse.

Her knee-length skirt was perfectly appropriate, but he couldn’t help his eyes from zooming in on

the amount of exposed leg. He had the sudden, intense urge to run his hand along the smooth calf
exposed, up to her thigh until he pushed the skirt higher and higher.

He blinked and snapped out of it. “Morning,” he said, only then noticing the feminine silk scarf

wrapped around her neck. Hopefully the bruises weren’t too bad, but obviously they were visible
enough that makeup couldn’t hide them.

The man behind her held out a hand. “Gordon Walker.”
Dean met Gordon’s handshake. The man was as tall as Dean, but probably had a good two

decades on him, evidenced by the graying hair and completely gray beard.

“Gordon is what I like to call a problem solver.” Victoria sat down and motioned for the men to

follow suit.

Dean sat across the table from her and eyed Gordon. “I can’t help but notice he’s not a cop.”
Victoria was straight-faced. “No. As I said, he’s a problem solver and my head of security. And,

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I have problems, Mr. Carey.”

His brows drew together. “Bigger problems than someone trying to kill you?”
She shrugged. “What do you know about my family?”
“Ummm….” he murmured. “Not much.”” He had a feeling he’d know a lot more if he read any of

the magazines with paparazzi photos of her on the cover, but he’d never actually picked one up. “I
know your grandfather started a hardware store in North Carolina and now you’re running things.”

She ran a pen between her fingers. “There’s a bit more to it than that.” Gordon and she exchanged

a look. The older man appeared to be warning her silently about something, but Victoria turned back
to Dean. “Whatever we discuss in this room stays between us, do you understand?”

“Of course,” he said.
She raised a brow. “No. Not just ‘of course.’ If you betray the trust I’m about to put in you, I will

ruin your business, your reputation, and anything else important to you.”

Dean squared his shoulders, facing the reminder that this wasn’t a normal business meeting. He

was on the losing end of the balance of power. But he wasn’t lying. Who would he tell her secrets to
anyway? “I understand,” he snapped.

“My father had a massive heart attack last week.”
He blinked a few times. He didn’t know what he expected her to say, but it sure wasn’t that.
She continued, “He’s been in a medically-induced coma ever since and the prognosis isn’t good.”
“I’m sorry,” said Dean softly.
Victoria’s face was hard, no trace of emotion showing. She was stating facts the same way some

people read the financial statements. “There’s more. My brother, Terry, ran the company before me.
To be frank, he almost ran Green & Sons into bankruptcy. I have been able to turn things around, but
I’ve heard that Terry is back. I don’t know what my father’s will says, and there’s a very real chance
all the stock is going to Terry, and I’ll be kicked out.”

She took a deep breath. Even though her face was expressionless, it did seem to stress her out

that her family was falling apart. “So I need you to understand that I’m in a very delicate situation. If
he contests the will, he’s going to try to prove that I’m not good for the company. At the end of the day,
my number-one priority is keeping up my image. Personally and professionally. I can’t give the press
or Terry any reason to think I’m in trouble. Do you understand?”

Dean leaned back in his chair. “You didn’t bring me here to give my statement. You brought me

here to make sure I wouldn’t talk.””

She looked to the head of security sitting next to her. “Gordon, can you give us a moment?”

The man obediently nodded and stood up, his back ramrod straight as he turned and left the room.
Victoria shuffled in her seat and crossed her legs. “I’m laying everything on the table here. You

have done me a favor already, and I want to help you out. I was going to offer to help your sister,
Katy, get into any school she wants to, but I looked her up and apparently she doesn’’t need any help.”

Dean faced a mixture of pride that Victoria Green just acknowledged Katy’s amazing grades and

unease that she’d done that thorough of a search on him.

Victoria leaned forward and rested on her elbows. “So I want you to tell me what I can do to

repay you. I can pay off your truck. Guarantee Katy a job here as long as I’m in charge. I want you to
tell me what I can do to make your life easier.”

Dean rubbed his tired eyes, still trying to recover from the insufficient sleep he’d gotten over the

weekend. “So…what? If I agree to keep what happened this weekend quiet, you’’re giving me a blank
check?”

Her blue eyes regarded him. “Maybe not a blank check. But I want you to understand that I’m

grateful.”

“So I take your money, and that’s it? You go on trying to keep your empire, and I never mention a

word of this to anyone and we never see each other again?”

“It almost sounds dirty like that. I might use Grace again for more events, so we might end up

running in the same circles. But, for the purposes of any investigation, yes, you’ll be finished. I’ll
have you write down anything you remember and I’ll reference that if I need to. Gordon will be my
shadow until everything gets sorted out. This way, my safety and the company will both be taken care
of.”

The corner of Dean’s mouth lifted. “That’ll never work with Gordon.”
She frowned. “Gordon has been in the military, hunting down the worst of the worst for over a

decade, and is experienced in private investigative work as well as guarding.”

Dean wasn’t surprised in the slightest. “He’s going to stand out like a sore thumb. Have you ever

had a bodyguard before?””

She ran the pen through her fingers again. “Fortunately I’ve never had the need.”
“Well, I can promise you that almost any reporter will know that Gordon is former military. And I

do know that your photograph is a constant in the local papers, so it’s going to be noticed that former
military is tailing you everywhere.””

For the first time since he’d arrived at the Green & Sons corporate offices, Victoria showed

emotion. And not just any. She was pissed.

“So now I have to decide between keeping up appearances and not being assassinated?” she bit

out.

“Can’t you just keep Gordon investigating, but get a bodyguard who will blend in better?” It

couldn’’t be too hard to find. Wasn’t half the job to blend in?

“I could. But I know Gordon. I trust him. Even if I get a recommendation for someone new, I’m

going to North Carolina on Thursday to visit a plant we might be purchasing. I can’t interview
someone and get them cleared by then.” She bit her lip before she covered her mouth with her fingers.
“I’m sorry. You don’’t have to hear all this. How about ten thousand dollars? You and Katy can go on
a nice, relaxing vacation on me.” She pushed herself up. “Thanks for coming all the way down here
for such a short conversation. I’’ll have the check prepared right now.”

“Hold on.” Dean slid around the table to cut off Victoria before she could reach the door. “So

what are you going to do if you can’’t find a replacement before your trip?”

Her eyes looked to the floor for a brief second before they moved back up to his. “Sometimes you

have to prioritize, and my priorities are clear.”

“And where does your own personal safety fall on that list? Your own brother is trying to kill

you!”

Her hand shot out and wrapped around his bicep. “Keep your voice down!” she whispered.
He looked down to where her small fingers rested against his arm. Her grip relaxed briefly

before she jerked away.

“There’s no proof it’s Terry. We might’ve had massive, massive disagreements in the past, but

he’s still my brother.”

It took all of Dean’s concentration to not glance down to where she’d touched him. Even through

his flannel button-up, his skin was warm from her touch.

“And my safety is high in my priority list, trust me. It’s just not number one. Do you know how

many people almost lost their jobs when Terry was in charge of Green & Sons?” Before he could
answer, she continued. “Thousands. This isn’t about me keeping my job or making money. I had
enough in my trust fund to keep me very comfortable for the rest of my life. This is for family legacy. I
was trusted to keep Green’’s going strong, and I’m not letting anyone, even family, destroy it.”

“What family legacy will you be protecting if you die?”
She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t be dramatic. I probably won’t die.”
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “You’re the most infuriating woman I’ve ever talked

to…”

She raised a brow, and he had the distinct impression it wasn’t the first time she’d heard that.

“Well, that’s the way it is, Dean. Unless you have a magical solution, I’ll just be extra careful for the
next few days until Gordon can find me someone.”

Silence stretched between them, and Dean ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to think of

anything to tell her. Some way to fix this. But it wasn’t his problem. This was her drama. Her circus.
All he had to do was take the ten grand and leave. He’d never have to think of all this again.

“What about me?” He didn’t even know where the words came from, but he couldn’t take them

back.

“Huh?”
“I go on your trip with you. Watch your back, have 911 on speed dial. Next week you can have

someone much more qualified start, but for now, I can be there. I already kicked one guy’s ass.”

She shifted her weight, and Dean glanced down to her gorgeous legs once more. Damn it. He was

not offering because she was hot. He was offering because she needed help and he could give it.

And the fact that she was giving him ten thousand dollars didn’t hurt.
“What do you want in return?” she asked skeptically.
“You’re already giving me a hell of a lot more than I expected. So the ten grand plus the fee you’d

pay Gordon?” Should he ask for more? He didn’t want to take advantage of a woman in a bad
situation, but Victoria Green was hardly about to go broke because of him.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She took a step back.
He held up his hands and backed away too. If she wanted to put her life at risk, it wasn’t his

responsibility to shake some sense into her. “Sorry I mentioned it, okay. Either way, I can promise you
that what happened last weekend will stay between us.””

She eyed him warily and he tried to decipher what she might be thinking. She was probably

debating how likely he was to be lying his ass off to her. It would be easy enough to cash her check
and still go running to the nearest news outlet with dirt on one of the hottest socialites in town.

“Hold on a minute.” She pulled her phone off the clip that hooked onto her skirt. He hadn’t

noticed it before. Every time he’’d looked at her skirt before, his eyes had focused on…other things.
But he figured in something that form-fitting, there wouldn’t be pockets deep enough for a phone.

“Gordon? No, you don’t need to come back. I had something I wanted to run by you.”
Holy shit, she was taking his suggestion into consideration.
“Mr. Carey has offered to join me on the trip to North Carolina. This would give you time to look

into who attacked me instead of playing bodyguard. Yes, I’m aware he isn’t qualified, but if I don’t
want the press to know what’s happening, I can’t have a military guy following me around for
however long it will take to clear this up. If nothing else, you have a life outside of work. We need to
arrange interviews for additional men. I’d like to have at least ten interviews scheduled for the
Saturday I’d get back. While I’m gone, I expect you to send me their resumes and a write-up of what
you know about them, as well as your own personal recommendations.”

Dean raised a brow. So that was how one of the richest women in the city got things done. He

had to admit, it was sexier than he expected it to be. Sure, Grace would boss him around all the time,
but Victoria had a certain authority when she spoke. Grace always smiled and spoke in soothing,
gentle tones because it wasn’t nice to scream at contractors in front of clients.

Victoria wasn’t screwing around. “Thanks, Gordon. I’m going to iron out the details with Mr.

Carey and I’ll fill you in.” She hung up the phone and looked back to Dean. “Let’s talk details.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Victoria eyed the street warily from the backseat of the town car. The small houses were pressed

so close together, there was only a narrow strip of grass between each. And not every home appeared
to be occupied. A few had overgrown yards and broken windows.

She’d known Dean wasn’t exactly one of New York’s elite, but it was still a culture shock

whenever she came to these types of neighborhoods. She swallowed a quick wave of shame. It hadn’t
always bothered her. In school, she’d been involved in numerous community outreach programs and
would regularly come to the harder hit areas to offer what help she could to various shelters and
kitchens. It didn’t shock her then. She’d been happy to see the familiar faces and know she was
making a difference.

But that was years ago. Ever since she’d taken the reins from Terry, all of her time had gone to

making Green’s profitable again. And now she was one of those rich people who stared out of their
car windows at a neighborhood in shambles.

The driver pulled the car to a stop and turned around to face Victoria. “I’ll get Mr. Carey,

ma’am.”

“No,” she said. “I’ll go.”” As her sneaker-clad feet hit the crumbling sidewalk, she was grateful

her gray pumps were in her carry-on bag still. She wasn’t a fan of traveling through the airport in
uncomfortable shoes, so sneakers were a staple of her traveling gear.

Dean’s home definitely had its charm. It was the same red brick as the rest of the street, but the

yard was exceptionally neat, with full bushes that were trimmed to stop right beneath the curtained
front windows framed by white shutters.

She made her way up to the newish looking front door and raised her hand to knock, but never

had a chance.

A blonde girl opened the door, wide smile on her face. “Victoria Green?” she asked.
Victoria blinked a few times, not expecting so much cheer this early in the morning. “Yes, I’m

Victoria. Katy, right?”

The girl’s pale skin immediately turned bright red. “I can’t believe Victoria Green knows my

name!” she gushed.

Victoria pushed down her own desire to blush. She hadn’t quite gotten used to her fame. She’d

never requested it, and none of the male CEOs of Green’s had ever garnered this much attention.
Something about her takeover must’ve struck a chord in the media, because there always seemed to be
one or two photographers around who would pop up out of the blue at the most inconvenient times.

So what was she supposed to say to someone who admired her without knowing anything about

her? “Dean says that you’re a great kid.” Victoria winced. This was a beautiful sixteen-year-old. Not
a kid.

But Katy didn’t seem fazed. Instead, she rolled her eyes. “He’s a bragger.”
Victoria frowned. She’d never gotten the impression that Dean had been bragging about anything,

but she didn’t correct Katy’s thoughts about her brother. ““Where is Dean? We have a flight to catch.”
She shifted to glance over Katy’s shoulder.

“He should be down soon,” assured Katy.
Like the outside, the inside of the home was small. All Victoria could see was a narrow hallway

that led to the kitchen and the stairs to the second story. Though tiny, the inside was well done.
Everything was clean and updated. Not exactly what she expected from a bachelor’s home, little
sister or not.

One thing in particular stood out. “That’s not his suitcase, is it?” She pointed to the bright pink

suitcase with white polka dots.

Katy snorted. “No! That’s mine. I’m staying at a friend’s house while Dean’s gone.”
Victoria grinned at the idea of Dean strolling through the airport with the bright pink bag rolling

behind him. As amusing as the image was, she had a feeling it wouldn’t bother him. He was the most
masculine man she’d ever met, and a feminine bag probably wouldn’’t faze him in the slightest.

Creaking noises came from upstairs, and Victoria looked up as Dean headed down. Her breath

caught in her throat in the annoying way it always seemed to do when she saw him. But she couldn’t
help it. The man was beautiful. His shoulders were so wide, he practically filled the entire staircase.

She cleared her throat as she stepped back, already anticipating how much room he’d need to fit

out of the doorway. “Good morning,” she said, but his attention was fully on Katy.

“I have Mrs. Beckett’s phone number, and I will be calling her tonight to make sure you’re there.”
Katy’s face immediately fell as she blushed red again. “I got it,” she murmured.
“There’s extra food for Rigby in the laundry room and the emergency vet number is on the

fridge.”

“I’ve done this before, okay? Now just go before you’re late.” She turned and disappeared

behind a corner in the house.

He sighed and squeezed out of the door, maneuvering his duffel bag to fit better. “Morning,

Victoria,” he said in a less than pleased voice.

She decided not to comment on his sister and followed him to the car. The driver already had the

trunk open and was waiting for Dean’s luggage. Dean hesitated a second before he handed over the
worn bag and then got into the backseat as the driver arranged the luggage.

Victoria stood on the sidewalk for a brief second. This wasn’t a good idea. She was going to be

stuck with Dean for days. What would they even talk about? In her mind, she’d imagined doing work
or reading articles on the plane, without giving much thought to making conversation with the man.
But now that he was there, sitting in the car and waiting for her, it all seemed too much.

She shook her head at her own hesitation. Good grief, she’d spent time with people she didn’t

know before. “You’re being ridiculous,” she muttered to herself as the driver opened the door for her.

“Thank you, Ron.” She slid in. The car was roomy, but it wasn’t exactly a stretch limo.
She leaned against the door, trying to give him as much space as possible, but even then she could

feel the heat of his body fill the backseat. The driver took off and the silence that filled the car got to
her. “So you don’t have a roller bag?”” She winced at the strange question, but couldn’t think of any
other safe topics besides the weather, which seemed much too cliché.

He shrugged. “I don’t travel much.”
More silence. She stared out the window, watching as they left Dean’s neighborhood and merged

onto the freeway. “Who is Rigby?”

He looked over to her. “Rigby is my dog. Well, he started as my dog. I think he’s mostly Katy’s

dog at this point. She spends more time with him than me.””

“Hmm...” Victoria had always enjoyed dogs, but never had one. Her father never had time to care

for one and, if she were honest with herself, she didn’t have time for one either. ““So Katy is rather
independent, I take it?”

Dean grunted. “She’s a sixteen-year-old girl. What do you expect?”
Victoria let out a huff. She didn’t need to put up with his bad mood all week. “Is there a

problem?”

He looked over, as though surprised she’d even ask.

“I can get on the plane alone. You volunteered for this task, so if you can’t stand the idea of being

in close quarters with me, speak now.”

He tightened his lips. “No…this isn’t about you. It’s just……I always do this somehow. Things

are going fine with Katy and then right as I’m about to leave, I give her reminders and she gets pissed.
But what the hell am I supposed to do? I don’t know what she remembers.””

Victoria felt bad for bringing it up and felt even worse that she’d assumed his bad mood had

something to do with her. She was supposed to spend three days with this man and she was already
being crazy. Which was especially strange because she was used to being the sane person in the
room.

She kept her mouth shut for most of the remaining ride, taking the chance to respond to a few

emails on her phone and make sure the office wouldn’t fall apart when she was gone.

Going through the busy airport with Dean at her side was definitely an experience. She’d

forgotten the novelty of being excited by the airport and how intense security was for someone not
used to it. As security patted him down because of the wallet and cell phone he never took out of his
pocket, Victoria couldn’t knock the smile off her face.

But the best of all was seeing his face as they were the first allowed to board the plane. He kept

looking at his ticket and back to the tiny numbers over their row. “We’re in first class?” he asked
incredulously.

The corner of her mouth hooked up. “Well, the media thinks I’m snobbish if I take a private

charter.”

He shook his head as he tucked his bag in the overhead bin, followed by hers.
Victoria glanced at the window seat and back to Dean. “Did you want the room with the view?”
“Whatever you want.” He motioned her to make up her mind.
“Are you still grumpy?” She slid into the window seat. If he was going to be surly, he’d have to

take the aisle. She could enjoy the view all she wanted that way.

He sat next to her and fumbled with the seatbelt, jamming it into place as quickly as possible.
She let out another laugh and he glared at her. “Would you please stop enjoying this so much?”
“What? It’s funny! You’re supposed to be my big, bad bodyguard and you’re afraid of flying.”
He grunted and shifted in his seat as the rest of the passengers piled into the plane.
Victoria patted his leg gently. “Just relax. It’s a short flight.” It was only then she realized that

she’d never set the armrest down. She jerked her hand back and looked at it. If she put it down now,
he’d know she felt strange touching him.

Why the hell would she pat him on the leg? They were supposed to be in a business

relationship. He was doing her a favor until the background checks came through on the true muscle.
She wasn’t supposed to be touching him or laughing as if they were friends.

She bit her lip and looked out the window to the boring runway. One of the perks of boarding first

was that she got to sit on the plane the longest before takeoff. Everything in her wanted to turn back to
Dean, but she refused.

So what if he was big and attractive and, okay, she’d admit it: he was sexy as hell and sitting

right next to her with no armrest between them. This was a bad idea. It was one thing to have a
completely inexperienced bodyguard. But he seemed to need the money, it was easy to explain his
presence, and, in the extremely slight chance that someone tried to kill her two times in one week, he
was definitely an intimidating presence.

And here she was, putting her hand on him. Maybe she should just put him on the next plane back

to New York as soon as they landed. Tell him thanks, but no thanks.

She finally gave in and glanced over to Dean, who was scrolling through his phone. A quick

glance and she could see that he was texting Katy, but couldn’t read what they were texting about.

Everything about him was strong: His hands. His arms. His thighs that seemed to take up the

entire first class seat.

And she knew from the few times she’d touched him that that mass was from muscle. Had she

ever been with someone like that? Her past lovers had been scholars. The closest to a “jock”” that
she’d been with had been a runner with a long, lean build. If she could have just a night alone with
Dean…

But she would. She and Dean would be sleeping just a wall away from each other for the next

two nights. If there was ever a good time for an affair, this was it.

Out of town, away from Terry and her sick father. She smiled at the strange turn of her thoughts.

What was she even thinking? It was fantastic that she’d decided to screw the bodyguard, but he’d
never once implied he was interested in her. For all she knew, he had a girlfriend.

Dean set his phone down as the flight attendant went through the pre-flight safety measures and

announced takeoff was soon.

Victoria bit her lip as she waited for the woman to stop acting out how to use the breathing mask.

She’d seen this speech enough to have it memorized, so she tried to think of the best way to seduce
Dean. She hadn’t brought any particularly sexy clothes, and Dean was going wherever she went, so
she wouldn’t have time to stop at any lingerie stores. So she’d just have to rely on her own charm and
the plain white bra she was wearing.

Her chances of getting laid weren’t looking great. She wasn’t known for her charm. She was

known for being a hard ass who liked to make it known when she was the smartest person in the
room.

The poor guy had his hands fisted tightly in his lap, and Victoria felt as if she needed to stop

thinking about her (lack of) seduction skills and try to distract him. “So what was Katy saying?” she
asked as the plane started to move.

He jerked at her question. “Huh?”
She gave him a comforting smile. “I peeked at your phone. I saw it was your sister. Is she mad?”
“Oh, no. She was just sending me a picture she thought was funny.”
“Yeah? Was it your dog?”
He snorted. Some of the tension left his body. “No. She knows I’m not a fan of planes so she sent

me her ‘fear of flying cure.’’”

Victoria raised a brow. “Oh really?”
“Bottle of Jack Daniels.”
“Smart sixteen-year-old. Let’s hope she’s not talking from experience.”
Dean shook his head. “Nah. She’s a good kid. Mean sense of humor, but I got lucky with her.”
“And you did it all on your own, right? That’s pretty admirable.”
He shrugged. “We both had to make the best of a bad situation. I learned as I went.”
“How old were you?” He took a deep breath and she backpedaled. “It’s a personal question. You

don’t have to—”

“It’s fine,” he interjected. “Katy was six and I was eighteen.”” There was a note of wistfulness in

his voice, but it seemed as if he’d told the story enough times before to not get too worked up over it.

“I’m so sorry. It’s hard enough to think about losing Dad now. I can’t imagine going through that

with both parents when you were so young.”

His jaw clenched as his eyes went to the seat in front of him. Victoria rested her forehead in her

palm. Good grief. She was trying to seduce the man, and the first thing she did was bring up his dead
parents. At this rate, not only would she never get Dean into bed, she’d probably never have sex
again.

“Obviously I never thought I’d have to raise a kid at that age, but to be honest, I don’t know if I

would’ve gotten through it without her. I was strong for her. She was strong for me. And that’s kind of
how it’s been ever since.”

“That’s really sweet,” she said honestly. Even though she was sure she was turning him off more

and more by the second, she couldn’’t help but appreciate the love he had for his sister. No matter
how great he said Katy was, Victoria knew that her success was greatly attributable to what Dean had
done.

“I was raised by a strong man too, so I’m sure Katy is going to kick ass once she’s out of

college,” said Victoria.

Dean’s brow creased. “Your mom wasn’t in the picture?”
She shook her head. “Nope. She divorced my dad when Terry and I were still in elementary

school. Part of the settlement was that she’d never see us again.”

His eyes widened. “What? Who agrees to that?”
She was glad he was shocked, because she’d never been too happy about that little detail either.

“It’s true. I broke into my dad’’s safe when I was a senior in high school to read over the papers
myself. I know exactly what you have to pay someone to never have anything to do with me again.
Funny enough, that was how I met Mr. Jack Daniels.”

“Well, you turned out okay,” he assured her, giving her a once-over.
Victoria felt heat rush through her but refused to turn away. Instead, she met his eyes. “I’m glad

you approve.”

Just like that, it happened. His friendly look turned deeper, hotter, as his eyes briefly fell to her

lips. But as quick as it started, it was over and he sat back in his seat, leaving Victoria to wonder
whether she’d imagined it all.

“So what’s on the agenda this week?” he asked.
She sighed and let her head fall back. Any seducing would have to wait until she had more room

to do something about it. “It’s a plant visit. We’re always looking for a good deal on American
properties, and this particular plant is for sale. We’ve been in preliminary talks with the owners. The
place is hemorrhaging money at the moment, but I have ideas to turn it around.”

“Ideas?”
“You’ve been to Green & Sons stores before, right?” He nodded. “So most of the product is

supplied by vendors, but we do have some lower-cost items with our own brand on them. Some tools,
and a lot of smaller items like nuts, screws, and bolts. That’s what this plant makes. The tiny things.”

“And how are you going to turn the place around?”
“Well, to make a nut, you start out with a long, solid piece of metal. You run it through a machine

and it cuts away until you have the shape you need. In the process, over half of the original rod is cut
away. I am adding a scrapping system into the plant so ninety percent of the scrap can be collected
and resold. It will save millions of dollars every year, but will also cost millions to install on top of
the price of the plant to begin with. So we’re meeting with the plant manager today, and tomorrow, the
companies who will be giving estimates for the scrap project will be touring the plant. I need those
estimates before I can give the go-ahead to make the purchase.”

“That sounds…”
“Boring?” she guessed.

“No. Interesting. I never really thought about all that goes into making a screw.”
She grinned. “Those little bastards are more complicated than you might think.”

CHAPTER SIX

Dean set down his bag and looked around the room. It wasn’t really what he was expecting. He’d

stayed at some pretty swanky hotels while helping Grace, as booking for her employees was normally
part of her contracted fee, but this hotel wasn’’t at all fancy.

Not that it was bad. It was clean, had a king bed, mini fridge, microwave, bath/shower combo,

and a small sitting area. It was the plainness that surprised him.

Victoria was loaded. She was rich before she became CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation

and made millions upon millions every year. She was in the room right through the connecting door,
so it wasn’t as if she was staying in the presidential suite.

No. She flew on a normal plane, albeit in first class, and slept in a normal hotel room. But she

was so much more than normal in person.

He’d shadowed her all day. She’d introduced him as a contractor who was there to give her his

second opinion on the estimates she was gathering, so no one questioned his presence. She talked the
same way to the guys working the packaging lines down on the plant floor as she did to the plant
manager who had so eagerly greeted them in his best suit and tie.

She didn’t just have money. She worked for it. She listened intently when someone talked and

somehow seemed able to cut through the bullshit to get to what was really being said to her.

He set his duffel on the bed and rolled his shoulders. It was six p.m. The plant workers went

home at precisely five, management stayed a bit later to talk to Victoria, and it had been a five-minute
drive to the hotel.

Now he had a good four hours to kill. They needed to be back at the plant by six a.m. to see the

startup operations, but he normally got five hours or less of sleep. If he was in bed by ten, this would
be a vacation for him.

He kicked off the tennis shoes, thankful that this wasn’t the type of gig that required fancy loafers.

The floor in the plant was hard, and it sounded as though there might be lots of walking tomorrow. He
undid the buttons of his blue button-down shirt and set it on the bed, careful not to wrinkle it.

As he pulled at his white undershirt, there was a soft knock at the door. He padded over and

looked through the peephole. Victoria was just lifting her hand to knock again when he pulled the door
open.

“Hey,” she said. “I started unpacking and realized we never sorted out dinner plans.”
He looked down at her jeans and gray sweater. “You unpacked and changed already?”
She shrugged. “I travel a lot. It’s not exactly new.”
He nodded as a door down the hall opened and two giggling women headed towards the elevator.

“Come on in.” He stepped aside. He tried not to stare. He’d only ever seen her dressed in her
business clothes or at the party, wearing a dress that probably cost as much as three of his mortgage
payments combined.

Now she looked different. Less like Victoria Green and more like…Victoria.
“There’s a bar across the parking lot.” She turned to face him. “It’s nothing fancy, but they have a

decent burger and it’s convenient.”

“We can just order in. It might raise questions if people see us having dinner together.”
Victoria frowned. “Ummm…we’re in the middle of nowhere. I don’t think we’re going to stir up

the gossip mill.”

He let out a laugh. “You’re right. I still haven’t gotten used to your whole…thing.”
“No worries.” Her eyes drifted to take in the room.

He hadn’t thought his was any different from hers, but maybe he’d been wrong. Did she think it

was too small? It wasn’t as if he booked it. He reached into his bag and grabbed a black t-shirt.

“I wouldn’t mind,” she said softly.
He paused as he was about to pull on his shirt. “What?”
“I’m just saying. Even if, through some strange conspiracy, the press was photographing us

sharing a burger and beer, I wouldn’t mind.””

Dean snorted. “Please. You probably eat guys like me for breakfast.” Her cheeks flushed red and

he immediately realized what he’d said. ““I mean—”

“You’d be surprised how long it’s been since I’ve eaten up any men.””
His heart leaped into his chest at her words. “Victoria…”
“I wanted to make sure you know,” she met his eyes, “that you’re on the top of my list of men I’d

like to share dinner with.”

He took a deep breath as his eyes raked over her body. He’d thought she was sexy from the

moment she’d strode into Grace’s party in the power suit that hugged her curves in all the right ways.

But he’d looked at her the same way he looked at the hot chicks in the latest Michael Bay movie:

pretty to look at, but ultimately out of his reach.

Was Victoria really saying what he thought she was? “Why don’t we head out and get those

burgers and beers,” he said cautiously. Even if the drop-dead gorgeous woman who made more in one
month than his entire house was worth wanted to sleep with him, he was supposed to be doing a job.

“That’s probably a good idea.” She moved closer and stopped right in front of him. “One

question, though.”

Her bright blue eyes stared up at him and he had to force himself to focus on what she said.

“Question?”

“Do you want me, Dean?”
He wasn’t sure whether it was the way she went after exactly what she wanted or the slight

waver in her voice, but he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. His lips came down on hers hard. She
gasped, but in a flash, her fingers were wrapped in his hair and pulled him closer.

His shirt fell to the floor as he allowed his hands to roam over her back and ass, finally able to

touch the sexy body he’d only been able to stare at all day.

But, good God, she actually liked it. She moaned when he roughly palmed her ass and met his

tongue with hers, taking the kiss deeper and further.

He bent down the slightest bit and gripped the back of her thighs to pull her up against him. He

groaned at the feel of her curves as they pressed completely against him. She felt warm and soft and
firm all at the same time. He stumbled forward, setting her on the desk, all the while kissing her
furiously.

Now that she sat on the desk, his cock resting firmly between her thighs, his hands were free to

explore. Moving to the front of her sweater, he cupped a breast and felt the weight of it in his hand.

Victoria moaned and leaned forward to nip at his neck, soothing the sting with her tongue. Fuck,

he couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted someone this much. She must’’ve been thinking the
same thing, because she reached down and pulled her shirt and bra over her head in one swift move.

He groaned at the creamy flesh exposed, hands reverently cupping her full breasts. He kissed her

collarbone and moved farther down until he could take a rosy peak in his mouth. Her fingers tangled
in his hair and pulled him closer. As he suckled and teased, his hand making sure the other tip stayed
eager and wanting, Victoria’s breaths came faster and faster.

“Dean,” she moaned.

His name on her lips set him off. In a flash, he picked her up and set her onto the bed. Her hungry

eyes raked over him as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Her questioning glance vanished
as he pulled out the condom.

“I’m protected,” she said softly. “So if you’’re safe…”
He tightened his lips, and his cock practically jumped for joy at the thought of sliding into her wet

heat. He didn’t seem capable of actually talking, so he set his wallet on the desk behind him, pushed
his pants off and stood naked in front of her. He licked his lips as she stared her fill, still shocked that
she seemed to want him as much as he wanted her. He rested his weight on his knees as he reached
for the button of her jeans. She beat him to it and unsnapped them in a heartbeat, and they both worked
to slide them down her legs.

He took a deep swallow once she was completely bared to him. She bit her lip and looked up at

him from beneath her lashes, waiting for him to make the next move.

To hell with questioning how he got so lucky. He was going for it. Dean leaned over her, kissing

her deeply, thoroughly, as he just brushed her wet entrance.

Victoria’s nails bit into his shoulders as she pulled him closer, widening her legs and silently

asking for more. But Dean didn’t want to rush this. He wanted to make this last. To make her
completely fall apart beneath him.

But then she shifted her hips up and took him inside just the slightest bit. But it was enough. All

coherent thought slipped away as he thrust fully. They both groaned at the sudden intrusion, and he
tried to hold himself still. Tried to let her tight body adjust.

Once again, she took the reins, breaking the kiss and nipping at his shoulders, her hips wiggling

beneath his.

Fuck. Dean’s control broke as he started to thrust. He gripped her hips and held her down as he

pushed deeper and farther.

Victoria’s head fell back as her fingers bit into his biceps. “Oh God,” she breathed as she

frantically tried to meet him thrust for thrust.

Masculine satisfaction filled him. He felt his orgasm inch closer, but he refused to finish first. He

reached between their bodies, sliding his hand down until his fingers buried in the apex of her sex and
found her clit.

She jerked in his arms as he pressed firmly against her clit. Their movements rubbed her against

his hand as he thrust deeply into her.

He knew the exact moment she went over the edge. Her walls tightened around him as she let out

a scream that might just be the sexiest thing he’d ever heard.

But he didn’t have any time to appreciate it, as his own climax took over. He held her close and

thrust in one last time, reveling in her tight heat taking as much as possible.

And then the sound of their rapid breathing filled the room.

~~~~~

Victoria gasped and tried to catch her breath. That was…
She rubbed a hand over her eyes. It had been so long since she’d been with a man, she’d forgotten

how good it could be. Or Dean could very possibly be the best she’d ever been with.

He pushed himself up and looked down at her. “Are you okay?”
She let out a laugh. “Are you kidding? I’m fantastic.” She lifted up to kiss him and nibbled on his

lip before she fell back onto the bed.

“So how long have you been planning this?” he asked, satisfied grin firmly in place.
She widened her eyes in feigned innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
He bent forward. His lips ran across the sensitive skin of her neck. “I don’t believe you,” he

whispered.

She craned her neck to give him better access. “So I might’ve gotten an idea or two on the

airplane,” she admitted. “But I didn’t think you’d go for it.”

“Why the hell would you think I wouldn’t go for it?”
She had to admit, the disbelief in his voice bolstered her confidence. “Well, I don’t do this kind

of thing often. Most of the men see me firmly as the boss. Of course, that’s normally a good thing
but…”

“But there are guys outside of work. None of them ever got ideas? I’ve been thinking about you

since Friday.”

The more he talked, the more she wanted him. She put so much time and effort into work and

making sure her image was picture-perfect, she forgot to take time to make sure she relaxed.

And nothing was more relaxing than the rush of great sex. But what exactly did Dean want? Did

he think this was just a one-night stand? Or, judging by the sunlight streaming through the thin curtain,
a one-day stand?

Of course, the better question was what did Victoria expect from it? When she’d first concocted

the crazy idea to seduce Dean, she hadn’t thought it would be more than a wham-bam, thank you sir.
But this seemed too…sweet.

But what the hell did she know? She’d never used a man purely for sex. All of her other

relationships were based on long friendships and mutual respect. Not that she didn’t respect Dean.
She just didn’t know him all that well.

“What can I say?” She grinned. “I inspire fear into the hearts of men everywhere.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but the blaring of the hotel phone stopped him.
She raised a brow. “Expecting someone?” In the day and age of cell phones, she rarely ever

heard the landline ring.

He shrugged as he reached to answer. “Not that I know of.” He brought the receiver to his ear.

“Hello?” There was a pause as he frowned. “Hold on.” He looked to Victoria. “It’s for you.”

Her eyes widened. “Me?” She took the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey, Vicks. How’s it goin’?”
Victoria shot up and pushed Dean off her. “Terry?”
Dean’s lips tightened as concern knotted his forehead. “Get off the phone,” he ordered. Instead of

hanging up, Victoria turned away from Dean.

“It’s me. I called your cell but didn’t get an answer. I wanted to see if you had time to grab some

dinner.”

Considering her cell phone was in her jeans, conveniently located at the foot of Dean’s bed, it

figured she wouldn’t have heard it vibrating. “You want to go to dinner? Tonight? I’m in North
Carolina.”

Dean rolled off the bed and Victoria heard the rustle of him getting dressed.
“I got word you were going to be down here, and I want to talk to you. Away from the chaos of

the city.”

Crap. “You’re here. In North Carolina. Right now?” The deal with the North Carolina plant

wasn’t public. If Terry knew what she was doing here, it meant she had a serious breach. She should
blow him off. Tell him, and whoever was feeding him his intel, to screw off. But she couldn’t force

herself to tell him exactly what she was thinking. Because no matter what she suspected, it was so
hard to truly believe Terry tried to kill her.

This was her brother. She’d been to his soccer games and taken him out to the movies to cheer

him up after his first girlfriend dumped him. Even if they’d had a stressed relationship the past few
years, she hated to think he’d let all that go over money.

But the Green & Sons empire came with lots and lots of money. And money made people stupid.
“When were you thinking?” she asked.
Dean’s scowl more than told her exactly how happy he was with that idea.
“I’m in the lobby right now, but I know this is spur-of-the-moment. You can take your time and

come down here when you get a chance.”

She sighed and met Dean’s disapproving gaze with her steady and determined one. “We’ll be

down in ten minutes.” She hung up the phone.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” snapped Dean.
Victoria pushed herself off the bed and snatched her panties from the floor. “I’m not a complete

moron.”

“The guy tried to kill you less than a week ago and you’re going to have dinner with him?”
She stumbled into her pants. “Allegedly tried to kill me. All we have right now is motive, okay?

Besides, you’re coming with me, Mr. Bodyguard.”

“Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you should be tempting fate. You need to take your own

safety seriously.” He pulled his shirt over his head.

For a brief moment, she mourned the loss of his beautiful chest. She shook her head to focus on

explaining why she wasn’t a moron. “He called from the lobby, okay? So if we meet him down there,
there will probably be a witness to see who we’’re going out with and maybe even cameras. If he’s
really trying to kill me, he wouldn’t be so public about it.”

“Trust me,” said Dean. “The guy who tried to strangle you wasn’t the cream of the crop. Your

would-be killer wasn’t that hard for me to fight off, and I’m not a fighter.”

Victoria looked him up and down. She’d already suspected he was built, but now that she’d seen

him naked, she had one hundred percent confirmation.

“I didn’t say I’ve never fought before,” he muttered as he slipped on his jacket.
She zipped up her boots and ran her fingers through her hair a few times. “Could’ve fooled me,”

she said under her breath. Dean definitely wasn’’t the type of man she wanted on her bad side. “Let’s
just go and try to be civil. If at any point you really feel we’re in danger, I’ll listen to you. I promise.”

He clenched and unclenched his jaw, but she could tell he was going to cave. One of the things

she liked about him was that he was logical. Even though he might not want to do something, he knew
his job was to protect her while she went about her normal business. Not hide her away until things
went back to normal.

“I just need to grab my bag from my room.” She turned the handle to open the door.
Dean nodded and silently followed her. He didn’t say a word as she picked up her purse and they

walked down the one flight of stairs to the lobby. Great. Less than an hour after great sex, they
weren’t even talking to each other.

But she had bigger problems to worry about than her maybe/maybe not one-night stand being

pissy. Because there was her big brother in the lobby. All the drama came back to her in a rush: The
hushed conversations she and Dad had behind his back. The look of betrayal as it was announced that
she’d be taking over his position. The folders he’’d thrown across the office as he’d flat out refused to
take a demotion. It was all or nothing, and Dad refused to let him have it all.

“Terry,” she said with a forced smile.
His grin appeared completely genuine. “Vicks! It’s been forever!” Terry’s arms came around her

in a tight bear hug, and Victoria saw every muscle in Dean tense up as he glared at the exchange.

“I’m Dean,” he said gruffly. As Terry let her go, Dean slid between them and held out a hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Green.” His words were much more respectful than the angry glint in his eye.

Terry took a step back. “Um, nice to meet you, Dean.” His smile wavered.
A woman walked up and put a hand on Terry’s shoulder. “They came down!” she exclaimed, a

slight hint of Southern accent dripping charm.

Victoria raised a brow. She wasn’t expecting Terry to bring someone, let alone a woman. The

few people she’d ever seen Terry date had been the long, leggy model type. This woman was a short,
curvy redhead who practically screamed ““old money.”

“Who’s your friend?” asked Victoria.
Just like that, Terry beamed with pride. “Vicks, I’d like you to meet Joslyn. My fiancée.”
Victoria met Dean’s surprised gaze. “That’s so exciting!” she said with forced enthusiasm.
Joslyn waved a dismissive hand. “I know you’re just sayin’ that. But I hope that we can spend

some more time together.””

Dean frowned. “So that’s why you tracked Victoria all the way to North Carolina? To introduce

your fiancée?”

Terry didn’t seem intimidated, even though he probably should’ve been. Dean had a good six

inches and fifty pounds of muscle on her brother. Terry was attractive in a boarding school kind of
way. He’d been a jock in high school, and it overflowed into a charming, confident young adult who’d
grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth and guaranteed high-powered job.

So when he’d finally gotten that job, he hadn’t been prepared for the ups and downs that came

with a volatile economy.

Victoria had never exactly been thrown out on the streets, but her future had always been less

certain than Terry’s. Although her father had always encouraged her education and praised her good
grades, the women in her family were mostly socialites and stay-at-home mothers. Even though she
loved the shopping sprees with her cousins, she’’d seen her father and brother working in the business
world and couldn’t stand being left behind.

So she set her mind on succeeding on her own. She graduated from college with her masters at

twenty-two and worked with a manufacturing company for ten years, from the entry-level manager’s
position. Ten years later, she’d risen up the ranks in record time and Terry had practically ruined
Green & Sons.

And that was when her father came knocking on her door with an offer she’d never imagined

possible: take the reins of a billion-dollar empire away from her brother.

“So where were you thinking of going for dinner?” Dean moved to stand beside her.
“There’s a great Italian place two towns over. I can drive,” Terry said confidently as he led the

way to the car without waiting for a response.

Victoria let out a breath. Ahh, she’d forgotten his management style. Not that she’d experienced

it personally, but she’d heard plenty of horror stories. Go off on whatever whim he had without
waiting for feedback or opinions and then be surprised when everything blew up in his face.

The lessons she’d learned from his failures were half the reason she was being so careful with

her latest acquisition.

Terry and Joslyn climbed into the front as Dean and Victoria shared the backseat of the rental

BMW. She really didn’t want to judge, but she’d thought she was being frivolous by renting the large

SUV for her time in North Carolina. What was Terry doing with a luxury car? Unless something had
changed, he was still not working and living solely off his trust fund.

“So how did you two meet?” asked Victoria as Terry steered the car out of the hotel parking lot.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “I was actually vacationing on an island in the Caribbean. Lying on the

beach, taking in the sun, and then I heard it. The most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard asking the waiter
for another mojito.”

Joslyn giggled. “He’s such an idealist! I was a drunk party girl on the beach, and he tells it like

I’m his personal Aphrodite.””

The corner of Victoria’s mouth hooked up. Maybe she and Joslyn would get along…
“I was enamored immediately,” continued Terry. “So I followed her around like a pathetic puppy

until she finally paid me the time of day.””

“Pshhh,” said Joslyn. “He offered to buy me a drink and I said yes, of course. And then we spent

the rest of the week together.””

“Very romantic,” muttered Dean, not sounding at all convinced.
“How long ago was that?” Victoria shot Dean a stern look. Everything was going perfectly fine,

and his attitude wasn’t called for.

“Five and a half months ago,” said Terry. “It’s been a life-changing experience.”
“I’m happy for you,” murmured Victoria. And she was. There was nothing worse than the feeling

of thinking she’d ruined his life. It was cathartic to think there was hope for him.

“So how did you two meet?” asked Joslyn. “I didn’t realize you were with anyone.”
Victoria sent up a silent prayer of thanks that Terry and Joslyn couldn’t see her shocked face.

She’d figured people would assume she and Dean were together, but not only minutes after meeting
them. “Dean is helping me on a project,” she insisted.

In addition to Joslyn’s knowing smile she shot over her shoulder, Victoria also felt Dean’s gaze

boring into her. What did he expect her to say? They weren’’t dating. They slept together once.
Maybe if it happened again, they could talk.

God, she wanted it to happen again. The damn backseat was too big. For the first time in her

life, she wished she was sitting on the plane and forced to be so close to him. Be able to feel his body
heat and touch him whenever she wanted.

But she knew for sure that she didn’t want to discuss her feelings for Dean with her brother and

the apparent love of his life, and she knew exactly how to change the subject. “Terry, while I am
happy that you’re happy, I’m not stupid. What are you doing here?”

Just like magic, the car filled with tension.
“Listen, Vicks, I know that we haven’t had the easiest relationship,” said Terry.
“You know I never wanted that,” she said softly.
“I completely understand! But I’ve been thinking about things lately. Now that Dad’s in the

hospital and I’ve been hearing how great the company is doing, I think we need to do something about
this. I want to come back to Green’s.”

Dean’s gaze jerked to hers. His grimace said more than enough about his opinion.
Victoria tightened her lips. “I don’t know what to say,” she said, honestly. “I’d love if we could

work together again, but you know the state things were in when you left. I don’t know how much I’m
willing to risk.””

“I’ve changed, Vicks. Ask Joslyn. She can vouch for me more than anyone.”
Joslyn vehemently nodded. “We’ve talked about this a lot. I think it would be cathartic for Terry

to make peace with this. You know how men can be so stubborn and prideful. His departure from

Green & Sons was one of the lowest points of his life. He needs to make things right in order to move
on.”

Dean snorted. “Didn’t you throw a temper tantrum when you were kicked out before? From what

I’ve heard, you said some messed-up shit to your sister. Now you expect her to work with you again?
Even if your personal relationship can be fixed, you burned all your professional bridges.”

Victoria’s mouth dropped open. “Dean!”
“No, he’s right,” said Terry. “I was a complete ass. That’’s why it’s so important that I do this. It’s

not about the money. Joslyn’s and my trusts combined are more than enough. But I can’t move onto my
happy place knowing that I have this shame.”

“You know there are people who actually need jobs lined up around the block to get into Green &

Sons,” said Dean. “Why should Victoria give you anything you don’’t even need to soothe your
conscience?”

Victoria didn’t know whether she should slap Dean or thank him for saying all the things she

didn’t want to admit.

Joslyn held up her hands in a gesture of peace. “Why don’t we let this drop?” she said. “Let’s

have a nice dinner and take things slowly. We can talk about this at a later date.”

Victoria had the distinct feeling that she meant a later date without Dean there to question

everything. “To be continued,” she muttered.

Dean looked over to her, but she glanced out the window. He made his opinion on her getting

involved with Terry well known, but she couldn’t be as absolute as him. This was her brother. What
if he was truly looking for forgiveness and a chance to salvage his professional career? Hell, his
social career. If he hadn’t had made such a big scene, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. But
thanks to him, everyone and their mother knew he was ousted because of his poor leadership.

But was it really her problem if he was trying to climb out of the hole he dug for himself?

CHAPTER SEVEN

“You can’t seriously be considering this?” said Dean as soon as they were off the elevator and

moving down the hallway to their rooms.

“I said what I meant. I want to think about it.”
“Just a day ago, you thought he tried to kill you. Maybe he realized that wouldn’t work and now

he’s trying to charm his way back into the company.””

Victoria tightened her lips. “We don’t know it was him who tried to kill me,” she reminded him.
“So if it wasn’t him, who would it be?” asked Dean.
Damn it. She knew that would be his next question and she didn’t have a clue. “I have no idea.”

That was when she realized they were discussing the sensitive topic where anyone could hear. “Come
on.” She opened up her hotel door.

Dean followed her in and she shut the door, bolting it in the process.
“I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I’m a pretty well liked person.” She turned back. “Since

Green’s has been on an upward trend ever since I’ve started, paychecks are up and firings are down. I
haven’’t gotten any threatening emails or phone calls. I can have HR pull the files of anyone
terminated in the past year, but I wasn’t intimately involved with any of them. Most of our
terminations are for the normal things like missed work, or quality issues. Since the majority of our
employees are at plants or retail locations, I’’m not involved with those. And there haven’t been any
firings in the corporate office in the past six months that I can think of.”

Dean leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “It’s a big ass coincidence that someone tries

to kill you right after your father has a heart attack. I know where you’re coming from, I do. But I also
have a hard time imagining someone else’s beef with you popping up right now.”

“He’s all I have, Dean,” she said softly. It hurt her to say out loud, but it needed to be said. “What

if someone said Katy tried to have you murdered? You wouldn’t accept it until you had absolute,
undeniable proof.”

He took a deep breath. “What about outside of work? Have you pissed off anyone in your

personal life?”

She scoffed. “I don’t have a personal life. You’re the first one I’ve been with…” Crap, she didn’t

mean to segue into this. “In a while,” she finished.

Dean ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I think you’ve already

made up your mind, and no matter how dangerous it is to you, you’’re going to let Terry back into the
business.”

“I never said I won’t be careful, Dean.”
“You don’t need to say it! You stopped being careful the second you refused to go to the police

last weekend.”

Victoria rubbed her temples as she tried, and failed, to think of a comeback to his perfectly

reasonable point. This wasn’t like her. She was known for being logical and calculated, but for some
reason she was leading with her gut when it came to her brother.

Damn it, how could Terry do this to her? If Dad died, they were all they had left. Truthfully, his

wanting to work with the company and come back to the family would’ve been fantastic news in any
other circumstance. It killed her to think that she could turn him away when he was reaching out
because there was a chance he was responsible for the attack on her.

“I don’t disagree with you, Dean, but I’m still going to consider this.”
“You ‘don’t disagree’?”” he said.

She frowned. “I’m trying to be honest.” One of her cardinal rules was to be gently honest with her

employees. Normally people liked it when they learned she was on their side.

He stepped forward and stopped just a few inches from her. “I’m a little confused. We had

fantastic sex today, you invite me back to your room, and now you’re talking like we just met an hour
ago. If you want me to leave, I will. But you have to let me know.”

“You thought I asked you here for sex? Oh God…” she sputtered.
He set a hand on her arm. His heat seeped through the sleeve of her sweater. “I didn’t think that.

Well, I did, but it was more of a hope than an expectation,” he said with a sexy grin.

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to distract me?”
“Do you want to be distracted?”
She licked her lips and glanced at the desk, remembering the things he’d done to her on the

identical one in his own room. She should ask him to leave. She needed to be focused on Terry and
the plant acquisition and her father. “I wouldn’’t mind a distraction,” she said instead.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Dean downed the water bottle in just a few long drags. He hadn’t expected the plant visits to be

so exhausting. The three contractors who’d been in to give estimates of the new scrap removal system
that Victoria wanted installed were incredibly detail-oriented. When they’’d walked through the rows
and rows of raw material to finished goods the day before, Dean had barely known which way he
was facing.

Now he felt as if he knew every nook and cranny of the damn place. He was rather surprised that

Victoria would even sit through all the monotony of the measurements and jargon. He thought most
CEOs would just wait for a summary report that someone else had already been through with a fine-
tooth comb.

And the entire thing was boring as hell. He was used to doing hands-on labor and losing himself

in a job. Thank God he wasn’t expected to retain any of the mindless dribble that had been discussed
all day. Victoria, on the other hand, had seemed perfectly at home. She’d attentively listened for the
entire eight hours so far and had taken diligent notes.

It was the first time in his life that he’d been grateful to drop out of college. If this was what

would’ve been in store for him, he didn’t want it. He’’d take bumbling his way through a dirty crawl
space to get to the janky wiring over this any day.

The door to the conference room he was standing in swung open and Victoria gave him a

sympathetic smile. “Hanging in there?”

He couldn’t help but smile back at her. She’d dressed right for the busy day in jeans and sneakers

and a light green, silky blouse. But they weren’t normal relaxing jeans. They hugged her ass in just the
right way that whenever the boredom had threatened to overcome him, he’d have to stare intently at
that ass and remember what they’d done together the night before and all the things he wanted to do
the next time he got her alone. ““I’m managing,” he said.

She leaned against the conference table and gave him a sympathetic look. “Well, I don’t have any

good news.”

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t tell me there’s more.”
“It’s probably going to be a few more hours.”
He snorted and let out a laugh.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! We’re going to order dinner in before we take another look around the

plant.”

“Hey, if you need me here, I’m all for a few more hours.” She’d hired him to keep an eye on her

and he had no trouble with that. They were out of town and in the middle of nowhere, so it wasn’t as
if he had anything better to do. It was the boredom of it that was getting to him. “Want me to pick up
food?”” he offered. Anything to get a breath of fresh air for a few minutes.

“You’re not my gofer, Dean. You don’t have to do that.”
“Please let me be your gofer,” he said. “I’ll do anything to get out of the building for a few

minutes.”

He finally got a laugh out of her. “Is this really that bad?”
“It feels like we’ve gotten nothing done. If I were on the job today, I could have had a brand new

constructed house wired by now. I know this project is supposed to save millions, but it’s hard to feel
like we’ve made any progress today.”

She nodded. “That’s pretty much my life. That’s what I do. I make big decisions that are

implemented over long stretches of time.””

He grunted. As long as it was her and not him. He looked to the piece of paper in her hand. “Is

that the menu?”

She handed it to him, along with a sheet of paper that listed what everyone wanted. “Yep. We

haven’t called it in yet. I was here to get your order.”

“Consider it done,” he said.
Victoria smiled up at him. Her eyes were just as bright as they had been earlier in the day. She

wasn’t worn out or bored by the tours. He looked away. He needed to stop following her around like
a lost puppy. She was hot and the sex was great, but when they got back to New York, she was going
to hire an actual bodyguard who could really protect her, and he’’d go back to being a broke
electrician.

Spending time with her away from the city, it was easy to forget who she was. What she was. He

had trouble buying work supplies some days, and here she was buying an entire damn plant.

If he was lucky, she’d invite him back to her room again tonight, but after that, they’d be going

their separate ways. He’d had casual sex before, but it had never been this messed up.

He’d been in no position to date when Katy first came to live with him, and something about

raising a six-year-old girl made him much more particular. Not necessarily with the women he slept
with, but with the women he brought home.

He just didn’t have time to keep a relationship going. Katy was always number one, and he’d

never met a woman who would be comfortable being number two.

“Thanks, Dean. Give me a call when you get back and I’ll let you in. The receptionist is gone for

the day and we don’t have the keycards to get in.””

“No problem,” he said as she set the keys to the rental car on the table and walked away. As soon

as she was gone, he pushed her out of his mind. Practice for when she was really gone.

He quickly scanned the menu and called in the dinner order for the eight people still at the plant.

The restaurant said the to-go order wouldn’t be done for twenty minutes, but Dean didn’t feel like
waiting. He picked up the keys and strode out to the car.

It was still sunny outside, and he took in a deep breath of the fresh air. It was a bit warm for his

tastes, but he liked the seclusion of the plant. It made him miss the camping trips he used to take with
Katy. He could never afford a trip to Disney World, but a few times during the summer, he’d get a few
days off work and pitch a tent in the middle of nowhere.

He wondered whether Victoria would like camping or whether she’d freak at the idea of living

without plumbing for a few nights. Just days ago, he never would’ve imagined Victoria Green living
without any amenities for even a short period of time. But she was so down-to-earth and easygoing
when working with the guys on the plant floor.

And there he went again thinking about Victoria. Fuck. This could turn out to be a problem.
He hit the little button to unlock the rental Ford. After he sat down, he had to adjust the seat and

steering wheel to fit his frame. Victoria had insisted on driving so far and Dean couldn’t figure out
why.

Maybe she missed it. She lived and worked in Manhattan, so she probably only drove on these

trips. But, God help him, a bit more experience wouldn’t hurt her. To be fair, he didn’t like other
people driving him anyway, but there were a few quick brakes that almost gave him a heart attack.

Once he was adjusted, he keyed the address of the restaurant in the GPS. He put the car in gear

and turned onto the secluded highway. The other great thing about the small town the plant was in was
that there were hardly any other people. Dean wouldn’t give up city life for the world, but it was nice
to not be thrown into World War III every time he drove in the city.

He hit the gas as he pushed the car up one of the steep inclines of North Carolina. Once he

reached the top, the car rolled faster and faster down the hill. If he was on his own, he might’ve seen
exactly what the rental could do. His truck had almost a hundred fifty thousand miles on it, and he
didn’t think he’d ever driven a car with less than five figures on the odometer.

Reluctantly, he moved his foot to the brake pedal. He frowned as the pedal easily slipped to the

floor, with no effect on the speed of the car. He sat up straighter and gently hit the brake again, but
nothing happened.

“Shit,” he muttered. The speedometer ticked higher and higher as the car sped down the hill. He

scanned the road and didn’t see any other cars. The road was lined with trees, so he didn’t want to
chance slamming into one.

Another hill was coming up. Dean tried his best to keep calm as the speed topped a hundred

miles per hour, sighing in relief as he finally headed uphill again. Gravity slowly worked its magic
and, as soon as he felt as though he had enough control, he pulled the emergency brake. He tried to be
gentle, but the car still jerked at the abrupt friction and the back end spun out.

He steered into it, and the car finally stopped, back end in the gravel of the shoulder and front end

hanging out into the road.

For a second, Dean just sat in the driver’s seat, only then realizing how fast his heart was beating.

Shit. He needed to move the car out of the road. He needed to call Victoria. What the hell was he
supposed to tell her?

His gaze fell to the gauges. The rental only had two thousand miles on it, and the brakes had gone

out. He shook his head. It wouldn’t do any good to assume shit. Instead, he put the car in neutral. The
one good thing about spinning the car was that it didn’t roll down the hill when it was in neutral.

He hopped out of the car and walked in a slow circle around the vehicle to make sure there was

no damage. After making sure everything looked okay, he leaned against the hood and pushed gently,
the car inching back until it was out of the road.

As soon as it was safe, he pulled the emergency brake again and bent to look under the car, only

to confirm his suspicion.

CHAPTER NINE

Victoria’s stomach growled and she glanced at the clock again. Where was Dean with the food?

But when she looked at the time, she realized he’d only been gone for ten minutes. It would be awhile
still before he would be back.

For the third time that day, she watched a contractor assess the best location for the scrap

processing equipment. Thankfully, she at least understood what the contractor was talking about at
this point. One of the benefits of going on tours like this was that when she was getting ready to sign
on the dotted line for a multimillion-dollar project, she had some idea what she was signing.

She just had a lot more patience for the technical jargon when she had a full stomach.
A movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention. Dean strode towards her, pissed-off

expression on his face and noticeably no food in hand.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked in a hushed tone as soon as he reached her.
A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. “Sure.” She faked a smile, not wanting to scare anyone.

She looked to the plant manager and the salesman across the plant aisle. “I’’ll be right back.” She
turned to walk with Dean. As soon as they were out of earshot, she asked, “What happened?”

He clenched his jaw. “Someone cut your brake lines.”
It took a second for Victoria to realize that her jaw hung open. “What? Are you serious?”
“I was in the car when the brakes failed,” he snapped. “There’s a puddle of brake fluid where the

car was parked.”

“And you think someone did this on purpose?”
“It’s practically a new car,” he pointed out. “What are the chances there just happened to be a slit

in the front and back lines that happened to appear while we weren’t anywhere near the car?”

Victoria rubbed the back of her neck. “So someone tried to kill me again?” Even saying it out

loud seemed so unbelievable. She was likeable, damn it! People just didn’t want her dead. “I thought
this kind of stuff only happens in the movies.”

“It is something that only happens in the movies. It’s a stupid way to off someone.”
Off someone. Someone wanted her offed… Dean must’ve sensed where her thoughts were going

and set a hand on her arm. Without thinking, she leaned into the touch, grateful for the comfort. What if
he hadn’t been here? Then she would’ve been driving the car. “What happened? How did you get
out?””

His hand ran up and down her arm. “When the lines are cut, it’s not subtle. If they were cut clean

through, I would’ve noticed as soon as I got into the car, but they weren’’t cut completely. I was less
than a mile away when they gave. I was able to trigger the emergency brake and pulled over.”

“Emergency brake? That still worked?” Shock set in more fully. What would she have done if she

were in the car? She didn’t know a damn thing about brakes failing, sabotage or not.

“Relax.” Dean stepped in closer. “You’re heading back home tomorrow. Gordon should have

some answers by then and you’ll have a real bodyguard, right?”

Her gaze jerked up and she tried to read his face. Was he counting down the minutes until he

didn’t have to risk his life for her? The man had almost died while picking up her dinner! Of course
he wanted to get back to his perfect little sister, who didn’’t give him half the crap he got from her.

“Yeah,” she said. “I just have to survive ’til then,”” she muttered.
“You need to be careful, you know?” She nodded, but Dean continued. “This is twice in one

week. That’s serious.”

“I know,” she said between clenched teeth.

“But I want you to realize something else. Whoever is behind this has no idea what they’re doing.

The brakes being cut is one of the stupidest ways to kill anyone, and whoever attacked you last week
had no idea what they were doing.””

Her brows drew together. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Well, you’ve made it this far, so it’s not bad. But you still need to figure out who’s doing this.

How many people besides Terry knew you’d be here today?” he asked.

“Plenty. Denise booked the tickets. Simon knew about the visit. There’s a team of at least ten in

the finance department who have touched this project in some way or another.” But the only person
who might want her dead and knew about her trip was Terry. To make it look even worse, Terry was
exactly the type of person to rush into action. At least if Victoria wanted someone dead, she’d make
damn sure she found an assassin who would do the job right.

“Where’s the car?” she asked, changing the subject. Gordon would help her sort out who was

behind this. It wasn’t Dean’s responsibility.

“It’s about a mile down the highway, off the shoulder. I wasn’t sure where you wanted it to go

from here.”

“We’re going to be tied up here for a while. I’ll tell the guys that we had a flat and the wheel was

damaged and you can call to have the car towed. We can catch a ride back to the hotel.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll start making some calls. Think everyone will be okay with pizza, since

we can get that delivered?”

Ugh, she’d forgotten about dinner already. Damn it! “Pizza would be great,” she said.
Dean gently squeezed her arm. “Take a breath. I’ll handle everything.”
She looked up to meet his dark brown eyes, and in that moment, she completely believed him.

This broke handyman living paycheck to paycheck said he’d take care of her, and she had no doubt
that he would.

She hadn’t had that support from anyone. Even Simon, who she was paying a fortune for,

wouldn’t guarantee that everything would be taken care of. It was always “I’’ll see what I can do,” or
“I’ll get back to you.” And here was Dean, being dragged into her mess and not even batting an
eyelash.

“I need to get back,” she said abruptly. She didn’t have time for murder attempts and handymen

who were far too capable for their own good. She had a business to run.

CHAPTER TEN

“You’re serious?” asked Victoria.
“Yep,” said Gordon. “I don’t think Terry is your problem. I found the private investigator he’s

been working with, and cornered him last night.”

Her brow creased. “I don’t think I want to know what ‘cornered’ means……”
“It was a friendly corner,” assured Gordon. “Just don’t be surprised if my next invoice has a

larger than normal miscellaneous section.”

Great. Bribery. “What did he tell you?”
“He was able to get a contact at the airlines to tell him where you were flying out to. Since it’s a

smaller airport, he guessed which plant you were visiting and spent an entire day calling hotels to
track down where you were staying.””

“So I don’t have a leak?” she asked hopefully.
“No leak, but you have someone who wants to kill you.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” she snipped. “And I’’m expecting you to find out who wants me dead.” If

one more person reminded her that there was a death order on her head, she was going to snap. Did
they think she’d forget?

“I’m working on it,” he said gruffly. “I have some interviews for muscle lined up for tomorrow.

Five guys—all have good qualifications and recommendations.”

“These guys will blend in?”
“All nerdy looking, guaranteed.”
She snorted. “Sounds good. Thanks for the update, Gordon. I’m at the airport now and should be

back home by four, but I’ll probably be going straight to the hospital, though, to visit Dad. I’ll be
checking my phone when I can, so let me know if there’s any progress.”

“You’ll be the first to know,” he said with a decidedly unoptimistic tone.
“Thanks.” She hung up.
“Everything okay?” asked Dean.
Victoria twisted around to see him standing with two bottles of water in hand. He handed one to

her and she nodded her thanks.

“Boarding is in a few minutes. Are you ready?”
“Yep.” She hooked her computer bag over her shoulder.
“Hold up.” He sat down next to her. “I wanted to clear up some things.”
She could already feel the knots forming in her stomach. She found the first man in the history of

men who wanted to have the talk. “Oh boy,” she muttered.

The corner of his mouth hooked up. “I’m not trying to stress you out. We’re heading back home

and I’m thinking you won’t be needing my help anymore after today. So this is it, right? I mean, for
us.”

“Oh yeah.” The words rushed out of her mouth. “It was good while it lasted, but we were never

really compatible, you know?””

“Exactly what I was thinking.”
An awkward silence stretched between them. She’d never intended to do anything with Dean, and

once their working relationship went…further, she’d known it wasn’’t a permanent situation. For one,
the media would have a field day. And then there was the fact that they had nothing in common except
sex. Good sex. Great sex. Mind-blowing sex.

But besides that, everything about them was different: family life, education, careers. She’d just

have to push herself through this irrational infatuation that had somehow invaded her mind.

It might hurt at first, but she’d been through much worse than breaking off a two-night stand.

She’d just stop and pick up a fancy new vibrator to keep her company. That way she could get her
orgasms without bringing any real, live people into it.

The overhead speaker announced that boarding was starting and Victoria stood, not wanting to

spend any more time sitting in silence with Dean. At least during the flight, she could open up her
laptop and pretend to work.

And then, just like Dean said, they’d land and go their separate ways.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Dean collapsed onto the couch. The hotel room was nice and new and clean, but this couch and

he had a connection. He knew the lumps and bumps. Knew exactly where all the holes and tears in the
worn leather were. This was his couch, damn it, and it was perfectly conformed to his shape.

Rigby padded over and hopped onto the couch, right onto Dean’s stomach.
Dean grunted as he rearranged the large dog to a slightly more comfortable position. “What the

hell?” he muttered.

Katy laughed from the doorway to the small living room. “He missed you.”
Dean rubbed the dog between his ears. He had a feeling Rigby couldn’t care less about him as

long as Katy was around, but he didn’t say it. “Have you eaten yet? I was thinking about making mac
and cheese.” He’d tried his best to be a surrogate father to Katy, but had never been able to get the
whole cooking thing down.

“I ate at Becky’s. It’s like eight o’clock, Dean. You haven’’t eaten yet?”
Shit. He knew it was late, but hadn’t realized how late. “I must’ve lost track of time,” he

muttered. The damn trip with Victoria had definitely been profitable, but he’d had over twenty calls
for service while he was gone. Most of them he’d been able to refer to other workers, but a few more
of his more loyal customers insisted on waiting until Saturday, so he’d been running around since six
in the morning to fit in as many jobs as possible.

“Becky and I were going to the movies and then I was thinking I could stay over there.”
And there went any plans of him relaxing for the night. “Kind of late, don’t you think? Didn’t you

just get back from there?””

“I’m not the one who gets up at the crack of dawn,” she reminded him. “Come on. It’s summer

break and you can call Becky’s mom if you want.”

Damn it, he hated when she offered to let him call the other parents. If she didn’t offer, he felt as

if he was being clever, but if she gave him the option, suddenly he felt paranoid. He could text
Becky’s mom, though. Much more casual and less paranoid. ““Fine, fine. Just don’t be stupid, okay?”

“I’m not you,” she reminded him.
He sat up and stared her down. “I’d yell at you if you weren’t right,” he said with a smirk.

~~~~~

Victoria couldn’t tell what terrified her more: the fact that Terry was at the hospital before her or

the terrified look on his face. “What’s wrong?”” she asked breathlessly when she finally reached
where he sat outside their father’s room.

His lips tightened and he let out a sigh. “Have you talked to the doctors today?”
“No. Last night everything was fine.”
“Things have changed,” said Terry solemnly. “His blood pressure has been dropping all day and

his heartbeat is erratic.””

Nerves churned in her stomach and she felt as though she’d been punched in the gut. “What? No.

That’s not possible. That’’s why he was put into the coma. This shit isn’t supposed to happen while
he’s under sedation. His body is supposed to focus on healing.”

“The doctor told me that something with his kidneys this morning made them take him off the

sedation and switch to some sort of fluid.”

“Well, they need to put him back under!” A group of three nurses turned to face her, but she

refused to be embarrassed. Instead, she strode over to them, ready to tell them exactly what she
thought of their services. “Excuse me, but I was here yesterday and my father was perfectly fine.”
Except for the medically-induced coma thing… “And now I’m told he’s been woken up and is
falling apart. What the hell happened?”

Instead of rolling their eyes at her outburst or telling her to keep her voice down, all three women

looked at her with the scariest expression she could’ve imagined. Pity.

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Green. Let me get the doctor for you.”
But Victoria didn’t need a damn doctor. The pity said it all. Her father was going to die, and

somehow everyone knew it but her. “I need to see him,” she murmured as she turned away.

Her breaths came faster and faster, and as she pushed open her father’s hospital room door, she

realized she’d started to cry. That wasn’t supposed to happen. This was a routine visit. He’d been in
the hospital for over a week. He was too strong for this. He was supposed to go out with a bang. A
plane crash, or skiing accident.

Not after a quiet, drawn-out struggle against his own body.
But the truth hit her like a bag of bricks as she laid eyes on him. Her strong, steamroller of a

father was so pale. So thin. How had he changed so much in just a week? She stumbled over to his
side, grasping his hand in hers.

The rasp of his labored breathing filled the room. What the hell was wrong with his lungs? How

had he fallen apart so fast? “Dad?” she whispered, but there was no response. ““Dad, please. I need
to talk to you.”

Not a single muscle in his face twitched. “You’re not done yet,” she said, unable to stop the tears

that streamed down her face. ““You’re stronger than this. Please…”

Footsteps sounded behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see an older man in a white

lab coat and Terry, whose eyes were also red and watery.

“Ms. Green,” said the doctor. “I think we need to talk.”

~~~~~

The cab came to a stop in front of the small house and Victoria reached into her purse. The

cabbie told her the amount owed, but his words didn’t register. Pay the driver. Get to the door. She
repeated the steps to herself as she fished out a hundred dollar bill. Pay the driver. Get to the door.

After handing him the money, she climbed out of the cab. Her legs wobbled as she tried to steady

her weight. Get to the door, Victoria. Get to the door. One step at a time, she got closer and closer to
the pristine white door and leaned into the doorbell. She was here. She made it.

She set a hand on the doorjamb to help herself stand upright. If her damn legs would just stop

shaking…

The door opened and Dean’s mouth dropped open. “Victoria?” As he appraised her, his face fell

and he must’ve known something was up. “What happened?”

She opened her mouth, but nothing managed to come out. Instead, the tears that she’d barely

managed to beat back in the cab resurfaced.

Dean didn’t hesitate and pulled her into his arms. “Victoria,” he murmured into her hair. “Is

everything okay?”

As his big arms wrapped around her, surrounding her with warmth when all she felt was cold,

she couldn’t hold it back any longer. Deep, anguished sobs escaped her, and she pushed her face
tightly into his shirt.

His arms squeezed tighter, and he pulled her fully inside, pushing the door shut with a foot. Once

they were both in, he pulled back and brushed her hair away from her face as he looked down and at
the wreck she was.

“Did someone try to hurt you?” he asked.
Oh, God. Someone was trying to kill her. She’d completely forgotten. What a stupid thing to

forget. “My dad died,” she blurted out. “He was fine yesterday! Well, not fine, but he was there…”

“Shit. I’m sorry,” muttered Dean.
“It’s just—I don’t know why I didn’’t expect it. The guy was in the hospital for nine days! Simon

and I did all this talking and planning, but somehow I never believed it would happen.”

“No one can prepare for these things.” He rubbed a hand up and down her back.
“Of course I wasn’t prepared. I hardly thought about him at all! Instead I threw a party and went

on a trip and did everything but worry about him!”

Dean’s hands rested on Victoria’s neck and tilted her head back to look him straight in the eye.

“You were coping the best way you knew how,”” he insisted. “You mentioned how hard your father
worked for the company. He wouldn’t want you sitting at his side all week.”

She blinked and sniffled in a particularly unladylike fashion. He was right. It was the same thing

she’d been telling herself all week, but it helped to hear it from someplace other than her mind.
“You’re right.” She stepped back and wiped away the trail of tears that ran down her cheeks. “I can’t
believe I came all the way out here,”” she muttered. Dean must think she was insane. Here he was
probably enjoying his weekend, and she’d barged into his home, crying like a maniac.

“Have you eaten yet?” he asked.
“Not since breakfast.” How long ago was that? She didn’t even know what time it was. She’d

gone to the office for some of the bodyguard interviews with Gordon and made it to the hospital a
little after one. And that’s when it all went to hell…

“Let me heat something up for you. Nothing fancy, but I have a steady supply of frozen food,” he

said with a crooked grin.

Now she not only barged into his home but was making him cook for her? “I should probably go.”
Dean reached out and wrapped his big hand around hers. “Come on. I’ll cook you a gourmet

dinner of chicken fingers and you can relax for a little bit.”

“Well…it’s hard to say no to chicken fingers.” She ran her fingers through her hair. In truth, she

really didn’t want to go home. At first, she thought she and Terry would go off to drink and reminisce
about Dad, but then Joslyn had come to the hospital and dashed any hopes Victoria had of using him
for support.

Joslyn had been nice enough to invite Victoria to their apartment for the night, but Victoria

couldn’t bring herself to be the third wheel on such a sensitive night. She’d insisted she had work to
do and wanted to focus on something else.

But when she’d gotten into the cab, she’d found herself directing the cab driver off Manhattan and

to Dean’s small house.

“I’m a complete mess,” she said softly. “Is there a bathroom?””
He pointed to a door right off the stairs. “There you go.”
She nodded and retreated into the tiny bathroom. There was just enough room for a pedestal sink

and toilet, but it was all she needed. After she shut the door, she leaned back and took in a few deep
breaths. What a messed-up day. And now here she was with a man she barely knew. What the hell
was she even doing?

In some ways, Dean knew her better than anyone. He had seen how determined she was to keep

Green & Sons running smoothly and was one of the handful of people who knew about the recent
attempts on her life.

She hadn’t even told Simon about that, and she normally told Simon everything. Victoria

squeezed her eyes shut. Too much raced through her mind. She just needed peace and quiet and to
push all this shit out of her head.

Her eyes snapped open and she looked in the mirror. As expected, her eyes were red and puffy,

and her mascara was basically gone. She ran the water and splashed the cool liquid on her face. As
soon as she thought she was gaining some semblance of control, her thoughts went back to when the
doctors had given her the official announcement…

No. Damn it. She needed to pull herself together. Dean didn’t need to think she was any more of a

basket case than she’d already shown him.

She’d walk out and have a completely normal, not awkward dinner with her handyman turned

bodyguard turned lover. Not awkward at all.

With a shake of her head, she finished drying off her face and hands. After smoothing out her

skirt, she untucked the short-sleeved, silk shirt. It wasn’t meant to hang loose along the tight pencil
skirt, but she needed comfort right now. Considering the state she was in when she came knocking on
Dean’s door, she didn’t think he’d mind seeing her clothes off-kilter.

Feeling a bit more together, she took a steadying breath and walked out into the hallway.

Immediately, a stocky red dog circled her ankles. “Hey, buddy,” she murmured as she bent forward to
stroke his head.

“Rigby, leave the woman alone!” shouted Dean from the kitchen.
The dog obediently switched his attention back to the kitchen and scurried away. Had Rigby been

there before she’d gone into the bathroom? Victoria frowned and tried to force her head to clear.
Sane. Just be sane, she told herself.

She followed the clanking of dishes to where Dean was throwing some plates into the

dishwasher. He must’ve heard her approach because he turned around when she entered.

“Sorry for the mess,” he said with a sheepish grin.
There was so little counter space, it was almost impossible not to have a mess. Everything

looked clean enough, but the microwave, toaster, and small stack of mail gave the room even more of
a claustrophobic feel. Even in her Manhattan apartment, the kitchen was bigger. But maybe it just
looked small because Dean took up so much room.

He wore jeans and a navy blue t-shirt, and she’d never met someone who looked so good in

casual clothes. As he reached up to pull out a clean set of dishes, his muscles moved beneath the thin
cotton fabric and Victoria’s mouth went dry.

She knew exactly how great he looked without a shirt. How those muscles felt under her fingers

as he thrust in and out of her. Her heart beat faster and heat crept up her cheeks. Her fingers rubbed
the back of her neck as she tried to force the thoughts out of her head. Dean and she had both agreed
anything between them was over.

“Food should be ready in ten minutes,” he said over his shoulder. “Did you want anything to

drink? I have beer, water, and diet soda.””

“Beer.” She almost wished he had something stronger but didn’t want to push his kindness any

further.

He pulled two glass bottles out of the fridge and popped off the caps. She couldn’t keep her eyes

off him as he moved. Somehow this seemed so much more intimate than any of the other times they’d
been together.

Here in his home. In his domain.
He handed her a bottle and she wrapped her lips around the top to take a deep gulp. After taking a

deep gulp, she asked, “Where’s Katy?” Remember, the young girl who could walk in at any moment
and was the exact reason she shouldn’t be thinking about using Dean in all the ways her mind
remembered?

“She’s at a friend’s for the night,” he said.
Shit. There went that idea. “It’s cool that you have the place to yourself.”
His eyes darkened and she mentally kicked herself. Now he was thinking of sex too. Damn it.

Her father just died. She should be home, surrounded by work or a box of tissues or both. Not here in
a tiny kitchen with the sexiest man she’d ever met.

“We have it to ourselves,” he corrected, his voice deep and husky.
She took another deep gulp of beer. “That’s nice to know.” Her mind swirled with thoughts she

wasn’t supposed to be having. Stop looking at his stomach. Stop looking at his shoulders. Just talk
to him like a normal person.

Silence stretched between them for a few minutes. “If you want, I can turn on the TV while I

finish cooking,” he offered.

Great. Now he was trying to get her out of the kitchen. If she wanted to sit alone in front of the

television, she would have gone back to her own apartment. She needed this contact. She needed it
from someone she didn’t have a massive history with like Terry, who wanted something from her, or
Simon, who she paid to listen to her. Dean, for whatever reason, seemed to actually enjoy being
around her. Sure, she paid him too, but it was different. He saved her before he knew she’d pay him,
and he was quick enough to let her stay. But he could just pity her.

“Victoria, just relax. I’m here to help you out tonight, understand? If you want a certain type of

food, or drink, or movie, you let me know and I will run out and get it for you.”

Victoria felt herself melt under the weight of his kindness. She didn’t deserve this from him. They

only met a week ago, and he didn’t need the responsibility of taking care of her at such a crazy time.
But there he was, offering her food and comfort and friendship when she needed it most. “I think I
have everything I need here,” she said.

He nodded. “You just let me know. Now, why don’t you take off those high heels and sit down on

the twenty-year-old recliner that is a thousand times more comfortable than it looks.” He held out his
hand. “Come on.”

Victoria braced herself and slipped her black pumps off one by one. She had to be honest with

herself. She didn’t want to sit in an old recliner unless Dean was there with her, no matter how
comfortable it might be. Ever since she’d walked into his house, the only thing that had made her feel
even the slightest bit better was the comforting feel of his arms around her.

“Dean,” she said quietly as she put her hand in his. “There’s one thing I want.”
He looked down at her. “Anything.”
She eased in closer, until barely a millimeter of space separated them. “I know whatever it was

we had is supposed to be over, but…”

His breath caught in his throat. He slowly cupped her face with his hands and tilted her to meet

his intense gaze. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,”” he whispered, his words in direct contradiction
with his body as his hips pressed against hers.

“Please,” she breathed, not the slightest bit ashamed to beg. She stood on tiptoe to lay a soft kiss

against his lips, and he stood stock-still, not moving a muscle. “When I’’m with you, I can’t think of
anything but this. Us. I need that right now.”

“Victoria—”
She cut him off with another kiss, this one fierce and for the sole purpose of keeping him from

turning her away.

He let out a sound between a moan and a growl, and she knew the instant he gave in as his grip

tightened and he angled her in exactly the right way. It was her turn to moan as he pushed her back
until the counter hit the top of her hips.

She gave in to the temptation she’d been fighting since she’d gotten there and ran her hands all

over him. His biceps. His stomach. And then his muscular shoulders, the thin material of his shirt the
only barrier between her and his bare skin.

Dean finally released her for a brief moment as he gripped her hips and lifted until the edge of

her ass rested on the counter’s edge, but as she instinctively opened her legs for him, they both
realized the tight skirt wasn’t cooperating.

“Damn it,” said Dean as his hands found the hem of her skirt and pushed up, farther and farther

until the material bunched at the top of her legs. He stared as if entranced as he parted her exposed
thighs. He ran his fingers along the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs and traced the line of her
panties.

Her breath caught in her throat as electricity arced through her. She inched closer to his fingers as

he slipped them underneath the panties and traced a teasing pattern along the seam of her opening.

Her arms gripped his shoulders and held him tight as he pushed two fingers inside. Her eyes

drifted closed as he ran his lips along her neck. As he increased the tempo of his fingers pushing in
and out of her, Victoria’s breath came faster and faster. For a perfect moment, there was only Dean
and the things he was doing to her. Just the warmth and pleasure of his touch.

She fell apart in his arms, the orgasm almost surprising her as she held him even tighter.
Before she’d even finished coming down from the climax, he gripped her around the waist and

pulled her against him as he picked her up and strode out of the kitchen.

Her pleasure-dazed eyes widened as she saw he was taking her to the stairs. “You can’t carry me

up there!”

At the foot of the stairs, he pushed her into the wall and kissed her so thoroughly that by the time

he came up for air, she’d practically forgotten what continent she was on.

He pulled away and they both struggled to catch their breath. “I would climb up a fucking

mountain to be with you right now, understand?”

She didn’t know whether it was the intensity of the kiss or the aftershocks of her orgasm, but she

couldn’t manage to form words. All she could do was nod as he picked her back up and carried her
up the stairs as though it was nothing.

Once they reached the second story, it was a short walk to Dean’s bed, where he softly laid her

down, but he didn’t join her. She reached for him as he backed away and made quick work of his
shirt, jeans, and boxers.

She backed up on the mattress and pulled her own silk shirt off. Dean climbed onto the bed,

slowly moving over her, and trailed kisses along her bare stomach and in the valley between her
breasts, right above her bra.

She frowned down at him. She thought after what happened downstairs that he’d be inside her by

now. Abruptly, he straddled her, caching her wrists in his hands and stretching her arms over her
head.

“Stop thinking. You’re mine for the night, right?”
She took in a deep breath and nodded.

“That’s what I thought,” he said with a crooked grin as he leaned in for another kiss. He

effortlessly transitioned both her wrists into one of his hands and ran his free palm down her arm,
side, and back up again. The touch sent shivers through her, and she arched into him, silently asking
for more.

He ran his hand back up and slid it between her back and the bed to unclasp her bra. Instead of

releasing her to remove it, he pushed the cups up and out of the way as he bent to an exposed nipple.

As his teeth and tongue alternately teased and soothed, she writhed underneath him. And he gave

her more and more pleasure. “Please, Dean. I need you inside me,” she moaned.

He switched to her other breast, the abandoned nipple cold and wanting while the other peak was

spoiled with his tongue. Just as she thought he was completely ignoring her request for more, he
released her and pushed off her, pulling her skirt and panties off in one smooth motion. He dropped
her garments on the floor, but instead of pushing himself right between her thighs like she expected, he
wrapped his arms around her and flipped them both over, him on his back while Victoria straddled
him.

“Ride me, Victoria,” he ordered in a breathless, husky voice.
She rested her hands on his chest and looked down at him. A small smile curved her mouth. She

positioned herself over him as he guided the thick head of his cock to her entrance. She slowly let
herself slide onto his hard length and reveled in the shocks of pleasure that seemed to reverberate
through her at the friction.

Dean’s fingers bit into her hips and she could tell he held back. Tried to give her the ability to set

the pace. To control it.

And that’s exactly what she did. She started out slow, but quickly the overwhelming urge to move

took her over and she rode him in exactly the way her body demanded. Before long, Dean’s own
control seemed to break and he thrust frantically up to meet her halfway, clenching his teeth as a
guttural moan escaped him.

And the second his muscles tensed beneath her, Victoria’s own orgasm swept through her. The

quakes rippled through her whole body as she threw her head back to revel in the almost unbearable
pleasure taking over.

As her climax faded, the only sound in the room was their rapid breathing. When she finally

opened her eyes, she saw Dean’s self-satisfied grin look up at her.

“What?” The corner of her mouth hooked up as well.
“I think I burned the chicken.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Dean opened the back door to let Rigby into the house. The red dog gleefully ran inside and

lapped up water from his bowl.

“Shhh,” said Dean. Victoria was still sleeping when he’d crawled out of bed, and he didn’t want

to wake her up any earlier than he had to. Between her father passing and the athletic night they’d had
together, she probably needed all the rest she could get.

He poured water into the coffee maker and threw in his breakfast blend grounds. Before Katy,

he’d never been much of a coffee drinker, but her six-year-old antics taught him the true meaning of
sleep deprivation. Now he was a faithful convert to the caffeine altar.

Greg had already called him to see whether he could take on a weekend job, but for the first time

in a long time, Dean turned down the work. He had some extra cash after helping out Victoria, and he
knew she probably needed him more than Greg did.

He rubbed his eyes. Hell, he didn’t know she needed him. But he knew she needed someone, and

she obviously didn’t mind his support. And he really didn’’t mind giving it. Not just because of the
sex, though he sure as hell couldn’t complain about that little perk. But he knew what it was like to
lose a parent. He also knew what it was like to not have anyone around to talk to about it.

So for as long as she wanted, he’d be whatever she needed him to be. And if, after everything

was over, she wanted him out of her life, then he’d do that.

The front door creaked open and he winced. “Katy?”
“You’re not working?” Katy walked into the kitchen.
Shit. When was the last time she got home early from a sleepover? He turned to look her over.

Her long blonde hair was pulled back loosely and she didn’t look hung over or show any signs of a
long night of partying. “What happened at Becky’s?”

“I just wanted to come home, okay? What’s so wrong with me wanting to spend time with you?”
Dean stared at her blankly. Seriously? Today of all days she decided she wanted to have

brother-sister bonding? “I don’t know if I’’ll have time to do much.” What was the best way to tell
his little sister that he had a woman upstairs? Damn it. He’d never had this problem before. Of
course, he hadn’t had a woman sleep over since Katy came to stay with him.

But when Victoria was in his bed, he never even considered asking her to leave. It was perfectly

natural to pull her tight against him as they both fell into an exhausted sleep.

Katy’s face fell a bit. “It’s your first day off in forever and you can’t make time for me?”
“What makes you think I’m not working?” he countered, unable to muster up the courage to tell

her he was bumping her aside for another woman.

“Well, the sun’s up and you’re in pajamas.” She pointed to the flannel pajama pants she’d gotten

him for Christmas last year. “It doesn’t take a genius, Dean.” She shrugged and any sign of
disappointment disappeared from her face. “Don’t worry about it. I know you’re busy even when
you’’re not working. Rigby and I will hang out.” She grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and turned
to leave the kitchen and probably head to her room upstairs.

Upstairs where he’d left Victoria naked in his bed.
“Wait!” he called.
“Oh my God,” she moaned and twisted back around. “What?”
But before he let a word out, he heard the telltale creaking of the upstairs floorboards.
Katy frowned. “Is there someone here?” she whispered with wide eyes.
“It’s just a friend,” he spit out, immediately regretting the lie. “Her father died and I offered to let

her crash here.”

“That’s awful,” said Katy. “Is she doing okay?””
The stairs moaned and groaned as Victoria made her way down. Dean clenched his jaw. Katy had

never met one of his lovers. Not once had he ever gotten these two parts of his life crossed. And he’d
been prepared. He read books and articles about how to introduce a woman into a young child’s life.
Let them meet on neutral territory, preferably somewhere that would stimulate conversation to
keep away awkward silences.

This situation wasn’t covered in the damn books.
And there Victoria was, looking like his wet dream and nightmare combined, only wearing one of

his oversized Yankees t-shirts and standing right in front of his little sister.

He took a deep swallow. “Um…Katy, this is Victoria. Victoria, this is Katy.”
Victoria looked absolutely terrified for a brief moment before she perfectly masked her fear and

smiled at Katy. “We actually met before,” said Victoria awkwardly. “When I picked Dean up. I didn’t
realize you were going to be here.” She twisted her fingers in the cotton of the shirt, pulling it down
another inch or two to give her as much modesty as possible.

Katy took a step back and glanced between Victoria and Dean. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s nice to see

you again. You’re both adults and probably protected, so…”

“I was just about to make breakfast,” said Dean to break up Katy’s awkward rambling. “Does

anyone want bacon and eggs?”

“I should probably go,” said Victoria. “I need to get started on the arrangements. I don’t know the

first thing about funerals…”

“Dean can help,” offered Katy. “He planned everything for our parents. He’s basically an expert.”
Victoria met his eyes and he simply shrugged. Two funerals at once didn’t exactly make him an

expert, but it sure as hell made him more knowledgeable than he ever wanted to be. But this was
Richard Green. People would probably fly in from all over the country to pay their last respects. He
didn’t know a damn thing about that.

But there was one more reason he should stick with Victoria. “Did you have more interviews

today that you needed to get done?”

She paled and looked down. “I completely forgot about the interviews.” She rubbed her fingers

through her hair. “I need to get dressed,”” she muttered as she turned back to the stairs, abruptly
looking back to Katy. “I’m so sorry about this. I’m normally much more put together.”

Katy shrugged, but Dean couldn’t get a read on her. “It’s all good.”
Victoria gave another halfhearted smile before she headed up the stairs.
“Oh. My. God,” said Katy as soon as Victoria was out of earshot. “She came to you for comfort

and you slept with her.”

Ahh…discussing his sex life with his sister. One of his all-time greatest fears. And this morning

seemed as if it had so much promise just a few minutes ago. “It’’s none of your business.” Dean
crossed his arms over his chest.

“Well, in order to get to my bedroom I have to pass by a half-naked woman, so isn’t it kind of my

business? Have you been dating her a long time? Why are you keeping it a secret from me?”

“I wasn’t keeping a secret because we aren’t dating.” He immediately regretted the word.
Katy crossed her arms over her chest and raised an all too knowing brow. “So you’re having

casual sex? You really don’t seem like the casual sex type.””

“For the love of—” He broke off before he said something he’d regret. To be honest, there was

nothing casual about his relationship with Victoria. But if he had no idea what was going on, how was

he supposed to explain it to Katy? “Listen, what happened last night wasn’t planned and I don’t have
a good or respectable answer for you,”” he said truthfully.

Katy rolled her eyes but luckily decided to switch off the subject of sex. “So you’re dating one of

the richest women in the city now?”

He snorted. Katy had no idea just how rich Victoria was. Not that it mattered. “She has more

money than me,” admitted Dean.

She rolled her eyes. “Please. Everyone has more money than you.”
“You don’t,” he reminded her. The floorboards above him creaked and he knew Victoria was

probably frantically getting ready. ““I’m going to see if she needs any help today.” He pushed away
from the counter.

He could feel Katy’s gaze follow him, but luckily she didn’t give him any more grief. But he

wasn’t sure what to think about how excited she’’d gotten when she remembered Victoria had money.
He’d always assumed she was happy enough with things the way they were. Had she just been
tolerating their small house and paycheck-to-paycheck living?

Victoria was slipping her feet into her black pumps as he walked in, and her skirt crept

dangerously high up her legs. For a moment, all Dean could think about was throwing her right back
on the bed…

“I’m so sorry about downstairs,” she said, pulling him out of his fantasy.
He ran a hand over his face and through his hair to clear his head. “It could’ve been worse. You

could’ve come down naked.”” He winked.

A small smile curled her lips. “Oh God. I couldn’t even imagine. Poor girl would be scarred for

life.”

He took a seat on the bed next to her and his expression grew serious. “What’s the plan for

today?”

She let out a sigh and stared at the floor. “I missed a call from Terry this morning. I will probably

meet up with him, and I suppose we can figure it out together.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Being alone with Terry?”
Her back stiffened. “I don’t think I need to be afraid of him.”
Dean reached over and set his hand on top of hers. “I know he’s your brother, but you were afraid

of what he would do last week. He hasn’t done anything to convince you he’’s trustworthy.”

She shook her head. “No. I saw him yesterday. He was crushed.”
“Or he’s a good actor. I’m not saying you have to tell him off or have an armed guard. But let me

hang around for the day. Don’’t let yourself be alone with him. Just in case.”

“Have you hang around? And what exactly am I supposed to tell Terry? That you’re still doing

consulting work?” She snorted.

“He already thinks we’re together…” Dean clenched his free hand into a fist as he waited for her

response. What the hell was he even doing? Telling Victoria to let the world think they were a real
couple? Going public with a relationship he didn’t even know if he wanted?

“It’s not going to matter,” she told him.
He frowned. “It can’t hurt to have me around. You need to be more careful. With everything with

your dad and the plant purchase, you’re going to be more distracted than ever. Let me be a second set
of eyes and ears for you.”

“It’s not going to matter if I’m alone with Terry because he’s coming to work for me.”
Dean rapidly blinked as he leaned away from her. “What?”
She tightened her lips and pushed herself off the bed. “I said he’s coming to work for me next

week. I offered him a job last night.”

Dean stood too, and bore down on Victoria. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
She glared up at him. “I’m running a damn business, Dean. A family business. If Terry wants to be

involved, he’s allowed. Remember, there’s a chance he owns the place now anyway.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re throwing him a bone so he doesn’t throw you out on your ass if

your father left him everything?””

“No. It’s about my brother coming to me and asking for a favor. If I say no, that could be the end

of our relationship forever. If he’s willing to forgive me for firing him, the least I can do is give him a
job he’s completely overqualified for.”

“And what if you do get the company? How long before you happen to have a little ‘accident’ and

Terry steps up to take your place?””

Victoria pushed against his chest, but he refused to move. He wasn’t letting her out of this damn

house until she came to her senses. Terry might talk a good game and play the grieving son, but
someone had already tried to kill Victoria twice. Why wouldn’t she listen to reason? He refused to
believe someone this smart could be so stupid.

“For the love of God, Dean. Just leave me alone. If you haven’t realized, I have a funeral to plan.

It’s going to be a hard enough day as is without you giving me grief.””

“It will get a hell of a lot harder if you’re dead! I’m not letting you go anywhere until I know

you’re taking some sort of precaution to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m already taking precautions! Gordon has five different guys—each one costing me a fortune,

by the way—who are all trying to find out who wants me dead. None of them can find any connection
between Terry and what’s happening to me. No mysterious payments out of his account. No shady
meetings with guys since he got back to the city. No emails or texts that could be a hit order. Nothing.
I’m not a fool, Dean. I do want to live.”

Dean frowned. Victoria was able to hire the best of the best, and he knew from experience that

whoever wanted her dead was no professional. Chances were they’d leave muddy footprints all over
the place. If it was Terry, Gordon should’ve been able to figure something out by now. ““Are you sure
you want to take the chance?”

“Consider, for a moment, that Terry isn’t trying to kill me. What kind of message would it send if I

don’t help him plan Dad’’s funeral?”

He bit back a growl of frustration. Hell, if he ever had a chance of keeping her away from Terry,

it was gone now. She would need to help plan her father’s funeral and there wasn’t a thing he could
say to stop her. So he said the next best thing. ““I’m going with you.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

As Victoria’s gaze bounced between Dean and Terry, she realized just how big of a mistake she’d

made. Dean glared at Terry with barely concealed contempt, and Terry kept awkwardly shifting his
weight as they reviewed the myriad funeral options laid out before them.

There were caskets to choose from, flowers, venues, menus. She’d actually faced a moment of

panic and called up Grace for help. But of course she wasn’t available to devote the next three whole
days to planning a funeral.

This wasn’t just a funeral, though. This was a multinational meeting of business conglomerates

that she only had days to throw together. Luckily, it wasn’t a secret that her family had money, and her
father had made some arrangements before his sudden heart attack last week.

Their family funeral home that had also handled her grandmother’s funeral decades ago had

stepped up to make things as easy as possible. And when Dean wasn’t looking as if he was about to
punch her brother in the face, he actually made a few good points.

It was almost frustrating when he was so helpful. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d truly

relied on anyone besides her assistant Denise. She didn’t even want Dean to come with her today, but
it was strangely comforting that when her hand slipped below the table, his would be there to catch it.
Something she knew Terry had noticed, but she didn’t care at this point.

People mistaking her and Dean for an honest-to-goodness couple was the least of her concerns.

At the moment, the top priority was flowers, which was the first time in her life flowers had been a
priority.

“Everything seems so cheerful,” she muttered as she flipped the pages in one of the massive

books the funeral director provided. He had five of them. Five books of just funeral flowers. Who
knew? And of course she’d need to look through every page. Her father deserved the best, and she
needed to know she’d considered every option.

“Oh…that one’s pretty!” Joslyn, across the table, pointed to a white lily bouquet.
Victoria frowned. “You don’t think it’s too pretty?”
“Do you think your dad would like it?” asked Dean.
Terry and Victoria both let out a laugh at the same time. “Please,” said Victoria. “Dad probably

never stopped to smell any type of flower ever.””

“So would he want no flowers?” asked Joslyn, brow furrowed in confusion.
“Oh no,” said Terry. “He’d want a massive display. He’’d want to go out with a bang and impress

everyone.”

Victoria smiled at the memory of how much Dad liked to show off. For someone so frugal with

money sometimes, he sure did like to splurge every now and again. “It’s like no matter what we pick,
it’s not going to really be right for him anyway.”

Dean took the book and flipped it shut. “Then don’t worry about it.”
She sighed. “He needs flowers.”
“And he’ll have them. The guys here know what they’re doing. When my parents died, we had

almost no funds for the funeral. So I gave the florist a very tiny number and they worked everything
else out.”

That was a tempting idea. Just step away and mark one thing off her ever growing list of

priorities. “What if I don’t like it? What if it’s not impressive?””

“Well, who knows more about flowers? Either of you, or someone who does it for a living?”
Terry bristled. “I’m not handing over something this important to someone who has no idea what

they’re doing.”

Joslyn set a hand on his leg. “It’s not a huge job,” she agreed. “Terry and I can take care of it,

Victoria. We both know you’re busy…”

For a moment, Victoria almost thought Joslyn was insulting her. We all know work is more

important than your father’s funeral. She pushed the thought aside. It was probably her own guilt for
wanting to run as far and fast from the funeral planning as possible.

Besides, Joslyn had been nothing but nice in the past day. At the hospital, she’d been sympathetic

and absolutely supportive with Terry. Victoria knew it probably wasn’t easy for her to be pulled into
all this family drama.

The only one Victoria couldn’t understand was Dean. She had no idea why he was even still

around. Sure, she’d hired him to hang around as added muscle for the plant trip, but now why was he
here? Pity because he’’d been through this before? Did he actually want something more from her?

She’d inwardly laughed at the thought. They got along okay, and the sex was mind-blowlingly

good, but they really made no sense as a couple. She hadn’t had an actual boyfriend in over five
years, and he didn’t once give any hint that he wanted more than what they had. It was a question she
really should ask him, but she hadn’t been able to muster up the courage during the few times they
were alone.

First, the timing was horrible. Who wanted to have the relationship talk at a funeral parlor?

Secondly, she didn’t even know what she wanted, so she wasn’t about to ask him. There were good
reasons it had been so long since she’’d had a relationship. She’d spent the past few years digging
Green & Sons out of the financial hole it had been in, and she rather liked her freedom.

She’d grown up surrounded by men. Once she’d been old enough to live on her own, it had been a

breath of fresh air. How was she supposed to handle sharing her life with someone who couldn’t
possibly be more different from her?

“So…flowers?” asked Joslyn.
Victoria jerked her head up, only then realizing she’d been lost in her thoughts. “Sorry,” she

muttered. “If you want to take over some of this, I’d be very appreciative.”

Joslyn gave her a gentle smile. “Of course,” she said. “From now on, we’re sisters. Anything you

need, just ask.” She held out a hand. “Let me put my number into your phone. That way you can get a
hold of me if you have any questions.”

Victoria took a steadying breath as she tried to muster up the energy to smile back at her brother’s

fiancée. It was only twelve in the afternoon and all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and
rest. She was never this exhausted. And when was the last time someone programmed their number
into her phone? It seemed like everyone these days had a business card to hand out. She keyed in her
password and handed her cell over to Joslyn.

But the smile she wanted never showed up. The emotional trauma of yesterday and her active

night with Dean must’ve taken their toll on her, and for the life of her, she could not muster up any
enthusiasm for her brother’s happy-go-lucky fiancée. ““Excuse me.” She pushed herself away from
the table.

She heard a chair scrape behind her and held the door to the office they were using open,

expecting Dean to follow her. But instead, she looked back to see Terry.

“Hanging in there?” he asked.
Before she could answer, Dean also emerged in the hall, the stern look he’d worn all morning

firmly in place.

“I’m managing.” She narrowed her eyes at Dean in a silent warning to behave himself.

Terry gave Dean a tight smile while Dean remained straight-faced. “Can I get a few minutes alone

with Vicks?” her brother asked.

Dean took a step closer to Victoria. “Your girl is neck-deep in flower arrangements. I’d rather

stay out here.”

At least he actually made up an excuse for coming out into the hall. But being squished between

the two men in her life wasn’t exactly the breather she wanted. “Can I just have a few minutes alone,
guys?”

Dean set a hand on her arm and gave her a gentle but firm squeeze. “I don’t think you need to be

alone right now.”

She rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, Terry spoke up for her. “If she wants to

take a moment to herself, she’s allowed.”

“It’s fine, Terry.” As much as she wanted to tell Dean exactly how much she wanted him to give

her some space, she’d agreed to bring him along for a reason. Even if she didn’t think Terry was the
one after her, someone was. And until she found out who, she didn’t want to be alone in public for
one second.

“No, it’s not fine. He’s been giving me the stink eye since the moment I met him and now he’s

following you everywhere you go? What are you doing with this guy?”

“You haven’t been around in years,” snapped Dean. “So don’’t show up out of the blue asking for

a job and insulting your sister’s choice in men.”

“Dean! Come on—”
“What, Victoria? He already got what he wanted. He was around you for less than a week and

you gave him a job. So if I want to tell him what I think, I will. Because you’re sure as hell not
speaking up.”

Terry held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa. Is that what you think? I’m only back for a job?”
“He’s not back for a job,” assured Victoria, but it only seemed to make Dean more upset.
“Stop defending him. Even if he’s a great guy who only wants to get along with his sister, he’s

only been back for a week. Don’’t let this tragedy force you into making bad decisions.”

Victoria took a deep breath and tried to remind herself why it was important to have Dean with

her. All last night, he’d been so gentle and understanding. She was an idiot to expect him not to revert
right back to his normal self in the light of day.

She pushed through the funeral home doors and took some deep gulps of the warm city air. The

streets and sidewalks were packed with the lunch rush, and Victoria leaned against the pristine
marble front of the funeral home to take it in.

No wonder Dad wanted to be laid to rest here in the heart of the action and bustle of New York.

He liked the rush of driving in the crazy traffic, to look out his office window at all hours of the night
and realize that the city slept as little as he did.

She heard the door open beside her and debated for a second whether she even wanted to know

who’d walked out. But she found out soon enough as a large, imposing shadow came over her.

“What do you want, Dean?”
“I wanted to apologize.”
She raised a brow and looked him over. He certainly didn’t look apologetic, but she was willing

to bet he could count on one hand the amount of times he’d apologized in the past decade. “You can
apologize all you want, but somehow I doubt you’re sorry.”

He ran a hand through his short hair. “What do you want me to do? I’m not going to let you be

alone with him, Victoria. If you trust him, that’s good for you, but I’’m not going to let the bastard kill

you just because you’re too forgiving.”

“I’m not a fucking wilting flower, Dean. Do you have any idea who I am? What I’ve

accomplished? I’m not afraid to speak my mind and, believe it or not, I’m able to read people.”

Dean started to respond, but Victoria held up a finger to silence him. “And Terry didn’t just

wander into North Carolina last week and woo me with his charm, okay? We had a great relationship
before that one fallout.””

He clenched his jaw and looked down at her with an intensity that had her taking a step back, only

to realize there was nowhere to go. She was trapped between him and the building. “I never said you
were weak or stupid, okay? But Terry is a blind spot for you, and I’m not going to let him take
advantage of that, even if you are.”

“It’s not your responsibility to take care of me,” she reminded him.
He bent down closer. Only a few inches of space separated their lips. “Did it ever occur to you

that I don’t want you dead? Maybe, just possibly, I’m keeping you safe because I want you safe?”

She struggled to find words, too confused by his words and the nearness of his body, by memories

of all the things they’d done together as they flooded her mind. His scent filled her mind while she
tried to remember the feel of his touch.

“We barely know each other,” she said, not sure if it was directed more at him or herself.
Dean let out a gentle sigh. “I know,” he muttered before he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to

her lips. “But I feel like we do.”” He pulled away. “We should go back in before someone comes
looking for us.” He grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. “Are you ready?”

She stared down at where their hands touched, unable to decide whether she should pull away or

not. In the end, she gave in to her gut and squeezed his hand tighter. “Ready.” She braced herself to go
back inside to face Terry’s judging eyes.

Somehow, when Dean was next to her, it didn’t seem as daunting.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Dean!” Katy screamed.
He jerked up and jumped out of his bed. “Are you okay?” he called back as his mind became

oriented after being jolted awake. Damn, it was seven in the morning. He’’d already overslept.
Victoria would have her driver there to pick him up in thirty minutes.

“You need to get down here!” shouted Katy from beneath him.
He groaned. What the hell could be so important this early? Normally mornings weren’t hard

for him, but he’d gotten hardly any sleep the night before. After a long, mostly civil, day with Victoria
and her family, he’d driven with her to her apartment building and left her at the door, with the
doorman’s assurances that he’d see her straight to the apartment.

So her car had gotten him home by seven, but after feeding Rigby and taking care of the chores he

hadn’t gotten done earlier in the day, he couldn’t shut off his damn mind. He thought of Terry and
whether he really seemed like a killer. He thought about the customers he was supposed to be taking
care of but kept referring to other qualified workers. But most of all, he thought of Victoria. It was
impossible not to while lying in the same bed where she’d been just a night before.

But this was the last day. She had the last of her bodyguard interviews in a few hours. Gordon

had screened all the candidates, and she wouldn’t need him around anymore once she made her
choice. From today on, she didn’t need any help from the broke electrician. Well, not quite as broke
since he’d been hanging around her.

And he didn’t need to be involved with anyone who thought he was sticking around for the

money. One day. No kissing, no looking, no touching. How hard could it be?

He almost laughed at the stupid question. It was almost impossible for him not to look at Victoria.

Especially when she was deep into her work and didn’t notice him staring. Those were the worst
moments.

But ever since she’d first slept with him, stopping himself from touching her became fucking

unbearable and he had no idea why. Maybe it had just been too long since he’d been with a woman.
But Katy had seen him with Victoria and didn’’t freak out. Maybe it was time for him to try to date
again. Or at least find someone to keep a casual relationship with. The idea of going out and meeting
someone seemed abhorrent to him, but he had to admit he liked to spend time with Victoria.

Not just the sex, but it was nice to have a conversation with a woman who wasn’t his teenage

sister.

“Dean!” shouted Katy again.
One more day, he thought to himself again as he pulled on his dark jeans and a black sweater. He

would rather wear something nicer to the corporate offices, but the only dress pants he owned were
long past their expiration date. The employees were allowed to wear jeans, so this would have to do.

He pounded down the stairs. “What?” he called as he reached the foot of the stairs.
“You’re famous.” Katy strode over to him and held out her phone.
“Huh?” He took the small device from her and frowned at what he was looking at. Was that a

picture of him and, oh shit. Someone took a picture of him and Victoria kissing outside the funeral
home. “Mother fucker!”

Katy took a step back. “Whoa…”
“Damn it, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Where is this?””
“Umm… everywhere? I had three phone calls this morning asking when you started dating

Victoria Green.”

Shit, shit, shit, shit. “What did you tell them?” He tried to keep his tone even and not accusatory,

but he really hoped Katy didn’’t say anything stupid.

She smiled a bit too wickedly for his tastes. “I did exactly what you would’ve wanted. I lied and

said I had no idea. Aren’t you proud?””

He let out a breath. At least one thing was going right. “I’ve never been so proud to raise a liar.”
If Katy knew already, then Victoria must have some idea. Why hadn’t she called him to freak out

or yell at him for not being more careful? The last thing she’d probably want would be for everyone
to think she was involved with someone like him.

She was more like Simon’s type. Someone rich and from boarding schools. Someone who was a

member of a country club and had never had to choose between the electricity bill and the groceries.

“So what are you going to do?” asked Katy.
Dean ran a hand over his eyes, wishing he could go back to bed and give this morning a do-over.

“I don’t know. Probably just ride it out. After today, I’m not dealing with Victoria anymore, so this
should blow over soon enough.” It’s not as if the media would be interested in him. It was Victoria
they were half in love with. “What are you doing up anyway?””

She raised a brow. “Umm…my phone was ringing off the hook. I firmly plan on going back to

bed.”

He nodded. “Have any plans for the day?”
“Nope. Just me and my buddy Rigby. I lead a glamorous life.”
He frowned. She’d been inseparable from Becky for the first month of summer. He didn’t

remember the last time Katy wasn’t working out or doing something with friends at least some point
during the day. She wasn’t exactly the normal sit on the couch in front of the TV all day teen.

But it was her summer vacation, and if she wanted a day to herself, that was fine.
“Okay. I’m going to grab some food and Victoria should be sending a car over any minute.

Hopefully traffic is nice because if I don’t get coffee soon, I think my head is going to explode.”

Katy laughed and crossed over to the stairs. “Be safe, Casanova. If anything juicy happens,

please let me know. You’re dating someone famous and I need to live vicariously through you!” Katy
ran up the stairs, Rigby clattering up behind her.

Dean rolled his eyes. The last person who would be getting periodic updates on this mess was

Katy.

Just as he pulled a few snack bars from the pantry, he saw the oversized black town car stop in

front of the house. Damn, he’d like some coffee.

He made do with a water bottle from the fridge and strode out of the house and to the car. The

driver waited for him and opened the backseat door as Dean approached. Dean gave the man an
uneasy smile as he climbed in, still not used to the service.

His eyes widened when he saw the sexy as hell legs waiting in the car for him. His gaze traveled

upwards until he met Victoria’s somber gaze.

“Morning, Dean.”
He hadn’t expected Victoria to be there, and, judging from her expression, he wasn’t going to

enjoy what she had to say. It had to be two hours out of her way to come to his place and back to
Manhattan.

“Morning,” he said hesitantly as he settled in.
Apparently those two hours weren’t wasted, because her laptop was open and set to the side. She

never was one to pass up the opportunity to work. She reached to the cup holder and handed him a
cardboard coffee cup. “I thought you might appreciate this. Filled with sugar and milk, just how you

like it.”

“You got me coffee?” he asked. Trying to lighten the blow she was going to deliver?
She shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly out of the way. I picked up some for myself and thought you

might like one. Not sure how warm it is now, though.”

He downed half the glass in two big gulps. “It’s perfect…”
There was a brief silence and Dean knew that she knew. “So you went online this morning?”
She snorted. “I didn’t need to. I had five phone calls first thing in the morning and,” she paused as

though mentally counting, ““twenty emails this morning.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Victoria.”
“Don’t worry, Dean. I figured something like this might happen.”
He frowned. “You actually thought they would think we were together?”
“The public loves a good love story. If the press can’t find one, they’ll make it up. Of course, I

didn’t know that we’d actually…I mean…”

“I got you,” he said. She never thought they’d actually be sleeping together if the story came

out.

“Yeah.” She gave him an awkward smile. “You know I only have the leftover interviews I

couldn’t finish on Saturday and by six o’clock tonight, I should have one or two guys willing to watch
me at any hour of the day.”

He leaned back in the seat and tried to hide his grimace. He knew that Victoria worked around

lots of guys just by virtue of running a chain of hardware stores. But he didn’t like the idea of her
spending twenty-four hours a day with some muscle-bound military type with nothing better to do than
stare at her ass.

Hell, it’s what he’d spent all his spare moments doing around her. “And you don’t want me to

get in the way,” he muttered. That was when he realized the car hadn’t moved away from his house
yet. She never actually planned on taking him to the office today.

“The truth is that I do want you around, and it’s time that I stop wanting you.”
Dean stared her down and tried to read some play of emotion on her face. But instead, she was

stoic. Cold. Calm. Damn it, one of the things he liked about her was her calm under pressure, but
he didn’t want her to direct it at him.

“Why?” he bit out.
The question seemed to snap her out of her calm, as she frowned. “We both knew this wasn’t

permanent. I had a hard time and you helped me out. In more ways than I anticipated.”

“So why stop? You like me. I like you. What more is there?”
She turned away, and for a moment, Dean thought he might have her. She would realize there was

no good reason to break things off and change her mind. But when she looked back to him, he knew
she’d made up her mind already. “I don’’t know what you want from me, Dean, but I can’t give it. I
work all the time. I give orders and expect them to be followed. I can’t have you telling me I can’t be
around my brother. I can’t have you waiting for me to show up to a date that I’ll blow off to take a
conference call with plant managers. There’s a good reason I don’’t date. Trust me, I’m doing this to
help you.”

“I’m so happy you decided to help me without actually discussing it with me.”
“Dean—”
“Don’t,” he said. “Do you think I can’’t handle your job? I know who you are, Victoria. When have

I ever given any hint that I couldn’t take a powerful woman?”

“You can’t even handle be being around Terry.”

“Your brother who could want you dead! What happens when they read the will and he finally

accepts that the business is going to you?”

“We don’t know that yet,” she said softly.
He snorted. “Even if your father expected to live forever, he wasn’t a fool. I bet he changed that

will the second he fired Terry. I bet my life on it. If Terry wants you hurt, you’re in more danger now
than ever.”

“If,” she pointed out.
“Fuck that. Let me be there for you, Victoria. I can help you.”
She took a deep breath and met his eyes. “How can you be there for me? You’ll replace the light

when it goes out? You’ll just be in the way.””

It probably would’ve hurt less if she’d punched him in the face. “That’s what this is about? I don’t

fit into your high fucking flying life?”

“Damn it, Dean. I didn’t mean—”
“No. You’re right. I would be in your way. So you go off to your skyscraper penthouse suite, and

forget about me, okay? It was fun while it lasted. I was stupid to think it was anything more than a
good time.”

She reached a hand out to him, but he had already pushed the door open. Some logical part of his

brain knew she didn’t truly think she was somehow above him. But who was he kidding? Even if she
was nice enough to give him a shot, she was above him in every way, shape, and form. Trying to keep
something going with a nobody like him was probably stupider than her working with Terry.

“Dean, wait!” She crawled out of the car after him.
He twisted around and set one hand on the roof of the car and one on the door. “Get back in the car,

Victoria.”

She practically vibrated with the need to do anything besides what he said. She was wrong when

she said he couldn’t handle her position. He knew exactly how used she was to throwing out orders
and expecting obedience. He also knew how strange it was for her to take those orders.

Hell, it was one of his favorite things about her.
“Go back to work. Sort your shit out, okay? It was nice to spend this past week with you.”
Her mouth hung open and he was almost happy she was speechless. He couldn’t think what would

be worse: her telling him that he was damn swell but they weren’t right for each other, or her listing
off all the completely legitimate reasons they shouldn’t go further with whatever the hell they had.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Victoria slammed her office door shut and winced at the bang that echoed through the oversized

space. Now everyone would know she was in a crappy mood. Great. Like this morning needed to
get any worse.

She had to finalize plans for tomorrow’s funeral, go over the estimates she’d received after the

plant visit, touch base with Simon, look over last week’s financials, and there were probably fifteen
meetings scheduled between now and lunch.

So Dean, and any of her messed-up feelings towards him, would have to wait. “Is there anything

you’d like, Ms. Green?” asked Jace, her rent-a-cop for the day, from the door he’’d opened so silently
she hadn’t even known he was there.

She turned and tried to look put together and sane. “No, thank you, Jace.” She’d taken Dean’s

original advice and gone with one of the least military looking candidates. Jace was tall and lean,
with slicked back blonde hair. But the man moved like a ninja, with the grace of someone completely
in control. In short, he was completely gorgeous. And all she could do was wish he was Dean.

“Denise should have a computer brought up for you soon. You’ll set up in the cube right outside my

office, and if anyone asks, you’re the intern we brought in to work on the North Carolina plant
project, okay?”

“Gordon already filled me in,” he said with a friendly smile. “If you feel threatened or think of

anything, I’ll be right out here.”

She nodded as he left. This really worked out so much better than Dean. If only she could force

herself to stop thinking about him.

~~~~~

“Are you still sulking?” Katy pushed the front door open with her hip and let the dog in the house.

She dropped the leash as she paused to untie her running shoes.

Dean sat up straighter on the couch. He glanced down the hall that led to the door as Rigby ran

towards him, obviously not out of energy even after his run with Katy.

“I haven’t sulked today!” he yelled back as he grabbed the empty beer bottles in front of him and

made a beeline for the kitchen. She didn’’t need to see what he was doing to distract himself. “How
was your run?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

She shrugged as she crossed into the kitchen and got a water bottle out of the fridge. “Same as

normal.” She eyed the beverage tray, which was noticeably more empty than it had been before she
went for her hour-long run. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay home tonight?”

“I think I can manage spending the evening alone,” he assured her. Truth was, he was still pissed.

Pissed that Victoria didn’t give him a chance. Pissed that he knew she had a damn good reason not to.
Pissed that some other guy spent the entire day with her.

Yeah, it was better if Katy wasn’t around to see him wallow.
“No. You had plans to go out with Becky. I don’t want to ruin your night, too. Maybe if you’re

back early enough, we can watch a movie.””

She winced and rubbed at the back of her neck. “About that…”
“So you weren’t actually offering to spend time with me tonight.”
“No! If you want me here, I’ll totally stay. But if I am going out, I kind of wanted to ask for a

curfew extension.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and tried out his best intimidating big brother look. “Why do

you need more time?”

“Come on. Becky gets off work at six. So even if I get there at six thirty, go out for dinner at seven

and see an eight o’clock movie, I won’t get out of the theater until after ten probably. So is midnight
okay?”

His gut instinct was to say no, but he really had no reason to. She’d been great during his trip

with Victoria, and she’d never gotten in trouble once. If she wanted a onetime extension of her
curfew, it was only reasonable. Besides, if she ended up getting a job in the next few months like she
wanted, it would be fair to give her more time to herself. If she was being bogged down by work and
school, she deserved time to play.

And he’d snuck out of the house after curfew by the time he was her age. He’d rather she told him

where she was going and when she was getting back than have her sneaking around behind his back.

“Keep your phone with you, okay? I expect you to answer if I call.”
“Unless I’m at the movie,” she said.
He shook his head. “Fair enough. Don’t be stupid.”
“Don’t worry, Dean. Just remember, I’ll be moving away in a year anyway.”
College. The last thing he needed to worry about. “Can’t wait,” he said sarcastically as she

smiled and turned to run upstairs and clean up before going out.

As soon as she was gone, he pulled out another beer and crossed back to the living room. This

would be his…fourth? What did it matter? He’d had a shitty morning, worked his ass off at four
different client calls during the day, and now Katy was going out for the night. If he wanted to drink,
he’d damn well drink.

Except he needed to be sober just in case Katy needed him for any reason. Damn it. He eyed the

beer in front of him. One more and then he’d have to cut himself off. The joys of single parenthood.

But he didn’t need to be getting drunk. He’d have to get up early the next morning. He already had

three jobs lined up and a fourth if he had the time.

Busy was good. Busy gave him less time to think about how he could’ve been spending his day:

following Victoria and thinking about all the things he could be doing with her the next time they were
alone. Now he’d probably never see her again. Part of him thought he should run to the nearest bar
and find a distraction, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough.

He didn’t want a random distraction. He wanted Victoria. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to

talk to her about Mr. Jarvis, whose entire electrical system blew when he plugged in over ten
different devices into one socket. And the other job where the young woman in her first home ever
blew a fuse and had no idea she just had to flip a switch on the breaker box.

And he had no idea why he wanted to tell her this stuff. He bored Katy to death with all his work

stories, but somehow he couldn’t imagine Victoria being bored. Maybe that’s why she made a good
CEO. When people talked, she listened. It would be hard to find that at some random bar with music
blaring way louder than a human voice could talk.

He took a swig of beer and reached for the remote. Hopefully the TV would give him some sort

of distraction. He needed to find some way to get this woman out of his mind.

~~~~~

Victoria leaned against her window that overlooked the New York City skyline. It was the one

thing she was most grateful to her family trust fund for: the ability to afford an apartment with a view

like this. The lights of millions of windows twinkled in the distance, reminding her that the city was
still awake and moving.

It was a strange comfort when she had no desire to go to sleep.
Tomorrow would be her dad’s funeral. She’d also finally sit down with the lawyers and figure

out who was getting what between her and Terry. She never wanted it to be like this. She and Terry
were supposed to be mourning together, not pitted against each other.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn’t want to work. She just wanted to

sit here and stare out at the city. Everything she did seemed to remind her of all the crap she had to
deal with. Work reminded her of Dad, and if she went to bed, she’d think of……

Her phone rang, and her gaze jerked away from the city view. Apparently her choice was being

made for her. She grabbed the phone off her nightstand and frowned at the unfamiliar number. She
tried to be guarded with her cell phone number, but she constantly had calls from new people.

“This is Victoria Green,” she said, ready to hang up if there was the slightest hint it was a

reporter on the other end. Denise had been on phone-screening duty all day at the office, because her
work number was much easier to get a hold of.

“Ummm…hey. Victoria?”
She sat up straighter. The woman on the other end sounded too young and unsure to be a reporter.

“Who is this?”

“I don’t know if you remember me, but this is Katy.”
Victoria rubbed her temples with her free hand. “Of course I remember you. Why are you calling?

How did you even get this number?”

“I got it out of Dean’s phone. But that’s not important. So, I went out with some friends tonight

and I promised Dean I’’d be home by midnight, but now I’m stranded.”

Well, that didn’t explain a thing. The only reason Katy wouldn’t call her brother was if she didn’t

want him to know where she was. But that was a bullet Katy was going to have to bite. “Call Dean.
I’m sure he’ll pick you up.”

“I’m in So Ho,” said Katy sullenly.
Victoria sighed. “Where does Dean think you are?”
“Down the street from home.”
Damn it. Maybe she could send a car to pick up the teen. But then Katy would be getting into a

car driven by a stranger for the hour-long drive back to her house. Dean would kill her.

Even if Katy happened to have money for the train, she couldn’t let a sixteen-year-old ride alone

all the way back at this time of night. Sure, Katy wasn’t her responsibility, but Dean had done plenty
for her in the past week. She couldn’’t just abandon his little sister when she called for help. “Tell me
exactly where you are. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

As soon as Katy gave her the address of the club, Victoria rang the doorman to call a car to the

discreet exit in the back of the building. She kept her silky pajama bottoms on and slipped on a pair of
flats and a lightweight red trench coat to hide the fact that she was still wearing pajamas.

As soon as she was down the elevator and out of the building, she slid into the back of the

familiar car. One of the benefits of the massive association fees her building charged was that they
employed their own set of drivers. This was the first time she’d been outside without Dean, Gordon,
or Jace around to keep an eye on her. The city that was so comforting from her window fifty stories
above the ground took on a menacing presence once she was on the street.

She kept her phone firmly in hand, looking out the window for signs that anyone was following or

watching her. After she gave the driver instructions, she leaned back and tried to relax. Her mind

raced a thousand times faster than before Katy’s sudden call.

The eleven o’clock traffic was much thinner than it would be any other time of the day in the

Upper East Side, but it moved slower as she got closer to the trendy bars and clubs of So Ho. For a
moment, Victoria wasn’t sure whether she’’d be able to find Katy in the sea of people still flooding
the streets even on a Monday night, but Katy stood out as her eyes seemed to race over the traffic. As
soon as Victoria stepped out and waved to signal where she was, Katy nodded and ran over. Victoria
slid back into the car right as Katy jumped in and slammed the door behind her. “I can’t believe you
actually came,” she said with a smile.

Victoria looked the teen over. Katy was dressed…well, she was dressed fine. Everything

important was covered by her dress, but Victoria could already imagine how upset Dean would be
when he saw her. It wasn’t that she looked risqué or anything.

She looked like a woman, though. Like a college student instead of a high schooler.
She wore a youthful, neon pink eighties throwback dress with black ankle boots and a tiny, bright

green belt to accentuate her small waist.

Nope. Dean would not be happy. “I can’t believe you called me.” Victoria leaned forward to give

the driver Dean’s address that she for some reason had memorized. “Now it’s at least half an hour
until we get to your house, so you better start talking.””

Katy took a nervous gulp, and Victoria’s bullshit meter went on high alert. “And you better not lie

to me, Katy. I have things I should be doing, but I’m here with you instead.””

“Believe me, I had no one else to call.”
“When you get home, Dean is going to want an explanation. If you let me know what’s happening,

maybe I can reason with him.” Fat chance in hell that she would be able to calm down Dean when
he realized his sister lied, but it was worth a shot.

Katy paled at the reminder of how angry her brother would be. “I wasn’t doing anything bad,” she

said weakly.

Victoria raised a brow. “I think that’s debatable. What happened?”
“Promise you won’t laugh?” said Katy.
Well, that wasn’t what Victoria expected. “Believe me, I’m not in a laughing mood.”
“It’s a boy.”
Victoria leaned back in her seat. Dean was going to have a heart attack. Not only was his sister

running around in the city without telling him—she was doing it with a boy? Oh no. This wouldn’t
end well. “What boy?”

“His name is Nate. He’s my best friend’s boyfriend.”
“Katy—”
“I didn’t do anything, okay! I mean, he’s hot. Like, could be shirtless on a magazine cover hot.

And he’s smart. He graduated from King Academy in the city and they only let you in if you’re crazy
smart.”

Or rich, thought Victoria, but she didn’t correct Katy. “So you met an amazingly attractive and

smart older guy who happened to be dating your best friend.””

“Becky knows I don’t really date, but she didn’t want to leave me out when things got more

serious with her and Nate. So the three of us have been doing more things together.””

“And your crush just got worse?”
Katy tightened her lips together. “Well…I kind of got the idea he liked me too.” Before Victoria

could say anything, Katy continued, ““But I didn’t do anything. I started to work with him to maybe
get a scholarship to finish my last year at King, since if you go there, you can go to any college in the

world. I know how important it is to Dean that I go to a good school, since he never went.”

Victoria’s mind focused in on that little tidbit about Dean. “He wanted to go to college?”
A flash of guilt raced across Katy’s face. “Well, yeah. He dropped out after what happened to

Mom and Dad.”

And after he suddenly found himself raising a young girl all by himself. Good grief, how hard

would that have been? Losing your parents and having to drop out of school all at once? She shook
her head, and brought herself back to the present. “So Nate was trying to help you get a scholarship
and you both were all googly-eyed over each other?” Victoria switched the subject back to Katy.

“Umm, kind of. I guess Nate broke things off with Becky today and told her it was because of

me.”

“Oh boy.”
“Yeah. Needless to say, Becky didn’t take it well. The three of us had plans to go to a movie

tonight, but she texted me that we were going to the city. I knew Dean would never let me go, so I
stayed with the movie story. Well, we got out here and got dinner. When I went to the bathroom, she
took my purse and left.”

“How did she get your purse?”
“I left it,” said Katy sheepishly.
“You didn’t have to reapply lipstick? Check your phone? You always take your purse with you!”

yelled Victoria, much too loudly for the confines of the car.

“I didn’t know! Thank God I had my cell with me in case Dean called, but everything else is

gone.”

Victoria crossed her arms over her chest and tried to imagine this horrid Becky person. “What a

bitch,” she muttered.

“I’m inclined to agree.” Katy sat back with a sigh of defeat.
“And this Nate guy couldn’t take you home or give you cash?”
Katy shrugged. “He didn’t answer his phone.” Her voice wavered as a tear escaped.
Crap. Poor thing just had a major fight with her best friend and now had to face the wrath of

Dean. Mostly deserved wrath, but it didn’t mean Victoria couldn’t feel bad.

Victoria thought back to the audacity of Becky. To strand her supposed best friend in the middle

of a massive city with no money or way of getting home. That was a low move. Somehow Victoria
suspected Becky wasn’t the best friend Katy described.

The rest of the drive was quiet as Victoria tried to think of a plan of attack. This wasn’t some

mindless manbeast. It was Dean. A normally calm, rational being. But she knew how much Katy
meant to him. Once he found out she’d lied and put herself in danger, he was going to completely lose
it.

Although Victoria couldn’t say she approved of Katy’s methods, she felt bad for the girl. She’d

lost her “best friend,” was crushing hard on a man who was probably no good for her, and, after being
completely stranded, would have to face the wrath of Dean.

Victoria could handle him. She’d handled irate employees for over a decade. One hotheaded

handyman shouldn’t be a problem, she told herself.

She shook her head. What was she thinking? Dean wasn’t a plant manager or analyst on her

payroll. He was her friend, maybe even more than that. He wasn’t something to be handled. He was
going to be hurt and pissed off and probably not too happy to see her after this morning.

“What happened with you and my brother today?” Katy cut through the silence as the driver

pulled into Dean’s neighborhood.

Victoria put on her best lie face. She had no idea what Dean told Katy, so she decided to tread

lightly. “We decided that, in light of the recent media attention, we should keep our distance.”

“I’m not a reporter, okay? I’m family. He was upset.”
“Really? How upset?” Victoria winced. Just because she was talking with a teen didn’t mean she

needed to sound like one.

But it was too late. Katy’s little smile was evident. “You know. Grumpy upset. So you like him

too, right?”

Victoria looked out the window and debated just climbing out at the next light. Any way to get out

of having this conversation. “I do like him,” she finally admitted.

“So I don’t get it. You like him. He’s an ass when you’re not around. What’s the problem?”
Victoria snorted. “An ass when I’m not around? It’s been a day and I’ve only known him for a

week.” Ten days to be exact, but who was counting?

Katy shrugged. “Just sayin’. Seems like two smart people being stupid if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask.” Victoria shot Katy a sweet smile.
That shut her up, but her smug expression remained. Luckily, the car pulled up in front of Dean

and Katy’s house.

“How are we going to do this?” asked Katy as the car rolled to a stop.
Victoria rolled her eyes. Interrogate her about why she broke up with Dean one minute, ask for

the “plan” the next. “I’ll go first, I guess.” Maybe her mere presence could shock Dean into silence
long enough for her to tell Katy’s side of the story.

“If I’m not back in fifteen minutes, you can head back to the city,” she said to the driver.
He simply nodded. She didn’t need to give him a credit card because the company that worked

with her building had her information on file. They made it super convenient to spend massive
amounts of cash on transportation.

“Let’s do this.” She climbed out. The summer breeze made the street unusually cold. She pulled

her coat more tightly against her body as she and Katy moved up the walkway to the front door. She
eyed Katy’s bright dress once more. “Were you wearing that when you left?” she whispered.

Before Katy said anything, her sheepish look gave her away. “My other clothes were in my

purse.”

Victoria shook her head.
“That’s why I didn’t take the purse with me! It was so packed with stuff!” whisper-shouted Katy.
Before Victoria could knock on the door, she heard a deep bark come from the other side of the

wood. Great. Rigby was announcing their presence.

She stood up straighter and tried to look like the situation wasn’t nearly as messed up as it

probably was.

The door swung open and there he was. Dean wore a pair of flannel pajama pants that hung

loosely on his hips and a t-shirt that hugged his biceps.

Get it together! “Hello,” she said with a fake smile.
For a long moment, he stared at her. She fought the urge to fidget under his intense scrutiny. But

then his gaze bounced between her and Katy. “You have ten seconds to explain what’s happening.”

Victoria took a deep breath. “Katy lied to you and went out to the city with her friends. When

Becky found out her boyfriend like-likes Katy, she stole her purse and left her stranded. Your sister
was afraid to call you, but luckily she swiped my number from your phone, so she called me to get her
a ride home. I decided to make sure she got home safe and now that you’re both together, I’m
leaving.”

But for some reason, her body refused to turn and walk back to the car. Dean’s confusion slowly

turned to a simmering rage. Thankfully, he turned that rage to Katy as he finally seemed to notice her
dress that was obviously not for a casual night at the movies. “What the hell, Katy?””

Shame flooded Katy’s face. “I’m sorry, Dean. I didn’t think anything like this would happen.”
Victoria let out a breath. Even she knew that was a horrible thing to say.
Dean sputtered for a moment. “Wh— I— How does that make it better? You thought it was okay

because you didn’t expect to get in trouble? Is there something wrong with you? I thought you were
smarter than that!”

Victoria took a step closer. “Hey, she got screwed over already. I think you should cool down.”
“Cool down? She was stuck in the biggest city in the middle of the night and the only reason she

made it home was because she stole your number out of my phone? Please tell me why I should calm
down.”

Victoria tilted her head back and met his eyes. “Because I asked.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Because you asked,” repeated Dean. His fingers pressed into the doorjamb, and he focused on the

corner of the wood that pushed into his palm. He tried to breathe. To calm himself. But he couldn’t
stop thinking about the damn nerve of the woman in front of him. Both of the women in front of him!

Who the hell was Katy to go running out behind his back? He’d never been unfair or unreasonable

with her. She asked; he provided. What more did she want from him?

And Victoria… For her to look down—well, up—at him with that smug expression. It took

everything in him to keep from punching a wall. Even the damn dog seemed to sense something was
off as he skittered away from the door.

But Victoria didn’t back down, not that he truly expected her to. “Dean, if you take a minute to

think about this—”

“No. There’s nothing to think about. Katy, get in the house.” He gave her just enough room to

squeeze through the door. He glared at her the entire time. ““I am going to deal with you tomorrow,
understand.” She quickly nodded before turning to run up the stairs. When he looked back to Victoria,
she was already turning back to the still running car. “Where the hell are you going?””

She twisted around, eyes wide. “Katy’s home safe; my job is done. I’m going home.”
“Alone?”
He could see the tension creep back into her. “With a driver who I’ve used plenty of times before.

I’m going straight back to my apartment.””

“Like hell you are. Get your ass in here.”
Her jaw dropped at the gruff order, but he didn’t regret it at all.
“I’m not your little sister you can boss around,” she pointed out.
Fuck this. He pushed away from the door and reached her in two long strides. “I said, get your ass

inside the house, Victoria.” Before she could form an argument, he cut her off. “Or I’ll carry you over
my shoulder and then the driver will have a hell of a story to tell the press.”

She narrowed her eyes, and for a second, he thought she was actually going to slap him. But after a

moment, she trudged past him and to the front door. He was right behind her and gave the driver a
hand signal to take off before he shut and locked the door behind him.

She twirled around, shooting daggers with her eyes. “I’m here. You have effectively kidnapped me,

even though I have work and a funeral and fifty thousand other important things to worry about.”

“More important than me?” He closed in on her.
“What are you talking about?”
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a second to try to find any sense of

calm he could. But when he opened them again, all he felt was anger. “You come in here, asking for
my help, decide for the both of us that we aren’t fantastic together and then have the nerve to show up
on my doorstep and tell me how to handle my own sister?”

At least she had the grace to look the tiniest bit guilty. But not enough. “Your sister had a hard

night. She doesn’t need you punishing her too.”

“You’re doing it again! Stop telling me what to do!”
“I’m not going to keep my mouth shut when I’m right!” she fired back.
“You left! You don’t get to come back and boss me around, okay? You gave that up this morning.”
Her mouth fell open in shock. “That’s what this is about? You’re mad at me for leaving?”
He stared her down, completely speechless. Was she surprised? Of course he was mad! “Is this

normal for you? Do you go around having sex like that with all your contractors?” he asked in a

lowered voice so Katy wouldn’t hear.

Her eyes widened at the question. But he already knew this wasn’t par for the course. What they

had was different, and he’d be damned if he’d let Victoria walk all over him just because she knew he
would take it. “If you want to leave, then be my guest. But don’t you come back into my house with my
sister and tell me what I’m doing wrong.””

“Dean, I—”
“You what? You’re sorry? I’d rather go back to cleaning toilets at the local bar than hear you say

that to me, understand?”” The last thing he fucking wanted to hear was her apologizing for what they
did. What happened. He’d spent the entire day thinking about her, only to see her show up all high and
mighty and telling him what to do. No. She sure as hell wasn’’t sorry.

“What do you want from me, Dean? I’m just trying to help, okay? Tell me what I can do.”
He met her eyes and told her the one thing he’d been thinking about all day. “You can go upstairs

and take off all your clothes.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Victoria’s breath caught in her throat as she tried to decipher whether she heard him right.
“You get your ass up there, or you walk out that door and I never want to see you again.” He

pointed at the door to emphasize his point.

She should leave. She’d explained very clearly why they didn’t work. Hell, she’d been telling

herself over and over all day. “And if I go upstairs?” she breathed.

He took a step closer. “Then you’re in this. No saying it’s a onetime thing. No calling it a mistake

and apologizing. You and me for as long as we can stretch it.””

She stared at the door. The safe option. Secure and familiar and completely doable. But no Dean.

Without a word, she moved past Dean, her shoulder brushing his, the contact unavoidable due to his
oversized shoulders and the narrow hallway. If she hadn’t made up her mind before, the electricity
shooting through her settled it. Right before she reached the door, her hand reached out and rested on
the stairway railing.

As she moved up the stairs, she could feel Dean’s eyes bore into her. A strange mix of calm and

excitement swirled in her belly. Calm that she was making the right decision. Excitement at the
prospect of what he was going to do to her in his bedroom.

He was already a ferocious lover when he wasn’t pissed. What would he do now? When she

finally reached the top landing, she didn’t waste time. She softly shut his bedroom door behind her,
aware that Katy was only a few doors away, and made quick work of her decidedly unsexy outfit.

She folded her jacket and pajamas before she set them on his dresser. She glanced to her body in

the mirror. The pink lace panties and matching bra were sexy enough, but Dean explicitly said naked.
And who was she to say no to that?

She slid the panties down her legs and unhooked her bra, setting them on top of her already folded

clothes. Biting her lip, she stared at the bed. The comforter was a worn, soft green and she already
knew exactly how good it felt against her bare skin. Did he want her under the covers?

No. On top was definitely better. She took a steadying breath and climbed up, positioning herself

on her back in the middle. Before she could worry too much about how to look sexy, she heard Dean’s
footsteps come up the stairs.

She stared intently at the door, every nerve in her body anticipating what would happen when it

slid open. Her heart beat faster in her chest as she tried to control her breathing.

And then he was there. Dean calmly walked into the room. His eyes roamed up and down her

body. All doubt left her in a rush as she saw the heat in his gaze.

He crossed to the foot of the bed, not taking his eyes off her. The silence stretched and filled the

room with an almost palpable tension. Victoria couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even breathe as she watched
him and waited for his next move.

“Turn around,” he ordered in a husky voice.
She took a deep swallow as the words sunk in, but she never considered disobeying. This was his

room and his rules. Victoria twisted around to face the bed, coming to a rest on her hands and knees.
Her hair fell over her shoulder and she felt the bed dip as he crawled on behind her.

Before he even touched her, the heat of him burned into her back, and then the gentle sensation of

his lips on her spine shot through her. She arched into him as he kissed his way up her back; his
tongue traced a tantalizing pattern along the sensitive skin. She sighed and her head fell forward as he
reached the base of her neck and gave her a soft nip.

She jerked at the unexpected feel of his teeth. Her rear came into contact with his rock-hard

erection that was evident through his soft pajamas. The sudden reminder that he was fully clothed
while she was naked and at his mercy was almost as erotic as his hand reaching around to run down
her stomach and into the soft curls at the junction of her thighs.

He pushed his fingers into her as he traced the outside of her earlobe with his tongue. Victoria

forgot how to hold herself up. Dean must’ve felt her arms shaking, because his big forearm wrapped
around her and rested right under her breasts as he pulled her back against his body so they were both
kneeling on the bed.

But his fingers didn’t stop their torture. As he inserted a second, his thumb traced circles around

her clit, and his other hand pinched a nipple.

She whimpered as she pushed frantically against him. She never wanted this delicious torture to

stop, but at the same time she needed him inside her with an intensity she’d never felt before. “Dean,
please,” she begged.

But he wasn’t interested in her pleas. “I don’t think you’re ready yet,” he whispered. At the same

time, he rubbed himself against her and teased her with what he wouldn’t give her.

Her head fell back against his shoulder as she let out a whimper of frustration. “Believe me, I’m

ready.”

“Not until I get something from you first.” He pushed a third finger into her.
She covered his hand with her own, trying to get him to move faster, harder, anything to let her

come. But he knew exactly the torture he was putting her through. “What do you want?”

“You need to promise me something.”
“This is blackmail.” She gave up trying to move his fingers faster within her, instead moving her

hands up to cup her breasts. She felt him stiffen against her back as she pinched her own nipples and
moaned at the pleasure she gave herself.

But Dean wasn’t one to be outdone. His arm around her torso moved in a flash and his fingers

wrapped in her hair, pulling her neck back. Even though he was gentle enough that it didn’t hurt, she
still reached up to cover his hands with hers. ““Dean…” For the first time, she was unsure.

“You can’t come until I let you, understand?”
She took a deep breath. Arousal and uncertainty swirled within her.
“This is what it feels like to have no say. This is what you did when you decided for the both of us

this morning that we shouldn’t even give this a chance.”

He was proving a point? “You’re punishing me?”
He flattened his palm against her mound, pushed in just the right way against her clit and made her

forget that she should be mad for a second. “I need you to promise that you won’t go running scared
again.”

As much as she craved the orgasm that was so close and so far, she wasn’t the type to give in. “Or

what? I’ll get more fantastic foreplay? I’’ll take my chances.”

Abruptly, he pushed her down until she was once again on all fours before him. Before she could

glance over her shoulder to see what he was up to, the head of his cock pressed against her entrance.

She smiled in victory and pushed against him, but one of his big palms gripped her hips and kept

her right where she was. “If you want to take your chances, feel free. You can leave right now.”

What? She was practically shaking with the need to have him inside her and he was telling her

to go? “You’re bluffing…””

He leaned forward and gently bit her hip. The sting was just another reminder that he was calling

the shots. “Try me,” he whispered.

“You son of a bitch,” she muttered as she once again tried to maneuver to get him inside her. “Yes,

okay? I’ll do whatever you want. Just fuck m—”

Before she even finished, he slid into her in one smooth stroke. But instead of giving her a chance

to adjust to his sudden intrusion, he gave her exactly what she’d begged and pleaded for.

She’d been so hot from his touch, it didn’t take much to push her over the edge. As she fell apart

beneath him, he tensed as his strokes came faster and faster. One palm rested on the bed to hold him
up while the other arm wrapped around her waist to hold her tightly against him as his own orgasm
took over.

Victoria tried to catch her breath, and Dean slowly lowered her onto the bed, kissing her shoulder.

She smiled at his touch, still caught up in the high that only came after really good sex.

He pulled her against him, and she relaxed into his hold. For a moment, she just appreciated his

touch as sleep crept up on her.

“Are you staying the night?” He maneuvered the blanket around him.
As tempting as it was, she knew sleeping over was out of the question. “Dad’s funeral is tomorrow

and they’re reading the will afterwards. I need to get to the church early to make sure everything looks
okay.”

He nuzzled his face into her neck and for the first time, talking about her father’s funeral didn’t

make her want to cry.

“Did you want me to go with you?”
“I would love it,” she said honestly. “But you shouldn’t.””
“I don’t mind. I can move some things around.”
The poor guy probably wouldn’t have any business left after all the moving around he’d done

for her. “It’s not that. The press is going to be there and I don’t want any more attention than
necessary.”

“They’re at his funeral? What the fuck?”
She shrugged. “I’m used to it. The city loved him, you know? I’m looking it as a sign of how many

people want to be there for us. Even if it is just through pictures in the newspaper. Besides, you need
to deal with Katy tomorrow anyway.”

He groaned. “What the hell am I supposed to do with her?”
“Teenagers aren’t exactly my forte, but I’d assume you do the same thing with her as most other

women. You listen. She’’s never done anything like this before. She had reasonable, if teenager-y,
logic for what she did. It’s important that she knows she can count on you to call in the future. What if
I didn’t answer my phone?””

He shuddered against her back. “I’m trying my best not to think about the what-ifs,” he said.
“Probably best,” she said. The what-ifs were the scariest parts of life. The very reason she’d

driven off without Dean that morning. She closed her eyes and tried to push the thoughts out of her
mind. No more what-ifs. She’d promised, even if under duress, that she’d give this a chance. “I can
stay for a few hours,” she whispered. The missed sleep would be worth it to stay in Dean’s arms.

“How are you getting back home?”
“Gordon will arrange someone to pick me up.”
“Your new bodyguard?” asked Dean with an obvious hint of jealousy.
“What’s wrong? Can’t take a little competition?”
In a flash, he had her rolled onto her back as he loomed over her. “Oh, I can handle competition,”

he assured her. He caught her wrists in his hand, raised them above her head, and his eyes
immediately fell to her raised breasts.

She jutted her chin and smiled up at him. “Prove it.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Victoria let out a breath of relief as the elevator dinged and opened to the Green & Sons corporate

offices. Jace silently followed behind her, just as unobtrusive as Gordon promised when he
recommended she hire him.

But so far there’d been no hint that anyone was still after her. She didn’t know how much longer

she could have Jace or Gordon following her around. Either she’d have to figure out who tried to kill
her in the first place, or she’d have to simply hope it never happened again.

And she wasn’t the hoping type.
She gave Jace a nod outside of Gordon’s office. “You can take a break. I’ll call you when I’m

leaving the office,” she said.

He nodded before he strode away. The definition of a man of few words.
She walked into Gordon’s office without knocking. What she had to discuss was too important to

wait.

But Gordon was professional enough not to show any annoyance. “Ms. Green. Jace said the day

was uneventful.”

She wouldn’t say that, considering the funeral and the army of lawyers she’d faced at the will

reading. But in terms of people wanting her dead, then yes, it was rather boring. “I need to know
where we stand on the investigation.”

Gordon pulled a stack of papers from the file. “Using the outside cameras at the North Carolina

plant which we discreetly viewed, we were able to track down the man who cut your brakes.”

Victoria perked up. “You got him?”
“Not exactly,” said Gordon. “He’s an addict with a record half a mile long. He was just a hired

hand.”

“Can he at least tell you who hired him?”
Gordon shook his head. “He doesn’t know. Everything was done online, initiated through a public

computer service with no cameras. We have a list of people who used the computers that day, but
since half the customers paid cash, it might be a dead end.””

“So that’s it? We found the guy and still have nothing?” How much longer was she supposed to be

looking over her shoulder? She had the best people in the country working on this and they were right
back at square one!

“I wouldn’t say nothing.” He handed her a piece of paper. “We were able to trace the deposit made

to your North Carolina attacker’s account. It’s registered to a Casey Jones, so we’re thinking fake.
Unless you know of any Joneses who want you dead that you neglected to tell me about.”

She looked over the paper he handed her, but not much of it made any sense to her. It seemed like

the money bounced through a series of bank accounts before it ended up at its final destination.

“So this Casey is the one who started it all?” She handed the paper back to Gordon.
“I found the bank where the account was opened. The bank manager agreed to discreetly send us

over the video footage from that day. We have the exact time that the account was activated, so it
should be easy to get a visual on whoever this Casey is.”

She raised a brow. How much did it cost to get bank managers to “discreetly” hand over video

footage? “Sooner is better than later,” she muttered. “So I found out who the company is going to.”

Gordon kept his face blank. “Yeah? What’s the verdict? Are you still my boss?”
“I am ninety-nine percent your boss.” She grinned.
Gordon simply nodded and held out a hand. “Glad to hear it.”

She shook his hand, allowing herself to revel in the fact that Green’s truly was hers. Not just a

temporary position given to her by her father, but truly hers. And it would be until she died or sold it.

“So how did Terry take it?”
“Okay, I guess. I don’t know how you cope with hearing something like that. Dad was…harsh.

Terry got our property in Florida, but almost everything else went to me.””

“So that’s why you came barging in here then.”
She nodded. “If there’s any chance that it was Terry who wanted me gone, I need to know.” Her

will as it stood left a few set amounts to charities, but everything else went to her father. Now that he
was gone, she needed to write Terry out of it as soon as possible. Of course, then she’d have to find
some way of letting him know that killing her wouldn’t get him anything…

No. Terry wasn’t trying anything. She was a hundred percent sure that he wasn’t behind any of the

attacks.

Even so, she wanted to get this whole business behind her. “When do you think you’ll have the

video?”

Gordon looked down to his watch. “He said by the end of the day, so should be before five.

Sometime within the hour. Then I’ll go through and isolate the time and send the images over to you
later this evening.”

“That will work. Did you get the other information I called about this morning?”
Gordon handed her a folder. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, Gordon.” She turned to leave. Hopefully this was the mastermind behind the attacks and

not another lackey. Victoria couldn’t live under constant surveillance. She wanted to work, but there
was one more stop to make before she could get anything else done. She dialed Jace and told him to
meet her in the lobby.

~~~~~

Dean tentatively pushed open the door, not sure what he should expect to find. He sure as hell

wasn’t expecting to be confronted with the smell of food. Damn good food, too.

“Katy?” He crossed into the kitchen, where the table was set with a pretty fantastic looking steak.
“You’re home. Great timing!” She ran down the stairs.
He was relieved to see her looking more like herself in jeans and a blue shirt with some sort of

black pattern on it. No more dresses and makeup that made her look as if they were the same age.

“I made you dinner,” she said enthusiastically as she ran past him to pull a beer out of the fridge

and handed it over. “Here you go.””

If this was her version of an apology, who was he to turn it down? “It looks great.” He set down

his work bag and took a seat.

She sat across from him at the small table and he could tell she was trying her best to be normal.
But the awkwardness crept in. He’d tried to think of what to say to her all day. Ways to yell at her.

How to punish her. But instead, all he could think about was Victoria’s advice. Listen. “Do you want
to tell me what happened last night?”

Her lips tightened and a bit of sadness crept into her face.
Shit. He didn’t want to see her sad. He wanted her to never do this again, but not because she was

sad, damn it.

“Did Victoria tell you the details?” she asked softly.
“Screw the details.” He leaned forward. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I…I felt stupid. I didn’t want to see your face when I told you the mess I got into.”
Well, how the hell was he supposed to yell at her after that? “You need to trust me. I am pissed.

Completely pissed. But that doesn’t mean I’’d want you in danger for even one second, you know.”

“Luckily Victoria answered,” she muttered as she took a sip of water.
He nodded. “About that…we were both pretty surprised you had her personal cell phone

number.”

“That,” said Katy, “was completely innocent.”
“You stealing a phone number out of my phone is innocent? It’s not like I read your diary when

you kept it hidden behind your dresser.”

Her eyes widened. “You found that!”
“But I didn’t read it. Because I am an awesome brother.”
She grinned at him and for a second the dinner wasn’t quite so awkward. “Well, by now you

know about the guy.”

He gritted his teeth at the mention of the douchebag who’d played Katy and Becky against each

other. “I think it’s safer if we don’’t talk about the guy.”

“Well, there was a reason we started hanging out. He graduated from King Academy and he was

helping me look into scholarships.”

Dean frowned. “What the hell is King Academy?”
Katy let out a small laugh. “It’s one of the best prep schools in the country. If I can get in for even

my senior year, I will basically have my pick of colleges. Since Nate”—Dean frowned—“that guy
graduated from there, he was helping me out.”

Dean shook his head. “I’m glad your motives were good, but that doesn’t excuse anything.”
“This is my life we’re talking about, Dean. I’m sorry I lied and I promise I’m not going to do

anything like that again, but I can’t stop talking to him about this. Even if I get hurt in the short run, this
is the big game I’m looking at.”

“And you thought Victoria would help you get in?” he clarified.
“I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have her number around,” she said.
He took a bite of the steak and took a moment to savor the taste. Katy did know how to cook a

mean side of beef. It was especially hard to be mad at her now. “Tell you what. You get a pass.
You’ve never done anything like this before and even though you were stupid about it,”” he said with
a pointed glance, “your heart was in the right place. But if you do it again, there’s going to be hell to
pay.” He took another bite. Just the right amount of seasoning… “Oh yeah, I changed the password
on my phone. So if you try that shit again, a picture of you is getting sent straight to my email.””

“Noted.” Katy pushed food around on her plate. “So what’s going on between you and Victoria

now?” He narrowed his eyes at her, but she continued. “I know she stayed last night. I heard her leave
at, oh, four o’clock in the morning.””

Shit. So much for being discreet.
“I talked to her about you. She seems really into you.”
As much as Dean wanted to talk about anything else, he couldn’t help himself from asking, “What

did she say?”

“Not much,” assured Katy. “But, I could tell. I think she’s good for you.”
Dean nodded. “I think you might be right. This will affect you, you know? She’s not some random

hookup down the street. She’s in the papers, people care about her……”

“And she lives in the city. That’s a long drive,” pointed out Katy.
“What does that mean?” He hadn’t given much thought to the long distance aspect of it. Mainly

because she wasn’t actually all that far away, but the traffic could turn a thirty-minute drive into a
two-hour long debacle.

“I’m saying that if you and Victoria do get serious, it’s not like she can quit her job and move out

here.”

It all clicked into place. Katy wasn’t asking because she was worried about him and Victoria

seeing each other. “King Academy is in Manhattan, isn’t it?””

Katy shrugged. “It’s a win-win.”
“Tell you what. I was planning on surprising her with a visit tonight. I’ll mention the school thing

to her and see if she has any connections.”

Katy’s face lit up and for the first time, Dean truly realized the benefits of being with someone

like Victoria. The doors she could open for him and his sister. Even if one of those benefits meant
uprooting so Katy could be closer to her dream school.

But that was something he’d worry about later. For now, he just wanted to eat his steak and enjoy

the peace with his sister.

His eyes closed as he took another bite. Yep. This was a damn good steak.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Victoria stared up at the skyscraper in front of her. Farrell Corp, a chemical manufacturer, was

similar to her own company. The corporate office only took up one floor, but they had revenue in the
billions. Now all she had to worry about was getting past security.

“What are we doing here, ma’am?” asked Jace from beside her.
She rolled her eyes. She’d told him fifteen times to call her Victoria, but he was dead set on the

formal ma’am. Probably a few too many years in the army. ““We’re making new friends,” she
answered. “Come on.”

She led the way into the building and all the guards in charge of checking in guests eyed them.

Well, they eyed Jace mostly.

“Are they going to let us up?” asked Jace.
“Probably.” She smiled at the nearest of the guards. “Hello. I’m Victoria Green and I’m here for

Nathaniel Farrell.”

The guard looked between her and Jace before he punched some keys on the keyboard. “I don’t

have you down for an appointment, Ms. Green.”

“If you could call up and tell his assistant I’m here, I’d be eternally grateful.”
The look he gave her told her exactly what he thought of her gratefulness, but he did pick up the

phone. “Hello, I have a Victoria Green down here and she would like to speak with Mr. Farrell.”
There was a pause as he listened to the voice on the other end. ““She does appear to be the real
Victoria Green.”

She shot Jace the “I Told You So” look and then smiled back to the guard.
“I’ll send them right up.” He hung up the phone. “Go to the sixty-third floor and the reception

desk is right outside the elevator.”

“Thanks so much.” Victoria and Jace passed the guard station and found the elevator bay.
“Must be nice,” muttered Jace.
Wow. He was speaking casually. That was a definite improvement. Even if it was a bit passive-

aggressive. “Sometimes a girl needs to get things done.”

He reverted back to silence as they rode the elevator up, and she was fine with that. She needed

to get her bitch face on.

Mr. Farrell’s receptionist waited for them when the elevators opened. “Ms. Green. What an

unexpected surprise. If we’d known you were coming, we would’’ve been able to prepare the main
conference room for you.”

“Oh, I don’t need that. I was just dying to get a chance to introduce myself to Nathaniel. I didn’t

realize he’d started working under his father.”

The receptionist nodded and led Victoria and Jace through the offices. “Right this way. He’s been

here since the beginning of summer and we’re grateful to have him.””

Victoria didn’t believe a word the woman was saying, but she did appreciate a loyal assistant.

She highly doubted the nineteen-year-old heir to the Farrell fortune was that great of an asset to the
company. When the woman came to a stop outside a closed door, Victoria pushed her way in.

Nathaniel Farrell looked just like she expected: Handsome, in a perfectly tailored suit that cost

more than her rather considerable monthly rent. Rich, living off Daddy’s money and proud of it.

He stood as she entered. “Ms. Green. What a nice surprise.” He held out a hand.
She gave Jace a look and he gently closed the door so only the three of them were in Nathaniel’s

large office. She pointedly ignored his outstretched hand. “Don’t worry, I won’’t be long, Nate.”

His smile disappeared as he stared her down. “So I’m assuming you’re not here to talk business.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “No. I’m here to discuss Katy Carey.” His entire demeanor

changed in a heartbeat. ““Oh, honey. If you want to make it in this city, you really need to work on
your oh shit face.”

“There’s nothing happening between me and Katy,” he insisted.
“I know. I’m here to make sure it stays that way.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What does it matter to you who I pass the time with?”
She raised a brow. “Her brother is my boyfriend.” It felt strangely good to say that out loud. But

she didn’t have time to revel at the moment. ““So his business is my business from now on.”

“So what? You’re going to warn all the men in the city to stay away from her? She’s pretty. She’s

too smart for her own good. You can’t keep her locked away.”

She took a step forward and stared him down. “I’m not trying to keep every man away from her.

Just you. I know your type. I know her type. And I dare you to look me in the eyes and tell me she’s
not too good for you.”

Nathaniel met her gaze, but no words came out. At least he had the decency not to lie.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Farrell.” With that, she turned and nodded to Jace, who held the

door open for her as she strode out and back to the elevator bay. Once they were on their way down,
Jace studied her.

“What?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Nothing. That was just more fun than I expected.”
She nodded. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” Her phone buzzed in the clip that held it to her skirt. All

the outfits that made her look like a CEO had a bad habit of not having pockets. She glanced down at
the text. “It looks like Terry wants to go out to dinner,” she told Jace as the elevator hit ground level.
There went her plans of getting any work done.

Great. Going out to dinner with her brother right after he found out the bulk of their father’s

estate was going to her. This wouldn’t be awkward at all.

“Where does your brother live?” Jace held the door for her as they moved onto the street.
“He’s sending the address now. I haven’t been to his new place.”
“Maybe it’s not the best idea to have a private dinner with your brother and me. I might kill the

mood.”

“I don’t want to be rude, but it would probably be best if you stay in the lobby while Terry and I

talk.”

Jace came to a stop. “Ma’am, I think it would be best to have this in a public place.”
“And I think that my brother isn’t a killer. And since I will probably end up bawling like a baby, I

don’t want to be anywhere that I can be recognized. The press got their pictures of me this morning
and I allowed it. I need some privacy.”

Jace didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? One hundred percent sure? There’s no room for

probably here.”

Victoria didn’t have to think before her answer. She’d been doubting Terry ever since he showed

up in town, and she had to admit that she’d been wrong. ““A hundred percent.”

“I don’t agree,” said Jace simply as he reached into his pocket. “Have you ever used pepper

spray before?”

She looked down to the small black canister he handed her. “I had some in college, but I never

used it.”

“It’s easy. Aim at the face, don’t spray when the wind is blowing in your direction, and get the

hell out ASAP. For one, if you spray it inside, it’’s going to get in your eyes no matter what. The idea
is to get more of it in your attacker’s. For two, even in pain, they’re not incapacitated. Spray. Run.
Got it?”

“Easy peasy.” She hooked the canister onto her phone clip and adjusted her suit jacket to cover it.

Just then, another text came in. She checked it and showed the screen to Jace. “Now we have our
address.”

The apartment was uptown, so it wasn’t a long drive from the Farrell Corp building to the

upscale apartment building that Terry directed her to. Jace gave her one last disapproving look before
she got out of the car and walked in. She directed the driver to stay close and he nodded before he
made room for the other vehicles making dropoffs.

The doorman nodded at her as she walked in. Apparently she was expected. As she reached the

lobby, she looked down to her phone. Six fifteen. Gordon should have the video tapes by now. She
might be a hundred percent sure Terry wasn’t the guy, but she was still in a hurry to know who.

She keyed in the numbers for Gordon and, in typical Gordon style, he answered on the first ring.

Without any formal greeting, he said, “I just pulled the footage up. I’ll send you the photo within the
next ten minutes.”

She’d give anything to be in the office with him as he found the son of a bitch doing this to her. So

she didn’t have to carry pepper spray and a bodyguard with her wherever she went. But it would be
just as easy to check her text messages upstairs as in the lobby.

So Victoria got into the elevator and took it to the twenty-first floor. The building was nice. Not

as nice as hers, but obviously Terry still had a decent chunk of money saved away, and Joslyn had her
own trust fund.

Hopefully Terry had some wine. Or whiskey at this point. It had been a long day. She’d take what

she could get.

The hall didn’t have many doors, signaling that the apartments were big. This place really was

nice. If she walked in to find a two-story apartment, she’d be especially shocked that Terry could
afford it. Maybe after he sold the property that had been left to him, this would be within his reach,
but he’d been unemployed and burning through his trust at a rapid rate for the past few years.

As she reached Terry’s door, she rubbed her temples. If Terry wanted to blow all of his money,

that was his problem. She gave him a job she felt he was qualified for, and if he blew his entire,
relatively small, salary, that would be his problem. She’d reached the extent of her charity with him.

If he proved himself, he’d get more responsibility and be rewarded.
She knocked on the door. This was going to be a nice, pleasant evening, she told herself. No

talking about money. Just fond memories of Dad.

The door opened and Joslyn appeared, a massive smile on her face. “I’m so glad you could make

it! Come on in. You must’ve had such a long day. I can’’t believe you worked after the funeral.”

Joslyn reached in for a hug and Victoria hesitantly leaned in. She supposed sister-in-laws hugged,

but she just wasn’t that kind of person. Luckily, it was over soon enough. Victoria kicked herself.
Joslyn had been nothing but pleasant and had been an enormous help during the funeral. She didn’t
have to act like the woman had some sort of contagion.

“Come on in. I’ve got some of my family’s famous crab cakes on the stove.”
Victoria followed her into the massive loft space. Although it wasn’t a double story apartment,

the ceilings were well over twelve feet high. The living room, kitchen, and entryway were all
oversized spaces. The kitchen was in ultra-modern stainless-steel everything: counters, appliances,
seating. Not her style, but it was nice. “It’s a cool place.” She took a seat at one of the bar stools

against the kitchen island.

“Isn’t it?” Joslyn pulled some glasses down from a cabinet. “It’’s not really what I’m used to, but

it’s so New York, I just couldn’t pass it up.””

Victoria frowned. Didn’t Terry have a say? “I thought Terry was going to be here.”
“Oh, he’s supposed to be here now. He probably got stuck in traffic, though. You know how it is

around this time.”

“Yeah…” He hadn’t mentioned that in his text. Victoria pulled her phone off the clip and

checked it for another message from Terry, but there was no signal. Which meant no picture from
Gordon. Damn it.

Her disappointment was immediately alleviated when she looked up to see Joslyn fiddling with

the blender.

“I hope you’re a margarita girl.” She set a bottle of tequila next to the blender.
“You have no idea how much I’d like a drink.”
Joslyn waved towards the living room area. “The couch is brand new and so much more

comfortable than that thing you’re sitting on.” Joslyn grimaced at the bar stool. ““Go relax and I’ll be
over in a second. Then maybe we can get some girl talk in before Terry gets home.”

Girl talk. Victoria didn’t even know whether she could feign excitement for that one. But relaxing

on a nice soft sofa didn’t seem like a bad way to end the night. Especially with a margarita in hand.

She slid her jacket off as she sat down and set it over her lap as a pseudo blanket. The blender

turned on and the whirring filled the apartment. Victoria checked her phone again, but still nothing.
Good grief, she couldn’t remember the last time she couldn’t get signal in the city.

The blender stopped, but Joslyn was still fiddling with God knew what in the kitchen. Boredom

seeped in…Victoria couldn’t remember the last time she just sat and did nothing.

She leaned forward to look at the magazines on the coffee table, but it was all junk mail

advertisements that came to every apartment in the building. She was about to lean back into the
couch when something caught her eye. The mail didn’t have Terry or Joslyn’s name on it.

They were addressed to C. Jones.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Jace Lance eyed the street, looking for anything possibly suspicious. So far there was a lot of

nothing, but that was hardly surprising.

Not that the surveillance was boring. In fact, the very reason that New York City was his favorite

place to work was because there was never a boring moment. Now, surveillance in a jungle, watching
an empty safe house on the off chance a drug lord would show up—that was boring.

But in order to be effective, he needed to look at each person, assess them for backstory, skills,

and possible threats.

And the perks of working with heiresses weren’t too bad. Good food. Good pay. Bad hours. It

would do for now.

His cell rang and Gordon showed up on the caller ID. “Jace here.”
“I need to get a hold of Victoria. Where is she?”
“She’s having dinner with her brother. She requested I stay downstairs to offer her privacy.” Jace

had a feeling Gordon knew exactly how persuasive a request from the CEO could be.

“Shit. You need to get up there. Her future sister-in-law is behind everything. She was the one

who wired the funds to the North Carolina attacker. Her brother might be involved too.”

“On it.” Jace hung up the phone and jumped out of the car, feeling inside his jacket for the

comforting presence of his sidearm. As subtly as possible while he crossed the street, he flipped the
safety off.

The doorman eyed him as he approached and Jace knew he wouldn’t get in the building as easily

as Victoria.

“How can I help you, sir?” asked the burly older man.
Even though he was older, Jace was on high alert. The bulk beneath his uniform told Jace that he

was stronger than his scruffy beard gave away. “I’m here for Victoria Green. She was having dinner
with one of your tenants. Either allow me up or call the apartment, please.””

The man nodded. “I’ll call her right away, sir.” He opened the door. “Come on in.”
He really wanted to get upstairs, but knew in a building like this, security was tight. The doorman

came in behind Jace and motioned for him to follow through a lobby decorated in rich reds and golds
with a small sitting area. The doorman picked up a phone and pressed a button.

“A young man is here for Ms. Green.” After a pause, he continued, “Okay, I will tell him to wait.”
By the time the doorman turned around, Jace had his gun drawn and pointed at the man. “Who are

you?”

The doorman held up his hands, his eyes wide. “Whoa, man. She’s coming right down.”
Jace shook his head. “No, she isn’t. You didn’t call an apartment. You told someone I was here.

How many of you are there?””

Jace didn’t hear a sound, but the doorman’s eyes gave the other attacker away. Jace swung around

and slammed the second man in the face with the butt of the gun. The “doorman”” jumped on his back,
wrapped a meaty arm around his neck and cut off his air. Jace shoved backwards and rammed the man
into the edge of the desk.

Just as the man’s grip loosened, something hard and cold slammed into the side of Jace’s head.
He tried to aim his gun through the pain, but he was hit again and everything went black.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Victoria jumped as Joslyn took a seat on the sofa and handed her a bright pink margarita with a

neat rim of salt around the side.

“Oh honey, I know it’s been a long day.” Joslyn crossed her legs, her floral dress flouncing out

around her. “Just relax.”

Victoria took the drink and tried to fake a smile. Could Terry really be C. Jones? Where was he?

And where did Joslyn stand in this? “You know what, I’m suddenly not in the drinking mood. I got
hardly any sleep last night and I’m going to be needed early at work tomorrow.”

“That’s a shame.” Joslyn pouted in a cute way that probably had men getting her whatever she

wanted. “You can’t take a day off?”

“The joys of being in charge,” said Victoria with a weak laugh. “Are you sure Terry won’t be

long? We can always reschedule.” She glanced at her phone once more and there was still no signal.

“Even if he doesn’t show up, you can sit and talk. I’m a good listener, promise.”
Victoria pulled her phone in closer to her. “I’m sure.” She met Joslyn’s gaze as her fingers moved

over the screen of the phone, unlocking it by memory. “But I’m really not in the mood to talk today.
Why don’t you tell me more about yourself?””

“Well, there’s not much to tell. My family comes from old money in Georgia. After my parents’

unfortunate passing a few years ago, I decided to travel the world and, you know, find myself.”

“How did that work out?” Victoria pretended to take a sip of the margarita. As soon as the glass

left her lips, she set it on the table, setting it down at just the wrong angle, so the drink spilled
everywhere. “I’m so sorry!” she shouted as the drink spread out over the coffee table.

Both of them leaped up to avoid the droplets that splashed on the floor. “Darn it,” muttered Joslyn

as she ran back to the kitchen and brought back an armful of paper towels.

Victoria pulled the magazines out of the way as Joslyn patted down the table. She forwarded the

address of where she was to the first person she could think of. Dean. Praying she somehow got
signal, she tucked the cell back in the clip. “So who is C. Jones?”” She handed the mail back to
Joslyn.

A flash of surprise crossed Joslyn’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Victoria took a step back. She didn’t know what she expected by bringing up the name, but it

wasn’t that fear mixed with suspicion. “Just wondering, since it’’s on the address. It’s probably the
old tenant. You only moved in recently, right? I still get old mail and I’ve lived at my place for years.”

“I suppose I never noticed.” Joslyn took the magazines from her.
And with that, Victoria was certain of it. Joslyn was lying, and she needed to get the hell out of

here. “So, since Terry isn’t here and I’ve singlehandedly messed up the place, I think I should call it a
night.”

Joslyn backed away and blocked Victoria’s access to the door. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Fear settled deep in Victoria’s gut. She tried to keep her expression calm and serene, not wanting

Joslyn to see the effect she was having. “I’m very sorry, Joslyn. I promise I’ll make sure we have an
entire day of girl bonding very soon. This just isn’t the right time.”

“Damn it, I said no!” shouted her future sister-in-law.
Victoria was more than ready to fight off the petite redhead, but then Joslyn played her trump card

and pulled a gun out from behind her back and pointed it straight at Victoria’s head.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Victoria held her hands up, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. Without her jacket on,

her one and only weapon—the pepper spray—was in full view. She thought back to what Dean said.
Whoever wanted her dead wasn’’t skilled. So Joslyn didn’t exactly know what she was doing.

Victoria could use that. “Let’s talk about this.”
Joslyn scoffed. “There’s nothing to talk about. You seem like a nice enough person, but Terry and

I deserve our happily ever after.”

Victoria tried to get a read on the woman, to decide whether she was crazy or calculated. Of

course, she could be both and Victoria could be screwed. “Let me know how I can make you happy.
Terry is my brother, and I love him.”

“Please.” Joslyn rolled her eyes. “He told me how you fired him. You humiliated him in front of

everyone and then spent the past few years flaunting your success in front of him. Getting your picture
in every paper and magazine you could while your poor brother was hurt and struggling to survive.”

Victoria had to struggle to hide her disbelief. Joslyn thought Victoria wanted the paparazzi

following her around? And what did she mean by “struggling to survive”? He started out with more
money in that trust fund than some people earned in a lifetime. But she decided to keep her doubts to
herself. “I never meant to hurt him. We can work something out. If he needs more money, I’m sure I
can help.”

“I don’t need your charity, hun. I need everything.” She picked up a small circular device off the

counter. “Cute, right? When it’s on, it blocks phone reception for anyone in range. Bought it online for
a steal. I know how attached you are to your phone.”

Victoria’s heart quickened as Joslyn’s eyes fell to the phone on her hip. Please don’t see the

pepper spray. Please don’’t see the pepper spray.

“I need to make a call. This would’ve been easier if you’d drank your margarita like a polite

guest, but I think we have to do this the hard way. Now toss your phone over here.””

Victoria plucked the phone from her belt clip and tried not to think about what Joslyn had laced

the drink with. Here’s hoping her text to Dean went through. “So you’’re not going to shoot me?” She
kicked the phone across the floor.

Joslyn laughed. “I’m not going to get any money if I’m in jail for your murder. Terry probably

wouldn’t even consider having me after that. No. You’re going to jump off the roof.”

~~~~~

The unknown number popped up on Dean’s phone for the third time. Dean glanced between the

road and the glowing screen. Even if it was a client, he didn’t make a habit of driving on Manhattan
streets while talking on his phone.

But when his phone rang a fourth time, he finally gave in and picked up. “Who the hell is it?” he

bit out right as a cab swerved in front of him with absolutely no notice. He held himself back from
cursing at the cabbie.

“Please tell me Victoria is with you,” said the deep voice on the other end.
“Huh? Is this a reporter?”
“No, you moron. It’s Gordon. I need to get a hold of her. She’s in trouble and neither she nor Jace

are answering their phones.””

Dean’s blood ran cold at the mention of Victoria being in trouble. “What the fuck good is a

bodyguard if he’s not going to protect her!”” he shouted into the phone.

“I need to figure out where she is. Last I talked to Jace, he said she was meeting her brother for

dinner.”

“Son of a bitch. I knew that smug asshole wanted her dead. When I get my hands on him—”
“It’s not him. The fiancée, Joslyn Devereaux. Her parents died under mysterious circumstances.

The police never convicted her of anything, but the lawyers did some fancy maneuvering and her
sister ended up getting the entire family fortune. Billions of net worth went to the sister and Joslyn got
nothing.”

“You’re saying she killed her parents?”
“I’m saying she’s used to money and just found out her fiancée was basically cut from Daddy’s

will. I think Victoria might be with her already.”

Dean’s heart ramped up to a fever pitch as he tried to focus on the road. She was somewhere in

the city and he had no idea where. “You need to find her. Track her phone, look at traffic cams,
something!”

“This isn’t a fucking TV show! Her GPS tracker isn’t coming through for her phone and this city

has millions of people in it. If Jace or she don’’t contact someone, there’s nothing I can do.”

“God damn it!” screamed Dean as he threw the phone. The sound of the plastic clanging against

the old, beat-up dash echoed through the truck. Dean glanced up just in time to see a pedestrian
jaywalking right in front of him.

He jerked the wheel to the side, narrowly missing the guy as his truck slammed into a trash can.

For a second, he sat there in silence. He should be running somewhere. Looking for Victoria. She
could be dying right now and he was sitting in the truck doing not a fucking thing.

Because that’s all there was. Gordon would know if she were at the office, and the bodyguard

would answer the damn phone if she were at home. What was a fucking handyman supposed to do?
Drive around aimlessly until he happened to see her? He punched the steering wheel. ““Fuck!”

Damn it, if driving around aimlessly was all he could do, that was better than nothing. He bent

down to fish his phone off the floor of the passenger seat and tossed it on the seat. Right as he put the
truck in reverse, he noticed the alert light flashing. Maybe Gordon found her.

He yanked it up and his breath caught when he saw the text message from Victoria.
An address. No explanation. No call. Just an address.
His tires squealed as he slammed on the gas. When he got his hands on Joslyn, the bitch was

never going to know what hit her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“What do you mean the bodyguard is unconscious?” snapped Joslyn into her phone.
Victoria shifted her weight, trying to think of any way to get past Joslyn and make it out of the

apartment. The cell phone blocker was off, so as long as she could call 911, she’d probably be able
to hide out somewhere.

“What do you think he’s going to do when he wakes up? Forget that the same night his boss

committed suicide, he was beaten by random thugs in the lobby. You better make sure that man never
wakes up again.”

Victoria’s eyes widened. “You can’t kill Jace.”
Joslyn sighed and held the phone away from her face, gun still firmly pointed in Victoria’s

direction. “I’m not going to kill him. I’’m telling the nice gentleman downstairs to do it.”

“What the hell is wrong with you!” screamed Victoria.
Joslyn’s smile disappeared, replaced with a sneer. “I’m going to need one of you up here. I think

Ms. Green is going to need help getting up to the roof.””

As Joslyn hung up, Victoria’s heart sunk in her chest. Jace could be dying at that very moment. All

because of her. In some futile attempt to protect her. “Why? Why cause this much destruction over
money? Let Jace live and I’ll give you anything you want.”

“It’s not just money. It’s what I deserve. It’s my birthright.””
“If anything, it’s Terry’s birthright,” bit out Victoria.
“And where would Terry be if it weren’t for me?” asked Joslyn with a smug smirk. “He would be

a broke beach bum. I brought him back to where he belongs. I brought him back to a family that
doesn’t even want him. But he and I will be restored to what we were meant to be.”

A knock banged on the door behind Joslyn, and Victoria jumped. No, no, no, no. Joslyn she could

handle. She could catch her at a weak moment. Overpower her. Something. But now there were going
to be two of them…

Joslyn opened the door and the doorman from downstairs stepped inside. Instinctively, Victoria

took a step back as he moved past Joslyn, a conspicuous red substance splattered onto his formerly
pristine uniform jacket.

But this could be a good thing. She was probably paying whoever this was and the one way

Victoria was sure she had Joslyn beat was with money. “Whatever she’s paying you, I’ll quadruple it
if you get me out of here.”

He turned a stern expression on her. “I don’t know how much good that will do me when you

send the cops after us, lady. At least with her, I know I won’t get turned over to the police.”

Joslyn smiled in victory. “He’s right. Police only make things more complicated. I’m sure you

understand, since you never bothered to call any last week. But I figured you wouldn’’t. You’re not
exactly the type to admit weakness. That’s why this will make so much sense.”

“Nothing about this makes sense.” Victoria took another step back.
“The stoic socialite swan dives off the skyscraper. If it makes you feel better, your story will be

told for years.”

“Not comforting.” Victoria’s mind raced. Think. Distract them. Even if Jace was incapacitated,

Gordon might realize something was wrong. He could be sending for help right now.

Except he had no idea where she was. Even so, she had to stall. Had to do something. “Who is C.

Jones?”

“She’s your killer,” said Joslyn with pride. “I’’m not stupid, you know.”

Agree to disagree, thought Victoria.
“Things don’t always go according to plan, as you have made painfully evident. I’m well aware

that if I’m even suspected of this, Terry will never marry me, and I won’t get a pretty penny. I tried to
cover my tracks by having Donny here take care of you at your little My Daddy’s Dying party, but
apparently your handyman has a temper. And when North Carolina didn’’t work out, I knew that the
old saying is right. If you want something done right…”

Victoria took a deep breath. Lying was definitely called for when dealing with this level of crazy.

“You don’t have to do this, Joslyn. I promise that as a member of my family, you will be protected. It
was my father who kicked Terry out. I’’m nothing like him.”

Joslyn didn’t even respond to Victoria’s offer. “But either way, I’m not getting caught. The second

Terry told me about his situation, Casey Jones was born. Bank accounts, Social Security number,
credit history. Everything leads back to him. This apartment is registered to him. The phone number I
texted you from today is his. I. Am. A. Genius.”

Victoria glanced to her phone, which was still discarded on the floor. Terry never sent her any

texts? “You changed his number in my phone when we were planning my father’s funeral.””

“You should really be more careful with that, sweetie. Well, should’ve been more careful.”

Joslyn glanced between Donny and Victoria. ““Well, this has been fun, but I think sooner is better than
later, right? There’s a dead bodyguard downstairs so we should hurry this along. Let’s go to the roof!”

~~~~~

Dean parked illegally in front of the building and stared up at the ornate brickwork leading up

thirty or so floors. “I’m here,” he said into the phone.

“Just sit tight, Dean. The police are on their way.”
Dean eyed the bumper-to-bumper traffic that he’d fought through just to make it there. Where was

the nearest police station? He didn’t know the Upper East Side well enough.

“I’ll just go inside. Maybe the doorman saw something.” He was already crossing the sidewalk

to get to the door. Except there was no doorman.

Dean paused as he eyed the closed doors in front of him. After he glanced up and down the street

again, he still didn’t see any sign of Victoria. “Screw it,” he muttered to himself as he reached
forward and pulled the door open.

He frowned as he walked inside. No doorman and no key needed to get into this nice of a

building? The yearly rent in this place was probably more than his entire house was worth. It didn’t
make sense for them to not have better security. The entryway leading to the two elevators wasn’’t
very big. Just enough space for a small sitting area. It was eerily quiet as Dean stared at the elevators.
The police were on their way. He shouldn’t go charging in with no game plan and no idea what
kind of trouble she was in.

But if he didn’t go charging up, that meant he needed to wait and twiddle his thumbs while

Victoria was all alone. He paced back to the front door and listened for any sound of sirens
approaching. What if they weren’t in a hurry? What if they thought Gordon was paranoid and
taking their time getting there?

Damned if he’d wait around patiently when they were taking their sweet ass time.
He twisted around and found himself looking straight down the barrel of a 9mm handgun.

“Whoa.” Dean held up his hands.

The man on the other end of the gun looked ready to pull the trigger any moment. What was

probably a clean-cut, Abercrombie type had dust covering his black suit jacket and blood dripping
down the side of his face.

“Take out your phone,” he bit out. “You’re going to make a call for me.”
“I don’t want any trouble.” Dean slowly reached for the phone in his back pocket.
The man tensed as though he expected Dean to pull out a weapon.
“I don’t want any trouble,” he repeated. “I’’m here to check on someone. I think she might be in

trouble.” Dean wasn’t sure whether he should mention the cops were coming. It could freak the guy
out more or scare him off.

“Dean Carey?”
Dean didn’t know whether it was a good or bad sign that the psycho knew his name. “How do

you know who I am?”

The guy dropped his gun. “Gordon showed me your file. Shit. Does Gordon know you’re here?”
It finally clicked. This was Victoria’s bodyguard. “The police are on their way,” he said quickly.

“What the hell happened to you? Where is Victoria?”

The guy grimaced. “Gordon told me that the brother’s girlfriend was the one who wanted her

dead. Ms. Green came here to have dinner with her brother and wasn’t answering Gordon’’s calls, so
I ran inside. The doorman and some other guy jumped me.”

Dean tensed and scanned the empty entryway. “Where are they now?”
“I was out cold for a bit. When I came to, I took out one of the guys. The other one was gone.”
“Took out as in…?”
“Alive but not causing any trouble,” said the man. “I need to get upstairs. You stay here and let

the police know what’’s going on when they get here.”

“Hey!” shouted Dean as the bodyguard turned towards the elevator. “You’re not going up there

alone. You’re bleeding out all over the place and there’s at least one guy who already got the jump on
you up there.”

The man twisted back and stared Dean down. “You’re right. You come with me.”
Dean didn’t need to be told twice. He followed him to the elevator and paused by the fire safety

cubby carved into the wall. “I’m guessing you don’’t have an extra gun.”

The bodyguard eyed Dean. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
“Fair enough.” Dean pulled the fire extinguisher free.
The other man grunted and Dean couldn’t tell whether it was approval or annoyance. “Come on.”
Dean came up behind him as they both had to wait for the elevator to come down. Dean’s fist

tightened around the handle of the extinguisher. If he found anyone laying so much as a finger on
Victoria, they were going to wish they’d never been born.

~~~~~

As Donny approached her, Victoria fought through her nerves. She had the pepper spray, but even

if she got a full amount in Donny’s face, Joslyn still had the gun. She’d never make it to the door in
time.

And that was assuming it all didn’t go into her eyes anyway.
So when Donny grabbed her by the arm, she swallowed the revulsion and kept herself from

reaching for the one weapon she had.

As his meaty hand closed around her bicep, disgust filled her. He was going to kill her. He’d

already murdered Jace, and now he was going to throw her off a roof. The panic crept in, and her

stomach churned with nausea. Just get out of the apartment. Once she was in the hallway, she could
make a break for it. Joslyn and Donny would be close to each other. One good spray could get them
both.

Before her newfound plan could give her any sort of comfort, Donny yanked on her arm. She

tripped over her feet, her heels not making the sudden dragging any easier. Her gut instinct was to
scratch and claw and punch, but she knew she needed to wait. But that didn’t mean she had to be
quiet.

She needed to distract them. Keep them from seeing her when she reached for the spray. “Please

don’t do this,” she begged. ““I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Shut up,” he spat out as he pulled her towards the door.
“Money, houses, cars, women. Just name it and it’s yours. Do you have any idea the kind of

influence I have in this town?”

Joslyn stood in front of the door, free hand on her hip while the other held the gun loosely. “Are

you going to be quiet out there?”

“Joslyn, I can give you anything you want. I will make you the hottest thing to hit the city. You’ll

be on the cover of every gossip rag. Everyone will want to be your friend.”

“Thought so,” said the crazy bitch as she slammed the butt of the gun into Victoria’s face.
All her pleas fell into the back of Victoria’s mind as her vision went blurry. The pain

reverberated through her and for a moment, the only reason she stood upright was because of Donny’s
fingers biting into her arm.

Somewhere through the spinning haze of her vision, she saw Joslyn open the door. “Go now

before she gets chatty again.”

And then Donny was dragging her into the hallway. The hallway! This was her chance. Her plan.

She tried her best to concentrate. What was the plan? Spray. Hit the eyes and run for the stairs. Not
much of a plan, but better than taking a nosedive off the building.

As they got closer and closer to the elevator, she knew her window was closing. It was now or

never. She reached back for her spray when the dinging of the elevator signaled it had stopped on this
floor.

Donny and Joslyn stopped in their tracks as the elevator doors slid open. For a moment, Victoria

figured she was hit much harder than she originally thought, because Dean and Jace both stood
together. Waiting for her to join them.

But then Jace and Joslyn both raised their guns, pointing them at each other.
“No! No guns!” shouted Victoria as Donny pulled her in front of him like a shield.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” growled Dean as he took a step out of the elevator, not paying

any attention to Joslyn. Just her. Damn it. She wasn’’t going to let any of these crazies touch a finger
on Dean’s head.

“If you shoot, the entire building will know,” said Victoria. All she needed was for Joslyn to look

in her direction. “You won’’t get a penny from my estate.”

All Victoria could see was Joslyn’s profile, so she couldn’t tell whether she could make it past

the crazy to get her attention. All she had to do was get eye contact. “When the papers find out you
wanted people to believe this was a suicide and there were bullet holes up and down the hallway, the
entire city is going to laugh at you.”

“No one will laugh at me!” she shouted as she started to turn the gun on Victoria.
But she never got the chance. Victoria lifted up the spray, getting a clean shot in Joslyn’s eyes.

Donny abruptly released her as the burning vapor filled the hall.

As soon as Victoria realized she made contact, she ducked away from the sudden explosion of

movement. Jace jumped for Joslyn, not seemingly deterred by the remaining spray in the air, and
Victoria fell on the floor, backing up until the wall pressed into her shoulders.

As Jace tackled Joslyn to the floor, Dean crouched in front of her. “Are you okay? Did they hurt

you? The police are coming, baby.” He pulled her into his arms.

Victoria couldn’t relax into his touch the way she wanted to. She pushed back and glanced to

where Donny was running for the stairs. “He’s getting away.”” She pushed herself up.

Dean’s mouth tightened. “No he’s not,” he breathed as he sprung up and sprinted after the man.
“Dean!” shouted Victoria. She didn’t think Donny had any weapons, but she was safe for the

moment. She didn’t want him to put himself at risk now that she was safe.

She jumped up and chased after him, but before she even reached the end of the hall, Dean was

on top of Donny. And apparently he didn’t need any help from her.

Even with Donny’s head start, Dean gained just enough ground to get a hold of Donny’s shirt

collar. The yank Dean gave, combined with the momentum of running, caused Donny to lose balance.
He and Dean crumbled to a heap on the ground right outside the door to the stairs.

And then Dean started to slam his fists into the man. Victoria’s mouth gaped open at the violence,

and for a moment she couldn’t move. Somehow the entire night had seemed so surreal, but seeing the
blood and Dean’s anger brought everything home. She’d been so close to dying. Dean was…she had
no idea what he was going through.

“Dean.” Her voice came out as barely a whisper. “Dean,” she said louder.
She must’ve gotten through to him as he finally stopped. His breath came in deep gasps and his

chest rose up and down as he stared down at the man.

“Enough!” cried Donny. “I won’t hurt her, promise.””
Victoria took a deep gulp, not sure whether she should be relieved that Dean hadn’t beat him

unconscious or sad that he wasn’t in more pain. “Damn right, you won’’t hurt me.”

The sound of sirens penetrated through the walls, and the corners of her mouth tugged up. Maybe

she really was okay. She looked over to where Jace was restraining Joslyn, mainly by sitting on her
and keeping her immobile.

Except now the other residents of the building were poking their heads out to see what all the

ruckus was about.

Great. This was definitely going to make the papers.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Huh?” muttered Dean. He forced himself to pay attention to the officer asking him questions.

Dean couldn’t stop his eyes from following Victoria’’s every move.

“I asked if you were sure there were only three perpetrators involved,” said the woman in front

of him. The officer had dark hair pulled back into a stern ponytail that was probably par for the
course for a city cop.

“Like I said before, I only saw the woman, Joslyn Devereaux, and her caveman of an accomplice.

Victoria’s bodyguard said there was a third.”

The officer glanced over to where Dean had tackled said “caveman.” “Donald Price. You’re

lucky you were able to take him down. From the looks of his rap sheet, he’s not used to losing fights.”

Dean nodded, but he knew luck had nothing to do with it. The second he’d seen Victoria in the

hallway, her eyes wide with terror, he knew the son of a bitch was going to pay. He’d never felt a
rage like that. Hot and burning through him, the only outlet was to beat the crap out of the man until he
forgot which hole to breathe out of.

Honestly, he didn’t know how far he would’ve gone if Victoria hadn’t been there to stop him. Or

what he would’ve done if she hadn’t thought fast to get Joslyn and Donald both off their game. “I’m
really tired. Are there a lot more questions?””

The officer shook her head. “You’re all set, Mr. Carey. As long as we have your contact

information for more follow-up questions, you’re free to go. Are you sure you don’’t want to go to the
hospital?”

He shook his head. The caveman never had a chance to get a single blow in. The only thing he’d

need at the hospital was high blood pressure medication, because he was sure he’d have a heart
condition after tonight.

~~~~~

Even though it wasn’t cold, Victoria pulled the blanket even tighter around herself.
“You doin’ okay?” Jace was next to her. They both leaned against the wall in the same hallway

where the craziness of the night had gone down.

Dean looked in her direction again and she jerked her gaze away. Damn it. She desperately

wanted a few minutes alone with him, but had no idea what she’d say. She’d had a shitty day before
all this and she just wanted it to be over.

“I’m okay,” she lied. Before he could call her out on it, she looked at his cleaned up, but bruising,

face. “What about you, buddy? You bled a lot.” His formerly pristine suit was now ruined with the
amount of blood that had run down the front.

He shrugged. “I’ve had worse. Besides, head wounds are drama queens.”
She eyed the evidence of just how much he’d bled. “If you say so.”
Jace looked her over once again and she glared at him. “What?”
“It’s nothing. You just seem to be handling the whole thing well.”
Normally she would take that as a compliment, but he made it sound as if she were a freak. “Is

that a bad thing?” She saw Dean run a hand through his hair in exasperation and she wondered how
much longer the police would keep them both.

“Not at all. Just an observation,” said Jace. “The handyman handled himself okay too.”
Victoria jerked her gaze away from Dean. “The handyman? Is that what everyone is calling him?”

“Not everyone. Your entire office maybe, but I’m sure the press won’t give him a nickname for at

least another day.”

She laughed softly. Good Lord, the press were going to eat him alive. The story was juicy

enough, but when they saw how photogenic Dean was, he was never going to have a calm moment
again. Somehow, she thought he could handle it. “I don’’t think I’ve thanked you yet, Jace.”

“It’s my job,” he said modestly.
She scoffed. “Well, your job is to save my life and you did it perfectly tonight. And if I’d listened

to you, I wouldn’t be in this mess.””

“You were right, though. Your brother had nothing to do with it.”
Her brother was, in fact, innocent, but he’d have his own price to pay for Joslyn’s betrayal.

“Thank God for that. Now I just have to break the news to him.””

“He’s a big boy. He can handle it.”
Victoria wasn’t as sure. Between Dad dying and Joslyn, it was going to be one hell of a time. But

that was tomorrow’s problem. The officer talking to Dean shut her notebook and nodded at him as she
moved aside.

Dean was finally coming back to her.

~~~~~

Dean gave Jace a quick look, and the bodyguard nodded and backed away from Victoria.
“About time.” Victoria smiled up at him. “Are you clear to go? They gave me the go-ahead

already.”

“I’m clear. Let’s get out of here.” He paused and drew his brows together. “Do you think any of

the cops noticed I’m illegally parked outside?”

Victoria let out a soft laugh. “They probably had bigger things to deal with,” she assured him.

“But the meter reader totally gave you a ticket by now.””

He sighed and shook his head. “So can I expense that?”
She narrowed her eyes as though she seriously debated his request. “Just this once.”
As she turned, he suddenly remembered the entire reason he’d driven out to see her in the first

place. “Wait! Before you go, there’s something I need to tell you.””

Victoria whipped back around, eyes wide. “Yes?” she breathed.
“I didn’t just happen to be in the area right as you were about to die. I came out to talk about

something.”

“What, um, what did you want to tell me?” She took another step closer.
“Well, this might sound weird, but Katy really wants to go to some hoity-toity school in the city

called King Academy. Do you think you’d be able to help her transfer in for her senior year?”

Victoria frowned and leaned away from him. “That’s what you wanted to ask? I thought you were

going to say you love me or ask me to move in or something crazy. Get your sister into school?
Really? That’s easy.”

Dean blinked a few times. “Did you want me to say I love you? I mean, we’ve only been

together…”

She shook her head and pushed away. The blanket fell off her shoulders. “You don’t have to tell

me how stupid I am. I know exactly how crazy it is to feel this way after only two weeks, but I’m
sorry. I just had to face death and I really don’t want to go on living without you in my life!”

He tried to fight it, but a smile tugged at his lips. “Is that your way of saying you love me?”

“I almost died tonight, okay? I had to think about my life and my company and my friends and

who I’d be leaving behind and for the life of me, I couldn’t stop picturing you. You and me together
and happy, and all the times I’d miss out on if Joslyn pushed me off the stupid roof, okay? So I know
I’m rushing into things and I know we’re completely different people and I know that you live way
too far away from me but—”

Dean bent forward and covered her mouth with his. After a brief moment of shock, she leaned in

and kissed him back. He pulled away and ignored the police officers across the hall who stared at
them. “I love you too.” He smiled down at her.

Victoria leaned into him and wrapped her arms around Dean’s waist. “Oh, thank God. I thought I

was completely insane.”

“Well, I never said you weren’t crazy.” He hugged her tighter. ““It just happens to be one of the

things I love most about you.”

EPILOGUE

“Denise, can you please send Dean into my office,” said Victoria into the intercom.
“Right away, Victoria,” said her assistant.
Victoria glanced around her office. It wasn’t as if Dean hadn’t seen it a million times already, but

she still felt the need to swipe her empty chip bag into the trash and smooth her blouse. Her suit jacket
rested over the back of her desk chair, but she didn’’t bother. Dean had seen her in much less than this.

She got to work on straightening the piles of paper that surrounded her desk. It wasn’t

unorganized, really. There was just a lot of stuff: On her desk. On the coffee table next to the office
couch. On the filing cabinet in the corner. Inside the filing cabinet. Just thinking about it all gave her a
headache.

But then the door opened and Dean walked in. As always, her heart skipped a beat when she saw

him. The man could fill a room just with his presence. He wore his now customary dark jeans and
buttoned-up shirt. “Hey.” She put the papers in her hand back down.

“You called? And your assistant called? And you texted?”
“I was trying to get your attention.” She crossed to the front of her desk and leaned against the

polished dark wood.

He grinned at her. “You know, just because we have a personal relationship doesn’t mean you can

boss me around.”

She raised a brow. “Oh really? Because last I checked, I was your boss. And I can boss you

around.”

He approached her slowly. “Is that right?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and bit her bottom lip. “Umm hmm.” He stopped so close to

her that she could feel his heat through her thin blouse and pencil skirt. Victoria closed her eyes and
shook her head. “No. None of that. I didn’t call you in here for,” she motioned with her hands,
“this.””

He didn’t say anything, but his eyes told her exactly how much he wanted to kiss her. She’d seen

that look often enough.

After her crazy declaration of love, they’d tried to take things slow. A real, honest effort. But

between the intense traffic they had to fight through to see each other and the fact that Katy was going
to school in the city, Dean had taken up an IT position at Green & Sons, and a week before school
started, he, Katy, and Rigby had all moved in.

“I need to show you something.” She twisted around to reach for her phone. When she

straightened back out, she could’ve sworn he’’d inched closer. She shook off the suspicion, mainly
because wanting him as close as possible was her natural state of being these days.

For the most part, their working together hadn’t been an issue at all. Mainly because the

department he was in hardly ever interacted with hers. A different section of IT assisted her with
technical problems, so she’d barely seen him at all during his one week at the office so far.

“Katy sent me a picture.” She pulled it up on the screen and showed it to Dean. Katy was smiling

and posing with two other female classmates in the picture. “I thought you’’d want to see.”

Dean’s smile stretched from ear to ear as he looked down. “Figures she’d have a bunch of friends

already.”

“Pretty good for her first day in a new school.” The handbag perched on the teen’s arm probably

helped. Victoria had shelled out way too much to get the hottest bag of the season as a treat for
herself, and apparently Katy had decided to borrow the bag for the first day of school. But the

boundaries talk would have to come later.

“Thanks for this, Victoria.” Dean softly kissed her forehead.
She smiled up at him, as his kisses pushed her into a stupid happy mood. “She’s a good kid.”

Victoria leaned into Dean’’s big body.

“You think she’s going to be okay?” Dean held her closer.
Victoria thought back to Nathaniel Farrell, who she’d ordered to stay away. Lord knew he was

probably the first of many men who Katy would have chasing after her. And Dean would probably
freak out if he knew just how much trouble he was in for.

She leaned back and smiled up at Dean. “I think that, whatever happens, we can handle it.”

~~THE END~~

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Thank you for reading Tempting The Boss.

Did you enjoy this book? Tell your friends on your favorite online book site or leave a review on

your favorite online bookseller. I appreciate your feedback.

Have you checked out the other books in the Billionaires in the City series?

When Emma Devereaux comes to New York determined to clear her family’s name, she gets help

from an unlikely source; Jace, the man who put Emma’s sister in prison to begin with.

TRUSTING THE BOSS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN JUNE 2015!

Document Outline

Contents
Tempting The Boss
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four

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