Blueprint for Love (2 page)

“
Thank you for your time,
Mr. Romano.”

“
That’s it?” He looked
surprised the interview was over so soon.

“
Yes, as you can see, I’ve
got three more people to interview. It’s barely two p.m. I
interviewed double that amount before lunch.”

“
I see. Are you the final
decision-maker?”

Ronnie couldn’t explain the subtle
difference in Vic. Was it his tone? His firm-set jaw? The way his
full lips pressed together in agitation? Whatever it was, his
playful manner was gone. His stunning green eyes stared at her with
a serious gaze.

The truth was all hiring decisions were made
at her discretion, but she did like to run all potential applicants
by her sisters. Today, she would skip that step. Vic Romano had no
potential in this company. Besides, something told her having this
man around could be dangerous in more ways than one.

“
Yes, I am the final
decision-maker.” She gave him a tight smile to indicate she was not
the least bit intimidated. But she was.

He stood, and she couldn’t help but notice
the way his muscular thighs hugged his trousers. “When will I know
something?” he asked.

Ronnie wanted to squeeze her eyes shut to
block out the masculine image. She could imagine those thighs lying
between hers, driving powerfully into her. Vic Romano was all male,
all consuming. Yes, he was a danger—if only to her libido.

“
If you’re selected, we’ll
be in touch,” she said.

That was the answer she gave when she had no
intention of hiring someone. Her secretary, Olivia, would call and
give him the bad news.

She thought that was the end of it, but then
Vic turned and asked, “You don’t plan on hiring me, do you, Ms.
Jones?”

Her heartbeat stumbled in her chest. The
nerve of this man! “I never said that.”

“
You didn’t have to. The
look in your eyes told me all I need to know.”

“
You don’t know anything
about me, Mr. Romano.”

“
I know you don’t seem
like the type to give a man a second chance.”

Ronnie sat stone-faced at her desk. Vic had
pegged her correctly. She had high expectations of men. Her mother
had brought home plenty of losers. Some were bums. Others were just
plain ole criminals. Ronnie been forced to live with that for years
as a child. Now, she was a grown woman. She’d be damned if she’d be
forced to swallow it now. She kept her best professional demeanor
in place.

Who the hell did this guy think he was?
Demanding to know her decision now.

I don’t care how fine he is. I have my
limits!

“
Thank you for your brutal
honesty, Mr. Romano. If you don’t hear from someone in a few days,
it’s safe to assume we’ve selected another candidate.”

He dipped his head low, nodded in
acknowledgement and then he slipped through the open office
door.

Ronnie expelled a long breath. Good, he was
gone. She didn’t know why the man rattled her, but for some reason,
he did.

She reached for the intercom to buzz Olivia
when the woman sauntered through her door. With her five-inch heels
and short skirt, she looked like a supermodel—minus the ‘super.’
Olivia never did anything super.

Only half-assed.

But she was loyal to Ronnie and she worked
without complaint.

“
Good Lord!” Olivia
exclaimed. “Did you see the hunk who just left here?” She rolled
her eyes heavenward and licked her lips as though she were savoring
an all-day lollipop. “He is one prime piece of meat.”

Ronnie shook her head. “Girl, if you don’t
get out of here, drooling all over my wood floors.”

Olivia laughed, the bright red of her
lipstick revealing perfect, white teeth. “Seriously, Ronnie. Are
you telling me you didn’t think that guy was hot?”

Ronnie shook her finger at her secretary.
“Don’t open us up to a sexual harassment suit. It works both ways
you know?”

“
I didn’t say a word to
him, I swear. I was too busy picking my jaw up off the ground.
Please tell me we’re hiring him. Please, please.”

“
No. We are
definitely
not
hiring Vic Romano.”

“
Why?”

“
Because he’s not
qualified. And he has a record.”

“
So.”

“
So? Have you lost your
mind? We can’t have a felon working here.”

“
Everybody deserves a
second chance.”

Ronnie could have sworn Olivia had been
listening to her and Vic’s conversation. She would have to get that
intercom checked. Knowing Olivia’s nosey ass, she’d probably rigged
it so she could hear everything going on in this office.

“
Can you bring in the next
candidate, please? And start typing up Vic’s rejection
letter.”

“
Shit. I was looking
forward to personally giving him the New Employee Orientation.”
Olivia stroked her hips for emphasis.

Despite her irritation, Ronnie cracked a
grin. “Either you need to get out more often or your vibrator is
out of batteries. In either case, you are trippin’.” Ronnie
consulted her computer, indicating the conversation was over. “Next
candidate.”

Olivia pouted. “Fine. Back to your ‘business
as usual’ self. Oh,” she prompted on the way out the door, “don’t
forget Candace is giving her big speech tomorrow. You need to leave
here by six in order to make it to Miami Beach. And you still don’t
have a dress.”

Ronnie groaned. How could she forget about
the SBA Gala? Candace was being honored for Small Business
Association Woman of the Year. It was an incredible accomplishment,
especially given the fact that Three Sisters Construction had only
been officially operating for eighteen months. The family owed so
much of their success to Candace’s fiancé, Gabe, who’d been
instrumental in helping them grow from a fledgling company to a
respected corporation.

“
Thanks for the reminder.
I hate these social functions.”

“
I know. Thank God we have
Marlowe to take care of our public relations. You are such a
killjoy.”

Marlowe was Ronnie’s younger sister, who was
much more suited to working a crowd and talking people’s heads off.
Ronnie shrugged. “If wanting to curl up with a good book and a mug
of cappuccino instead of rubbing elbows with snobs all night is
being a killjoy, I’m guilty as charged.”

“
Admit it. You’re
anti-social.”

“
You know what would
really help me out?”

“
Why do I not want to hear
this?”

“
If you could pick up a
dress for me…”

“
Aw, hell no, Ronnie. I
have a date tonight. I don’t have time to go shopping for
you.”

“
You could do it on your
extended lunch break tomorrow.”

Olivia burst out laughing. “Well, when you
put it that way, I guess so.”

She sauntered out of the room. The strong
smell of her musk-scented perfume lingered behind. Ronnie wasn’t
sure which was more irritating, the smell of Olivia’s eau-du-toilet
bath or the image of Vic Romano burning in her mind.

Moments later, the intercom buzzed. “Edward
Miller is ready,” Olivia chirped.

“
Send him in,” Ronnie
answered.

Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief. Back to
business. She had a long day of interviews. She needed a crew for
an important upcoming job. The reputation of Three Sisters
Construction was on the line. She had to hire men above reproach.
She couldn’t afford to be distracted by a handsome face or a body
that made her think of the lonely nights she’d spent since her
husband, Frank’s death six years ago. She didn’t need Vic Romano as
a constant reminder of the passion she was missing in life. Thank
God, she would never see him again.

Dusk in Miami was a magical event. The sky
dipped low on the horizon, casting purple shadows on the skyline.
Ronnie had a condo by the beach and she loved watching the sunset.
She wished she were doing that now instead of driving her BMW on a
near-dark street. She should have given herself more time like
Olivia suggested, but today’s interviews hadn’t gone any better
than yesterday’s. She simply had to find the staff to complete her
crew. Three Sisters had contracted to start construction on an
outlet mall at the end of the week and she still had numerous slots
to fill, including the foreman position.

So far, none of the men
she interviewed had the skill set to match what she was looking
for. Well, that wasn’t totally true. There was one man. Vic Romano.
His
résumé
indicated he was more than prepared for the position. But it
was too late now. In fact, she’d told Olivia to send out his
rejection letter the same day he’d left her office.

She was beginning to wonder about the wisdom
of that decision. In light of her current predicament, perhaps she
should’ve just hired him. No, she would go with her original gut
feeling. Her intuition was always right. Romano was bad news.

She’d thought about him often since
yesterday. That, in itself, was an anomaly. She hadn’t been
attracted to any man in years. Well, she wasn’t exactly attracted
to Vic. She had urges. Urges she wouldn’t mind if he took care
of.

Girl, you don’t have time for urges. You are
too busy helping to run this business.

Besides, the last time she’d had an urge,
she’d sought comfort in the arms of a man she ended up marrying for
all of the wrong reasons. Nope, urges were definitely not good.

She steered her car along the dark road and
sped toward her destination. Normally, she did not speed, but
tonight called for her to put the pedal to the metal. She only had
thirty minutes to make it to her destination. Candace would have
her hide if she was late.

As if on cue, Ronnie’s cell phone rang. Her
heart practically leapt out of her chest, fearing she’d have to
make up an excuse to her sister. She was relieved to see her friend
Quatara’s number on the brightly lit display.

“
Where are you?” Quatara’s
panicked voice filled the line.

“
You sound like Candace,”
Ronnie chastised. “I’m on my way.”

“
We only have about twenty
minutes before Candace speaks. I’m getting antsy.”

“
You? I’m the one
introducing her to a crowd of three hundred people.”

“
More like
two-fifty.”

“
Great. The other fifty
were lucky enough to be able to stay home tonight.”

“
Whatever. All I know is
you better get your butt here in time.”

“
I’m on my way,” Ronnie
repeated. “You’d be proud of me. I’ll be wearing a stunning, black
beaded dress.”

“
Ooh, who’s the
designer?”

“
You know I don’t pay
attention to stuff like that.”

Ronnie heard Quatara smack her lips on the
other end of the line. “You had Olivia go shopping for you again,
didn’t you?”

“
Contrary to your
misconceived and judgmental opinion, I am capable of finding my own
dress.”

“
Yeah, right. Poor Olivia.
She has to take your calls, buy your clothes, and run your errands.
What next? It’s a wonder that woman doesn’t come over and cook for
you, too.”

“
That’s why they have
restaurants. If I didn’t eat out so much, how would those people
make a living?”

Ronnie avoided the kitchen at all costs. She
could barely boil water. She didn’t deny it. Last year, she’d even
thought about turning her kitchen into a home office. Quatara
nearly had a heart attack when she’d told her.

“
Hold on. Bud wants to
talk to you.”

Bud was Quatara’s husband. He was also a
good friend she’d gone to high school with. In fact, she’d met
Quatara through him.

“
Where you at?” Bud
demanded.

Oh, Lord. She didn’t need a lecture from
both of them. “I took a short cut.”

“
You and your short cuts.
Maybe you wouldn’t have had to do that if you would have left the
office on time.”

“
I know. I don’t need your
lecture.”

“
Trust me. Three Sisters
Construction is going to be okay if you take off an hour or two
early.”

“
Candace is putting a lot
of faith in me. I have to get these men hired for the
crew.”

“
Woman, you’d
better—”

Beep!

Ronnie glanced at her phone. The low battery
indicator was blinking.

“
I hate this phone,” she
complained. “It drains battery juice like a vampire sucking
blood.”

Bud laughed. “I told you to get a new phone.
You’ve had that dinosaur for too long.”

“
I meant to do it last
month when my wireless contract ended, but I’ve been too
busy.”

“
I hate to say this, but
you’re going to work yourself into an early grave.”

“
Don’t start with that
again, Bud. Put Quatara back on the phone.”

In seconds, Quatara was back on the line.
She picked up where Bud left off. “You are working too damn hard,
Ronnie. Your personal life is in need of some major reconstruction.
You haven’t had a date in years. And you don’t have any fun.”

Ronnie wished she could cover her ears, but
then she wouldn’t be able to drive with both hands.

“
I’m having fun tonight,”
Ronnie declared.