Fresh Temptation: Barboza Brothers, Book One (4 page)

“He must have been
confused about that
.”

“What about the rest? He’s
a total stranger, Mom! I hate to think what else you probably told
him.”

“He’s a charming young man
who’s taken an interest in you. You don’t need to be so
melodramatic
.”

“He hasn’t taken an
interest. He just feels guilty because his girlfriend got me fired
from Luna Lee the other night.”

“Well, he didn’t say
anything to me about having a girlfriend. It’s hard to imagine why
a man like him couldn’t have any woman he wants.
”

“Exactly.” She let out a
sad sigh.

“Don’t be so hard on
yourself. Give the guy a chance
.”

“Mom, it’s not like that.
He felt guilty and wanted to do a good deed. Don’t make it out to
be more than what it is.”

“Is this because of the
weight you’ve gained? Because I’ve always heard Mexicans like their
women a little bigger
.”

“Mom!” Mortified, Cara
glanced around the hallway as if someone could hear her mother’s
crude statement. “It’s a lot of things. A rich guy like him with a
single mom from Newark? It’s ridiculous.” As she finished her
sentence, she heard Isaac crying. She rushed into the room to tend
to him. “I gotta go, Mom.”

“Are they letting Isaac
come home today?”

“Don’t know yet.
Bye.”

As Cara soothed her aching
son, she shoved the thought of Victor Barboza to the back of her
mind. It was too silly to entertain for long.

* * *

Victor had one hand on the
wheel as he weaved through traffic on his way back to the office.
Usually, his office was his favorite place to be, but on this sunny
day he fantasized about taking a well-deserved day off, driving
outside the city. Maybe somewhere upstate. Someplace where the
grass was green and the air smelled fresh.

And he wanted someone to
share it with. His mind’s eye kept flashing back to Cara. Damn, she
looked even more beautiful with her hair down. Thick blond hair,
green eyes. The prettiest porcelain skin he’d ever laid eyes upon.
He had to find a reason to see her again.

Cara was so different from
the women he usually dated. She was hard-working and willing to
sacrifice for her child. The polar opposite of stuck-up princesses
like Alexis. No more of that for him. If their interrupted
engagement had taught Victor anything, it was how much he didn’t
want another woman like her.

Victor laughed at himself.
He heard his brother Ramon’s voice inside his head.
If any one of us is going to marry someone like
Mama, it’s you.

It was nothing to be
ashamed of. The Barboza brothers—Victor, Ramon, and
Armando—wouldn’t be where they were today without their mother’s
sacrifice. She worked three jobs so her sons could concentrate on
school. Unlike some of their friends who were already working the
farms outside of town by age eight.

It had been a long time
since the image of any woman had stuck with him like Cara Green.
And that included Alexis Whitt. Sure, Alexis was easy on the eyes
and she could hold a decent conversation. But Cara had fight. She
was willing to roll up her sleeves and do her best for her
son.

What if Alexis somehow
lost everything? And, God forbid she have a child. Alexis wouldn’t
know how to take care of herself, let alone another
person.

Cara deserved to be paid
back for her labor. Patty said she hadn’t seen her daughter go on a
single date since she moved in with her six months
earlier.

I need to find a way to
see her again
, Victor thought. He could
already tell from the fire in her eyes that she had pride. Just
like Mama. She didn’t want a handout.

But she at least needed a
better job.

He came to a stoplight and
took out his phone, where he’d made a few notes. Then he called his
assistant.

Gary’s tone was chipper as
usual. “Yes, Mr. Barboza?”

“Hey. I know I’m late for
a meeting but—”

“It’s okay. I rescheduled
everything for tomorrow like you requested.”

“Good. I need you to do
some research. Doyle Construction. Morristown. See if we have a
connection to anyone there.” He smiled. “They have an employee I
wanna steal.”

“What a long day.” Marcy
exhaled in relief as her foot hit the gas pedal. “Already feels
like it should be Friday, not Tuesday.”

Cara closed her eyes and
let her head fall back against the headrest. “Tell me about it. I
got a glass of cheap wine waiting for me after I make sure Isaac’s
okay.”

“Isn’t your mom taking
care of him?”

“Yeah, but she needs to
sleep. Last night we took turns waking up every couple of hours to
make sure he took his medication.” Cara yawned.

“Aw, the poor little guy.
You really didn’t need to come out and help me clean tonight. You
should’ve just stayed home with him.”

Cara was too tired to cry.
“I can’t. I need the money. Heck, I’m down a job now. I don’t know
how I’m gonna pay my cell phone bill this month.”

Marcy shook her head and
gave her friend’s knee a reassuring pat as she drove. “Let me know
if I can help. I can give you an advance on the money I’ll owe you
by the end of the month.”

“No, that’s okay.” Cara
would have accepted but she knew Marcy had financial struggles of
her own. “As long as the boss at my day job pays me on time, I
should be fine.”

A nervous chuckle escaped
Marcy’s throat. “Something isn’t right with that situation. I’ve
never heard of a company paying late and getting away with it for
so long.”

Cara sighed. “Trust me, I
know. But I need that job. I can’t exactly afford to ask
questions.”

“I heard one of the
offices we clean might have an opening soon. I’ll keep my ears open
for you.”

“Thanks.”

“So, what’s this about a
tall, dark, Latin stud paying you a visit yesterday?”

Cara’s eyes flew open and
she sat up straight. “What? Did Mom tell you about
that?”

Marcy giggled. “Yeah, when
I picked you up this evening. Said he dropped by the house driving
a car so fancy she’d never heard of it before.”

“Oh geez. It was
nothing.”

Marcy’s eyebrow lifted.
“Oh really? She said he paid you and Isaac a visit at the hospital
yesterday. When were you planning on telling me about
this?”

“Darn it!” Cara groaned.
“It’s nothing. He felt bad because his girlfriend got me
fired.”

“Oh really?” Marcy was
suddenly disappointed. “So he has a girlfriend?”

“Well, he says she’s not
but they were sitting together.” Cara huffed. “It was one of those
snobby fundraisers on the upper east side. I sure as heck won’t
miss those.”

“So, she’s not his
girlfriend?” There was a glimmer of hope in Marcy’s
tone.

“I see where you’re going
with this and I don’t have the energy for it right now.”

“Oh, come on, Cara. He
went to your house and then tracked you down at the hospital. This
is huge. I can’t believe you weren’t even gonna mention
it.”

“I told you, there’s
nothing to mention. He’s a rich guy who obviously has too much time
on his hands and guilt issues of some sort.”

“So? What kind of guy
drives from Manhattan to Newark because of a woman he’s just met?
Sounds like a dream to me.”

“Like I said, he has too
much time on his hands. He was probably bored from sitting around
and counting his money all day.”

“Oh, you are so
frustrating.” Marcy took her eyes from the road to gape at Cara for
a moment. “He could’ve just had some money sent to you. Or had a
gift sent to the hospital or whatever.” She could barely see Cara’s
face in the dark, but she thought she noticed a smirk when she
mentioned a gift. “What? Did he send you a gift? Bring you one in
person?”

Cara growled and stared up
at the ceiling. “He brought Isaac a gift.”

Marcy gasped. “What was
it?”

“It was
nothing.”

“Bullshit! What the heck
did he bring Isaac at the hospital?”

“A care package.” Cara’s
voice grew quiet. “A very nice care package.”

“Aw.” Marcy pouted. “I
wish I had a rich man to bring me a care package.” She chuckled. “I
wonder if there’s another package he’d rather give you
instead—”

Cara laughed. “Stop! I
can’t let myself think that way about him.”

“What? Maybe you should
call him and see what happens. You could use a good romp in the
bedroom. How long’s it been now? Let me think…you moved back here
six months ago…it had to be when you were living in
Chicago…”

“Stop. Please.” Cara tried
to stifle her groan. “It’s too depressing to think about. Besides,
you should see the woman he was with. Perfect in every
way.”

“Probably surgically
enhanced.”

Cara shrugged. “Yeah,
maybe. But what’s it matter? I mean, look at me? I’d have a better
shot with George the forklift operator who comes to the office just
to wink at me every chance he gets.”

Marcy slapped Cara’s leg.
“None of that talk. If you want, we can start working out before or
after work. That office building on Claremont has a gym they’d
probably let us use.”

“No way. I’m too tired
from working all day then cleaning offices with you every night. No
time.”

“Well, suit yourself. I
think you should give the hot rich man a go. Your mom said he gave
you his card and told you to,” she slowed her words, “call
anytime.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Marcy made her voice
deliberately sensual. “Yes, anytime. About anything you need.
Hello, Mr. Manhattan Heartthrob? Think you could spare an evening
to give my friend here some personal attention? It’s been so
long—”

“Stop!” Cara’s head shook.
“Why does your mind always go there? He was a nice guy. A
gentleman.” She paused to sigh. “And he could have any woman he
wants. I’m sure he keeps a whole slew of girls around to fill those
needs. Rich guy with a sports car. Yeah.” She snorted. “He has to
drive all the way to Newark to get laid. That’s
believable.”

“Maybe he doesn’t
need
to come to Newark.
Maybe he just wanted to. Maybe you made an impression.”

“Please, don’t.” Cara
closed her mouth to keep the words, “I don’t want to get my hopes
up,” from coming out.

“Okay. Well, no matter
what, you need to start making time for yourself. You do so much
for everyone else. We all just wanna see you happy.”

“I
am
happy.”

“You’d be happier if you’d
let handsome men be nice to you instead of running them off. He
gave you his card. You should give him a call.”

“Between Isaac and work,
when do I have time for that? I’m worn out in every
way.”

“Hmm. You don’t sound too
happy to me.”

“Okay, whatever. Maybe I
don’t have time for happy. Can we drop it now?”

* * *

“What the heck?” Cara
stared in disbelief at the chains around the door at Doyle
Construction. She pulled on the handle, trying to get inside. The
heavy chain rattled, but the door was locked tight. “What in the
world is this?” She squinted to look through the glass door. “Mr.
Doyle? You in there? You all right?”

With her heels digging
against the sidewalk, she tried again to pull the door open. Again,
the chains rattled.

She reached inside her
purse for her phone just as two men in suits walked around the
corner, meeting her at the front door.

“You work here?” One of
the men asked.

“Uh…” She
stammered.

“It’s okay. Don’t be
nervous. You’re not in trouble. Do you work here?”

She looked him in the eye.
“Yes.”

The other guy snorted.
“You don’t anymore. This is an IRS seizure.”

Cara gasped. “What do you
mean, I don’t work here anymore?”

“Your boss owes the IRS a
hefty sum in payroll taxes, ma’am.”

“Oh my God.” She looked
down at the chains. “So I can’t go back in there? At
all?”

“Nope. If you got some
personal stuff in your desk in there we can probably talk about it
but, for all intents and purposes, this business is shut down.” He
smirked. “Did you ever wonder why he paid you in cash?”

“Um…yeah. Was that not
allowed?” she asked.

The guys shared a look
then turned to her. One answered, “It’s not ideal. He thought he
was getting away with paying you under the table. Did he issue
check stubs that showed your withholding?”

Cara nodded. “Yes. Once a
month or so he’d give us all a statement. I thought it was legit.
Am I in trouble?”

“No. Doyle’s in
trouble.”