Falling for the Boss (2 page)

“Thomas, you’re late.  You were supposed to be here for an interview over a half hour ago.”

A deep voice replied a moment later.  “I’m sorry, something came up.”

“Well, I really think you should meet this…” Margie started, only to be cut off mid sentence. 

“I know,” the deep voice came back, followed by a
long
sigh.  “Listen, I’m late for another meeting.  Is this person any good?
  Can
he
or she
step in and take over the gaping hole in my staff?  I’m not really in the mood to talk to a ‘maybe’ candidate.
”

“Take a look at these
credentials
,” Margie said and
Victoria
pictured in her head Margie handing
the
tall
man her
resume
. 

There was a long period of silence, then the voice came back.  “This looks fine. 
Send her in.”

Margie appeared a moment later and motioned her through the double doors. 
Victoria
stood on shaking legs and followed Margie into the adjoining office.  Margie put the rest of
Victoria
’s file in the middle of a glass topped, mahogany desk, smiled reassuringly at
Victoria
, then left the room, leaving
Victoria
staring at the back of the tall man while he read through the rest of her resume. 

Victoria
took the time to look around the room, trying to find something to help her relax, something that might create a common bond with this intimidating man. 
The office was extremely large and fil
led with antique furniture. 
Victoria
sat down on the edge of a Louis IV chair and tried to
think of something to say that would start off the conversation and let him know that she was interested.  But her mind drew a blank each time she looked at his broad shoulders
. 

Staring out the side window, she was impressed with the view of the National Cathedral peeking through the tops of the lushly green trees.  
A plane passed overhead, but the room was so well insulated, she couldn’t even hear the engines or any of the traffic from the street below, although they were fifteen stories up. 

Victoria
could feel the man’s eyes on her so she looked up and was
surprised
at how handsome he was.  Weren’t men of his caliber old and fat? 
Or at least bald? 
There was definitely no fat on this tall man’s frame.  She slowly raised her eyes to his and immediately felt as if she had been shocked by an
electric current.  He had thick, dark
brown
hair
that was almost black
and dark blue eyes, firm lips and a straight jaw that seemed to be clenching for some reason. 

Victoria
tried to smile, but she wasn’t sure if she actually made it.  She placed her hands in her lap and swallowed, wishing she could stand up and run instead of having to sit here and endure his stare. 
Why in the world was he angry?
she thought.  He was the one that had allowed his schedule to get out of whack and put everyone else in a bind, including himself. 

Finally he spoke.  “Where were you born?” he asked
abruptly
.
  The question seemed to echo through the previously silent room. 

Of all the que
st
ions he could have asked her
that was not one
she expected
.  “I’m sorry?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in polite in
quiry,
sure she had misunderstood or misheard the question.

“Your birthplace.  Where was it?” he snapped out.

“I was born in
Massachusetts
,” she replied, surprised at how angry his tone was. 

“Where in
Massachusetts
?”

“Um…
Springfield
?
”

“You’re not sure?”
he
barked
.

“I’m sure,” she
snapped right back
, sitting up straighter in her chair
, her chin going up incrementally
.
  He might be gorgeous, but he was a complete jerk so far. 
No one had the right to be this rude upon a first meeting. 
Interviews were already filled with stress.  Adding to it by rudeness was just obnoxious. 
Victoria
considered standing up and leaving. 
  This seemed more like an interrogation than an interview.

“Then why the hesitation?”

Victoria
started to get mad.  Here eyebrows drew together and her
eyes flashed
.  “I’m wondering how this has any relevance on the position
under discussion
.”

Thomas watched the delicate beauty sitting in front of him and cursed to himself.  She was right.  Her birthplace had no relevance to the issue but he just couldn’t think of anything else to ask.  He couldn’t think much of anything. 
As soon as she’d walked through the door, it felt like someone had punched him in the stomach and he could hardly breathe. 
She was so damn beautiful!

And it was only getting worse now that she was angry. 
The eyes that had been a mossy green a moment ago
were
now
sparkling
emeralds
and there was a little bit of color in her cheeks, making the porcelain-like skin glow. 
He’d always thought the line about a woman becoming more beautiful when she was angry was just a line. 
Now he knew that it was more, so much more.  This woman definitely stirred him with her anger. 

She
was like a china doll
, perfectly sitting on the edge of the seat, her skin flawless, her thick, blond hair
primly knotted behind her head looked
like it would fall through his fingers like a caress. 
His mind told him to end the interview immediately because
there was no way she could join the team.  H
e knew he’d let her interfere with
the team’s
work.   In fact, he wanted to ask her if she’d go out to dinner with him
, among other things,
instead of
finishing the
interview
but he’d have to find some excuse to not hire her
first
so he’d better start interviewing her properly.

He smiled.  “You’re right
,” he thought quickly
. 
“
I’m sorry.  It is March
Madness
and Duke
is down at the halftime in the playoffs
so I’m a little frustrated,” Thomas said, referring to the Men’s NCAA championship tournament currently being played out all over the country. 

“Duke?” 
She was so amazed at how his smile transformed his face, she couldn’t grasp the message in his words.  His smile changed his face from incredibly handsome to devastatingly attractive. 

“Yes, the basketball team,” he said
patronizingly
, explaining his favorite team’s sport. 
He looked back down at her resume, dismissing the topic and trying to come up with another question to put to her so he could end this farce
of an interview
.

“You didn’t bet
on them, did you?” she asked, a small smile on her lips. 

He
glanced up from reading and
watched her eyes change
back
again to a soft, green glow.  He wasn’t sure if her eyes or her words were more intriguing
.
  Did this delicate beauty follow basketball?  It was not possible so he tried to dismiss the idea immediately.  But a niggling sensation remained and he had to find out if she knew anything about
his favorite sport
.  Leaning over his desk, he shook his head and explained,
“I put twenty dollars into the office pool, with them taking it all home.”

Victoria
smiled gently
.  “But why?”

Thomas blinked in astonishment. 
“Why?  Because they have a great team.” 
The pity he recognized in her eyes fascinated him.  He chided himself for liking the fact that she was pitying him.  What an idea!

He saw her shoulders visibly relax.  “They used to be a good team until their center broke his finger in the playoffs.  Now, they haven’t had the psychological edge the
tip off allows them.  Besides,
they aren’t versatile enough to go all the way this year.”

Thomas could only stare and shake his head. 
How could this
graceful
beauty disagree with him on basketball
?
  “But I went to Duke
,
”
he replied, as if that made all the difference in their playoff chances.

Victoria
shook her head in commiseration
, her eyes showing her
misfortune
for his
plight
.  “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” he asked,
pushing away from his desk
and coming around to the front
, hardly noticing the
polished
surface. 

Victoria
nodded
, crossing her hands over her knee,
“They need a better center and left guard.  I think they have some great players in the queue but you’ll have to wait a few more years for a championship contention.”

He smiled, fascinated. 
“Who are you betting on?”

Victoria
blushed.  “Oh, I never bet.  It makes me a little ill.  But if I were, I’d go for Gonzaga or
Oklahoma
State
.  They have shown definite resiliency over the past few games.”

Thomas was getting a whole different impression of the woman now. 

“So how
does my birthplace fit into the position?
”
she asked. 

Thomas laughed.  “I’m not sure it does anymore,” he said and glanced down at her resume.  “You’ve worked for your current company for over four years.  Why do you want to change?”

Victoria
smiled wistfully
, looking down at the luxurious carpeting in order to shield her eyes from his too perceptive gaze
.  “Well, this might be a little silly but being an accounta
n
t, I don’t get many opportunities
to travel the world
.  I want to travel and things get a little too hectic to take time off where I am currently.”

“Where would you like to go?” Thomas asked
softly
, putting her resume on the desk
behind him
and sitting down on the corner
, one leg draped over the side to swing below while the other balanced him
. 
He knew he was getting off track again but was fascinated by the woman and found himself wanting to know more about her personally rather than professionally. 

“Oh, anywhere,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and looking off into the distance as if she could see her dream vacation.  “
I was born in
Massachusetts
but I’ve lived here in
Washington
,
D.C
.
ever since my parents moved us here about twenty
five
years ago.”

“Why not just take a vacation?
  Why take a job that will have you traveling nine months out of the year.”

She nodded her agreement with his point but shrugged her shoulders slightly before answering,
“Well, I don’t think anyone really gets
to know a place until they live
there. 
And I guess working there would be the next best thing, right? 
If I only go someplace for a few days, I’ll only see the tourists traps.”