Tempting The Boss (16 page)

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.”