“I’m Leo,” he offered in a sugary tone that I recognized. It was the voice a man used when he was preparing to butter up a woman. Too bad for him I had been on the losing end of men all my life, which was why I steered clear of them.
“That’s nice,” I said.
He took a step toward me and his gaze dropped to scan my body again, leaving tingles on my skin. “I think we got off on the wrong foot here, Miss Levine.” Never taking his eyes from mine, he knelt down and picked up the candy dish. “Roman is expecting this,” he indicated the box in his other hand, “and me.”
“He’s not in,” I said again.
“I’m a bit early.” He shrugged. “But I can wait. Maybe you’d be willing to entertain me?”
My jaw dropped and my forehead hurt from how hard I was scowling at him.
“I’m not here to entertain anyone. Especially—”
“A delivery boy?” he said.
I glanced at my feet. I knew how people judged you based on your station or job in life. Which was exactly what I was doing to him.
I just needed to get out of this conversation and away from this man. Everything about him was bad news, and I didn’t have the patience to deal with it. Or the hot flush he sent rushing over my skin.
“Just leave it here, and I’ll make sure the governor gets it.”
“Alright, Miss Levine.” Leo set the box on Jean’s desk. “How about a kiss for all my trouble of coming in here only to have you send me away?”
My mouth dropped. This guy and hi
s ego needed a big check. “You’ve got to be kidding me? I’ve heard better lines from a—”
He handed me the candy dish, effectively cutting me off, and took a Hershey’s Kiss from the bowl.
“Oh…” My face flared hot, and I didn’t need a mirror to know how mortified I looked.
I put the candy dish on the desk, walked around it, and sat down. Partly because my legs were a bit shaky, and partly because the closer this guy was to me, the more I could smell him. Hot and delicious. It made me realize just how long it had been since I’d had a man.
Stupid body.
Stupid day.
“You’re kind of sexy when you’re irritated, Red.”
He winked, and I immediately went back to studying the computer. My defenses weren’t top-notch against charm like his.
“Come on. You have to admit that line was better than the kiss one.”
Who was this guy? Whoever he was, he had balls to hang around the governor’s office like he owned the place. Or at least as though he belonged—something I’d been trying to accomplish for the past several years with no such luck. But this guy? Two minutes here and he was right at home: confident, charismatic as hell, and with an easy charm that I desperately wanted in my life right now.
No. Scratch that. I wanted the life I had built. The life I had worked hard for. The life that proved I was better than where I’d come from. The life that he was currently distracting me from.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.
Never taking my attention from the screen, I said, “Working.”
He nodded. “Well, maybe when you’re done, there’s this great pub right down the street. Best hoagies in the city. They even have a sign that says so. I’d like to take you there.”
“You want to buy me a sandwich?”
Great. Just great.
Last night I’d been stood up by an accountant I had gone out with a few times. He’d made it obvious that his upper-middle-class life was more glamorous than I was.