After a night of putting herself back together she was feeling stronger, until she had seen Rafael and it ticked her off. “Answer me this, if I hadn’t cried and lost my shit in front of you, would you have offered me the job?”
He laughed, the sound shot right to her stomach and it flipped a dozen times until he stopped. She was smiling, now too. Why, she didn’t know.
“Carrie, don’t you know for most prospective employers crying would take you out of the running for a job? Of course the answer is no because it was not until I was an asshole that you broke down and told me everything about yourself. What you had gone through, done, and were willing to do. Those are characteristics I respect and admire in an employee who will have the kind of access that will come with this position. Driving you home, you spoke of the kind of experience and long term employment and willingness to go above and beyond the basic requirements of your position, qualities I want in any employee. This isn’t a job given out of pity, this is business.”
His sincerity was clear, “Okay, then I accept.”
“Good, you have a half hour to get dressed. I’ll take you into the office and get you going with the new hire paperwork. The paperwork and basic training will take all morning, then I’ll take you to the building and you can start today. You’re going to hit the ground running.
Tonight you and the twins pack, tomorrow I’ll have movers come and collect your things to move you in. The cost of it will be considered a part of your compensation, I am willing to pay to put you in place as soon as possible.” His cell phone rang and he hesitated for only a moment before he answered.
Still slightly stunned at how quickly he had laid out how her life would change Carrie practically ran to her room to get dressed. Her hands were shaking as she flicked through her meagre selection on the rail. Damn it, she hadn’t been this size since she was in high school. The only clothes she had that fit were all from the thrift store and looked it. She had only one suit, purchased for interviews while she was in Austin, now it practically hung off of her. The property she had managed had a uniform so she didn’t have to dress up for it. Away from work she had never been into clothes preferring jeans and tee shirts or light long skirts and peasant tops. Deciding the suit was better than nothing, she frowned at how much give there was in the slacks. At least her camisole hugged her, the material designed to cling. Slipping on the jacket she groaned, she looked like a kid playing dress up. Buttoning the jacket, she sighed and went into the bathroom to freshen up and turned on her flat iron.
After washing her face she applied a light moisturizer then foundation, eyeliner and a light subtle lipstick. If the building was going to be high-class the makeup needed to be minimal, she had learned it the hard way. In Austin she hadn’t worn makeup in years, except for a lipstick or gloss but Dallas held a high standard on a person’s appearance. A spray to protect her hair from the heat of the iron and five minutes later her slight waves disappeared. Indecision hit her when it came to her perfume, she liked changing her perfume to match her mood or the day. Her vanity was cluttered with over a dozen different bottles. Then she saw it, Joy, it seemed fitting for the mood she was in now. It was the job, not Rafael that had her in that state. Who the fuck was she kidding? Mouthing the word liar as she sprayed it her wrists and behind each ear. Checking her purse, she made sure she had everything to fill out paperwork for today.
She could still hardly believe it, an amazing job and she was working for Rafael. Stop it, stop thinking of him like that. Don’t mess this day up, it was likely the last time she would see him for a while. He was putting her in a nice building to manage and he’d probably forget about her quickly because she wasn’t going to fuck this up. Maybe she’d see him a few times a year after she was settled in. Rubbing her stomach from the ache the thought caused she took a last glance in the mirror and opened the door of her bedroom.
Chapter Four
Rafael paced as he waited, not able to settle. Already she was getting back to fighting shape. When she’d asked him if he would have given her the job if she hadn’t cried he couldn’t believe it. He’d expected her to take the job without a murmur of anything but thanks. Not Carrie, she had questioned him and his motives. A smile came back at her refusal to accept the job without explanation, no one questioned him. Her question hadn’t annoyed him, instead laughter had escaped him. The laughter had surprised him, it was a rarity for him and only his family had the ability to make him laugh so freely. She wasn’t like any woman he’d encountered and it was appealing and downright scary if he allowed himself to think about it for too long. It had been agony to not accept her offer to come in when he had picked up the boys. Her face had fallen and he’d longed to pull her into his arms again. After having her in his arms just twice his body was hungry for more. Running a hand through his hair he shook his head, he needed to stop this. Last night had been too damn long, he had gotten only a few hours of sleep last night and those few hours had been filled with Carrie. In desperation, he’d rolled out of bed before the sun came up and worked out until he thought he would fall down.
His cell phone rang, damn it. “Benito, we are done discussing this shit.”
“Rafe there was no discussion, you just fucking came in and took over. I was handling it.”
“A week Benny, a fucking week you knew and left her in place to continue with what she was doing. I don’t give a shit you were trying to have her reports rerun and audited. You knew she had done something wrong. Fire her ass and then dig deeper before she has a
chance to bury it, the evidence of her crime was so blatant it’s a fucking embarrassment. That’s why all the buildings we own are now undergoing audits.
You were trying to cover up your fuck up, the same way you tried to cover up your decision to skimp on the drywall in the building last year which ended up costing the company more in a lawsuit. Do not make me do this over the phone. I told you I would be in later and we would discuss it.”
“This is a family company. Grandpa put me in the company and promoted me, he told you, he wanted me be involved.” Once again Benny was trying to hide behind their grandfather. Every time he fucked up he did it.
“Benny, Grandpa wants family in the company but the last fucking thing we need is another fuck up like my dad and your dad all over again. The last three years you have been given more responsibilities, with each one you have cost the company. I am done, I talked to Grandpa last night. You are out, completely out. I’m calling security as soon as we hang up and they will walk you out. Grandpa agreed to pay out three months as severance. It will be paid out tomorrow and that’s it.” Ending the call, he called his security and told them what needed to be done.
Rolling his neck he was angry, this was not how it was supposed to go. Damn Benny and his bullshit. His grandfather wasn’t going to like how he ended it but Benny wouldn’t stop pushing.
The door to her bedroom opened and he turned. Once again he was struck by how beautiful she was. Her hair so lightly blonde it was almost white, yesterday it had been curly and floated around her face, he had liked it and thought it fit her. Now it was straight and although he preferred the light curls, there was a glossy sheen to it that gave her the professional look expected from her position. She had an oval face with a wide brow, he hated it was already becoming lined with worry. Her nose was long and thin with the slightest tilt at the end. Her wide mouth was expressive and looked achingly soft. All of those things combined were appealing but it was her eyes that got to him. They were big and round and the most captivating blue he had ever seen. Her eyes were almost startling expressive, lightening and darkening with her mood and sometimes they sparkled like diamonds. The need to know how they would look at the moment when she came in his arms taunted him. Then there was her body, her body was pure sin. She was small and she had the kind of curves of an old-fashioned pop bottle. It angered him that she thought badly of herself. Her body was softly welcoming and led to fantasies of sinking into her for hours. Holding her had been as soothing to him as he knew it had been to her, for the first time he could see the appeal of simply holding a woman.
“Are you okay?” Concern was clear, her eyes went from sparkling to dark.
“Nothing, for you to worry about. Business and family don’t really mix, mi dulce.” Studying her, the clothes she was wearing were practically hanging off her. He knew he should let it go but he couldn’t. “Carrie, how much weight have you lost?”
Walking toward her, he could see her pants folded over. Her eyes went down and she folded her arms in protection. “Rafael, it’s not a big deal.”
Unbuttoning the blazer, he tugged and her arms opened, the garment nearly swum around her. “Carrie, answer the damn question. You didn’t lose the weight on purpose, did you?”
She backed away from him and closed the jacket. “A little over twenty pounds, I wasn’t trying but I should have been. I was fat, I’m still bigger than a woman should be. I’m hoping to continue losing weight only more controlled. Please drop it. I’ll buy new clothes soon, I promise, I won’t embarrass you.”
“How a woman should look is what feels good for her. Not every woman should be a size two. You are extremely attractive as you are. I don’t give a shit about you embarrassing me. It was the stress wasn’t it?” She nodded and kept her eyes down. Those little fuckers had to have seen how the stress was affecting her and they hadn’t done anything to alleviate it. Turning away before she saw just how angry he was, he walked out the front door. The twins were lucky he hadn’t known about this yesterday.
When she came to the car he opened her door, once she was in closed it, barely able to keep from slamming it. His fists clenched as he walked around to the driver’s seat. His cell rang as he started the car, it was Javier. He pulled out the Bluetooth from his pocket and settled it on his ear and answered the phone.
“Javier, I don’t want to hear it. I talked with Grandpa about it before I did it and he gave me the okay.” The Bluetooth was loud and he knew Carrie could hear the discussion.
“I’m not calling to complain, hermano, I’m calling to say thank god. What the hell took so long?”
“He’s family, you don’t fire family without just cause. Yeah, he’s had problems, Grandpa kept saying to give another chance. Grandpa thought as long as I was there to clean up the mess and it wasn’t so bad it couldn’t be fixed then let Benny stay. This Celeste thing was one too many for me. I told Grandpa I don’t have the time to be responsible for everything I’m already responsible for and running behind Benny to clean up after him.”