be careful.
He had to admit he was attracted to her. He’d have to be dead or barely breathing not to be. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, but he was not going to cross that line. He could exercise some self-control for the duration of their thirty-minute meeting.
“So, your place or mine?” The flirtatious note was back in her voice.
But before he could answer, someone knocked and opened the door. “Sorry to bother you— Oh!” Steffi-Anne Bunting, the office manager, stuck her blond head in but stopped midsentence when she saw Zoe standing there.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked back and forth between Zoe and him.
“Do you need something, Steffi-Anne?” Joaquin asked.
“I was just, uh—” She pointed at a clipboard in her hand. “I just noticed that we don’t have your RSVP for the executive office trip to Cowboy Country. We leave this Thursday afternoon and we need a final head count. May I put you down as a yes?”
Steffi-Anne was another one who tended to pop into his office regularly. She could’ve emailed him about this. But since she was here now... “Actually, I sent my regrets last week. Didn’t you get it?”
“Yes,” Steffi-Anne said, “I got it, but—”
“You’re not going?” Zoe cried. “You have to go.”
Joaquin shook his head. “This is a team-building thing. I’m a temporary employee. I didn’t think it was appropriate.”
“It’s completely appropriate,” Steffi-Anne countered with a slightly condescending tone. “That’s why you were invited. That’s why I’m following up.”
The truth was he just wasn’t good at this rah-rah, team-building bull. It made him uncomfortable. No, uncomfortable wasn’t a strong enough word. It made him feel like a caged animal. And all he wanted to do when he felt backed into a corner was get the hell out.
He looked at the two attractive women standing in his office and knew that he should’ve loved the fact that they both seemed to take extra interest in him. There was a time not so long ago when he would’ve dated both of them. At the same time, as a matter of fact. He would’ve reveled in the game of juggling them both, along with various other women he might’ve kept up in the air right along with them.
Not anymore, though.
He’d learned the hard way that office romances usually led to disaster, and he knew damn good and well that toying with emotions was the fastest way to earn an express ticket to hell.
“I’m sure you’ll have a great time at Cowboy Country, but I have a lot of work to get done and a very short amount of time to accomplish it. So, thanks, but I’ll have to decline.”
“We’ll see about that.” Steffi-Anne’s smile was out of context with the edge in her voice.
“Stop pushing him,” Zoe said. “If he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t have to.”
Clutching the clipboard to her chest, Steffi-Anne put her free hand on her thin hip. “Look, Mr. Robinson wants every employee in the executive office to go on this Cowboy Country retreat. If it makes you feel any better, Joaquin, it’s for work. It’s not for fun. Heaven forbid anyone ever force you to have fun. I think you’ll want to clear your schedule.”
His gaze snared Zoe’s. Despite the way she’d defended him, there seemed to be something hopeful in her eyes. She’d be there, of course. Suddenly, the thought of attending the retreat seemed a lot more palatable.
The next afternoon Zoe positioned two cappuccinos, red plastic stirrers and various packets of sugar and artificial sweetener on the corner of her desk. She turned the cups just so, then walked over to her office door and looked at them from the angle of someone just entering the room.
“That looks too posed,” she murmured under her breath as she walked back to her desk.
Well, of course it did. “It is posed. Just be cool and casual about it.”
She picked up one of the paper cups and took a sip, making sure to leave a bright red lipstick imprint before setting it closer to her computer keyboard. That way it would look less formal. Not as if she was waiting for Joaquin to drink her coffee.
For good measure she returned the other cup and the condiments to the beverage carrier on the credenza behind her desk.
What if he didn’t like cappuccino? What if it looked too presumptuous that she’d bought him a coffee? What if she drove herself crazy with all this second-guessing?
She placed her hand on her breastbone. Her heart was thudding. She took in a steadying deep breath—going in through her nose, releasing it through her mouth.
This wasn’t a date, and it wasn’t as if she was delivering a coffee to his office out of the blue. He was helping her with the website. It was a nice gesture. Of course it didn’t seem presumptuous.
If he didn’t like coffee, she would simply give it to someone else.
“What are you looking at?” The sound of Joaquin’s deep voice made her jump. He was standing behind her, following her gaze with his own.
She turned to him with a sudden feeling of clarity. “You want to know the truth?”
“Of course.”
“I got you a cappuccino when I went out to get myself one, and I just realized I have no idea if you even like coffee. Do you?”
“I love it,” he said. “And, actually, I could use a shot of caffeine right now.”
Zoe gestured toward the credenza. “Well, there you go. At your service.”
As Joaquin helped himself to the lone cup in the holder, Zoe made a mental note that he didn’t add any sweeteners to his coffee.
Good to know. For future reference.
“Thanks for this.”
Joaquin took a long sip of his drink, set it on her desk and then proceeded to move one of her office chairs around to the other side of the desk so the two of them would be sitting side by side. She couldn’t help but notice how his biceps flexed and bunched under the short sleeve of his white polo shirt. The light color showcased the deep, bronzy tan of his skin and she had a sudden mental picture of him on South Beach in Miami in a pair of board shorts and nothing else. She’d gone there for spring break when she was in college. Too bad she hadn’t known him then.
It made her wonder about his life before coming to Robinson Tech. Had he dated a lot of women or did he have someone special?
“Shall we get started?” Joaquin gestured for her to sit. After she slid into her seat, he settled in next to her. He was close enough that she could smell the soap he’d used and the subtle herbal scent of his aftershave. She propped her elbow on the chair’s armrest and leaned closer, breathing in a little deeper, savoring the scent of him as he pulled
