Siobhan’s heart stopped. He was even more handsome than when she’d last seen him. The image of him shirtless, wearing only his trousers and a half-lidded look of satisfaction was imprinted on her mind. Today he had the air of a man who’d taken care with his appearance. He was shaved and had a fresh haircut. His somber blue suit fit him like armor, giving an impression he had dressed for an important moment. A ceremony.
Or a burial.
Her jumble of sensual memories collided with harsh reality, sending a piercing sensation through her belly, one that was steely and sharp and locked her in place.
Her morbid inability to look away meant she watched him bend his head to kiss both of the woman’s cheeks with casual familiarity.
“My car should be waiting for you. I’ll see you later—”
He spotted Siobhan and stood at attention. His glare of astonishment traveled down the length of the corridor like a quaking force, crashing into her and knocking her breath from her lungs.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
Her heart was already thudding in guilt and horror. Now adrenaline leaked into her blood, urging her to run, but shecouldn’t move. She was frozen in shock. In repulsion at him and herself.
He wasmarried?
At that second, Oladele stepped from a door midway along the hall, arriving between them.
“Señor Valezquez,” she said politely. “Señora. It’s nice to see you.” Oladele followed the stark glare Joaquin had pinned on Siobhan. “Ah. No need to be alarmed. Siobhan is covering my assistant’s maternity leave. Siobhan, this is Joaquin Valezquez, our new president. Congratulations, señor.”
Siobhan was probably expected to say something similar. Maybe, “It’s nice to meet you.” She couldn’t speak. She wanted to die. She wanted to run from the building and never come back. She wanted to scream,Married? You’re married?
“You have a busy day ahead. I’ll leave you to it,” the woman in the green scarf said. She offered Siobhan a curious smile as she left to go home to theirchildren.
Oh, he was horrible. He was every bit as cold-blooded and manipulative as Gilbert in a completely different way. She was anidiot.
“Siobhan?” Oladele prompted. “I believe we’re meeting in the president’s office.” She looked to Joaquin for confirmation.
“I just need…” She couldn’t finish. Could barely speak. She dove through the door marked with the stenciled figure of a triangle with a dot on its point. Her behavior was deeply unprofessional, but this was a full-blown panic attack.
She had asked him if he was single and he had lied straight to her face before pulling her into an adulterous liaison.
Hot tears blinded her as she emptied her arms onto the vanity shelf beneath the mirror. She pushed into a stall where she leaned on the door, thinking she might throw up. She sat down, so lightheaded she was afraid she’d faint and knock herself cold on the porcelain.
“I—” Oladele sounded perplexed and took a step to follow Siobhan.
“When did you hire her?” Joaquin asked with acute suspicion, attention pinned to the lavatory door that had closed behind Siobhan.
“She started at the beginning of last week. Why? Do you know her?”
“I’m not sure,” he lied. Hell, yes, he knew her. His body had recognized her with a pulse of animal lust the second he glimpsed her, roaring in a way that nearly overshadowed his astonishment at seeing her here of all places. “Can I see her file?”
“Her credentials are excellent. She’s actually overqualified—”
He shot Oladele a look that had her pressing her lips into a line.
“But if that’s something you would like to review yourself, I’ll go to my desk and forward it,” she said mildly. “I don’t have access to those documents on my phone.”
“Thank you.”
At that moment, the board members began filing out of the meeting room.
Oladele moved into the sea of bodies flowing toward the elevator.
Still twitching with aggression from that volatile meeting, and now at this unexpected interloper, Joaquin kicked the stoppers out of the doors at the end of the corridor, closing it into privacy. Then he walked into the ladies’ room, checked that there was only one pair of feet in the stalls, and turned the lock on the main door.
“Siobhan.”
