Tempting The Boss Read Free

sure as hell didn’’t fit in here.
    “I need to keep making the rounds, but I’ll make sure to let one of you know if anything comes up.”
    Dean stepped back and allowed her room to move past. “We’ll be around,” he assured her as she strode to a well-dressed couple who sat at a table behind him.
    “Hey Dean,” said Grace.
    He raised his brows. “Hmm?” he asked, still looking at Victoria.
    “Still worried about Katy?”
    He jerked around to stare at Grace. “No. Why?”
    A knowing smile covered her lips. “Didn’t think so.” She walked away and left him alone as he realized just how transparent he’’d been.
     
    ~~~~~
     
    Victoria flipped through the flashcards in her hands. Her heels were the only sound in the quiet hallway as she paced back and forth, trying to commit all her talking points to memory. Public speaking had never been her forte. Even at more informal parties like this.
    All she wanted to do was go up there and give a small speech about why her employees were so important and tell them everything they had all achieved together.
    But she also wanted to spotlight a few exemplary ones, and she didn’t want to say any names wrong or confuse any of the award winners. But, no matter what, she didn’t want to be that CEO who needed to look at flashcards to remember her employees.
    If she were walking down the hallway in her office, this wouldn’t be an issue at all. But once she was in front of a crowd, with her voice being the only sound in the room, suddenly her mind would go blank.
    “Focus,” she said to herself as she quickly went through her speech out loud. “Thank you so much for coming. Green & Sons is honored, blah, blah, blah. Joke about the Henderson surprise order last month. Segue into how it wouldn’t be possible without the hard workers. Then I—”
    A slight shuffling from behind her caught her attention, and she turned around. The hallway was well lit, and considering she stood at the end of it, there wasn’t any way for someone to sneak up. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’’t alone. Quickly, she hid the cards behind her back. How disingenuous would everyone think she was if they thought she couldn’t remember all her employees?
    Taking a deep breath, Victoria decided to head back to the ballroom. She was as ready as she’d ever be. Her presentation was scheduled to begin in fifteen minutes, so she could freshen up in the bathroom and check in with Grace once more before she went up.
    The man came from out of nowhere. One second she was completely alone, the next she was body slammed by someone wearing all black and shoved into the wall. Her head hit so hard it seemed to bounce off; pain shot through her body.
    Before she could catch her bearings, something small and tight wrapped around her throat. As her air was completely cut off, Victoria’s eyes widened. This wasn’t some drunk guy who couldn’t hold his liquor. He was strangling her.
    Whatever he was using, it was painfully cutting into her neck hard enough that it felt as though it must be cutting through the flesh. The abrupt attack, combined with the claustrophobia of being cut off from oxygen, set off a panic.
    As her assailant pulled harder, her feet lifted off the floor. She leaned back against him, trying to get even the slightest bit of air, as she turned her high heels into weapons. She kicked back as hard as possible. She wanted to elbow him too, but she couldn’t bring herself to let go of the bastard’s wrists, even knowing she wasn’t getting any air while holding on. Somehow she felt as though if she let go, he would pull hard enough to completely remove her head.
    Frantically, as her vision blurred, she kicked back even more. Black splotches appeared as the hallway disappeared. Shit. She was never going to make it…
    Her body crumpled to the ground. She was so unprepared, she didn’t get a chance to brace her fall. Luckily her shoulder hit before her head and