Tempting The Boss Read Free Page B

hair.” With that, the long, dark strands fell down and cascaded over her shoulders and just past the generous swell of her breasts.
    His jaw clenched, and Dean ripped his gaze away. Fuck. The woman was almost killed and he was checking her out? If she had a death wish, it wasn’t his problem.
    The thin red line along her neck was still visible, but much less noticeable now with her hair covering most of it. He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. Do whatever the hell you want. No skin off my back if a killer goes free.” He walked around her and stopped right before he was out of earshot. He looked over his shoulder at Victoria. “Unless he comes back.”
    Without acknowledging him, she turned and walked the opposite direction towards the bathroom. All he could do was stare at her retreating form. What the hell was wrong with that woman? On one hand, she was remarkably calm under pressure, which he could respect. But she was also the most idiotic person he’d ever met.
    Some crazy willing to strangle women was running around the city without a fucking care in the world thanks to her stubbornness. Even if she didn’t care about herself, that man was dangerous. If he had known that Victoria had a death wish, he would’ve left her on the floor while he kept on chasing the son of a bitch. But by the time it finally sunk in that she wasn’t going to do anything, the man could’ve been anywhere.
    He probably wasn’t a professional. Not that Dean knew a damn thing about professional assholes, but it had been a bit too easy to fight off the other man. He bet that if Victoria was better versed in self-defense, she could’ve managed to get away long enough to call for help.
    And help was only a short distance away. Why would someone attack her in such a public place?
     
    ~~~~~
     
    “What’s wrong?” asked Denise.
    Victoria put on her best poker face and turned to her assistant. “Nothing’s wrong. Aren’t you having a good time?”
    Denise smiled in the way that Victoria was so used to seeing when Denise knew Victoria was lying to herself. The biggest problem about Denise was also her best attribute. She knew Victoria inside and out. Victoria had to resist the urge to rub at her sore neck or Denise would ask too many questions.
    “I know you’re worried about your father. I’m sure he’s going to pull out of this and be even stronger than before, Vic.”
    Victoria bent her head and rubbed at her temples, which allowed even more of her hair to cover the bruise. Well, Denise was right about her being out of sorts, but a bit off on the reason. Probably the only benefit of someone trying to kill her was the fact that she’d hardly thought of her father in the past hour. “Do you think I should be there?” she asked quietly. “Instead of here, throwing a party, you know?”
    Denise set a comforting hand on her back and Victoria felt her first bit of relaxation all night. Her assistant had worked at the company for almost thirty years. When Victoria first took over the reins, Denise’s subtle advice had been invaluable. Her salt-and-pepper short hair, oversized glasses, and soft voice always made Victoria think of her more as a sweet relative than employee.
    Or maybe it was because Victoria was seriously short on sweet relatives.
    “Your father likes getting things done. When he wakes up, he’ll be grateful you weren’t at his side the entire time. The idea of not being as efficient as possible would upset him enough to give him another heart attack.”
    Victoria scoffed, her guilt leaving her completely. This is what her father would want. Fighting for the company he worked his ass off to build. It didn’t matter what her brother, Dean the handyman, or even her would-be assassin thought.
    Speaking of the handyman, he currently stood across the ballroom, talking intently to one of the event coordinators, Andre, but she hadn’t missed the constant looks in her direction. Damn it. Why couldn’t he just let