Chances Are Read online

  “I’m sorry about that. While the assistant manager’s position was slotted for termination, it was not scheduled for another week. As far as Newington terminating you, he had no authority to fire anyone. He is not a representative of Reynolds Bank, and his position at the time the merger was finalized no longer existed under the new bank.”

  “But I don’t understand. How could he fire me?”

  “He couldn’t. I confirmed he had been notified yesterday his position was phased out, effective immediately, and his exit interview with HR was scheduled today. I believe, instead, he showed up at your branch. He tried to ingratiate himself with the company, with me, by taking an initiative and demonstrating how he could be helpful to the new bank. He thought to impress us by firing people with the highest salaries to show how we could save money. He was wrong. That’s not the way the bank operates. That’s not the way I operate. I fired him again this morning, for the last time.”

  She unfolded her arms and began to relax, a little, allowing a small chuckle to escape. “I wish I could have seen that. I thought the guy was a little weasel.”

  Tal started to respond, but the waiter walked up to their table and filled their water glasses.

  “Can you give us another minute?” he asked. “We haven’t had a chance to look at the menu yet.”

  After the waiter moved off, Tal picked up the conversation. “Yeah, he is, but he’s gone now. I need you to come back to work. But, because of the misunderstanding and any inconvenience, take the rest of the week off. I’m going to spend most of the week meeting the employees and reading their personnel files. Next week when you get back, you and I will sit down and compare notes. We’ll come to a decision as to who may be worth keeping and reassigning to other branches, and who we’ll have to let go. My hope is to retain most of the employees. And those that have to be let go will be given a fair compensation package.”

  “Those aren’t easy decisions to make. I’m glad you don’t seem to be taking it lightly. It’s rare to see someone in your position take such a direct interest in his employees.”

  “No I’m not taking this lightly. It’s why I go over the personnel files of the employees of any bank I close down. You’ll find I take a hands-on approach to almost every aspect of my business. I don’t take anything lightly. Neither my work nor my play.”

  Kayla raised one eyebrow. Whoa, where’d that come from? One minute they’re talking business, the next there’s a definite shift. Not a hint of a smile appeared on his chiseled features, yet there was something in his expression she didn’t want to even attempt to interpret. But in truth, there had been a low current of awareness running between them ever since she sat down across from him, even earlier, since he helped her this morning.

  She wasn’t sure if she was ready to analyze any currents too closely yet. They could be dangerous to her general well being. Besides, it was never good to mix business and play, as he put it. She had to work with this man. At least until the bank closed. Even though her job was safe for now, it still wasn’t clear what was going to happen to her in the upcoming weeks. This thought prompted her to ask the obvious question.

  “What about me? How will I fit in the new organization?”

  “How would you like to fit in?”

  “Well, I know there are no other branch manager positions open in your banks. The manager in one of the other branches notified they were closing, already took the last branch manager position in your company. So where does this leave me?”

  “Obviously not as a branch manager. I had something else in mind.”

  Kayla paused. It wasn’t what he said, but the twinkle in those dark eyes when he said it. Were they still talking about business or something else? “What exactly did you have in mind?”

  Tal glanced past her shoulder, she turned and saw the waiter hovering. “Why don’t we order and while we’re waiting for the food, I’ll explain,” he offered.

  After they placed their order Tal placed his arms on the edge of the table and leaned forward. “I would like to move you up to work in the main office. You’ll be vice-president of branch management for all of the Virginia banks.”

  “What!”

  From the way his lips trembled slightly, she could swear he was holding back a grin. “Yes. That’s what I was really coming to talk to you about today,” he explained. “We’ve expanded quickly, but it’s become apparent we need someone to oversee all the branch managers. Problems arise that are dealt with differently depending on the management style. We’d like things to be more uniformly done.”

  “Wow!” Kayla took a sip from the glass of water in front of her. She was worried she would lose her voice. “Wow!” At the moment, it was all she seemed capable of saying.

  “I’m flattered and I know I deserve this.” She was a realist, and had worked hard to be where she was today. She had started first as a full-time bank teller during the day, while going to Georgetown University at night to get her degree in bank management, then working her way through the ranks. She had earned this.

  “Then if you accept,” he continued, “you can officially start next week and your new salary will kick in then. Which will be…” Taking a silver Monte Blanc ballpoint pen from his inside jacket pocket, and a business card, he wrote something on the card before passing it to her.

  Kayla glanced at the digits twice. “Oh my God! I do accept, and thank you.”

  “When you come into the main office next week, the HR people will let you know about all your other benefits. Most of which will change from what you currently have, but for the better. Now, let’s have a glass of wine to celebrate.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  After checking the wine list with her, Tal signaled the waiter over and ordered two glasses of their finer California cab sav. “I’d order a bottle of sparkling wine,” he explained, “but I’m driving, so one glass is all I allow myself.”

  “That’s very responsible of you. When I’m out, if I drink, I usually only have one glass with dinner myself, whether I’m driving or not.”

  Tal cocked his head to one side and stared at her. Kayla felt a distinctive shift in the current, which was now strongly humming between them.

  “Now that business is out of the way,” he began. “I have a personal question for you.”

  A little breathless, Kayla replied, “What?”

  “Are you married?”

  Kayla grinned. Hmm, he was getting personal. But how personal was he going to take this conversation? “Wait a minute, that’s not legal.”

  “I’m not asking as your employer, but as the man who bumped into you this morning.”

  Well, that was pretty direct. “No,” she replied.

  “Good. Neither am I. Are you in a relationship?”

  She frowned. “What does my status have to do with my working for you?”

  “Absolutely nothing. And right now we’re not talking about work. At the moment, I’m not in a relationship.”

  Kayla raised her eyebrows. “At the moment?”

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  “No. I’m not in a relationship.” Well that answered her question; he was getting very personal.

  Tal’s lips curled up.

  Kayla’s heart stopped. She heard the clang of metal and china meeting the floor behind her. She felt sorry for whoever dropped the tray. She wondered if it was because the man seated in front of her smiled, and the poor soul must have seen it. Such a facial feature made him downright dangerous. Kayla had to literally shake sense back into her head, and force herself to inhale so her heart would restart.

  “Look Tal. I don’t know what’s going on here, but if you and I are to work together, we have to get something straight.”

  Turning his smile down to a slightly less potent grin, he said, “Yes, we are going to work together. Just what is it you think we have to get straight?”

  Kayla floundered. In truth, he really hadn’t said anything for her to think he was serious
ly hitting on her. It was just the vibe she kept picking up from him. Maybe it was only on her part. He had the kind of looks that drew women to him. Maybe she was just picking up on those pheromones, and embellishing it with meaning he didn’t intend. Yeah right. Not bloody likely. She trusted her instincts.

  He sighed. “Look, let me be honest with you. When I first saw you this morning, I wanted to get to know you. I still want to get to know you. When you drove off in the cab, I memorized your address. I had every intention of finding you again.”

  “Why didn’t you say something then?”

  “Honestly, because I was a little stunned.”

  Kayla smiled. “Am I really supposed to believe this?”

  “It’s the truth. I’ll promise you one thing right now. I will never lie to you.”

  Tal looked directly into her eyes, and something about his demeanor told Kayla she might be able to believe him.

  “I was drawn to you from the moment I first saw you walk out of the bank,” he said. “And this has nothing to do with the bank. As far as I’m concerned, us, working together just means I get to spend more time with you.”

  He took her hand lying on the table and loosely held it in his, not at all restraining her. She could remove her hand, if she wanted to. She didn’t. Immediately, an electrical surge ran from where their hands touched, through all parts of her body. He looked at their joined, light and dark hands then back up at her. “See, I know you feel it too.”

  In slow motion, he raised her hand toward his mouth. Again, giving her plenty of time to withdraw. Again, she didn’t. While he seemed to give her control, she had none; it was all an illusion. She couldn’t have moved if the place had been on fire. What would it have mattered? She craved the heat.

  Tal didn’t just kiss her hand. Yes, his lips covered the back of it, but the brief swipe of his tongue against her skin had her body temperature spiking.

  The waiter approached the table with their dinner. Tal took his sweet time releasing her hand, and she was relieved to find her body parts capable of motion. Yet, she was slow to place her hand in her lap over her other one, which she had pressed against her inner thighs. After the waiter left, Tal picked up his chopsticks and tasted his appetizer of steamed calamari in a red Thai sauce. “This is delicious,” he said.

  When she still hadn’t moved to pick up her chopsticks, he stopped with his halfway to his mouth.

  “Here,” he said, “try this.” He reversed direction and placed his chopsticks in front of her month. She leaned forward, opening for him, accepting his offering. Like they were engaging in some sort of primitive ritual. The male providing for his female. It caused Kayla’s already overheated libido to go into overdrive. She was as liberated and independent as any twenty-first century woman, but what woman wouldn’t melt at this man offering her food.

  “You’re right,” she finally managed to reply. “It is good.” She could only return the favor. With her fingers, she picked up one of her two spring rolls and offered it to him. “Try this, tell me what you think.”

  Tal bit the roll in half and swirled his tongue around the tips of her fingers. “Hmm,” he moaned. “Exquisite.”

  Kayla took what was left of the roll and placed it in her mouth, sucking her fingers for good measure. Two could play this game. “Mmm,” she purred. “You’re right. It is exquisite.”

  Tal had a look of such intense concentration on his face Kayla almost got up and kissed him. He looked like a man in pain.

  In a voice laced with tension he asked, “Do you want to just skip dinner and go straight for dessert?”

  Uh-oh, too fast. “No,” Kayla stated shaking her head. What the hell had she been thinking playing with this man like that? She must be out of her ever-lovin-mind. “I’m hungry, besides we’re celebrating my promotion.”

  “Yes, yes, your promotion. But I was thinking more along the lines of us celebrating something else.”

  “Something else, like what?”

  “Like the fact I’ve found you.”

  The look in this man’s eyes spoke volumes. And her heart beat an answering rhythm against her chest wall. She wasn’t ready to listen to either. “Oh, you move fast don’t you? Let’s just finish dinner and then take it from there.”

  “When I see something I want, I do move fast.” She watched him take a deep breath. “Okay, we’ll finish dinner first.” He picked up his chopsticks again and started eating. “Tell me about yourself. I know your work history, but I want to know Kayla.”

  “As long as I get to ask a few questions of my own.”

  “Of course. But I have one right now though. Who’s the man on your voicemail?”

  Kayla smiled. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Did she hear the sound of jealousy in his voice? “That’s my cousin. Jared.”

  “Does he live with you?”

  “No, he lives in Florida. I live with my sister. She’s a lawyer at Stanson Houston. Why? Were you jealous?”

  One elegant eyebrow rose, giving her a rakish stare. “I didn’t want you to be involved with anyone.”

  “My, you are being honest.”

  “I told you I would be.”

  The waiter interrupted them again with the rest of their food. They talked all through dinner, and shared a dessert. She didn’t know what to make of Tal. Sure they were flirting outrageously with one another, but she wasn’t taking it all too seriously. She couldn’t.

  Tal was the kind of guy who would stop breathing before he stopped flirting, and only a dead woman turned to dust wouldn’t flirt back. All he had to do was crook his little finger at a female and she’d come running. Just look at the way she herself was reacting to him. Still, she could have fun with him without getting emotionally attached. Words of wisdom she kept telling herself throughout their meal.

  While they waited for the waiter to bring the bill, Tal surprised her. He laid a small white felt box on the table.

  Kayla stared at the box. “What’s this?” she asked.

  “I believe it belongs to you.”

  Kayla shook her head. “You shouldn’t have. I can’t accept this from you. We’ve just met, and for God’s sake, you’re my boss.”

  “It’s okay.” He pushed the box closer to her. “Go ahead and open it.”

  Like most self-respecting women, curiosity got the better of her. She opened the box. Nestled in the center was her gold earring. “Oh my God! I thought I’d lost it. Where did you find it?”

  “On the sidewalk in front of the bank. It must have fallen out when you were shoved.”

  “Thank you. It doesn’t have much monetary value, but it means the world to me. It was my grandmother’s. I didn’t even realize it was missing until I got dressed to meet you. I couldn’t find it anywhere in the house.” It was one of the few pieces of jewelry she and her sister had left belonging to their grandmother. Kayla’s mom gave Kayla the butterfly earrings and her sister, Nessa, the matching necklace when they turned eighteen. The pieces had always brought them luck.

  Kayla gazed into his beautiful eyes and caught a glimpse of who he really was. Already attracted to this man on a physical level, he showed her another side of himself, a caring thoughtful side. How much more could a girl take?

  He even paid for dinner with a black AMEX card. She’d never seen one, just heard of them. Most people didn’t even know it existed. There was no application for one of those things; membership was by invitation only. She’d heard all you had to do was spend over a hundred thousand dollars a year on a personal account. This man was so not in her league.

  Chapter Three

  It wasn’t a good idea to let him give her a ride home, and it was already much too late to change her mind. Besides, Talbert Reynolds the third was not the kind of man to take no for an answer.

  When she told him she had to catch a cab because her car was in the shop, he insisted on driving her home. She couldn’t complain too much, the man drove a Jaguar XK, the epitome of comfort and luxury in motion
. She slid into the oh-so-soft, cream-colored leather front seat, put her head back, and wanted to purr. Instead, she turned her head to look at her new boss, only to find his gaze already on her. The look he gave her caused her heart to slam against her chest. What kind of spell was he casting on her? Only when he turned away to concentrate on driving could she breathe again. It had been that way all night. What the hell kind of hold did he have on her?

  After having so much to talk about at dinner, they weren’t talking much during the twenty-minute drive to her house. She didn’t make the mistake of looking at him in such close quarters again. But she felt the tension emanating between them, every nerve ending on alert. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when they finally turned down her street.

  “Just turn into the driveway next to the silver Lexus,” she instructed.

  Tal pulled up beside the car and turned the engine off.

  “Oh, you don’t have to stop,” she added. “It’s okay. That’s my sister’s car. She must be home so you don’t have to worry about seeing me to the door. I’ll be fine.” Plus, she didn’t want to spend another minute in his company. She had only been playing with him earlier, to see how far she could go. To see how far he would go. They both had gone further than she had intended. What must he think of me? From her actions, she was a slut. She laughed silently at herself; nothing could be further from the truth.

  If he only knew. It had been two years since her last serious relationship. The break-up had been mutual; her ex, Dywane, had trust issues. Since he couldn’t trust himself around other women, he got it into his puny brain he couldn’t trust her. After a friend’s husband asked her to help him plan his wife’s birthday party, Dywane accused her of having an affair.

  She’d talked to the guy on the phone for two nights about the party, for all of fifteen minutes. Afterward, she’d walked in on him at his apartment with a waitress from a restaurant they’d eaten in a few nights before. She’d had enough. Since then even dates had been few and far between, but not from lack of offers. She just couldn’t get excited about any of the men she’d met. Until now.