A Calculated Seduction(3)
“Have a nice weekend, Dulcy,” she muttered as she shut off her computer.
* * * *
Ethan let loose an aggravated sigh and shoved his hand through his hair. Every day he inched a step closer to embarrassing himself.
He didn’t believe in fraternization with secretaries. Especially those under investigation.
And even though he knew it was a bad idea, he’d come close to asking Miss Menendez to dinner, to his bed. His dick jerked.
“And that’d be really sharp, MacMillan. Screwing your main suspect. ”
Never in his life had he felt this need to conquer a woman, to own her body and soul. He didn’t know what inspired such a reaction. Dulcy Menendez was a little mouse of a woman. She wasn’t small but she had dull brown hair, usually worn in a braid, dark brown eyes and glasses too big for her face. He couldn’t comprehend why his blood heated when she smiled her crooked smile.
He walked to his window and studied the landscape outside when he noticed Miss Menendez rushing out the door to her car. In three months, he’ d never detected a man in her life. Other than the man he suspected she was helping embezzle from MacMillan Boots.
After meeting her, with her innocent eyes and her quiet nature, he’d pegged her for a goody two shoes. He’d been so convinced she was a “nice girl”. Then Bill had taken him aside and told him she was a suspect. And Ethan, after years of investigating people when shown the things she did, was stunned. Completely flabbergasted she would do something like that. To make matters worse, he was attracted to her.
God, she was built just like he preferred his women. A decent amount on top but a nice round bottom, shaped like a pear. What he wouldn’t do to take that rear end in his hands.
He shifted his feet to ease the tightness in his pants while he watched her taillights as she drove out of the parking lot. At first, he thought his attraction stemmed from going without a woman for so long. It had been over a year since he broke off his engagement with Fiona. There hadn’t been a steady woman in his life since then. But he knew better. If that were the problem, he’d jump the first available woman. Other women didn’t interest him. Dulcinea Menendez did.
All he had to do was find out who she was working for. And he needed to do it before he jumped Miss Menendez’s bones. He shut down his computer and headed out for the evening. Long days of running figures and resisting that cute little body of hers were stressing him out. As he turned to lock the door, he noticed her briefcase sitting on the floor beside her desk.
He picked it up and placed it on the desk. Deciding he couldn’t let the opportunity pass him by, he compressed the buttons and was pleased to find it unlocked. He rifled through the few papers she had, but most of it had to do with her family. A snapshot was hung on one of the pockets with a paperclip. Miss Menendez stood next to a blonde-headed boy in a baseball uniform. Both wore huge grins. He flipped it over.
Richy and me, followed by a date last spring.
He recognized the boy from the photograph on her desk. Hmm, must be the stepsister’ s kid. He closed it up and bent to place it on the floor. He could take it to her. It was Friday evening and she might need something in the briefcase. Stopping by her apartment on the way home would be easy. It was on his way and he needed to check on her. It was just part of the job.
* * * *
Dulcy sighed when she pulled her sedan into her designate parking space after nine that night. She was tired, hot and starving. Gathering her purse, she turned to open her door. A slight movement caught her attention. She screamed before she recognized her downstairs neighbor. Her heart beat against her chest and she drew in a breath to slow it down.
“Maude!” Dulcy opened the door and got out. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“I was worried about you, sweetie. Getting home so late and all. ”
Dulcy smiled at the older woman. She’d been the first person to welcome Dulcy to their North Richland Hill apartment complex. Somewhere in her early sixties with short curly gray hair and bright blue eyes, Maude had moved in several years earlier after the death of her husband. With her children scattered across the country, she mothered Dulcy.
“You scared me half to death.” She headed for her studio apartment, which was directly above Maude’s bedroom. “I had to work late because Mr. MacMillan stayed late.”
Maude followed her up the stairs. “That doesn’t sound like Bill. ”
“Not Bill, Ethan. You know I’m working for him now. ” She jangled her key ring until she found her apartment key.