Come Away With Me (The Andrades) by Ruth Cardello Read Free Book Online

cutting off whatever Dream Gio would have said. She opened her eyes and answered the landline. The super-serious replacement security guard said, “Mr. Andrade has left the building. The cleaning staff is also gone for the night. That should be everyone. Have you seen any stragglers?”
    Julia sat up and straightened her shirt. “No,” she said. “I haven’t seen anyone.” She moved her purse completely off the desk so it was no longer blocking one of the screens. “But you’ll be the first to hear if I do.”
    The security guard hung up without further comment.
    Julia leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling. Stop daydreaming. Focus on what’s important and be grateful you still have a job.
    Remember why you’re in New York.
    Julia leaned down and pulled a magazine out of her purse. She flipped to the article that had inspired her purchase: “Visualizing Your Way to the Top.”
    A flash of how Gio would look beneath her, grinding upward into her while she threw her head back in abandon , warmed her cheeks. I have no problem visualizing it at all. That’s the problem.
    Julia dropped the magazine back into her bag and tried to focus on the monitors. Nothing unusual, but that was no surprise. She rubbed her tired eyes. Only five more hours until her shift was over.
    It’s going to be a long night.

     
     

Chapter Five
     
    The next evening Julia let out a sigh of relief at seeing familiar faces sitting at the security desk. She walked over to the front of their station and said, “You both look like you’re feeling better. I’m glad you’re back. Paul, I am so sorry about the other night.”
    Slightly older than Pa ul, Tom was the veteran on their security team and almost always a voice of reason. “It’s hard to believe either of you are still employed here. Can’t I take a day off without all hell breaking loose?”
    Paul shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “Hey, I was sick. If you’d been here, I wouldn’t have had to ask Julia to cover the desk, but you took the night off.”
    The two men bickered more like brothers than coworkers.
    Julia was moved to voice her apology again. “Paul, I feel awful about—”
    He waved her concern off. “Eh, don’t worry. I got a warning and a note in my file. Nothing big. How about you? Everyone has been tight -lipped about you actually attacking Mr. Andrade. What did you get?”
    Close enough to him that my nights have been filled with spicy dreams about him? Julia choked that honest answer back. “The same. I’m just glad it blew over.” Julia hitched her purse on her shoulder and said, “I guess I should get back there.”
    Paul interrupted. “Hey, you didn’t say what happened with your jewelry guy.”
    Tom said, “Paul, don’t make her say it. She would have told us if she had good news.”
    “Just because you’re married now doesn’t mean you suddenly have deeper insights into everyone with a vagina. Julia and I are friends. Don’t tell me how to talk to her.”
    “First, I don’t know a man who uses the word ‘vagina.’ Never say it again. Second, unlike you, I have sisters. You can make a woman cry if you bring up something she failed at. They’re sensitive.”
    “How do you know she failed? She may have nailed it.” Paul turned to Julia. “What happened?”
    She covered her eyes with one hand and groaned.
    Tom said, “See now you’ve upset her. I told you to drop it.”
    “Stop telling me what to do.”
    “Someone has to. You have the social skills of a gorilla and the vocabulary of an adolescent.”
    “Vagina. Vagina. Vagina.”
    “That’s really mature.”
    The banter of the two overly muscled security guards pulled Julia back from her inner pity party. She lowered her hand and half smiled. “Paul, you were right. The skirt was too short. He wasn’t interested in buying my jewelry. A total creep. And he was married.”
    Paul was on his feet in a heartbeat. “Did he touch you? You tell me where he lives and I’ll