Page 19 of Business Temptations

As Bailey observed the silent exchange between the stranger and Mandy, she couldn't help but feel a surge of tension crackling in the air. The intensity in the stranger's eyes was unmistakable, his gaze locked in a silent challenge with Mandy's defiant stare. Bailey fought to suppress a smile, her lips twitching with amusement at the unspoken confrontation unfolding before her.

Glancing up at Matteo, Bailey saw the reflection of her own intrigue mirrored in his eyes. The atmosphere around them seemed to thicken with anticipation, each heartbeat echoing with a sense of foreboding. It was as if they were standing on the precipice of something momentous, a clash of wills that threatened to engulf them all.

Unspoken words hung heavy in the air between them, a silent dialogue that spoke volumes. Bailey could feel the tension coiling tightly within her, a knot of apprehension and curiosity that refused to be ignored. And as she exchanged a meaningful glance with Matteo, she knew that they were both acutely aware of the brewing storm on the horizon, a storm that threatened to engulf them all in its wake.

She felt a tremor of…something indefinable pass between herself and Matteo, but Bailey quickly looked away. When she looked up, Clarissa and Kennedi were watching her – and Matteo! What in the world? Why did her friends look so smug?

“Ignore them, querido,” Matteo muttered in her ear. And just like that…poof! Her concerns disappeared. What was it about his deep, sexy voice and any uttered words in his lilting accent that made her concerns disappear?

Chapter 3

Martha arrived first, immediately pulling out food. She was known for her decadent muffins and seemed to always have batter in the freezer, a mystery Bailey couldn't solve. As everyone gathered around Clarissa and Levi’s large farmhouse island, with warm muffins and both tea and coffee brewing, Bailey felt like she was in heaven.

“Martha, these are the best muffins I’ve ever had!” Bailey whispered, awestruck by the cranberry-lemon combination. Because they were right out of the oven, the butter melted into the muffin halves, making the treat even more scrumptious!

Martha glowed at the compliment. The older woman loved watching people enjoy her food. She’d graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, the premier culinary school in the United States, when she was younger, and cooking was her passion.

While everyone filled their bellies with Martha’s excellent cooking, Tim paced along the expanse of the large kitchen. The stranger, the sheik, stood back from everyone, watching the people sitting around the island as if he were confused by the camaraderie.

Mandy plunked another muffin onto her plate and shot a glare across the kitchen at the stranger. “The new guy is confused,” she announced with a challenging look at the man. “He’s probably never been inside a kitchen before.”

There was another intense glaring match between the two combatants until Tim sighed. “Zahir has been inside of a kitchen before, Mandy,” he assured her, bracing his hands on his hips. “He’s just never seen a large group of people who are so trusting of each other.”

There was a grunt and Bailey assumed that the sound came from Zahir.

“Have a muffin and take a seat,” Kennedi called out, grabbing one of the small plates off of the stack that Martha had set in the middle and sliding it across the island countertop. The man’s quick reflexes caught the plate and, carefully, almost as if he worried the stool might explode, sat down. The basket of muffins was passed to the man and he eyed them for several moments, then selected a raspberry-white chocolate muffin.

“Can we get down to business?” Tim snapped.

“Go ahead,” Levi replied, then took a bite of a muffin top.

Everyone turned to look at Tim, waiting for an explanation.

“Someone broke into my lab this week,” he began. “Also, a few days ago, there was an attempt to bypass the security system. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, assuming that it was just one of the staff members who’d worked the entry locks incorrectly.”

“Why would you assume that?” Matteo asked, obviously concerned.

Tim’s jaw clenched for a moment, then he said, “Because that’s exactly how it looked on the login report. As soon as I noticed the breach, I spoke to our security guys. They looked through the reports and that’s the conclusion that they came to as well.”

“Did they review the video?”

Tim nodded. “Yeah, and at the time of the login anomaly, no one came in or left my lab.”

“But you think there’s a connection between the attempt to bypass the security system and the break-in?” Bailey asked.

He nodded sharply, then pointed his chin towards Zahir. “He and I were roommates at university. He studied economics and political science, with a minor in chemistry. He was in a few of my freshman and sophomore classes.”

“They don’t need the whole history of our friendship,” Zahir replied, almost bored now, but he’d finished his muffin and was considering another.

Tim chuckled. “I know that you value your privacy, but everyone in this room needs to understand why you’re here. Why you can, and should be, trusted.”

The man lifted his dark eyes from the basket of muffins and looked at Tim with incredulity. “That’s a new one,” he muttered.

Tim laughed again. He turned to the others and explained, “Zahir doesn’t trust easily either. He doesn’t know your histories, so he isn’t aware of the struggles that we have endured to get to this place.”

“I know the history of everyone in this room,” Zahir argued. His dark eyes moved around the island, only pausing when his gaze clashed with Mandy’s again. “And I respect each and every one of you for what you’ve gone through to become a success.” He then turned to Tim again. “Should I continue?”

Tim nodded in agreement. “Go for it.”

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