Diablo Blanco Club: Unfair Advantage by Qwillia Rain

her ass, Mattie finally gained enough leverage to free herself from his hold and move away. She didn’t bother trying to slap his face; she didn’t want to get that close again. The nasty gleam in his eyes made her take another few steps toward the door just as it opened.
    “Your four-thirty appointment—” Dana’s hazel eyes grew wide, Mattie assumed at her disheveled appearance.
    Taking the opportunity to move even farther away from Victor, she eased past Dana into the reception area. “Mr. Prommer was just leaving.”
    As he moved out of her office and toward the door leading into the hall, Victor smiled at her. “We’ll talk later.”
    “Not if you know what’s good for you,” Mattie snapped, but the self-satisfied grin and casual wave he sent her as he sauntered out the door reinforced her suspicion that he wasn’t taking her warnings seriously.
    “Are you okay?” Dana asked, concern in her gaze as she walked with Mattie toward the reception desk.
    “That man is a menace,” Mattie growled. Taking a tissue from the box on Dana’s desk and wiping at the smeared lipstick and dampness his kiss had left behind, she watched through the broad glass doors as Victor swaggered down the hall.
    “You should be careful around him,” Dana warned, handing her another tissue.
    Mattie looked at her, noting the concern in her gaze. “Is there something I should know?”
    Dana hesitated. “I’m not sure how true it is, but Frannie in records mentioned the way he tended to corner some of the interns working in the legal department.”
    “Has anyone filed a complaint?”
    “One of the women tried, but as soon as she mentioned going to personnel, she ended up transferred to the Charleston office.”
    As Mattie plucked another tissue from the container, she thought over who might have been behind the transfer, while grimacing at the distasteful moisture Victor’s kiss had left behind. “I just don’t get it.” Mattie wiped again at her mouth. “Why do they act like such cavemen?”
    * * *
    The man strutting down the hall toward him had Bryce’s hackles rising. There wasn’t anything overtly annoying about Victor Prommer, but his instincts had warned him to be wary of the younger man. Admittedly his brilliance in the legal department had some board members singing his praises, but it was the whispers that had gotten back to him, through the office and the Club, that had Bryce contemplating shortening the man’s employment with Halsey’s.
    “Mr. Halsey.” Victor nodded, a sly grin lifting his lips.
    Something in his blue eyes and the cocky swagger had Bryce paying close attention to his appearance. The smear of lipstick near the corner of his mouth, combined with the direction the lawyer was coming from, had Bryce reaching out to halt the other man. “Were you looking for me?”
    “No, just had a little…matter to discuss with Mattilda.” Victor smirked. Glancing at his watch, he added, “Gotta go. Have five-thirty dinner reservations. Don’t want to keep my date waiting.”
    Pointing to his mouth, Bryce suggested, “I’d take a minute to wipe my face if I were you.” The grin lifting his lips was meant to warn rather than show humor as he added, “I’d also watch the ‘matters’ you discuss with my assistant, Victor. Wouldn’t want them getting you into any trouble.”
    The heat flushing the younger man’s face and the narrow-eyed glare assured Bryce his warning had been interpreted correctly. Unconcerned with Victor’s response, he left the man sputtering in the hall and moved toward his office.
    Wiping at her smeared lipstick, he heard Mattie grumble. “Why do they act like such cavemen? It’s disgusting.” Tossing the used tissue in the trash, she added, “He even had the audacity to accuse me of dressing to turn him on!”
    Already suspicious about the subject of the tirade, Bryce closed the door leading into the reception area from the hall and asked, “What’s