One Kind Desire: The One Kind Deed Series

By Christine DePetrillo

I'm hot. In places I shouldn't be hot. Not for Daniel Mariano.

 

Scoring a work trip back home to Vermont is a dream for Robin Sideris. Having to go with her sworn enemy Daniel Mariano is a nightmare. They've made careers of avoiding contact, but there's no steering clear of each other on this new assignment to a small town. Robin will find a way to get this job done so she can prove she's ready to be more than the company's statistics geek. All data suggests this trip isn't going to be easy, but she isn't going to let Daniel stand in the way of her career goals.

 

Even if he is a Roman god.

 

Daniel isn't thrilled with the prospect of spending an entire week with Robin for this assignment. All they've done at work is glare at each other and stay in their opposite corners of the office. It's totally his fault she hates him, but so what? Her number crunching keeps shooting down his new ideas for products. Is he supposed to be delighted to work with someone like that? Hell, no. This trip could mean a promotion though, so he'll suck it up and soldier through somehow.    

 

Can an eight-hour flight in too-close seats, the sharing of a cozy cabin, the discovery of common goals, and the electricity that shoots through Robin and Daniel every time they touch bring them success in work… and love?

 

Is one kind desire enough to turn animosity into attraction?

 

 

One Kind Desire is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, workplace, contemporary romance with a technology manager and a research assistant who have more in common than they think.

 

 

The One Kind Deed Series, contemporary romance
"The town, the people, the love story... a perfect romance."

Other Series by Christine DePetrillo
The Maple Leaf Series, contemporary romance
"Fears, pride, love, passion ~ beautifully woven together with substance and depth."

The Warrior Wolves Series, paranormal romance
"Full of memorable characters with a solid plot and plenty of passion."

The Shielded Series, sci-fi romance
"Great world-building, excellent emotional depth, and a great ending..."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christine DePetrillo
• Release date: Jun 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201256289

Book preview

Chapter One

Damn Elevator

Robin

My fingers fly over my keyboard as I polish my latest research notes for the report I owe my slimeball boss. I’d like to say I adhere to deadlines because it’s part of my innate personality, but actually it’s more to keep Doctor Jason Remeki from visiting my office at UltraSmart Ed. The way his beady eyes look me up and down from behind the lenses of his glasses gives me the willies every time, but so far all he’s done is look. I can ignore that—for now—as long as he keeps his hands to himself.

And as long as this job as his research assistant gets me closer to my goal of steering this digital educational company in a new direction. According to my research, the products companies such as UltraSmart Ed produce are in line with national and state teaching standards, but none of them are doing a good job at incorporating environmental education into their deliverables. Sure, they have a passing mention of Be Kind to Nature, but young citizens need more than that.

If they’re going to be tasked with saving the planet.

Which they are.

I’ve tried several times to talk to the founder of UltraSmart Ed, Stephen Bross, but I’m just a research assistant. Bross only listens to the head of research, aka my slimeball boss. If I can get my ass into the position of head of research, I might have a fighting chance at turning the tides here.

And Earth needs the tides to be turned. Any one single species not surviving in the future makes my eyes tear.

Damn. They’re tearing right now. I reach behind my desk and grab a tissue from the box on the shelf there. Dabbing at the corners of my eyes, I hope I haven’t ruined my makeup for the day.

Hey, hey, why are you crying, Robin? Stacey Garmon, my best friend and roommate, bustles into my office, a travel mug in her grip. She runs the corporate café in the UltraSmart Ed building, so I get special treatment of personally-delivered coffee every morning.

I wave a hand. My own thoughts made me cry. Again.

Stacey sets the travel mug on my desk and shakes her head. Save the monarchs, don’t pollute, and switch to organic farming practices?

I nod. If we don’t make changes today—

We won’t have a tomorrow, Stacey finishes. I know, I know. She arrows a hand at the travel mug. I splurged on the reusable travel mugs in the café thanks to your speeches, didn’t I?

I beam a smile up at her. You did. And the planet thanks you. I wrap my hands around the warm mug and inhale the rich scent of cinnamon before looking up at her again. And I thank you.

You’re welcome. Stacey sits in the chair on the other side of my desk. So... I rode the elevator up with Daniel.

I slowly lower the mug after taking a sip of the hot deliciousness and meet Stacey’s blue gaze. Condolences. Not the best way to start your day.

I don’t know, Robin. Stacey leans forward after glancing toward my open office door. That suit he’s wearing today fits him... really well. He’s so hot. She bites her bottom lip and shakes her head.

Daniel Mariano, technology manager for UltraSmart Ed, is hot. No one would argue otherwise. With black hair, rich brown eyes, a well-trimmed beard, a six-foot-three-ish athletic build usually encased in suits tailored to show off his... assets, and some form of a tattoo on his left arm I’ve never gotten to see fully, the man is a Roman god.

He is also a huge douche.

Your typical young executive playboy who absolutely knows he’s a Roman god, Daniel’s very presence in a room makes my teeth grind. His low, rumbly voice has this overblown authority to it that comes off as condescending. Every time he opens his mouth, I want to... well, I want to punch him in that perfect jaw of his.

I will never forget two years ago when I overheard him talking to Aaron Bross, the boss’s son and apparently Daniel’s bestie, at a table close to mine in the corporate cafeteria. I’d been enjoying my Asian noodles and veggies—man, had the cafeteria gotten the sauce just right that day—when I nearly choked on a mini corn cob.

The research department is a total joke, Daniel had said, a steak sandwich on the plate in front of him.

Stupid carnivore.

I know, Aaron had replied. My father puts too much stock in what those eggheads say. He passes every new idea that crosses his desk to the research department. If they don’t get data that approves it, he doesn’t okay it.

Which blows. Daniel had wiped his mouth with a napkin, and if I hadn’t been so insulted, I probably would have noticed that his full bottom lip was extremely... bite-worthy.

But I was insulted. And angry. So I didn’t notice. Not at all.

I get the need for research at times, Daniel had continued, but sometimes customers don’t know what they want until they see it in front of them. I’m tired of our ideas being knocked down by statistics geeks.

Statistics geeks? I’d nearly walked over to him and dumped my noodles in his lap, but what he’d said next had shocked me into a temporary paralysis.

And that research assistant... He’d snapped his fingers. Rhonda... or... Rosa...

Robin, Aaron had said.

Yeah, her. Daniel had pointed at Aaron. She looks as if she’s more qualified to handle lap dances than scientific data.

Aaron had laughed along with Daniel while something in my brain had short-circuited. Jolting out of the paralysis, I’d marched over there before my rational side could stop me.

For your information, lap dances can be scientific data, I’d announced.

Loudly.

The employees eating around us had stopped their munching to watch the spectacle.

Did you know that ovulating women make the highest lap-dancing tips? A few snickers from nearby diners—and the pink that had tinged Daniel’s and Aaron’s cheeks—had fueled me to elaborate. They average like $350 per shift as compared to menstruating women who average only about $180 per shift. Crazy, right?

I hadn’t waited for either of them to respond. Instead, I’d swiveled on my high heel and strode away. Four women at tables I’d passed had high-fived me as I’d retreated, but I hadn’t felt as if I’d won anything.

I’d felt belittled and unnecessary to the company I’d been working hard at for several years. I’d spent the rest of the day—and several months after—questioning whether I was pointless.

Honestly? I still question it some days.

Being hot, I begin, getting back to Stacey’s statement about Daniel, isn’t enough to erase the fact that he’s a mega-jerk.

Right. Stacey taps the edge of my desk then stands. Okay, then. I’ll see you at home later. Want to do chick flicks and ice cream sundaes tonight?

That brightens my mood after thinking about Daniel. Yes, please.

Okay. I’ll stop on the way home to get the necessary supplies. Stacey gestures to my laptop. Enjoy your number crunching.

You know I will. I give her a wave and turn my attention back to my screen. Slimeball boss, douche colleagues, and self-doubt aside, I do love my numbers. Gathering data from customers, calculating percentages, making graphs, and sharing it all in a nifty presentation gives me a high.

Does that make me a statistics geek? Probably.

I sift out a breath and dive back into my report, sipping from my coffee periodically, until a knock sounds at my office doorway.

Come in, I say without looking up. That’s a mistake.

Doctor Remeki—and yes, he insists on the formal address though we’ve spent years combing data together—sits in the chair across from me. His smile is more of a sneer, and my coffee swirls painfully in my gut.

I’m about to email the report to you. I glance at my phone to see I have twenty more minutes before the report is actually due.

Good, but I’m not here about the report, Doctor Remeki says.

There’s a big smear across one of the lenses on his glasses. It’s all I can focus on. How can he stand looking at the world through a dirty smudge like that?

What can I do for you then? I immediately regret the phrasing of my question when his blond brow arches over his right eye and his tongue darts out to wet his lips. It takes all my resolve not to full body shudder in front of him. The guy is a creep, but he’s still my boss, and I don’t want to piss him off with blatant rejection.

Not until I figure out how to make his job my job.

An awkward silence stretches between us. I can only imagine what he’s imagining, and I want it to stop right now.

Doctor Remeki? What are you here about if not my report?

He blinks, pulls off his glasses, and wipes the not-dirty lens on his shirt. When he puts his glasses back on, both lenses are streaked with some unknown substance now. The man is smart. I’ll give him that, but his hygienic practices need work.

Bross has called a meeting of all departments, Doctor Remeki says, checking his wristwatch. In thirty minutes, Conference Room 313.

I open my email and scan the inbox. I don’t have a meeting notification. And I’d hoped to work on a little side project of mine after I’d finished my report. How much of my day is this meeting going to consume?

He only emailed department heads, Doctor Remeki says, but he specifically asked me to bring you along.

Me? What for?

He shrugs. No idea. Maybe he’s got something research heavy to announce and he wants his Research Number One and Two to be informed.

I hate being Number Two. I want that Number One position in the worst way, but Doctor Remeki is this big, dirty-glasses wall in my path I can’t figure out how to scale.

Not yet, Stacey’s voice says in my mind. She’s always telling me that. It’s a good reminder. Everything I want isn’t mine... yet, but I’ll get there.

Somehow.

Okay, I say. I’ll be in Conference Room 313 in thirty minutes.

Doctor Remeki consults his wristwatch again. In twenty-eight minutes now.

Right. I silently command him to leave, and when he stands, I’m surprised he got the telepathic message.

Before he steps out into the hallway, he turns back to stare at me. Despite his soiled glasses, he sees something he likes because his pupils are huge.

That color looks nice on you. He points to my dress then disappears.

I glance down at the burgundy sheath dress I’ve worn today. Stacey had said the same about the color this morning when we ate breakfast together in our kitchen. It had been nice to hear that from my best friend, and frankly, it hadn’t been horrible to hear my boss say it either.

It’d be nice, however, to hear it from someone who I can snuggle up to at the end of the day. Someone who shares my dreams. Someone who enjoys wandering through nature on the weekends. Someone who can rock my body as well as my world.

But I don’t have time for that, do I? Not when I have a head of research position to poach and a planet to save through educating youngsters.

Maybe someday though.

I wrap up my report, email it to Doctor Remeki, then hit the staff bathroom before the mystery meeting. Catching sight of myself in the mirrored wall when I exit the stall, I have to agree. This color does look nice on me. My skin has a healthy San Francisco tan. The lights in the bathroom reflect off the auburn highlights in my straight, brown hair that falls about my shoulders. My green eyes are a little brighter because of this burgundy dress too. I make a mental note to buy more items in this shade as I wash my hands.

Grabbing my laptop from my office, I head to the elevator and step into it, pleased that it’s empty. I hate elevators. I hate crowded ones even more, but I’m not climbing three flights of stairs in these heels. Not after the bike ride and hike I’d taken yesterday on the Ecology Trail. My calves burn with each step today. They need time to chill.

I press the button for the third floor. The doors slide toward closing. With maybe two inches left before sealing me in for a peaceful, solitary ride, however, a set of fingers poke between the doors, making them open again.

What stands on the other side makes me wish I’d taken the damn stairs.

Chapter Two

Unwanted Assignment

Daniel

Fucking wonderful. I retract my fingers, but the elevator doors are already open. Robin Sideris standing inside the elevator looks about as happy as I feel right now.

She also looks goddamn sexy in that burgundy dress, all form-fitted to her toned body. I’ve walked behind her on too many occasions around the UltraSmart Ed offices, and trust me, nothing jiggles. She’s a sleek feline, all muscle.

And claws. Definitely claws.

I got an up-close-and-personal view of those claws a few years ago when she overheard me being a dick. But it was just guy talk, you know? Me blowing off steam after another brilliant idea of mine got shot down because there wasn’t enough data to justify its implementation.

Not enough data from the UltraSmart Ed research department where Robin makes her lair with that greasy, uber-nerd, Doctor Remeki. Like clean your glasses, dude, and iron your fucking shirt now and then.

In or out? Robin’s curt words make me focus back on her.

I squint at the time on my phone. Not enough time to take the stairs now so I step into the elevator.

Robin’s jaw ticks and her shoulders look tense as she hits the third floor button. She raises a dark eyebrow in question at me, her long, manicured fingers hovering over the button panel.

Third as well, I say.

She frowns as she lowers her hand to her side and the elevator doors seal us in. A laptop is clutched in her other hand. She holds it like a shield between us.

I take a few steps away and lean against the elevator wall to rest my ever-stiff left leg, but there isn’t much distance to be gained in this small elevator. I’m certain she feels the same because she’s tucked into the corner and studying her heels.

My gaze drops to her feet as well. The black, spiked heels she’s wearing make my cock stir, but I mentally shut that shit down with a single thought of her handing me my ass with a bunch of lap dance statistics. Publicly. In the cafeteria. I was the butt of lap dance jokes for weeks after her tirade.

Did I deserve it? Probably.

Still doesn’t make me want to be in the same space with Robin. Especially this cramped space. I’ve made it part of my mission to avoid her as much as possible. I believe she employs a similar strategy.

I’m not here to make friends anyway. I have Aaron, who has been my best friend since I was fifteen and my colleague since I started working here. We hang out all the time, and that’s all I need.

Well, actually, what I need is for Aaron’s father, Stephen Bross, the founder of UltraSmart Ed, to stop relying on the research department so much and start listening to what I propose. The products we make here are wonderful. No doubt. We get tons of glowing reviews in educational reports nationwide. Teachers love our resources and use them faithfully with their students.

But... the products could be so much better. UltraSmart Ed is also ignoring an entire market—the environmental education market. We have one, maybe two, resources that actually get teachers and students outside for learning. That’s not enough. Not even close.

My dad homeschooled me until high school age. He was a wildlife biologist and took me with him on every kind of nature adventure imaginable. My entire schooling revolved around the outdoors. From redwood forests to coral reefs to arctic ice shelves, I’ve experienced a sample of everything planet Earth has to offer. I loved this type of education.

I want other kids to have the chance to connect with nature as well. While I know it’s not feasible for parents or teachers to traipse across the globe with students, it is possible for them to get the information necessary to spark children’s interest in nature.

And if they’re interested, they’ll want to conserve nature as well.

I’ve got a billion ideas—and some actual prototypes—for the tech a company like UltraSmart Ed could provide that would achieve this goal.

But no one here wants to take a chance on any of these ideas. I glance to my left at Robin. She’s one of the no-chance-takers in the research department who stands in my way. I’d try talking to her about my ideas, but it’s too easy to remember those claws.

Not getting scratched again.

So my new plan is to get myself promoted from technology manager at UltraSmart Ed to technology director. I will earn more money. More money means I can start my own ed tech company whose primary mission is environmental education. I have more than enough ideas to do this. Now I need the funds.

That’s why I’m currently riding this elevator with a tiger to the third floor. By the way, aren’t elevators supposed to be fast? Why have I been on this one for a fucking eternity?

Robin lets out a huff from her corner. The ride is long to her too. Probably wouldn’t feel so long if we could have cordial workplace conversation, but it’s more than obvious there’s no chance of that. She hates my guts. I don’t especially like hers. End of story.

When the doors finally open, I motion for her to get off first because in addition to nature lessons, my dad taught me how to be polite. From the little wave of shock that passes across Robin’s face, she’s surprised I can be polite. Sure, she caught me being a jerk. Once. Doesn’t mean it’s a serious character flaw. In fact, ask anyone around the office, and they’ll tell you I’m super nice. I prefer animals over people, but I can be friendly when it counts. Getting into the tech director position counts, and schmoozing with the right people is a solid business strategy I frequently employ.

Turns out I probably should be schmoozing the research department if I want my ideas to be approved by the boss, but it’s too late for that. Bridge smashed, burned, and charred remains vacuumed away by one Robin Sideris.

I step off the elevator after Robin and command my eyes to not drink in the hypnotic sway of her hips as she strides to... fuck, Conference Room 313. Right where I’m headed too.

It’s my turn to release a huff.

Robin glances at me over her shoulder when I enter the room right behind her. Her green eyes narrow and that freckle on the left side of her upper lip rises as the beginnings of a bona-fide sneer attempt to take hold of her face. She schools her expression by the time her gaze meets mine. Her lips part, and I brace for whatever she’s about to say.

Instead she marches into the room, taking a seat beside Doctor Remeki who doesn’t bother to hide his ogling.

Rein it in, man. A look like the one on his face right now as he regards Robin could get a person terminated for harassment.

My fist curls without my say-so. I shake it out and choose a seat farthest away from Robin and Remeki. For all I know, the two of them do have a relationship. Maybe she enjoys him looking at her as if he wants to lick every inch of her skin.

Yo. Aaron flicks my arm with his hand as he sits next to me. Where were you this morning?

Oh, shit, man. I pinch the bridge of my nose, that elevator ride in Robin’s frosty aura having given me a headache. I totally forgot about meeting you.

Real nice. Forgetting about your best friend and dodging a killer workout. My trainer is a beast. I’ll be able to bench press a car by the time he’s done with me. Aaron flicks my arm again. You missed out.

Sorry. I got wrapped up in something. Something like coding an interactive game to teach kids about marine health. I used real footage of the ocean and the simulation is so lifelike. Students will feel as if they are actually swimming with the marine life. I can’t work on that stuff during my work day so I cram it into every available moment I have at home.

Well, I’m going again tomorrow if you want to come and not totally hurt my feelings. Aaron pours a glass of water for me and one for himself, making me feel guilty that he thought of me when I obviously forgot about him this morning.

Sure, yes. I’ll be there tomorrow, man. I was genuinely curious if Aaron’s trainer had anything to help with my leg stiffness.

Aaron pokes my biceps. Good. This feels a little soft. You’d better ask my trainer to focus on upper arms.

I give him a little shove. Fuck you, I say under my breath, making him chuckle.

Aaron’s father strides into the room with all the confidence of a man that owns a nationally successful technology company. I admire the man. I do. I just wish he was more open to products that would change education for the better. I don’t actually want to start my own company. I’m more of an ideas man. It’d be great to funnel my products out to the world under the umbrella of a recognized company name rather than start from scratch, but I’ll do whatever it takes. Mother Earth needs me to. My entire upbringing with my dad needs me to.

As Stephen makes his way to the head of the rectangular conference table, my gaze skims over to where Robin is. She’s leaning away from Remeki in her seat, telling me the two of them don’t have a romantic