Such a vast difference between the two men, yet… I instantly saw the similarities between them. Same larger-than-life presence and identical green eyes that were mesmerizing, even in a photograph.

“Do you know them?” I asked Lauren as I pulled myself away from the haunting photo, doing busywork by wiping down the counters and freshening up the coffee.

“Well, sort of,” she answered, stuffing her slim phone back into her jacket pocket. “I briefly went to high school with Jude before I ended up transferring. He would never have given me the time of day even if I’d stayed. I was horribly shy back then, and he seemed to be anything but.”

Although I’d just learned there was another Cavenaugh, I wasn’t nearly as interested in the younger version of Roman. I wanted more details on the original.

“And Roman? I mean, Mr. Cavenaugh,” I said, almost choking on my casual reference to his first name.

“Oh God, no,” she said, almost laughing out her response. “I mean, he’s hot, but he’s got the personality of a gerbil.”

Stirring the cream into my coffee, I turned. “You mean, he’s dumb?”

“No, not dumb. Maybe the gerbil reference wasn’t right. He walks around here like he’s got a giant stick up his ass, and he doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass about his employees. Oh! That’s better! He’s got the personality of a rat!”

“Hmm,” was all I could say in response.

I could tell she wasn’t thrilled, and she prattled on as we made our way back to my desk.

“You know the West Coast division? They have company picnics, Christmas parties, and even casual Fridays. I even heard Jude invites the employees to his house for dinner on occasion. Can you imagine? We tried to throw a baby shower for Bethany a few weeks ago, and the man yelled at us!”

“He actually yelled?” I asked, trying to picture the wealthy executive I worked for shouting at a bunch of women.

“Well, he might have raised his voice a little,” she amended as she walked toward the front of my desk and watched me take a seat. She still carried on with the conversation with no regard for who might hear.

Including the boss who sat on the opposite side of the wall.

“Well, it was nice getting to know you, Cara,” Lauren said after a moment. Her megawatt smile was back in place as she leaned over my desk. “If you’re ever up for lunch, I know a ton of great places nearby, and I’m always up for some new boss gossip,” she added with a wink.

I laughed nervously, briefly hating myself and my parents for raising one of those kids—the goody-two-shoes type who always had to stand up for the downtrodden… even if he happened to be the boss who’d hit on me while drunk off his ass.