The Appearance of Impropriety Read online

  The Horsemen

  The Appearance of Impropriety

  Victoria Rose Aldrich de Alvarez, high-powered Miami litigation attorney and international level dressage rider, has a flat tire on the Florida Turnpike on her way to the Wellington show grounds. She meets handsome polo player Zack Talbot when he stops to help her out.

  Zack and Tori hit it off in a big way and soon find themselves in a relationship that seems to have great promise. When Zack comes to realize that they might have a conflict of interest with regard to a case Tori is handling in which Zack’s company, Z-Tech, is the plaintiff, he knows he’s in for a rough ride. He has already developed feelings for her and is reluctant to confront the problem, hoping it will go away before Tori or her client, the unpleasant Mr. Green, learn of it.

  When Tori finds herself facing a malpractice suit and possible disbarment, can Zack salvage the situation? Can Tori forgive Zack and can they mend their relationship?

  Genre: Contemporary

  Length: 71,478 words

  THE APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY

  The Horsemen

  Skye Michaels

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

  THE APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY

  Copyright © 2013 by Skye Michaels

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-096-1

  First E-book Publication: June 2013

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of The Appearance of Impropriety by Skye Michaels from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Skye Michaels’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Michaels’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  For my parents, Hedy and Mike. Thanks for being there for me. You truly were the wind beneath my wings.

  With special thanks to Patricia Walker for her help in editing this book, and to my daughter, Jenni, The Goddess of Technology, for her continued help with Facebook and the technological side of this story as well as her help with the technical side of dressage. She’s a wonderful rider.

  If you would like to see a musical freestyle ride like the one performed by Tori and Rocky in this book, please search YouTube for videos of classical dressage and musical freestyle rides.

  THE APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY

  The Horsemen

  SKYE MICHAELS

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  The rays of the bright-red rising sun streamed through the glass walls of her corner office, blinding Tori as she stood overlooking the panoramic view spread before her. Or was it the tears streaming unheeded down her pale cheeks as the same rising sun threw the towering high-rise office buildings of the Miami skyline into stark relief? The sun-kissed white caps danced on the expanse of Biscayne Bay. Traffic was beginning to move across the causeways to Miami Beach in the distance.

  The million-dollar view didn’t register as Tori replayed a video of the past two months over and over in her head as she had done countless times through the long, dark night spent pacing the confines of her 40th floor corner office. How much longer would this be her office? The golden future she had worked so long and hard to carve out for herself was on the verge of crumbling in disgrace. Her stellar career as a litigator was in shambles.

  The loss of her parents at a young age, the grueling years in law school, the loss of her adored grandmother, and the bitter ashes of her failed marriage all paled in light of the disaster that had struck like lightning out of the blue. Such blue eyes…such lying eyes.

  Bewildered, hurt beyond words, betrayed, the possibility of suspension or disbarment looming—Tori couldn’t quite take it all in. It seemed so impossible. Victoria Rose Aldrich de Alvarez, rising star of the international Miami legal community, was on the verge of being disbarred. A letter of resignation from the law firm lay ready to be signed in the center of her cleared desk. She was awaiting the decision of the Bar Association Grievance Committee that would determine her professional future. She had no idea where she was going with her personal life. Zack. How could you have put me in this untenable position? Why didn’t I see it coming?

  Chapter Two

  Approximately two months earlier.

  Victoria Rose Aldrich de Alvarez reclined against the tan leather upholstery of her white Sierra pickup truck which was pulled to the side of the Florida Turnpike in southern Palm Beach County with a flat tire. Head tilted back, Tori covered her eyes with her forearm in the manner of a Victorian heroine who was being sorely tested.

  It was eight o’clock on a brisk and sunny Friday morning in early February. Her morning, however, had begun before sunrise many miles to the south. Tori, the senior litigation partner in the well-known Miami law firm of Barlowe, Cannon, Alvarez & Robertson, P.A. was on the road pursuing her greatest passion—dressage competition at the international level. At the moment, however, things were looking a little grim.

  The white, custom-designed three-horse slant-load trailer hitched to the pickup carried Tori’s 17-hand Dutch Warmblood stallion, Rachmaninoff, and his stall mate, Rosebud. How did this happen? She moaned to herself. In many years of pulling a horse trailer, Tori had never had an accident or roadside mishap. Good maintenance, a good plan, and good luck had paid off. Nonetheless, here she was, disabled on th
e side the road with her first ride time quickly approaching.

  Tori considered her options, but liked none of them. She could call for help, but waiting for the auto club to come and change her tire would most likely make her late for her first class of the day at the Global Dressage Festival horse show at Wellington, Florida. The twelve-week Winter Equestrian Festival was the premier event of the international winter horse show season. She could unload Rachmaninoff, tie him to the side of the trailer, and attempt to change the truck tire herself. She liked the idea of unloading Rocky on the busy Florida Turnpike even less than waiting for help. She wouldn’t even consider trying to change the tire with Rocky in the trailer. That would be a recipe for disaster.

  It was unlike Tori to be helpless. She was generally very much in control of her life, her environment, and her emotions. After the weekend horse show, Tori planned to head upstate to her farm in Ocala for some “R & R.” Since this was the first day of a much needed vacation, she had not brought a groom along. She was entirely on her own.

  As Tori was wallowing in self-pity and misery, muttering to herself about the “Rocky Horror Horse Show” this outing was turning into, she smelled an enticing masculine scent and felt a presence beside her. Slowly she lowered her arm and gazed into a pair of ice blue eyes framed by spiky black lashes and winged black brows. The stranger had a very suntanned, rugged face with a killer smile and deep, enticing dimples. Out of the corner of her eye, in her rearview mirror, she spied a black dually pickup pulled to the side of the road behind her rig. The very tall, muscular, dark-haired man wearing a black cowboy hat, well-worn denim jacket, and jeans leaned his forearms on the window, grinned, and said, “Can I be of some assistance here, ma’am?”

  “You can’t possibly be the good fairy…but you could be the answer to my prayers,” she replied with a grin, noting his masculine aura cautiously. “I’m competing in a horse show at The Stadium dressage annex show grounds in Wellington. I have to get there by eight thirty at the latest if I’m going to make my first class, and I don’t know what to do about the flat tire on my truck. I didn’t want to unload the trailer to change the tire.”

  “I could hook your trailer up to my truck and give you a lift if you like,” he answered, his killer dimples popping when he smiled. “If you drop the trailer and pull your truck out of the way, I can have it hitched up in a minute. We can change the tire later. I’m headed in that direction anyway, and we ‘horse people’ have to stick together, you know.”

  I think I’ve met the Marlboro Man. Tori looked into his eyes and instinctively knew he didn’t pose a danger to her, and making a snap decision in her usual manner, said, “Let’s do it!” She smiled up at him. “Hi. My name is Tori Aldrich.”

  She held her hand out with a look of inquiry as he replied, “Zack Talbot. Pleased to meet you.”

  Zack had the trailer unhitched and rehitched to his truck before Tori had time to get nervous about it. Hopefully, Rocky felt the same, she thought. It wouldn’t do to get him worked up with her first class at 9:48, a little more than an hour and a half away. She had to make it. Being more than ninety seconds late entering the arena for her freestyle ride would disqualify her, and they needed these points to qualify for the upcoming Pan American Games. Since Tori didn’t have the time to compete internationally, she had to make the most of the North American League events, particularly those held in Florida.

  As they pulled back onto the highway and she watched her truck recede in the rearview mirror, Tori wondered how she was going to get all of this straightened out. She tried to put the thought away and attempted to relax. It wouldn’t do for her to be tense during her ride. As they cruised up the Turnpike toward the Lake Worth Exit, Tori knew her anxiety was showing. Apparently wanting to distract her, Zack thoughtfully asked, “So what are you doing at the Winter Equestrian Festival?”

  “I’m showing my Warmblood, Rocky, in several Grand Prix classes over the weekend, including two kürs.”

  Zack glanced over at Tori with interest and inquired, “What’s a kür?”

  She smiled the cat-in-cream smile of the dressage enthusiast about to ensnare the uninitiated. “Actually, the simplest explanation is that it’s dancing on horseback—a freestyle dressage ride set to music. It can be done at any level, but we’re riding Grand Prix, the most advanced level. The rider has to incorporate all of the movements which would be required in a regular Grand Prix level ride, but there is no preordained order, hence, musical freestyle. It’s magic!”

  “Sound’s difficult. I don’t know very much about dressage, but I always thought it was a little prissy,” he replied, his sexy smile taking the sting out of the words. “I prefer watching the ‘balls-to-the-wall’ excitement of stadium jumping.”

  “Tell that to any of our U.S. Olympic team members. Rocky and I may be competing against some of them today as a matter of fact!” She gulped, her nerves resurfacing. “A full contingent of international riders as well as most of our Olympic team members will probably be at the show.”

  The FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, an annual event split between Palm Beach and Tampa during January through March, was the biggest show of the winter season. Riders and horses from all over the world competed there. She frowned and continued, “I should never have attempted to do this without a groom. I just thought that with only two rides a day I’d be able to handle it by myself. My trainer went to a wedding out of town, and I’m totally on my own this weekend. Rocky’s such a good boy, but there’s so much preparation and so many details, and the flat tire was just the icing on the cake. Sorry. I’m so nervous I’m babbling.”

  “I’m not a professional groom, but I could help out if you like. I do know which end of a horse is which. I play a little polo actually,” he offered with a self-deprecating grin.

  “That would be wonderful, but I couldn’t impose,” she replied. She was crestfallen. That would have been a godsend. I really could use the help, but it’s too much to ask.

  “It’s not an imposition. I think it would be fun,” he said with a chuckle. “Besides, I have some time to kill anyway.”

  “Twist my arm.” She grinned. “Seriously, I would really appreciate your help. Are you sure it’s okay? Grooming is not exactly the most glamorous job. It’s hard work.” Talk about the luck of the Irish! It seemed that this miraculous solution had just fallen into her lap.

  “I think I’m up to it. Besides, I could learn a thing or two about dressage and broaden my horizons.”

  “Great. It’s a deal.” She smiled. This is one handsome man— about forty, maybe forty-five. He looked like an outdoorsman. Looks like those jeans were made for him. Great legs!

  Zack knew where he was going, Tori noticed, as he turned on to Pierson Road and then shortly turned into the barn entrance of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center’s new dressage show grounds called the Equestrian Village.

  “Pull up behind that barn on the right. I have a stall reserved for the duration of the show, but I won’t have time to get Rocky settled in. I’ll have to change in the trailer. My first ride time is 9:48. I have less than an hour to saddle Rocky, change into my show clothes, and warm up.”

  * * * *

  Zack turned to Tori and said, “Just get changed. I’ll unload and groom the horse.” She sure is pretty. Hard to tell her age, mid to late thirties maybe. She’s a woman, not a girl, judging by the faint laugh lines around her eyes. As he prepared to unload Rocky, opening the various safety latches at the rear of the slant-load trailer, he peered into the interior and was surprised to find two inhabitants peering back at him with curious faces.

  One was very large, the other very small. The horse was huge—a glossy well-muscled mountain of a horse. He was almost white with what looked like gray-veined marble down his neck and over his hindquarters. His dark mane was tightly braided to the crest of his huge neck with black yarn and white tape. A dappled gray. What a beauty. He laughed out loud as he called to Tori, who was in the trailer’s
dressing room. “What do you want me to do with the goat?”

  “Just leave him in there. We don’t have time for his antics right now.”

  As Zack backed the big gray stallion out of the trailer, tied him to the side, and proceeded to groom and prepare him for saddling, he considered the woman in the dressing room of the horse trailer. Even in those gray sweats with her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, she’s a head turner. She was tall, but not lanky, generously curved in all the right places. Terrific green eyes and thick, shiny, honey-blonde hair streaked with sunshine.

  “What about tack? Where’s the saddle and the rest of your gear?”

  “It’s in here,” Tori replied as she stepped down from the dressing room of the trailer. Zack looked up. Tori stood before him transformed from a tall lady in baggy sweats and a ponytail to a tall, elegant woman in formal riding clothes. Her black, swallow-tailed shadbelly morning coat with yellow vest points was tailored to perfection. With it she wore a blinding white formal shirt, a stock perfectly tied and fastened with an antique pin, snow-white riding breeches that fit like a second skin, immaculately polished black custom-made knee-high riding boots, and snow-white gloves. Her long hair was French braided and tucked up neatly under a black top hat and she carried a long, black dressage whip with an engraved silver finial. She was stunning. He was speechless.

  “You look sensational.” Zack gulped. He couldn’t believe his eyes.