Scandalous by Melanie Shawn Page A

business plan. This way, Red could see in black and white where she wanted to take Red Hot in the future. She hoped that seeing what good and capable hands he was leaving the business in would ease his mind a bit about letting it go.
    And, hell...if it gave her the extra edge? If it pushed him, even slightly, in the direction of selling to her and not Dominic? Well, that was just icing on the cake.
    As she walked into the rear entrance of the agency, she saw that the security system was already disarmed and realized that she wasn't alone. That had to be Raiza- she was always the first one in the office. She grimaced. Her feelings about running into Raiza were a mixed bag. On the one hand she wanted to see her BFF, just as she always did. But, on the other hand, she really did not need to deal with Raiza sussing out what had gone on between her and Dominic the night before, as she almost certainly would.
    At the thought of the previous night's adventures with Dominic, a dreamy smile replaced the grimace, spreading slowly across her face as she remembered all the things that his hands, his mouth, and (her personal favorite) his tongue had done to her.
    The man had a myriad of hidden depths and talents, both of which were making it very hard for Cristal to keep him at arm’s length.
    Knowing this assignment had a very real, and very imminent, ending date helped a little with that - but not as much as she might hope that it would. Even after they weren't living in the North Hollywood house together, they would still be working side by side. Even with her metaphorical arm stretched as far as it could go, she didn't think that the “arm's length” she could generate was going to be very effective. In short, she wouldn’t be able to keep the kind of distance she would need in order to keep her emotions firmly in check. That kind of distance required NO contact, regardless of how brief and innocent seeming.
    It had been difficult for her to get over the one night they had shared together almost two years ago, and move on with her life. It was difficult, but she had managed. She couldn't do it again! Not only was she still, in many ways, exhausted from the monumental effort she had had to expend to get over him that first time, but now there was another element in play. Getting over him when it had just been insane chemistry and hot sex was one thing - but getting over him now that he had opened up to her and actually showed he cared about her? Next to impossible.
    As she passed Dominic’s office, a thought occurred to her. Maybe she would get the space that she needed to maintain detachment, depending on what happened with the buy-out.
    There were only two real possibilities, as she saw it, and the outcome of either would change their dynamic.
    Although she did not want to entertain the possibility that Red would sell to Dominic, the logical part of her brain had to admit that it was, in fact, a very real possibility. Could Cristal stay on if Dominic was her boss? Probably, but she wouldn’t like it. The one (very tiny) upside would be that she would then have a valid ethical objection to raise about the two of them having a relationship.
    Then again, if Red made the right choice and sold to her...well, who knew what Dominic would do? He had always liked to win. Not only that, he did not seem to do well with authority. It was very likely that Dominic wouldn’t want to work under her.
    She smirked. No pun intended.
    The double entendre had an unexpected effect, however, and suddenly a flash of Dominic lying beneath her as she rode her way to sweet ecstasy had her knees going weak and a flush racing up her body. She still ached in all the right places, and if she closed her eyes...God, she could practically feel him inside of her.
    She let herself indulge in the flash of memory for only a moment before making her way down the short hall to Red’s office. He never got in before ten, so she knew that she would find it