Tender Loving Passion: Temptation and Lies

She walked through the front of the condo to the bedroom in the back. Even in the moonlight she could tell that the room was empty. She switched on the light and looked around.

The bed was still made. Absently, she put her purse down on top of the dresser and walked to the bathroom. Empty. Where was Steven?

She made an about-face, returned to the front of the apartment and went into the kitchen. That’s when she saw the note on the fridge.

She snatched it down and read it.

Hey, babe, decided at the last minute to have a boys’ night out. Hanging with Blake, Nick and Bernard. We’re celebrating one of the guys on the job’s birthday. Tried your cell. Went straight to voice mail. Don’t wait up. Luv ya.

She didn’t know whether to be relieved or pissed off. She took the note and tossed it in the trash. On the one hand, she didn’t have to explain her own late night. On the other, if she’d known that Steven would be late, she might have stayed longer. What did that mean?

She frowned, thinking of the note again...went straight to voice mail. Ohhh, of course. She’d turned her phone off in the event that Steven did call while she was with Michael. That way she wouldn’t have been caught in the uncomfortable position of talking to her current lover while her ex-lover listened to every word.

Well, at least this time she was off the explanation hook.

This time.

Mia retrieved her cell phone from her purse on the hall table and turned it back on. Sure enough, there were three missed calls. She dialed into her voice-mail service and listened.

The first message was from Steven, pretty much saying what the note did. The second call was from Danielle, checking in with her, and the third was from Ashley.

“I hope everything went okay. If you want to talk tomorrow, I’m here.”

She hit the delete code and pressed the phone to her chest.

Did it go okay? The minute she saw Michael, she’d lost control of her senses. She’d let him kiss her and she’d kissed him back. And what about her feelings when she realized that Steven wasn’t home and that if she had known he was going to be late she would have stayed longer?

Mia walked into the bedroom. Did all that equal okay? She caught a glimpse of herself in the oval mirror above the dresser. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear she could see Scarlet Woman plastered across her forehead. At the very least Guilty.

She stepped out of her shoes and put them in the rack in the closet.

She’d betrayed Steven. She’d betrayed their relationship. She massaged her temples. How could she have been so weak?

The sensation of that kiss snuck up on her and a sudden heat suffused her body.

Vigorously she shook her head. It was the first and the last time, she vowed. She had a job to do. Michael Burke was an assignment, and that was it. She was in love with Steven. And she could not allow herself to forget that ever again. No matter what.

With that determination at the forefront of her mind, she went to the closet, took out the shoe boxes and opened the panel where she kept her kit. Quickly she removed it.

Meticulously inventorying the contents, she removed the eye-shadow case, the pressed-powder compact and a tube of mascara. She would need all these items when she met Michael at his office. The eye shadow concealed a minirecording disk that could stick to any surface. The compact doubled as a camera, and the mascara was actually a memory stick that she would use to download files from his computer—if the opportunity presented itself. She put all these items in her tote bag.

Before Steven came home, she wanted to sync her PDA with Michael’s computer. Although he didn’t go to the Sag Harbor house often, he did mention that he used that computer for work. It was worth a shot.

Mia turned on her PDA and scrolled to the Find Me program that would allow her to look inside Michael’s computer, see his files and actually open them remotely. She keyed in the access code and after several moments the screen read that she was connected.

Her heart thumped in concert with the opening of the front door. Her head jerked up from the information in front of her.

“Mia!”

She took a quick look around to be sure she hadn’t left anything out, then turned the PDA off and dropped it in her tote. She darted into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

“Hey, babe,” he called out over the rush of water. “Sorry I’m so late.”

Mia peeled off her clothes, tossed them in a pile on the floor and ducked into the shower.

The bathroom door inched open and Steven stuck his head in. “Hey, sweetie, mind some company?”

Mia pulled the shower curtain partially back and smiled in greeting. “Love some.”

* * *

Later that night, as Mia lay curled in Steven’s embrace and their racing hearts had settled, she thought with alarm that it was the very first time that Steven had not satisfied her.

Chapter 7

Mia was totally distracted at work the following day and as hard as she tried she couldn’t concentrate on the monthly financial report. The numbers seemed to jump all over the page just to torment her.

Frustrated, she pushed the pages aside and stared blankly at the screen saver on her computer. She glanced up at the clock above her office door.

Still two hours before she was due to be at Michael’s office. Maybe she’d get lucky and not have to see him. But that, of course, would defeat the whole purpose of her going. She needed access to his office, his phone and his computer.

But what troubled her most was what had happened—or had not happened—last night between her and Steven. Not to mention this morning. She and Steven always had sex in the morning, and at the very least a stimulating touching and kissing session as they prepared for their day, leading to heightened anticipation at night.

But this morning she wasn’t in her usual playful, teasing mood, and although Steven had given her several long, lingering kisses, he didn’t pursue anything further.

Had he realized that she hadn’t climaxed last night? Did it bother him? Did he care? And then an awful thought leaped into her mind. Was he seeing someone else?

The sharp knock on her door jerked some sense into her. It was her own guilty conscience, she knew, that had her conjuring up dalliances about Steven. She shook her head.

“Come in.”

Ashley stepped through the doorway. “I worked out a preliminary plan for the boutique. If you want to take a look at it, I put it in New Projects on the shared drive.”

“Thanks.” She forced a smile but couldn’t look Ashley in the eye. She’d done everything short of taking in dirty laundry from a stranger to keep herself busy so that Ashley wouldn’t ask her about last night. For the better part of the morning, she’d been able to avoid her. Until now.

“I’ll, um, look at it, but I’m sure it’s fine.” She studied the first line of a memo she held in front of her as if it could block out reality and what she was certain was Ashley’s inquiring gaze.

“Look, I want you to know that it’s okay to talk to me and it’s okay to look at me. If you don’t want to discuss last night or our conversation yesterday—ever—it’s fine. Seriously.” She took a step closer. “I won’t judge you. I thought I was your friend. And I value the confidence you put in me.” She drew in a breath and stood straighter. “That’s my spiel for today.”

“I’m meeting him at his office today,” she blurted out and looked up at Ashley with something akin to fear in her eyes.

“Why?” she softly asked.

Mia curled her fingers into fists on her desk. “I have to.” She struggled with the words, the burning in her stomach.

Ashley frowned in confusion. “You. Mia Turner never had to do anything, especially something that she is obviously having an issue with.” She tentatively sat down, reached across the desk and put all the phone lines on hold. She turned to Mia. “If you want to talk, I’m listening. And there is no one to disturb us.” She waited.

Dozens of thoughts raced through Mia’s mind. Last night, seeing Michael again, the kiss, the sex with Steven, her guilt, her assignment, the Cartel, her oath. They all ran together until her head began to pound and panic seized her. Her life and emotions were suddenly out of control and she didn’t know how to handle it.