Hurt Me So Good

"We have a spy," Victor Connagher said in a professional, measured tone. Despite the betrayal roiling inside him, the CEO of Dallas cable channel VCONN kept his emotions masked, when what he really wanted to do was slam his fist on the sleek table.

He paused the show playing on the large flat-screen television hung on the wall behind him. Secret Fantasies blazed in neon across the screen with the tagline "On the internet, any secret fantasy can be a dream come true".

"It's certainly no coincidence that KDSX is running a spot announcing a new show remarkably like our new fall lineup, down to the same idea of secret identities and baring all secrets online. What's the name of our show still in production?"

"Internet Secrets." Malinda Kannes bit off each word. Victor knew she'd take the news the hardest as the show's producer. "I'm sorry, Victor. We've kept the show very quiet, even inside VCONN. It had to be someone on my production staff or the show itself."

He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. Inside, though, he burned. He'd built VCONN up from a third-rate cable channel running Grandma's Cooking and Bob the Garage Guy to a smoldering, risque adult channel that everyone in Dallas tittered about--and tuned in eagerly each night to be shocked, appalled, and yes, aroused. Internet Secrets was supposed to be their premier fall show to conquer KDSX, their number one copycat competitor.

Evidently copycat wasn't good enough for them any longer; they had to steal his shows outright.

"Internet Secrets is scrapped," Victor announced.

Mal didn't argue, although two red blotches blazed on her cheeks.

He leaned forward and pinned each of his employees with his gaze one by one. Mal met his gaze evenly, but the others paled and dropped their gazes after just a few seconds of his intensity. Out of guilt? Or simple respect to the years of power he'd built here as CEO? He couldn't be sure.

"We need a new show," he said softly. "Only a handful of people will work on it. That way it'll be very easy for me to identify our spy." He couldn't help but smile then, even though he knew it betrayed the consummate businessman mask he wore. He'd relish punishing their leak with his own hands. "And we need this new show in production today."

"Luckily," Mal drawled, some of her ire at losing her pet project fading, "I have someone waiting outside to pitch her latest idea. I thought it was pretty hot myself, and the timing couldn't be better."

"Excellent. The rest of you are dismissed."

Unspoken, his distrust hung in the close, tight air of the conference room like a discordant note. VCONN was a small but prosperous company, and he hated not being able to trust his own employees. His gut protested that his management team was solid, but at this point, he couldn't risk it. He refused to throw away their fall season, even if he must hurt a few kind souls who were innocent.

However, his resolve weakened as soon as he saw the person who'd come to pitch the new show idea.

Shiloh Holmes shook Mal's hand and with a bright smile, turned to him. He felt the impact like a quarterback sacked from his blind spot. She was one of those people who managed to brighten up the room as soon as she entered. Literally, it felt as though someone had yanked open the blinds and let the Texas sun come pouring into the darkened, cavernous room.

From her very first interview at VCONN nearly a year ago, she'd reminded him of a purring, tawny kitten winding around his ankles. A kitten that simply begged him to pick her up by the scruff of her neck and carry her home. Meeting his gaze head on with a saucy little grin that tightened his groin, she took his hand and it was all he could do not to squeeze his fingers incrementally until she cried out.

I have a feeling it wouldn't be a whimper of pain, either--but a welcoming purr of desire.

He forced himself to release her and shot a dark gaze at Mal, who wore a particularly smug little smile. Frustrated, he reached back and jerked the ponytail holding his shoulder-length hair tighter. The CEO of the company could not come on to one of his employees without opening himself up for sexual harassment charges, let alone a boss with his particular proclivities.

Watching Shiloh set up her storyboards, he tried to pinpoint exactly what attracted him so strongly. It was more than her honey-brown hair that curled and bounced about her face, her dark chocolate eyes, and her lush, curvy body. She was attractive, yes, but he'd known or worked with many other beautiful women who'd never tempted him like she did.

No, it was the way she managed to meet his gaze directly, even with her head tilted slightly in come-hither shyness--or a position of unconscious surrender. Her bubbly personality was warm, open and charming, yet she also managed to throw down an unspoken challenge at him.

Try to break me. I can take whatever you give me.

Surrender and challenge at the same time--a dichotomy that compelled him to investigate. Clenching his jaws, he breathed deeply, forcing that thought away. She couldn't possibly know...

He read the title of her proposed show and caught himself tapping his fingers on his right thigh. Maybe she did know after all.