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Zara sat at her desk, staring blankly at the spreadsheets on her screen. Anyone who saw her might well have thought she was focused on her work. And she was focused. But not on numbers. Her mind was back at the cinema, in the moment that kept replaying in her head. Tess. The kiss.

She hadn’t meant for it to happen. She’d tried so hard to be sensible. And then Tess was in front of her, and it was like she couldn’t not do it. She couldn’t not touch her. She couldn’t not kiss her. She couldn’t not run her hands all over her…

Zara shook her head, willing the thoughts away. No one knows. No one can ever know. Her skin prickled with the irrational sense that everyone around her could somehow see inside her mind. Every time a colleague walked past her office, Zara tensed.

Her fingers gripped the edge of her desk. She had to pull herself together. She had a report due today on the cinema’s performance. But how could she keep seeing the words Eclipse Cinema and not think about what had taken place there? It was simply too hot to put aside.

If she concentrated, she could still feel the sensation of Tess’s soft lips on hers. But she wasn’t concentrating on it. OK, maybe just for a second, as a treat. And then she’d stop and work and be Zara again, professional and super normal and not throwing her lips on clients.

Mmm.

Now stop. Stop.

The trouble was that Zara was not one to break the rules. She could never be naughty, even as a kid.

Once, she’d stolen a pound out of her mum’s purse and taken it to the newsagents to buy sweets.

Zara put one foot over the threshold, locked eyes with the old lady who worked there, became convinced she was a mind reader who knew she was a felon, and walked back out again, going straight to her mother’s purse and returning her ill-gotten gains.

Zara took several very deep breaths, trying to exhale her stimulation. It wasn’t really working.

Right then, Zara’s boss, Phillip, knocked and walked in. His face was unreadable, but the sight of him sent her anxiety spiking. Did he know? He couldn’t know. But what if he did? What if Tess had thought, “Hold on, what the hell did Zara think she was doing? Better call Zara’s boss to let him know he’s got a sexual lunatic working for him.”

It was astronomically unlikely she’d do that. Tess had been an extremely willing participant. But the paranoia remained.

‘Zara, can I have a word?’ Phillip said, his voice calm but firm.

She nodded. ‘Absolutely.’ Why was her voice so high?

He sat down. ‘How’s everything going with The Eclipse?’ he asked, sitting back in his chair, looking at her over his clasped hands.

It was an innocent enough question. But it felt like an interrogation.

‘Fine,’ she said too quickly, too sharply. ‘The revamp combined with the social media push brought in a good opening weekend and figures are steadier now. There’s room for improvement, but I’m still working on her… It!’

Phillip frowned. ‘Zara, we need specifics. We’ve invested a significant amount in that cinema. The board expects a full report by the end of the month. And those numbers need to be good.’

Zara nodded rapidly, swallowing the dryness in her throat. ‘Yes, of course. I’ll have the detailed report for you then. I’ve just been waiting on a few updates from their end.’

Updates Zara hadn’t gotten when she was supposed to because her vagina had gotten in the driving seat of the conversation.

Phillip leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing. ‘Everything all right? You seem… distracted.’

You don’t know the half of it.

‘No, everything’s fine. I’ve just been juggling a few different, err, projects. It’s nothing.’

He studied her for a moment longer, then nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied. ‘Good. But this project is at the top of your priorities. We can’t afford to lose our grip on the situation.’

Zara felt her grip was probably a bit too good, particularly on Tess’s juicy rear end, but she smiled through the thought. ‘I understand.’

Phillip stood up and moved toward the door. As he reached for the handle, he turned. ‘Oh, Zara?’

Zara’s heart started hammering.

‘Take care of yourself. You don’t want to burn out,’ he said.

Zara forced another smile, nodding stiffly. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

The door clicked shut behind her.

Zara slumped into her chair and stared at the screen again. What are you doing, Zara? What have you done?

Was it just a mad moment? Hormones? Or did they really like each other? And if they did, why? All they’d done was argue for weeks. What was this pull Tess had over her now?