Chapter One

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Mia Sada gave her long hair a flip back over her shoulder, its inky sable color catching
the brilliant light as she stepped into a stunning, sun-washed office. The entire far wall of
the room was glass and overlooked the Pacific Ocean from a cliff top perch. It felt more
like an open-air porch than an actual office.

But as magnificent as the room might be, it was the man seated at the glass and steel desk
that riveted her attention. So much younger than she'd expected. Mid-thirties, maybe.
Named Z.K. Tripp, he was the owner of a well-known movie studio. His build was
athletic, his hair medium brown with sun-bleached strands of gold running through it. His
features were even. Handsome.

His eyes completely captivated her. They were such a bright, electric blue they almost
hurt to look at. The energy and power radiating from his entire being, starting with those
incredible eyes, hit her like a physical blow. She actually stumbled a little as she took
another step into the room.

He rose from his desk and she gasped. Taller than she'd expected, too. She was tall for an
Asian woman at nearly five-foot-seven, but he towered over her.

He spoke, his words quick. Impatient. As if his intelligence disliked waiting for his
tongue to catch up. "You're late for the appointment. I didn't envision you for the part.
But your exotic beauty compliments the smarts required for this role. Yes. You could
work. Let's read."

She frowned. What did her beauty have to do with performing a financial analysis of his
company for her employer? Technodax, Inc. was thinking about buying his company and
needed her to determine a fair price for Serendipity Studios, which had been struggling of
late. Tripp thought they were merely considering investing in his firm. He had no idea a
buyout was on the table.

"Here." Tripp thrust a sheaf of papers at her.

She glanced down, expecting to see columns of numbers, or at least a financial

prospectus of his company. But instead, she saw lines of dialogue. A script?

"Let's read. I'll be Admiral Tabor. You're the envoy of his enemy, sent to talk him out of
war. But the two of you have fallen in completely forbidden love. Go."

Tripp's command voice was such that she didn't even think about disobeying him. She
commenced reading the lines. The story sucked her in immediatelythe longing and
thrill of secret love tugging against the certain knowledge that it could never work out for
them. Creeping tragedy pervaded every line as the scene progressed.
She stood and moved around the desk toward her star-crossed lover and he strode toward
her as the scene climaxed. Because the script called for it, his arms swept around her and,
oh my, he actually kissed her.

His mouth was warm. Resilient. Restless. His arms drew her against his body, which was
hot and alive and vibrating with life force so magnetic she didn't stand a chance against it.
He was a force of Nature. And she'd been waiting for a man to kiss her like this for her
entire life. Pretend or not, it was captivating.

Without stopping to analyze her actions for once, she kissed him back.

Chapter Two
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Zeke had kissed a lot of beautiful women in his day, but he'd never kissed one who threw
herself body, heart and soul into a kiss like this one did. He was stunned at how this
womanMia, his befuddled brain suppliedgave herself over to him. It was as if her
entire being melted into him. She sank into his pores, into his very bones, as if he'd
known her forever and she, him.

He lifted her slender form higher against his body as he drank hungrily of her. She tasted
spicy and sweet. Unexpected. Complex. Delicious. He couldn't get enough of her

She tore her mouth away from his abruptly, on a gasp. "I'm so sorry. I can't do thisnot
ethicalfired if my boss found outso embarrassed"

"Don't be embarrassed!" he exclaimed. "You're spectacular. Seriously. The part is yours if

you want it. But I hope you turn it down because I'd love to ask you out. I never date my
actresses. For that matter, I don't usually kiss them. In fact, I owe you an apology" He
broke off. He was actually babbling. Lord, this woman threw him off his game.

"Take the part," he declared. "I'll wait until after the movie's done filming for you. Then
we'll kiss like that, again."

"Umm, I'm not an actress."

He stared at her while his brain went into a full blue-screen of doom. "What do you
mean, you're not an actress?"

"I'm an accountant. The Technodax Corporation sent me here to perform a financial

analysis of your studio."

"You? You're the accountant? But you're so"

"So what?" she asked.

"hot. Sofemale. Sobeautiful. My God, accountants can kiss like that?"

Her mouth twitched as if she wanted to smile, but her dark, dark eyes stared at him rather
more severely. "My name is Mia Sada. You must be Mr. Tripp."

She thrust a fine-boned, graceful hand toward him, and he took it just to touch her again.
"My friends call me Zeke."

"That's nice, Mr. Tripp."

Cripes. She might as well have thrown up a stone wall between them, she was so formal
and distant all of a sudden. But he wasn't fooled. Fire lurked beneath that icy, elegant
faade. Her features were stunning, a mix of American and, if he had to guess, Japanese
heritage. And at the moment, those features were giving away absolutely nothing.

"I've been tasked with assessing the value of your company and whether or not
purchasing a portion of it would be a good investment for my employer. I trust you'll do
everything you can to assist me?" she asked coolly.

He scowled. He purely hated the idea of selling even a piece of the studio he'd built from
the ground up with his own blood, sweat and tears. But he had no choice. The studio had
been hemorrhaging cash for several years, and he was out of options.

And Mia Sada, the woman who had just rocked his world, was the one person who could
destroy his world.

Chapter Three
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The phone on Zeke's desk rang, and Mia breathed a sigh of relief as he finally stepped
away from her so she could draw a proper breath. It was as if he sucked all the oxygen
out of the air around him.

She glanced around his office. Piles of scripts laid on practically every horizontal surface,
a sweatshirt was thrown haphazardly over the back of a chair, sand-coated running shoes
sat under the chair. Were the office not so sparsely furnished, it would have been a messy
space. Her internal OCD self shuddered. As it was, she fought an urge to go over to the
stacks of scripts and straighten them.

"You hungry?" Zeke startled her by asking.

"Oh. Uhh, no. I'm fine."

"I'm ordering us lunch. You need to gain a few pounds," he declared.

Being with this man felt like being in the same room with a hurricane. He hung up the
phone and strode to the door. "C'mon. I'll show you around while Craft Services makes us
a picnic."

Her main impression of a working movie studio was chaos. People went every which
way, equipment was piled in corners, extension cords were taped down everywhere, and it
was loud, dirty and bustling. Achingly beautiful cinema that moved the human soul came
from all of this?

"There you are, Tripp," someone called. "I've got your basket right here."

Her escort grabbed the wicker basket and jumped into a golf cart. "What are you waiting
for, Mia? Let's go for a ride together."

Hesitantly, she perched beside him on the bench seat. He careened off through the chaos
while she hung on for dear life. Who'd have guessed riding in a golf cart could be a death
defying experience? He parked at the back of the studio lot and jumped out at the head of
a boardwalk crossing a sand dune. She followed him, picking her way gingerly across the
weathered boards.

"Shoes off from here," Zeke announced.

Startled, she complied, slogging after him through deep, hot sand that swallowed her feet.
They topped the dune, and below lay the Pacific Ocean in all its expansive glory. Zeke
jogged to the water as if he had so much boundless energy he couldn't walk. She followed
more doggedly after him.

"Gorgeous, huh?" he more declared than asked.

Yes. He was. But she suspected he meant the ocean. She helped him spread a blanket and
lay out what turned out to be a tasty lunch of cold tuna steak and crudits. He had just
passed her a huge cookie when a crack of thunder made her jump. In the blink of an eye,
cold drops splatted against her skin.

Oh, no. It was a long way back to the cart, and she was wearing a white silk shirt. As
soon as it got wet, it would become completely transparent. Her skimpy bra was a single
layer of white lace, too. She hadn't the faintest idea how Zeke would react to the
spectacular wet T-shirt effect about to happen to her.

She was equal parts terrified and thrilled to find out.

Chapter Four
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Zeke eyed the sky. A dark thunderhead with thick silver streaks of rain started to fall. No
way would they make it back to shelter dry. Might as well stay out here and enjoy the
cooling rain.

"Aren't we going to run for it?" Mia asked in dismay.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and he spotted the source of her distress. Even after
only a few moments of rain, her white silk shell clung to her flesh like an onion skin.
Every detail of the lace on her bra stood out starkly against her golden flesh. She was
deceptively well endowed, it turned out.

"You shouldn't look," she declared a shade defiantly.

One corner of his mouth turned up. He asked low, "But you want me to look, anyway,
don't you? You're not exactly running away."

A deep rose blush stained her cheeks. She glanced away shyly for a moment, but then her
gaze swung back to him boldly. Defiantly, even. "Yes. I do want you to look."

His entire lower body clenched with sudden, rock hard lust. Dammit. He shouldn't have
teased her like that. This woman held the power to destroy his company if she nixed the
Technodax deal. Not to mention, it wasn't his style to taunt or tease women.

The skies opened up as if to punish him and cool his ardor, and Mia pushed a strand of
wet, clinging hair back from her face. Her cheekbones were exquisite, her big dark eyes
seducing him far too easily. And her mouthhe couldn't tear his stare away from her lush
lips. Even, pearly white teeth caught that plump lower lip and worried at it until he
reached out and smoothed the pad of his thumb across her poor, nervous mouth.

"It's unethical of me to want you," she breathed as she took a step nearer.

"Totally," he agreed matching the step to bring them chest to chest. "And it's dishonorable
of me to pursue you," he murmured back.

"Completely." She swayed a little, as if magnetically drawn to him.

"So we're agreed then," he stated, his hands rising to cup each side of her head in his
palms. "There will be nothing personal between us. We're just business associates."

She stared up into his eyes, her gaze dark and turbulent, conflicted, yet raging with
desire. It was perhaps the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. His fingertips trailed down
the slender column of her neck, across the slippery, transparent silk, and skimmed across
the dusky nipple standing up proud and needy beneath a scrap of lace.

Her lips parted slightly on a light, sharp little gasp, and he was lost. He captured her
mouth with his lips as his hand cupped over the firm, hot mound of her breast. She arched
up into him wildly, and the storm raging overhead had nothing on the storm of desire she
unleashed in him.

This was insane. A terrible mistake he was going to regret sooner rather than later. But
apparently, he was going to make it anyway.

Chapter Five
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This time she didn't have anyone to blame but herself. She'd kissed Zeke of her own free
will. No misunderstanding about her being an actress. No mistaken identity. Just him and
her on a beach. In the rain. So achingly sexy it burned her up from the inside out. Soaking
wet, she rode in silence beside him back to the studio. Back to his office. He'd said
something about a shower in his office and dry clothes, but she was wrapped in too thick
of a sexual haze to care.

He wasn't the least bit intimidated by her. He didn't care that she was a genius with
numbers. That she could sniff out inconsistencies in data like a financial bloodhound. He
looked at her and saw a woman. Apparently, a sexy, desirable one in need of kissing. God
bless him.

Hopeful that the shower in his private bathroom was big enough for two people, she
stumbled after him to his office

And pulled up short. A gray-haired man in a severely perfect business suit stood by the
window, staring out at the ocean. She knew that rigid profile all too well. Her boss. Peter
Kamei.

"Mr. Kamei. What are you doing here?" she blurted in a rare loss of control.

"I came around to ensure that Mr. Tripp was being cooperative with you. I see he's
beingmore than cooperative." The disapproval in his voice so heavy it all but buried his
words. "I also came to check on your initial progress."

Now that was a lie. No way would he expect her to have come to any conclusions in a
scant hour. But his statement was a stark reminder of what he paid her to do. Head
bowed, she ducked into Zeke's bathroom. It was cowardly to abandon him with her
unpleasant boss, but she was too furious over the intrusion to maintain her composure
any longer.

Using the blow dryer she found on the counter, she skipped the sexy shower for two and
dried her shirt and hair as best she could. When she no longer looked like a half-naked
burlesque star, she stepped back out into Zeke's office.
While Zeke disappeared into the bathroom, Mr. Kamei moved over to stand beside her.
He spoke in low, furious Japanese, which was her father's native tongue and spoken in the
home when she was growing up.

"What are you doing? It is career suicide to get involved with him. You're supposed to be
giving him the bad news."

He was right. Tripp was going to be furious when he found out her real reason for being
here. Any spark between the two of them would be history the second he found out what
she was doing for Technodax.

"Break off whatever you are imagining with Tripp and do your job, or else I will tell your
father about this indiscretion. I only hope I was in time to stop it."

She spat back in English, if only to distance herself from him. "Nothing happened
between us. He gave me a tour of the studio, and we got caught out in a rain shower. He
was kind enough to invite me back to his office to dry off. That's all."

And that was an even bigger lie than his.

Chapter Six
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Nothing happened, huh? Zeke stepped away from his bathroom door, where he'd been
shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation between his two guests. Interesting. If he
wasn't mistaken, she'd just lied to her boss about him. She must be intending to continue
doing "nothing" with him in secret. Triumph leaped in his gut.

This was madness. He wasn't a hormonal teen who reveled in soap-opera drama. He had
no trouble finding any number of smart, beautiful, sexy women to date. But he'd never
met one who threw her entire being into kissing him like Mia had. Like he was her only
lifeline and no power on earth would make her let go. What made a woman as smart,
confident, and complex as this one need anyone at all? He definitely wanted to get to
know this fascinating woman better.

In his office, Mia was huddled in the corner by the big windows, curled in on herself,
arms wrapped around her middle. Mr. Kamei was gone.

"Hey," he murmured gently as he moved close behind her. He didn't touch her. Rather, he
waited for a signal from her on how she wanted to proceed. "Are you okay? Do I have to
go beat up Atilla the Hun for upsetting you?"

Her shoulders slumped a little more, then straightened abruptly. "He thinks he can bully
me because he knows my father."
"Is he right?"

She whirled to face him, that fiery passion he'd already discovered flashing in her eyes.
"No! I'm not some subservient wilting lily who bows and scrapes to men. Even though he
wants me to settle down and be a good wife, he inadvertently raised me to be like him
strong and independent! But now, my boss has witnessed my less than professional
conduct."

He laughed under his breath. "They seriously think you're a wilting lily?"

"I don't care what they think. If I want to kiss you, by God I will!"

She took an aggressive step forward and raised up on tiptoe. And by God, she did kiss
him. And by God, it was fantastic.

He let her take the lead, enjoying the way she tugged his head down to hers, the way she
rubbed her entire body against his, cat-like. The way one of her legs came off the floor
and wrapped around his thighs as she clung to him like she couldn't get enough of him.
She vented her anger at her boss in the form of passion directed at him, and the blast all
but knocked him over. And he was okay with that.

Wilting lily, indeed. She was a tigress. With claws. And fangs.

"Kiss me back," she growled eventually.

He needed no urging to meet her demand. He surged against her, pressing her back
against the glass wall while she incinerated him from the inside out.

"Tell me you don't kiss all your accountants like this," she panted.

"I've never kissed any accountant before. You're the first."

That answer seemed to please her for she flung herself with even greater abandon into the
kiss. But, as much as he'd like to carry her over to the couch right now and ravish her, he
couldn't. He wouldn't take advantage of her anger and frustration. Ifwhenthey made
love someday, it would be solely because she wanted him to. No revenge, no proving a
point to her boss and her father.

He sighed. Sometimes it sucked being a good guy.

Chapter Seven
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Mia spent the afternoon staring at financial records in a haze. She couldn't believe she'd
thrown herself at Zeke like that. And he'd been such a gentleman about it. She'd felt how
aroused he was when she'd wrapped herself around him. Literally. But he'd turned her
loose anyway and told her gently to get on with her job.

Kamei had hovered over her most of the afternoon, but he couldn't tell a debit from a
credit if his life depended on it. He did, however, send her to her hotel room with a huge
pile of documents to analyze. Making sure she didn't sneak off to make out with Z.K.
Tripp, if she had to guess. Jerk.

She was more disappointed than she let on the next morning to discover that Zeke had
gone to Los Angeles for several days on business. Although, how she would have
managed to actually work with him nearby, she had no idea. In the meantime, she
hunkered down and dug through every financial record in the company.

Normally, she loved her job. But rifling through Zeke's brainchild felt wrong. His love for
the studio and his employees permeated every decision he'd made over the years. Of
course, it was also why he was in trouble, now, and looking for an investor to buy part of
the studio and infuse badly needed cash into it.

The following Monday, she made her way to the studio to present her final analysis and
valuation of Serendipity Studios to a committee of Technodax executives. Kamei would
be there. And her father. Which made her as nervous as hell in spite of her best efforts to
tell herself she was an outstanding employee.

Her most severe gray suit in place, she stepped into the conference room and looked
down the long table at the familiar faces of the top brass at Technodaxand one more
face. A familiar one. That she'd kissed passionately only a week ago.

Oh, crap. Zeke was here to listen to her dissection of his life's work.

Her insides turned to water as she plowed into her presentation. It was mostly a recitation
of dry numbers, but eventually, she revealed her final valuation of the company. She
dared risk a glance toward Zeke's end of the table and was appalled. He looked physically
ill. His skin was nearly gray, and he sat frozen like a statue in his seat. Oh, God. He
would never forgive her for the number she had come up with. It had to be a tiny fraction
of what he'd expected to get.

The Technodax executives appeared jubilant. She knew they had expected to pay much
more for their stake in the studio. They would be getting a huge bargain at the price she
quoted.

The meeting broke up and Zeke disappeared swiftly into his office and closed the door.
She waited until her father and Kamei weren't looking to slip off after him.

He was staring out at the ocean. She moved close behind him and murmured, "I'm so
sorry, Zeke. I was just doing my job. It's nothing personal. You've built a wonderful
company and your employees adore you."
He turned abruptly and demanded in a terrible voice, "How could you do that to me?
You've destroyed my company. You've destroyed me.

Chapter Eight
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She had ruined him. With one carelessly splashed number on a presentation slide, she had
demolished everything he'd worked so long and hard to build. God, he couldn't even
think about how many people he was going to have to lay off. Whose lives would be
devastated by that damned number she had come up with. She had valued his company at
one tenth of its real worth.

"Did you even bother to take into account the creativity and expertise of the team I've
assembled here?" he demanded.

"Yes. Of course"

He cut her off, not interested in her excuses. "And what was all that passion from you
before? Did you mean any of that, or was that just a ploy to gain my trust before you
stabbed me in the back?"

She stared, shocked. "How can you ask something like that?"

"You just wrecked my life's work! I think I'm entitled to ask!" She flared up, offended.
"How dare you? I was just doing my job. Do you think I liked having to make that
report? Do you think I can't see how hard you've worked to build this company? How
much you care for your employees? God, it's obvious in every nickel you've spent, every
decision you've made."

All the fight went out of him all of a sudden. "Why, then?"

"Like it or not, Zeke, I'm very good at what I do. The number I gave for your company's
net worth is spot on. I stand by it, no matter how much it hurts you to hear it. You've been
bleeding cash for years."

He swung back to face the sprawling ocean. "But we were doing so well. What
changed?" He muttered the words so low she wasn't sure he'd meant for her to hear them.

Her heart ached at the pain vibrating in his voice, and she stepped forward, wrapping her
arms around his waist from behind. "I'm so sorry, Zeke," she whispered against his tense,
muscular back.

He turned in her arms and buried his face in her hair, and she hung on tight, silently
sharing with him what comfort she could. Desperate to distract him from his pain, she
leaned back a little, reached up and laid her palms on his chiseled cheeks.
"I'm here, Zeke. You're not alone. We'll figure out a way to get through this. I promise."

His mouth swooped down to hers, and she welcomed him with a little cry of relief. He
forgave her. Or at least, he didn't hate her. She could live with that. And she meant what
she'd said. They would find a way to save his company. With his passion and her
expertise, they would come up with something.

But in the meantime, his mouth was moving against hers, and she wanted to crawl inside
his skin and be one with him so bad she could hardly bear it. Her hands slipped inside his
shirt, and he returned the favor. They were both just lifting each other's shirts over each
other's heads when a knock sounded on the door.

Cursing, Zeke pulled her shirt down. "Hold that thought. Promise me you won't let
anyone chase you off. Not now. Not when I need you."

Chapter Nine
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Zeke cursed when Kamei and several of the other Technodax executives insisted he go to
lunch with them. The last thing he wanted to do was break bread with the vultures
gleefully contemplating picking over the corpse of his studio. But they left him no polite
wayat allto refuse the invitation. With a regretful look over his shoulder at Mia,
hiding out of sight of the men in the doorway and silently shooing him with her hands to
go with the Technodax men, he herded the executives away from his office. Away from
Mia's arms, where he desperately longed to be, right now.

Lunch was a drawn-out affair that lasted for several hours. He deflected repeated attempts
to discuss a sale price for a chunk of his studio. A much bigger chunk than originally
agreed upon. Now that they could invest in his company for a bargain basement price,
they were asking for half of the entire studio.

Half! No way was he making them equal partners in Serendipity Studios! These were
investment gurus, not filmmakers!

Finally, late in the afternoon, he managed to peel away from the Technodax crew. He
ought to head back to the office, but he couldn't face it. He called his secretary to let her
know and headed for the beachside cottage he called home.

He was surprised to see Mia sitting in the bench swing on the covered porch waiting for
him. "What are you doing here?"

"Your secretary told me where to find you. We need to talk."

"That sound's ominous."

"I promised to help you. A few days ago I noticed something off in your books, but it
wasn't my job to investigate it. I spent this afternoon digging a little deeper, however."

He unlocked the door and ushered her inside. His home was clutteredhe rarely had
guests and never brought women herebut as Mia moved into the space, she seemed to
fit it. Her diminutive elegance enriched the room. She looked around ruefully. "Let me
guess," he said dryly. "You're a neat freak."

"Totally. But I'm not that OCD. I can tolerate your messiness temporarily."

He grinned and swept aside a pile of clean laundry that he hadn't bothered to fold off the
end of the couch with a flourish. "Your throne, Princess."

She smiled warmly and perched on the edge of the cushion. But then her expression
waxed serious. "You've got a problem at Serendipity Studios."

He sat down beside her and studied her intently. "What kind of problem?"

"Someone's embezzling money from your company. A lot of it."

His jaw dropped. He trusted each and every one of his employees implicitly. He'd hired
them all, himself. He knew them all. None of them would steal from him. Stunned, he
asked, "How much are we talking, here?"

She looked him dead in the eye and said grimly, "Millions. Enough to sink your studio.
Potentially enough to force you to sell the entire studio to avoid bankruptcy. Who's got
access to all of the studio's financial accounts?"

"Just me. Well, my little brother, Gordon, has access in case something happens to me,
but he's overseas. He's an Army chopper pilot."

"Then, someone has hacked into your company's bank accounts. And he or she has
drained you dry. You're broke."

Chapter Nine
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Zeke cursed when Kamei and several of the other Technodax executives insisted he go to
lunch with them. The last thing he wanted to do was break bread with the vultures
gleefully contemplating picking over the corpse of his studio. But they left him no polite
wayat allto refuse the invitation. With a regretful look over his shoulder at Mia,
hiding out of sight of the men in the doorway and silently shooing him with her hands to
go with the Technodax men, he herded the executives away from his office. Away from
Mia's arms, where he desperately longed to be, right now.
Lunch was a drawn-out affair that lasted for several hours. He deflected repeated attempts
to discuss a sale price for a chunk of his studio. A much bigger chunk than originally
agreed upon. Now that they could invest in his company for a bargain basement price,
they were asking for half of the entire studio.

Half! No way was he making them equal partners in Serendipity Studios! These were
investment gurus, not filmmakers!

Finally, late in the afternoon, he managed to peel away from the Technodax crew. He
ought to head back to the office, but he couldn't face it. He called his secretary to let her
know and headed for the beachside cottage he called home.

He was surprised to see Mia sitting in the bench swing on the covered porch waiting for
him. "What are you doing here?"

"Your secretary told me where to find you. We need to talk."

"That sound's ominous."

"I promised to help you. A few days ago I noticed something off in your books, but it
wasn't my job to investigate it. I spent this afternoon digging a little deeper, however."

He unlocked the door and ushered her inside. His home was clutteredhe rarely had
guests and never brought women herebut as Mia moved into the space, she seemed to
fit it. Her diminutive elegance enriched the room. She looked around ruefully. "Let me
guess," he said dryly. "You're a neat freak."

"Totally. But I'm not that OCD. I can tolerate your messiness temporarily."

He grinned and swept aside a pile of clean laundry that he hadn't bothered to fold off the
end of the couch with a flourish. "Your throne, Princess."

She smiled warmly and perched on the edge of the cushion. But then her expression
waxed serious. "You've got a problem at Serendipity Studios."

He sat down beside her and studied her intently. "What kind of problem?"

"Someone's embezzling money from your company. A lot of it."

His jaw dropped. He trusted each and every one of his employees implicitly. He'd hired
them all, himself. He knew them all. None of them would steal from him. Stunned, he
asked, "How much are we talking, here?"

She looked him dead in the eye and said grimly, "Millions. Enough to sink your studio.
Potentially enough to force you to sell the entire studio to avoid bankruptcy. Who's got
access to all of the studio's financial accounts?"
"Just me. Well, my little brother, Gordon, has access in case something happens to me,
but he's overseas. He's an Army chopper pilot."

"Then, someone has hacked into your company's bank accounts. And he or she has
drained you dry. You're broke."

Chapter Ten
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As she expected, Zeke exploded in disbelief first. He jumped up off the couch, swearing,
and shoved his hand through his hair angrily. She showed him the photocopies she'd
made, the discrepancies she'd highlighted in the numbers.

She showed him how the embezzler had hidden the thefts, and eventually, he stared at her
in dismay. "This bastard has drained my company dry, hasn't he?"

As he finally comprehended the scope of the embezzlement, he'd paced the tiny living
room, ranting, venting his fury at the betrayal. Eventually, he turned to stare down at her
as she waited out the storm. "Who did this to me?"

"I don't know. I might be able to trace the IP address of the person who made the
electronic funds transfers, but that will take some time."

"Do it."

She nodded and rose to her feet. "Would you like me to leave?"

"Hell, no. I would like you to get naked and crawl into bed with me. Help me forget this
insanity, or at least to pretend it doesn't exist for a while."

She stared, shocked at his bluntness. She opened her mouth to accept his offer, but he
spoke first.

"God, I'm sorry. That was rude. Are you hungry or something?"

She shrugged. He didn't seem to be in any frame of mind to go out in public to eat, and
his kitchen didn't look like he used it for actual cooking . "Maybe we could order in? I
like pizza."

He grinned. "There's a great little Italian joint in Serendipity that delivers." He pulled out
his phone, and soon, an extra-large pizza with "The Works" on it was on its way. It
sounded very messy. Perfect.

"Beer?" he asked, his head inside the refrigerator in the kitchen.

"Umm, sure." He'd stumbled on another secret pleasure of hers.

"Just so you know, Mia. I'm planning on getting drunk tonight. If that's not your thing,
feel free to leave."

"Do you get drunk often?" she asked in alarm.

"Last time I tied one on was the night my father died. Eight years ago."

Ahh. Relieved, she considered him. "Nope. I'm good. You have my blessing to get as
hammered as you'd like."

He came out of the kitchen with her beer, a bottle of whiskey, and a glass. "For the
record, you are officially perfect. Thought I'd say that before I lose consciousness."

She grinned broadly at him and clinked her beer bottle against his whiskey glass. "Here's
to forgetting the real world for tonight."

The pizza was as terrific as he'd described. She cut herself off at two beers, and a buzzed
Zeke wasn't as bad as she'd expected. He became somewhat touchy feely, but she
considered that a benefit. And, when his eyelids grew heavy, he let her lead him into his
bedroom and strip off his shirt and shoes. But when she tried to leave the room, he was
having none of that.

"Stay with me, tonight, Mia. I need you."

Chapter Eleven
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Zeke woke up in the deep dark of night, the surf pounding outside. A storm was blowing
in. He moved a little and was startled to realize a female form was draped over him. Mia.
His hand moved experimentally over her back. She was wearing something soft and
cotton. One of his T-shirts maybe?

Disorientation swirled around him. This bed was an island out of time, out of place, alone
in the floating darkness of the universe. Only the rhythmic ocean outside anchored him to
any sort of reality. Was he dreaming?

Mia's hand wandered across his chest, and her naked knee wandered up his thigh. Hel-lo.
His body leaped to immediate and rock hard attention. He shifted onto his side, drawing
her close to him, inhaling her soft jasmine scent. If this was a dream, please let him not
wake up any time soon.

Her lips touched his chin tentatively, and he tilted his mouth down to capture hers. She
kissed him back lazily, and he wasn't entirely sure she was awake. He wasn't entirely sure
he cared. Maybe it was the remnants of the alcohol, or maybe it was his sense of his
entire world having imploded that made him want to shut out everything but her. Just her.
His lifeline.

He kissed his way across her face while his hands roamed across her body. She returned
the favor, and before long, there was no doubt that she was fully awake and voluntarily
participating in making love with him.

A welling fullness built in his chest. She wanted him. Even though she knew his company
was worthless, that he was a ruined man. And yet, she still wanted him. Not many women
would stand by a man like him. Not now.

He gathered her into his heart while she gathered him into her body. He moved inside her
in wonder bordering on awe. She was hot and tight around him and he fought to hold
back the lust, to contain the primal beast within him. But she kept surging up against him,
crying out her pleasure, raking his back with her fingernails, flinging herself against his
self-control like a wild creature. His secret tigress. All his

Whoa. Wait. His? No. He'd tried relationships and gotten burned. Bad. Too many women
had tried to use his money and movie connections to build their careers. They weren't
interested in him. And, hey. They were actresses. They faked giving a damn about him
really well. He learned long ago not to trust.

Any other woman, he might have emotionally disengaged from then and there. But not
Mia. She undulated against him so sensuously, purring in the back of her throat so sexily,
that he couldn't possibly shut her out. She pulled him entirely into her magic spell, and he
lost himself in it, in her, completely willingly.

It wasn't just sex they had. It was much more. As he lay there in the dark, panting and
amazed and more complete than he'd ever imagined feeling before, he tried to find words
to describe it. They had forged a bond of some kind. An emotional link. And it felt
stronger than steel, hotter than the Sun. Unbreakable. For the first time in his life, he felt
loved. Except he couldn't tell if it was a lie or not.

And that scared him to death. What if he believed her, and he was wrong?

Chapter Twelve
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Mia woke up slowly, unwilling to let go of the incredible dream she'd had of making love
with Zeke. But then something tickled her nose and she reached up to rub itand
encountered the male chest beneath her cheek. Not a dream.
She slammed the rest of the way to full consciousness. She'd spent the night with Zeke
Tripp. More to the point, she'd had mind-blowing, life-changing sex with him. Several
times.

She relaxed against the heat of his body, which warded off the Pacific chill coming in the
open window, along with the quiet swishing sound of the surf. She could stay right here,
in this spot forever and be entirely happy.

Horror roared through her. She was not her mother! Her mother had given up everything
career, independence, identity as her own personto become her father's wife. Her
father was a traditional husband and extremely successful businessman. In his world, the
wife stayed home, managed the house, raised children, and was mostly invisible.

She could remember raging at her mother for her crazy choice. And in response, her
mother would just smile enigmatically and murmur that she loved him. For the first time,
ever, Mia began to understand why her mother had made the choices she did. If this was
what her parents had, she could see walking away from everything for it.

It was probably geeky in excess, but Mia loved accounting. She created order from chaos,
uncovered answers in hard facts, and she even found beauty in the symmetry of it.

She knew better than most how hard it was to succeed as a woman in a male-dominated
corporate world. All her bosses were waiting for her to fall in love and bail out on them,
to assume a traditional role as mousy little wife to some man. She'd vowed ever since she
was old enough to understand the stereotype that she would never, ever, be that woman.

And yet, here she was, besotted with a man and actually contemplating giving up
everything she'd worked so hard to make of herself and her career. To throw away a
lifetime's independence. And for what? Sex?

Yes, it was fantastic sex. But was any sex worth giving up her identity for?

Panicked that part of her brain dared to answer that question with a "yes," she slipped out
of bed furtively, being careful not to wake Zeke. She tiptoed around the bedroom and
living room retrieving her clothes, which were strewn all over the place. She dressed
quickly and eased open the front door. After closing it with care, she bolted for her car.
Grateful for its hybrid electric motor, she eased out of the driveway nearly silently.

She made the walk of shame through her hotel's lobby, holding her breath every step of
the way in fear that one of the Technodax executives would spot her. Blessedly, she made
it to the elevator and sagged in relief as the doors closed.

But as she whisked upward into the sterile hotel, insidious fear that might just have made
the worst mistake of her life came over her. Now what was she supposed to do?

Chapter Twelve
Print this Page

Mia woke up slowly, unwilling to let go of the incredible dream she'd had of making love
with Zeke. But then something tickled her nose and she reached up to rub itand
encountered the male chest beneath her cheek. Not a dream.

She slammed the rest of the way to full consciousness. She'd spent the night with Zeke
Tripp. More to the point, she'd had mind-blowing, life-changing sex with him. Several
times.

She relaxed against the heat of his body, which warded off the Pacific chill coming in the
open window, along with the quiet swishing sound of the surf. She could stay right here,
in this spot forever and be entirely happy.

Horror roared through her. She was not her mother! Her mother had given up everything
career, independence, identity as her own personto become her father's wife. Her
father was a traditional husband and extremely successful businessman. In his world, the
wife stayed home, managed the house, raised children, and was mostly invisible.

She could remember raging at her mother for her crazy choice. And in response, her
mother would just smile enigmatically and murmur that she loved him. For the first time,
ever, Mia began to understand why her mother had made the choices she did. If this was
what her parents had, she could see walking away from everything for it.

It was probably geeky in excess, but Mia loved accounting. She created order from chaos,
uncovered answers in hard facts, and she even found beauty in the symmetry of it.

She knew better than most how hard it was to succeed as a woman in a male-dominated
corporate world. All her bosses were waiting for her to fall in love and bail out on them,
to assume a traditional role as mousy little wife to some man. She'd vowed ever since she
was old enough to understand the stereotype that she would never, ever, be that woman.

And yet, here she was, besotted with a man and actually contemplating giving up
everything she'd worked so hard to make of herself and her career. To throw away a
lifetime's independence. And for what? Sex?

Yes, it was fantastic sex. But was any sex worth giving up her identity for?

Panicked that part of her brain dared to answer that question with a "yes," she slipped out
of bed furtively, being careful not to wake Zeke. She tiptoed around the bedroom and
living room retrieving her clothes, which were strewn all over the place. She dressed
quickly and eased open the front door. After closing it with care, she bolted for her car.
Grateful for its hybrid electric motor, she eased out of the driveway nearly silently.
She made the walk of shame through her hotel's lobby, holding her breath every step of
the way in fear that one of the Technodax executives would spot her. Blessedly, she made
it to the elevator and sagged in relief as the doors closed.

But as she whisked upward into the sterile hotel, insidious fear that might just have made
the worst mistake of her life came over her. Now what was she supposed to do?

Chapter Thirteen
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Zeke didn't know what to make of waking up alone in his bed. It was after noon when he
finally finished sleeping off last night's bender, so he supposed it made sense that she
hadn't waited around for him. But what if her departure meant more? What if she was
done with him?

He hadn't struck her as a one-night-stand kind of girl, but you never could tell.
Appearances with women could be deceiving. And he knew that better than most. He got
up and made himself a green smoothie, and somewhere near the bottom of the health
drink, began to feel human again.

A text message came in from his secretary to let him know that the Technodax delegation
had asked for a meeting with him in a few hours. Alarmingly, it was at cocktail hour at
the hotel the Technodax contingent was staying at. Not a good sign. They wanted a
meeting on their home turf. Worry picked at him. He had time to go for a run and clean
up beforehand, and he felt a need to clear his head before facing the lions in their den.

When he walked into the private dining room promptly on time, he looked around
quickly and spotted Mia immediately. She was standing in the corner, listening to a rather
tall, middle-aged Japanese man speak to her. Sternly. Hmm. Was that her father? He'd
heard a rumor that her father was one of the Technodax big dogs.

She didn't turn to acknowledge him. But surely she knew he'd come into the room. He
felt her presence on his skin without having to look at her, and he would lay odds she
experienced the same hyper-awareness of him, too.

He checked the urge to join her, maybe kiss her cheek and wrap his arm around her waist
and claim her the way he wanted to. He sensed that she would not take kindly to a public
display of affection among this crowd.

A waitress plied him with scotch on the rocks that was altogether too expensive for the
gathering at hand. Crap. This was not good. He pasted on a fake smile and did his best to
look like an innocent lamb, but inside he grew steadily more tense waiting for the axe to
fall.
It came when Mr. Sadahad to be Mia's fatherstrolled up with a posse of obvious
flunkies in tow to "chat". Here it came. Zeke braced for the worst.

"Mr. Tripp, in light of the new valuation we place upon your esteemed movie studio,
Technodax Enterprises is prepared to offer you an excellent price to purchase the entire
studio from you. We look forward to entering the movie business and think Serendipity
Studio fits into our business plan nicely."

The entire studio? They wanted to buy the whole damned thing? "No way," he blurted.
"I'm not selling the studio. It's mine."

"With all due respect, Mr. Tripp. You cannot afford to keep the studio. As we see the
numbers, you have no choice but to accept our offer."

Mia's numbers. She'd done this to him. He searched over the heads of the Technodax
executives and spotted her slipping out of the room unobtrusively. Coward. She was
running away from him. He shoved his drink at Mr. Sada and followed her.

Chapter Fourteen
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Mia saw Zeke moving toward the exit behind her. Drat. She'd hoped to slip out without
him noticing. She sped up, hoping to lose him in the crowded hotel lobby. No such luck.
He was closing in on her. She could feel him behind her.

Desperate, she ducked into a ladies' restroom to hide. She locked herself in a stall and
counted the minutes until it would be safe to come out.

After what seemed a lifetime, she decided he had surely given up and gone away by now.
Any sane man would have. She opened the stall door, stepped out, and froze.

Zeke was leaning on the granite counter, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you doing in here?" she exclaimed. "This is a ladies' room!" He shrugged. "I
waited until all the other women left, came in, and locked the door. We're alone."

She looked left and right for support, or maybe escape, she wasn't sure which. They were,
indeed, by themselves in here. She was trapped.

"What's the matter?" he taunted. "Don't you want to talk to me?"

"About what?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe about how you snuck out of my bed this morning. Or maybe
how you set my company up for a freaking hostile buyout without bothering to tell me."
"I didn't set your company up!" But as the words came out of her mouth, a frisson of guilt
skittered down her spine. She was, after all, the person who revealed just how bad a
financial position his company was in. The information had been buried very deep in his
company's books, hidden behind a curtain of subterfuge by his unnamed embezzler.

His lips pressed into a tight white line.

"Look, Zeke. Your embezzler is the problem. Not me."

"At the moment, the problem is your father. He just offered to take the whole studio off
my hands for a fire sale price. Right generous of him, if I do say so myself," he drawled
sarcastically.

She sighed. "The Technodax board voted on it this morning."

"Why the change of interest from a small stake to the whole shooting match?"

Wincing, she answered, "I might have had something to do with that. You were so upset
because you thought I undervalued the company, that I made a point of pointing out to
the board how much expertise and creative potential your employees have. I'm sorry. I
was just trying to help,"

"Yeah, well, quit trying." His shoulders slumped dejectedly as his outburst wound down.

She felt the worst of it draining away from him. A wrecked man was left behind.
Devastated, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his broad stiff body. "I'm
so sorry," she whispered. "Let me make it better."

Chapter Fifteen
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Zeke was so tired of fighting. Tired of fighting to keep his studio alive. Tired of fighting
for respect. Hell, of fighting for love. His head dropped to Mia's shoulder as he, for just a
moment, let go of the battle that was his life.

His arms crept around her waist as she hung on to him for dear life. Her hands stroked
through his hair, wordlessly soothing him. It would be so easy to sink into a false sense of
comfort. But nothing she could do would make this right. He'd lost everything that
mattered to him. Sure, he would walk away from the studio sale with enough money to
live on comfortably for a long time, but that didn't matter to him. It was the work, the
creation that mattered. That gave him a purpose in life.

Soft lips moved against his temple. Little sounds of comfort cooed into his ear. Mia's
breasts were soft against his chest, and as he slumped and she straightened against him,
his head came to rest upon her bosom, hugged tight in her arms.
Gradually, he became aware of her heartbeat. It sped up even as his listened to it,
pattering light and fast in her chest. Darned if his pulse didn't follow suit, syncing up to
hers. He turned his head, and his lips brushed the slender column of her throat. Her chin
fell back as she offered herself to him with the same generosity and completeness she
always did.

He surged to his feet, wrapping her in his arms with a desperation unlike anything he'd
ever felt before. All of a sudden, their hands were roaming all over each other. Buttons
and buckles gave way before frantic fingers. Fabric was pushed aside and peeled off
eager bodies. Tongues tangled, and hot flesh slid beneath hungry mouths and hands. In
short order, he'd lifted her to the counter and wrapped her sleek legs around his hips.

She grabbed his hips and urged him forward impatiently. He matched her urgency,
stopping only when he was buried to the hilt inside her throbbing heat. Her internal
muscles clenched and released spasmodically, sucking him even deeper, and he was lost.

Their lovemaking was frantic and awkward, a noisy affair with slapping flesh, ungainly
angles, and sweaty groans. But it ripped away all deceit between them, leaving behind
only raw, real emotions: lust, greed, and gluttony. He for her, and she for him. It was, in a
word, spectacular.

A burgeoning explosion climbed higher and higher in his chest until he felt like he
couldn't draw another breath. He was dying. But what a way to go. All of a sudden, his
entire being coiled, clenched, and then detonated, ripping away every vestige of reality,
blowing all thought from his mind, leaving only the two of them floating weightlessly in
a great, empty void, filled only with her. And perfection.

He collapsed against her, spent, and she held his heaving chest against her sweet body
protectively. He dropped a gentle kiss upon her forehead.

"Thank you for trying to make it better. It really was a kind gesture. But there's nothing
you can do to help. Nothing at all."

Chapter Sixteen
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Mia watched Zeke unlock the door and slip out of the restroom in disbelief. Really? He
was just going to walk away from his studio and not fight for it? She'd thought he was
made of tougher stuff than that. He must be taking the news of the embezzler harder than
he was letting on.

Her heart broke for him over the situation. His pain was her pain. What was up with that?
It was as if they shared one heart and whatever he felt, she felt. Man. Was this what love
was like? Was she in love with him? Shock rolled through her, stealing the breath she'd
only just begun to catch after their vigorousand sensationallovemaking.
She washed up awkwardly, trying not to be a little humiliated at the exercise, but failing.
She did her best to put her clothes and hair to rights, but feared she still lookedtousled.
Checking her face in the mirror, she grimaced. There was no way to hide how her lips
were slightly swollen, or how her cheeks were pinkened by Zeke's razor stubble. She
looked exactly like a woman who had just had smoking hot sex in a ladies' room with her
secret lover. Rats.

Peeking each direction in the hall outside, she made a dash for the elevator and made it to
safety without being spotted. Instead of heading up to her room, though, she headed
down to the parking garage. In point of fact, there was something she could do to help
Zeke. He just didn't know it. Yet.

When Zeke stepped into his office early the next morning he pulled up short at the sight
that greeted him. Papers were spread all over the floor of his office, and Mia was passed
out cold on his couch.

He moved over and bent down to touch her shoulder. She jerked awake but smiled up at
him sleepily when she spied him. His heart expanded at the sight of that simple smile.
Such a little thing. But in that unguarded moment, it revealed a great deal about how she
really felt about him. Did he dare trust her feelings for him, after all? She sat up abruptly
as if something important had just occurred to her.

"I've uncovered something you need to see," she announced grimly.

"Oh, Lord. Now what?" Even after their short acquaintance, he knew to dread that tone of
voice from her.

"I think your embezzler is out to do more than steal money from you. I think he or she is
out to ruin Serendipity Studios."

"What? Why?"

"I was trying to trace the source of the emails that transferred funds out of your accounts.
And I ran across a series of correspondences between the embezzler and the primary
investors in your upcoming space western film."

He frowned. The movie was fully funded and green lighted. The only glitch in starting
filming was he didn't have a director lined up, yet. "What about it?"

"The embezzler has convinced your male star to pull out of the film and has used that to
convince your investors to pull their support for the movie out from under you. It'll ruin
the studio."

Chapter Seventeen
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Mia's heart broke to see how devastating her announcement was to Zeke. He went a
ghastly shade of gray. He raged at the walls, paced like a caged lion, and swore long and
hard, but eventually his initial fury wound down. He sank to the couch beside her.

"Who hates me so much?" he whispered.

She shrugged. "In my experience greed can override all ties of loyalty and friendship."
Her gut said he was right, though. This attack was personal.

"But I work hard to treat people in the business and my employees decently."

She scooted forward to wrap her arms around him. He buried his face in her hair, and she
felt some of the tension ease from his body as if he found comfort in her. As if he needed
her. The notion shocked her. No man had ever needed her before. She'd always been that
inconvenient embarrassment who got in the way of her father's career. She was too
outspoken. Too ambitious and headstrong.

Like a moth to a flame, she couldn't resist him. She turned in his arms and kissed his jaw.
He shifted too, capturing her mouth with his. And just like that, he was inhaling her and
she was returning the favor. They moved frantically against each other, the desperation
that always came over them consuming them both.

She reveled in his big, hard body against hers. It felt so good to melt against him, to
giving herself over into his care completely. He knew her body, her pleasures, better than
she herself did. In moments, cool air from overhead blew against her skin, making her
shiver until the heat of Zeke's body replaced it.

He pressed her down into the couch cushions, although he braced himself on an elbow so
he didn't crush her.

"You're so damned beautiful," he muttered against her stomach. "So elegant and
sophisticated. What are you doing with me?"

"Are you kidding? You're smart and strong and have a huge heart," she laughed a little,
"and in case you haven't looked in a mirror recently, you're hot."

He levered himself up her body and smiled down at her. "I'll take your word for it. I can't
get enough of you, Mia."

The humor drained from his expression as he stared down at her, and her breath caught at
the back of her throat at his look. With aching slowness, their bodies joined. All the
while, they stared into each other's eyesinto each other's naked souls.
It was breathtaking to know another human being so intimately. She bared all of herself
to Zeke like this and had him do the same in return. As they made love ever so slowly,
one slow, devastating stroke at a time, they forged a bond between them. And it felt so
deep, so powerful, that it would be unbreakable no matter what life threw at them. They
climaxed as one, gasping in unison, crying out in unison, and resting in the aftermath of
perfection safe in one another's arms and hearts.

Eventually, she murmured, "We'll figure it out. Between the two of us, we'll track down
this person and stop him or her. With my financial expertise and your knowledge of the
studio's operations and computer systems, we'll find this jerk. Together. "

Zeke's arms tightened. "My God, I love you."

Chapter Eighteen
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The words were out of Zeke's mouth before he even stopped to think about them. The
three words he never said to any woman. The only three words that had enough meaning
to him not to be thrown around lightly. Ever.

Mia froze beneath him. Alarmed, he stared down at her and blurted, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't
have said that"

Her fingers pressed against his lips, stopping his apology. "Did you mean it?"

He frowned, turning over her question, examining his heart. Slowly, thoughtfully, he
replied, "Yes. I did. Rather, I do mean it."

"Then don't apologize. I'm falling in love with you, too." She added hesitantly, "It may
already be a done deed, in fact."

He laughed. "Spoken like an accountant. Cautious, accurate, and factual."

She swatted his arm and then shoved lightly at his chest. He pushed up and away from
her quickly. They shared a shower in his bathroom, and dressed once more, for the
moment, sat down at his desk to find the bastard trying to destroy him and his company.
Working together, they drilled down into the studio's computer system further and faster
than he would have believed possible.

But no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't quite get to the identity of the
culprit. Frustrated, he moved over to the window to watch the ocean below. The waves
crashed ashore and then folded back in on themselves in a circular motion. Just like his
brain, going in circles. Just like the embezzler and Technodax, circling around him,
sharklike
Wait. That was it. He whirled and declared eagerly, "Technodax."

Mia looked up from the computer monitor. "What about Technodax?"

"Maybe we're coming at this from the wrong direction. Maybe we should be digging into
Technodax's computers to find the identity of the embezzler. We know he's conspiring
with someone in your company, right?"

"It appears that way."

"You have pretty good access to Technodax's computer servers, right?"

"I guess so."

"Then let's dig there. It's worth a try." They sat down again, this time digging into her
company's records.

It took only a few minutes. What looked like a letter came up on the screen. Mia gasped
as she scanned it. She sat frozen in horror for a second and then peeked over at him in
dread. Looked away. All the color had drained from her face. "Oh my God, Zeke. I'm so
sorry."

"What? Who did this to me?"

"Kamei. And" she broke off as if unwilling to continue.

"And who?"

She took a deep breath. "And your brother, Gordon."

Chapter Nineteen
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Mia braced herself for a mighty explosion from Zeke. Betrayed by his own brother? This
was going to kill him. Either that, or he was going to kill his brother.

It started as a low chuckle. The sound grew until Zeke was laughing in great gusts from
his belly. "My brother did this to me? I should have seen it coming. He always was
violently jealous of me. Had to have everything I did. Had to steal my toys. Steal my
girls. We fought over everything."

"You're not angry at him?" she asked in disbelief.

Zeke's eyes flashed with sudden, raw fury, so cold that an actual shiver ran down her
spine. And when he spoke, each syllable was harder than diamond. "I'm so angry that, if
he were here right now, I'd beat the crap out of him. This is the last straw between us. He
can consider his sorry ass disowned. And he's damn well cut off from any of my money
for good. But in the meantime, I'll screw him back even worse than he's trying to screw
me."

"How?"

"Gordon and Kamei have convinced the investors in my upcoming movie to pull out,
right?"

"Yes."

"There are other fish in the sea than just those investors. I've been in this business a long
time, and I've got friends. Some of them have deep pockets."

His plan was brilliant. If he could line up other investors, he could block Gordon and
Kamei's attempt to break his company and force him into letting Technodax buy out the
whole studio.

"There's one tiny flaw in your plan. My impression of the film industry is that investors
don't like to fork over millions of dollars unless they know who the director and main
stars are going to be. Gordon convinced your male lead to back out of the film already.
And you don't have a director."

Zeke got a speculative look in his eyes. "Pass me the phone. I've got some phone calls to
make."

She perched on the corner of his desk as he dialed a number. "Hey, Adrian. Z.K. Tripp
here. I'm in a bit of a bind, and I'm hoping you can help me out. You just wrapped up
filming your latest movie and are in a hiatus, right? "

Adrian Turnow? She mouthed to Zeke. He nodded, and her jaw dropped. Turnow was
arguably the hottest director in the industry these days.

"I'm looking to sell a piece of my movie studio to a man like you who could use the
creative freedom of owning his own studio. I'll even throw in a fantastic script that I've
got the crew and special effects guys assembled for. You interested?"

In short order, a deal had been struck. She was stunned at the speed of it.

"And now for a male lead to knock Gordon out of the picture for good." Zeke rolled the
card index on his desk and dialed a number, "Hey, Jackson. It's Zeke."

She stared at the card. Jackson Prescott? As in the top star in Hollywood? Every female
on earth knew who he was. Man. Zeke was not fooling around with getting even with his
brother! But good grief. At what cost to himself? He was literally giving away his life's
work. The studio was the larger part of his heart. How could he tear it out of his chest
like this? She couldn't even comprehend the pain this must be causing him.

Chapter Twenty
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Zeke put the phone down and leaned back in his chair. "There. Now my brother can't sell
my studio out from under me to Technodax."

"But you just sold it to Adrian Turnow and Jackson Prescott! You've lost Serendipity
Studios anyway!" Mia exclaimed.

He shrugged. "I would have had to sell it regardless. As you discovered, Gordon cleaned
me out. The studio is broke. Movies always have cost overruns and unexpected expenses.
Even if I were to line up a whole new set of investors, I wouldn't have the cash reserves
to make the space western and have a shot at saving the studio if the movie is a big hit."

"But Zeke," she said in a broken whisper. "It meant everything to you."

"It used to mean everything to me. Not anymore."

She stared at him in blank disbelief. "What are you talking about?" I've seen you walk
around this place. You love everything about it. You love the mess and the noise and the
chaos, the creative energy of the peopleall of it. It's your life!"

"It was my life. But then you came along."

"I don't understand."

"Don't you see? I threw myself into my work because I had nothing else. Of all people, I
thought you would get that. You're just like me in that regard."

She frowned for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, I do get lost in my work."

He winced. "I was hoping you only did that in the past tense."

Another frown from her. He explained. "Mia, what changed for me is that you came into
my life. You gave me something other than the studio to fill my world and my heart. I
don't need the studio to feel complete anymore. Besides, I'll get enough cash out of the
sale to make a movie now and then if I want to. More importantly, I've got you, now." He
took a deep breath. "And I'm hoping you feel the same way about me."

She stared at him for a long time. Long enough that dread started to creep into his
nervous anticipation. But then a slow smile broke across her face that grew and grew
until her entire being shone with brilliant joy. She breathed, "Oh, yes, Zeke. I do feel the
same way about you. I love you."

"Enough to leave your job at Technodax and run away with me? I'm still going to get a
nice chunk of change from the sale of the studio in spite of my brother."

He'd never held his breath so hard in his life. If he could cross all his fingers and toes at
once, he would be doing that right now.

Another long pause. And then all of a sudden she threw herself at him, rocking him back
in his chair and dropping kisses all over his face fast and furious. "Ohmigosh, Zeke. Yes.
Yes! I'll go anywhere with you. Let's leave right now!"

"There's one more thing I'd like to take care of before we take off to explore the world
together."

"What's that? You name it. I'll help."

"I'm counting on that. Marry me, Mia. Will you marry meand maybe date me, first?"

"Oh, yes, Zeke. I will date you. And I'll make a date to marry you, too." Her eyes filled
with tears that he knew to be of joy.

She'd just made his life complete. And he hadn't even known it was empty until she came
along. "I love you, Mia. Forever."