Jack's assistant wasn't sitting at his desk when Solana arrived. After a weekend together, she'd missed being in his bed last night. Ached for the strength of his tender touch. His crucial meeting was happening now, Anderson agreeing, hopefully, to Jack's last offer. She'd wanted to be here, to be the first to congratulate him. Because she had no doubt he would succeed.

She slipped inside his office; the carpet dampening the sound of her shoes, and typed a quick text. "There's a surprise waiting on your desk." Four simple items sat on the broad black wood frame. A phone, his laptop and two file folders. Tucked in her bag was item number five.

A small frame.

Silver, of course, to match Jack's mono-chromed decor. Behind the clear glass sat a copy of the photo Vinny had taken of them at the racetrack. Jack's face still flush from having sex in the bathroom. She placed the picture on the corner of his desk, beside the phone, imagining Jack steering Blackhorne and Caldwell while staring at their image.

A shiver shot up her spine at the offered he'd made her. A job at this company. The notion both thrilled and scared her. Besides being preposterous, her lack of education was only the first stumbling block, the concept of working alongside Jack had a certain allure. She could help him open up more, shift the company in the directions he obviously wanted to move in. No more bleaching red wine stains out of her uniform, feet aching from hours on her feet, slinging drinks for losers who didn't tip.

Lost in a daydream of them as a power couple, Solana's hands brushed against the stiff paper of the file folder on his desk. Perhaps the illusion was too strong, or she desired to try out the idea of being part of the company. Either way, her fingers dragged along the edges of the first folder and flipped it open.

Her excitement dipped as she saw her name printed on the front page of what looked like a contract. At the bottom were two blank spots for signatures. One had Jack Blackhorne and Blackhorne & Caldwell typed underneath it, the other had a name she didn't recognize and the word Seller. Her finger trailed along the words then froze as they hit "offer to purchase all copies including digital or physical versions of Exhibit A (see attached.)"

Solana shifted the paper and sucked in a breath. A grainy, still life stared back at her. The image was a photo of her, half naked, in Jack's arms. A drum beat in her ears and her cheeks flamed. Even though his back was to the camera, Jack's reflection was crystal clear in the mirror on the wall. She recognized the bathroom of the racing club.

She sank into Jack's chair, legs giving out. Someone had been in one of those stalls and had recorded them having sex at the club. Now they were extorting Jack for money. Her stomach rolled. He'd told her the damage one picture could do to the company's bottom line, crashing stock prices and costing millions. What would a whole sex tape do?

She returned to the agreement, and her jaw dropped at the suggested amount. Five hundred thousand dollars.

One moment of irresponsibility cost Jack's company half a million. The thought sat in her stomach like an iceberg. She'd never be able to pay him back for this mistake.

Her hand shook as she regarded the second folder. Was there more? Setting the contract aside, she read the new page.

Subject: Solana Wilde

Report and Recommendation

Her head swam as she contemplated the reality of what was in front of her. Jack had created another report on her. This one not a background check, but rather something more sinister.

Phrases popped out at her

Failed business

Criminal connections

Inappropriate relationships

Flight risk

Erratic behaviour

She twisted her neck, straightened her back, and read the final sentence.

Due to the subject's dubious past combined with her propensity to engage in volatile endeavours and current links with felonious elements, it is our recommendation to terminate all connections with the subject effective immediately.

The drum in her ears roared as she fought to comprehend what she'd read. Jack had requested an analysis to assess the viability of their relationship.

"Snooping is considered rude in most circles." The paper spilled across the desk as Solana jumped. Her eyes flew to the door, where Jack's second in command dominated the space. He strode in like he owned the place, slamming the door behind him. "Did you get to the part about how much your stunt will cost this company?"

A shard of glass lodged in Solana's throat, but she pushed past it. "I did." To avoid Wolfe's stare, she gathered the loose papers and lined them up.

"It's only the beginning, you know." He stopped inches away from the desk, the bite in his voice nipping at her.

With shaking hands, she closed the folder. "It won't happen again."

"You can guarantee that?"

Solana's jaw lifted and met his stare. "We'll be more careful."

"You better be. Because this—" he tapped the paper stack "—is only the tip of the iceberg. Luckily, they came straight to us instead of the paparazzi. If one photo of him on a motorcycle ever got out, it could cost his life insurance payments to sky rocket, never mind jeopardize future deals. Jack is the face of this company. He needs to show strength and consistency, stability, and trust. Anything that puts that into doubt could affect Blackwell and Caldwell's stock price."

Slowly, she rose to her full height. Unfortunately, she still had to look up at the man. "Jack explained all this to me. I said it won't happen again."

"I wish it were that simple." He sighed, his right hand tucking into a pant pocket. "I've seen this before. His ex-wife believed in his act at first as well. He knows how to put on a show."

Ice slipped into Solana's veins. Was this all an act? Jack had all but admitted he liked to play games, enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. She'd witnessed him in action, giving the crowds the side of Jack they wanted.

But she'd also seen parts of him no one else had. Slept in his bed in the room he never let anyone into. Experienced the intensity in his eyes when he was nestled inside her, stroking her soul while heating her body. Held his hand in quiet moments where they didn't have to talk, yet still communicated. There had to be truth there. No one, not even Jack, could fake that.

"That's in the past. He's changing." Wolfe made a face like he'd stepped in dog crap. Her resolve hardened like steel. "Look at the Anderson deal. He's taking the company in a new direction. If Blackhorne and Caldwell is capable of change, so is he."

Wolfe's head tilted back, and a mirthless chuckle poured out of him. "Oh, how naïve you are. I'll let him play and spend a few million dollars on his little toy. When it fails, he'll step back in line, return to what works."

"No, you're wrong." But her voice lacked its earlier conviction. While she wanted her words to be true, she had no idea if Jack would stick with his plan in the face of failure. The steel in her veins buckled under the weight of the evidence against her. He'd given up everything he'd ever wanted to fulfill his uncle's wishes. Live up to those expectations. Still lived like he could please the dead man.

Her eyes fell to the folders on the desk. Would Jack listen to the advice of the report? Find her too much of a risk. The tiny flame of hope in her chest fluttered in the howling wind of doubt.

Wolf stepped closer, crowding her. As if he could read her mind, he hammered home his point. "Do you honestly think he'll do anything that will hurt his parent's company?"

Images flooded her mind. The pictures of his parents by his bedside table. His mother's necklace, stowed in a velvet box and stored in his bedroom. A closet full of black suits. The name on the building she stood in. Jack lived in a world of arranged marriages and power plays. His existence was practically a shrine to the people who died when he was a child.

The early afternoon sunlight streaming in from the tall windows did nothing to quell the frost bristling over her. The heat between them wouldn't sustain their relationship. Not of his world, she wouldn't be enough.

Wolfe tapped a finger on the desk. "What about your... unsavory connections?" Cassius' sneering face floated before her eyes. "Will your ex-husband stay quiet, or will he sing for the first reporter willing to stock up his bank account?" The truth of his complaint sat on Solana's chest like a stone. "His muck will splash back on Jack through you."

A cloud obscured the sunlight, and Jack's office disintegrated into a murky gloom. The poison of Wolfe's word sank into her bloodstream and ate away at her heart and her head. She wanted to refute him, lob accusations back at the man, but she had no ammunition. Her past was a ticking time bomb that could implode Jack's life at any moment.

"See, even you know it." Wolfe folded his arms. "If it comes down to a choice between you and his family legacy, he'll choose the Blackhorne name. You'll never win. You don't stand a chance."

Reality inked into the room, dousing her in its dark fluid. He was right, of course. Jack may be infatuated now, but as the report pointed out, she'd turn to a liability. The contents of the folder and Wolfe's influence might be enough to convince him to cut her out of his life now. Her eyes stung at the mere idea of him rejecting her.

She bit the inside of her cheek; the pain overshadowing the little voice in her heart whispering not to do what her head insisted. Just like Jack, she didn't have a choice either.

Hi All, D L here. Yesterday was the first day of fall here and the weather sat up and said, ok, lets blow in some chilly wind. Sweater weather!!!

So? Does Wolfe have a point? 

Or is the man overreacting? 

Are Wolfe's intentions good or ... not so good?

How do you think Jack will react to the video?

Answers in next weeks chapter, I promise.