The ground rules were simple, but necessary. If we were going to go through with this, it was going to have to stay a secret, at least for the time being. So Jesse and I had spent a good two hours of our seven-hour flight to Los Angeles emailing each other back and forth, compiling a list of rules for our relationship. I would've much rather had a verbal discussion with him about it, but we couldn't very well chat about our secret office affair with Erica sitting in the row in front of us.

"What do you think of this provision?" Jesse asked beside me, acting as if we were talking about a paragraph in a contract. Erica didn't seem to notice, thankfully.

He was referring to our revised list that he'd thrown together on a bullet-pointed iPad note page. He was waiting for my seal of approval before we "officially" entered into this wild idea.

Jesse's hand brushed mine when I took the iPad from him and a blush begun to creep up my neck from the brief contact. Good Lord; what was this man doing to me? I tried to brush off the chills dancing up my arms and forced myself to focus on the words on the screen.

Rule #1: Keep our affair a secret from family, friends, and especially coworkers.

Rule #2: Spend adequate amounts of time with other coworkers so it doesn't look like we're spending too much time together.

Rule #3: After hours trysts in the office are great as long as the cleaning crew isn't around and our coworkers think that we left the office earlier in the evening.

Rule #4: Dinner dates should be referred to as something believable, like going out for drinks with a friend. And dates should never take place at a location that people we are close to frequent.

Rule #5: Jesse's apartment is fine, but mine is off limits until we determine it's a good idea for Haley to know about us.

Rule #6: Never leave or show up to the office together.

Rule #7: Don't let our relationship interfere with our work ethic.

They were all good, reasonable ground rules, and I was glad that we'd so easily come to a mutual agreement on how to keep our relationship private. Somewhere in the back of my mind, though, something about sneaking around with Jesse bothered me. I tried to write it off as that I was just used to the way everything had been out in the open with Brad – aside from him cheating on me, that is – and maybe I was a little uncomfortable with hiding my romance from everyone. I shrugged it off and told myself that it would all work out fine once I got used to it. It wasn't that big of a deal, right? Besides, no one needed to know our personal business anyway.

"I think that clause number three needs a demonstration for proper clarification," I said in a business-y voice, praying that Erica wouldn't ask what we were talking about.

A seductive smirk stretched across Jesse's mouth and he nodded. "Yeah. I think you're right."

The rest of the flight was pretty relaxing and quiet. Jesse ended up falling asleep for a little while and I took the opportunity to catch up on a book I should've finished reading weeks ago. By the time I completed the novel, we had about forty-five minutes left until we would land. I decided to use the rest of the time to put together a playlist on my iPhone of songs that made me feel good – something to pep me up and start my work days off right. I was on the third song when Jesse finally stirred and brushed his arm against mine, smiling sleepily at me.

"What are you doing?" he mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Making a playlist of feel good music."

This seemed to get his attention for some reason, and he asked if he could help.

"Do you have suggestions?" I cocked a brow, unable to wipe the smile off my face from seeing how adorable he looked when he was tired.

Jesse nodded. "You bet, I do."

"Let's hear 'em."

He adjusted his position in the seat to better face me and grabbed my phone from my hands, poking at the screen for a good three to five minutes before he handed it back. He'd added several songs, most of which I knew and loved, and my smile only grew when I realized that we had the same taste in music.

"What's your favorite feel good song?" Jesse asked, giving me a flirty nudge.

I didn't even have to think about it. It was one of my most played, despite having probably tens of thousands of songs on my iTunes account.

"Keep Me Crazy – Sheppard. What's yours?"

Jesse nodded with a look of approval on his face and I was pretty sure that meant he loved that song, too.

"Mine would have to be Are You Ready? by AC/DC," he grinned something wickedly sexy and winked at me. "It's my go-to in the car on the highway."

I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was just something about his statement that turned me on. Maybe it was the mental visual of him relaxed in the driver's seat with one hand on the wheel and the other on my thigh... I shuddered at the thought and Jesse raised an eyebrow, the look in his eyes telling me he knew exactly what I was imagining and that he had every intention of carrying out my fantasies in real life.

"I must have dozed off," came Erica's tired voice in front of us as she turned back to see what we were up to. "Have you two been working back there this whole time?"

It wasn't a suspicious question. It was a simple, genuine one, telling me she'd hadn't noticed a thing.

"Yes," we said at the same time and then looked at each other with a laugh.

"We've been reviewing the merger proposal," Jesse told her and slipped his iPad back into his computer bag beneath the seat.

Erica rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you two can stare at that thing for that long. I got sick of reading it the first time I looked at it."

"Dedication?" I held up my hands with a shrug. "Hey, I'm just trying to prove myself to you two."

That part was honest at least. Office affair with my boss or not, I still wanted to make a great impression on both Jesse and Erica. Although, I was pretty sure Jesse's idea of a great impression involved something a little more salacious.

Erica smiled brightly at my proclamation and nodded in approval. "I'm glad you're so dedicated to this job, Vanessa. I really am. And I think your commitment is rubbing off on Jesse, too."

"Oh?" I wasn't sure how to respond.

Jesse thumped the back of her seat with his foot. "Just what exactly do you mean by that?"

His voice was teasing in a best friends sort of way, and it made me happy to see the two of them poking fun at each other. It was rare to see executive colleagues getting along so well and laughing, giving each other a playful hard time the way they did. It was refreshing, actually.

Erica looked back and forth between us with a happy face. "What I mean is, you've been a little lax lately, given our recent setbacks, which is completely understandable. But I can see an improvement in your disposition since we hired Vanessa. I think her tenacity is a good influence on you. It's good to see you looking so devoted to the job these last several days."

Jesse kept an inconspicuous smile on his face while Erica spoke. His expression was neutral. Anyone who wasn't in on our secret wouldn't be able to pick up the subtle hint of something more in his eyes.

He glanced at me, keeping his demeanor businesslike. "Yeah. I think this one might be a keeper, Erica. We have good taste in employees."

She was none the wiser, but I could certainly read a lot more into his words than the casual commentary he appeared to be making – especially when he said "taste."

Our plane hit the L.A.X. runway just after six o'clock. The sun was sinking low in the sky, casting a pinkish orange glow on the buildings and palm trees. I had never been to California before and I was a little star struck when I spotted the infamous Hollywood sign off in the distance.

"That orange tint isn't so much the sunset as it is the smog," Jesse chuckled as we passed by the carousel at baggage claim.

"Do you come to L.A. often?" I asked, slinging my carryon over my shoulder.

He nodded. "Yeah. I've been here on business too many times to count. Eventually, I'd like to expand here – open a west coast office. Seattle, too. I'd like to have a couple west coast offices, our New York location, and then a few other offices scattered throughout the country – cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, and maybe Houston."

"A little ambitious there, Reese," Erica teased, playfully elbowing him.

I was reminded of three years ago on the flight to Chicago when Jesse had told me the same thing, back before he'd even had his own company. He'd come a long way in a short amount of time, and something about the fact that he still had a lot of the same goals with his business made me happy.

"What city might we expand to next?" I asked both of them and then wondered if I'd overstepped by saying we instead of you.

Erica grinned, scanning the arrivals lane for the car that was supposed to take us to the hotel. "That's something we have disagreed on since day one, Vanessa."

I raised a questioning brow to Jesse and he explained that Erica was fond of Denver, while he was partial to Chicago, and neither of them wanted to compromise.

"Who knows," I said. "Maybe Advantage will grow so much with this merger that you'll both get your wish and open two new offices at the same time."

That was farfetched wishful thinking, but at least I was looking at the glass as being half full, right? And my comment earned a stunning smile from Jesse, which was really all that mattered to me at the moment.

Upon our arrival at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, I was overcome with a feeling of accomplishment. I knew the hotel was glamorous and a great place for traveling executives to stay during business trips, but I'd had no idea when I booked our rooms that it would be so over the top fabulous. Aly had suggested the hotel when I'd told her I wasn't sure where I should book our stay. I made a mental note to thank her when I spotted the look of awe on Erica's face as we walked into the lobby.

"This is incredible, Vanessa," she said, staring up at the massive chandelier. "I was not expecting this."

Operation: Impress My Bosses was going quite well so far. I smiled to myself at the thought and remembered Haley mentioning that she thought I might even get a raise if I made a great enough impression on Erica. I hoped she was right. I was more than satisfied with my starting pay, compared to what I'd been used to previously, but who didn't want a raise anyway?

Jesse checked us in and the three of us piled into the elevator with the concierge transporting our luggage for us, and I found myself wishing that it was just Jesse and me in the small space. The dark, almost dirty look in his eyes was saying that he would've preferred the privacy, too. When he leaned back against the wall and ran the tip of his tongue along his lower lip, I instantly lost focus on anything besides the heart-palpitating thought of him pinning me up against the elevator wall. The ding when we reached our floor was a rude awakening to my fantasy, and I hoped Erica hadn't noticed how beet red my cheeks probably were.

The concierge assisted each of us with our luggage, carrying each item into our respective rooms. Jesse and I had rooms right next to each other – with an unintentional conjoining door – and Erica's room was directly across the hall from ours.

"Oh," Erica said in a tone I couldn't quite understand, stepping into my room and frowning just the slightest. "There's a door joining your rooms."

She didn't sound like it bothered her because of anything Jesse and I might do. It was more like she was concerned about whether or not the feature made me uncomfortable.

"Jesse, you should switch rooms with me," she suggested, gesturing to the door. "I'm sure Vanessa would be more comfortable if another woman was on the other side of that door."

Jesse played it off cool, shrugging. "Oh, come on, Erica. We're all adults here."

He wasn't fooling me, though. I knew exactly what was going through his mind – the same dirty ideas that my brain was conjuring up.

"But-"

"It's fine," I interjected with a neutral smile, hoping she bought it. "I don't mind. It locks on both sides. It's not like he can pop in and harass me."

I did my best to make my voice sound joking and not at all like I had ulterior motives. The last thing I needed was for Erica to think that I wanted to have conjoining rooms with Jesse.

She shook her head and laughed. "Alright. If you're sure, then. But if you change your mind, or if his late night off key shower singing annoys you too much, I'm happy to make him switch rooms."

She gave me a friendly pat on the back and retreated to her room. I waited until I heard her door shut to speak again.

"Think she noticed anything?" I cringed, pointing a thumb in the direction of her room.

Jesse waved his hand as if to say he didn't think so. "Erica's a very smart woman, but I think if we play our cards just right, she won't suspect a thing."

He stepped closer to me, trapping me between his body and the wall, and snaked a hand down my side, finding the end of my blouse and slipping his fingers beneath the fabric. His touch was soft and sweet at first, his thumb massaging circles into the skin above my hipbone, but there was nothing innocent about the look in his eyes.

"I've been thinking about this all fucking day," he admitted, raising his hand a little higher beneath my shirt.

Every hair on my body stood on end, goosebumps spreading across every inch of skin he touched. And then he kissed me. It was slow and romantic, an almost loving feeling associated with the way his lips moved against mine. It didn't take long before his tongue was dancing with mine and both of us were moaning into each other's mouths, panting and grinding our lower halves against each other.

I tangled my fingers in the back of Jesse's hair while his hands explored the portion of my body between the top of my slacks and the bottom of my bra. I wanted him to keep going, to touch more of me, but I also didn't want things to move too fast. This was all new to me and I had no clue how fast or slow things were supposed to progress between us. I knew I wanted more of him – all of him – but I didn't know if I was ready to take that step just yet. No matter what decision was made, however, I was positive that Jesse would respect my comfort zone and go at my pace. Realizing that, it occurred to me that if I wasn't careful, I could easily fall in love with this man...