Nathaniel was in the middle of a proverbial legal minefield. He let one of his subordinates come into his home and literally proposition him for sex in exchange for favors. Could it be any more textbook wrong? And he knew in the eyes of the state of California it doesn't matter whether the acts take place off work premises or not. Despite all the mental alarm bells, when she was in his lap, running her hands over his shoulders, he was putty in her hands.

Since he met her, he had been intrigued by Rebecca. At first, it was just a fascination with why a woman as smart, educated, and accomplished as her would be working in West Covina. Then, his curiosity grew when he discovered that the supposed "man of her dreams" appeared to be a slow-witted bro. Frankly, he thought she deserved better in both areas of her life. It became obvious that she was a complex person. And the more he found out about her, the more he wanted to know.

The dream about her took him by surprise. It forced him to admit that he was subconsciously also harboring a physical attraction to her. The very next day, when the elevator malfunctioned, it almost felt like a sign from the universe. This was an opportunity to get closer to her. After she spurned his straightforward proposal to simply have sex (yet another huge legal misstep, he acknowledged), they ended up talking for hours. It was truly mystifying to him how they could be so similar in some ways and such polar opposites in others. He felt her defenses slowly fall away as they talked and in some moments he felt that they were really connecting. The chemistry between them was palpable.

When they came close to kissing, he waited for her to make the final move. Since she had rejected his advance earlier, he wanted no ambiguity about her decision to kiss him. But then the elevator started working again and the moment was lost. He went through a range of emotions from disappointment to hope that maybe he could salvage the situation to acceptance that it just wasn't going to happen. It was probably for the best anyway. He wouldn't want to be the scapegoat for any discord between she and Josh. But suddenly she grabbed his neck and kissed him soundly. It lasted mere seconds, leaving no time for him to react. She looked panicked and ran out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. He was left speechless, again totally bewildered by her.

After that night, he couldn't get her out of his head. He wanted to learn more about her, be closer to her, kiss her again. He couldn't seem to stop replaying images of the dream and the kiss in his mind over and over. When she put up a firm boundary about a kiss never happening again, he respected it. She was busy planning her wedding anyway so he tried to rid her from his mind and not interfere in her life. But when she looked so sad and vulnerable about her dad not attending her wedding, his heart went out to her. He felt the uncharacteristic urge to gather her in his arms and protect her from the outside world of hurt. And this kind of hurt he knew all too well. He decided to fly in her father despite the deal he made with himself. The moratorium on Rebecca would start after the wedding.

Watching Rebecca be abandoned at her wedding made him feel protective of her all over again. He tried every form of communication to get in touch with her after the wedding, masking his concern behind professional appearances. When he finally broke down and went to her home, using a gift basket as a pretense to visit, he had no plan for what he would say. He just wanted some kind of confirmation that she was ok.

He was completely shocked when she returned to work transformed into an aloof, confident, sexy woman-scorned living trope. He knew there was no way she bounced back from being abandoned that fast. If there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she felt things deeply. At the same time, her new persona was intoxicating and he felt a rush of adrenaline whenever he was around her. He was a moth drawn to the flame burning around her. Which, of course, lead him to his most current predicament. His willpower quickly crumbled at the promise of a full night with her. And he used every high-powered contact and stored-up favor he had to give Rebecca what she wanted.

The night of the masquerade party, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Besides the fact that she looked stunning, he couldn't help but overhear her conversations with the women at the party. She was her old bubbly, quirky self again, just barely skirting the topics he told her to avoid. He was enchanted by her.

Dancing with her felt like the right thing to do in the moment and it was an excuse to hold her close to him. When they kissed, it happened so organically he didn't know which one of them initiated the contact. She pressed herself against him as they kissed and he was getting the feeling that she wanted this as much as he did. He felt a warmth in his chest and butterflies in his stomach.

"Let's get out of here," she breathed with a mischievous smile.

"Uh huh," was all he could muster.

Nathaniel lead her toward the exit with a hand on the small of her back. He quickly texted his driver to pull around. A black limousine pulled up to the curb moments after they exited the building. Rebecca waggled her eyebrows at him, impressed. He opened the door for her and then followed her inside. "Could you take us to my apartment, Chuck?" The driver nodded and then rolled up the window separating the driver's seat from the back.

Rebecca gazed starry-eyed out the window with her lips parted. He felt like his body was buzzing. He tentatively put his hand on the inside of her thigh and he heard her breath hitch in her throat. He stroked the skin there softly with his thumb and noticed her chest rapidly rising and falling. He desperately hoped that she wanted this as much as he did. He felt her subtly shift her weight to lean into him and saw goosebumps raised on her arm.

By the time they reached his apartment building, he felt like he may pass out from the sheer anticipation. He was barely touching her but he felt an electricity between them. When the limo stopped at his apartment building, he became laser-focused on getting inside as quickly as possible. They stepped inside the elevator and he rapidly hit "3" more times than necessary. He saw a hint of a smile on Rebecca's face from his obvious impatience. The door closed and then the elevator hitched. Both Rebecca and Nathaniel's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh god no," she exclaimed, pushing Nathaniel out of the way and jamming the button several times, betraying her cool exterior. The elevator then suddenly sprung to life and they both breathed a sigh of relief. He chuckled, "Can you imagine?" She shook her head, visibly shaken. Finally at the apartment door, he fumbled with his keys for what felt like an eternity.

"You are going to freaking kill me," Rebecca said with frustration. But then the lock gave way and they spilled into the apartment.

Once they crossed the threshold, he cupped her face with both hands and kissed her deeply. He backed her up against the door, which closed with a thud. She whimpered from the pain but grabbed his shirt and pulled him against her, urging him to keep kissing her. She frantically tried to undo the buttons of his shirt. After failing to make any progress, she pulled away and said, "Hey, could you help me out here." He made short work of it, discarding his shirt on the ground. She ran her hands over his bare shoulders and arms appreciatively. He captured her lips again and ran his hands all over her body. After several moments he stopped and rested his forehead against hers.

"Hey, let's move this to-" she panted, tilting her head toward the bed. She grabbed his hand and led him there, lying down on her back and pulling him to follow. He covered her body with his and she immediately enveloped him with her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him down to resume kissing her.

His head was swimming with desire, but the deal still weighed heavily on his mind. He knew that Rebecca's over-the-top sexy persona was a facade and she had to still be hurting from the wedding. He didn't want to take advantage of that vulnerability under the guise of this ill-conceived deal. Yet, at the same, he had been paying rapt attention to her all night and felt that all signs pointed to the fact that she wanted him back. Even though it would be painful to stop, he needed to hear that confirmation from her.

He pulled away and looked deeply into her eyes, "Hey, you don't have to do this, you know...regardless our deal."

She paused a moment and he held his breath. Her eyes were dark with desire. "I want to. I've always wanted to." She drew him back down to her.

The words reverberated in his mind. She's always wanted to. Always.