The morning after the gala, Passion was already immersed in work. The media frenzy over the scandal had barely cooled, but she wasn't distracted. The Coleman deal was done, the Bishops had their mess to clean up, and she was prepared to ride the wave of this success, knowing exactly where it would take her.
Her assistant, Aria, brought in the usual coffee, eyes sharp as always, but even she could sense something had shifted with Passion. There was a coldness in the air that had nothing to do with the morning chill.
"I've arranged the meetings for today. Just a couple of clients," Aria said, but the question was in her eyes, her ever-watchful curiosity. "Anything else?"
Passion shook her head, her tone crisp. "No. Just keep everything running smoothly."
Aria nodded, sensing there was more to the silence but unwilling to pry. She knew her place though, assistant, not confidante.
****
Meanwhile, Scott sat in his private office, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sun's rays were filtering through the clouds, but his thoughts remained in the shadows of the previous night. He had never been one to lose sleep over a woman but last night, sleep refused to come. He had stared at the ceiling of his penthouse bedroom, shirt undone, tie discarded on the floor, replaying the gala in his mind. Not the deals struck or the investors wooed. Just her.
Passion Coleman. A name that sounded too deliberate. A woman too precise to be accidental.
He had flirted with the idea that she was a pawn. Maybe even a trophy. But last night stripped away the illusion. Her touch had been controlled, her words calculated, like someone moving a piece on a board he hadn't realized they were playing on.
And she'd rattled him.
That kiss- no, that almost-kiss- burned more than anything real. She had left the taste of danger on his lips without even touching them. And worse, he knew she'd done it on purpose.
He knew he was increasingly attracted to her but the thought of his father and the business lingered at the back of his mind. People who did business with the Bishops either became pawns or enemies and Scott just knew he didn't want Passion to become either.
His thoughts flickered to his father's outburst this morning
"The journalist won't back down," Charles had snapped. "Legal's useless, she has too much. Virudix has become a problem and has to go".
He wasn't ignorant to how ruthless his father was and knew that that some poor souls would be silenced to ensure no one connected the dots between the Bishops and this scandal.
Scott had followed him into his study. "We're already floating the humanitarian rebrand. We leak the women's clinic initiative next week. The only news carrying our name in the tabloids is the Bishop-Coleman partnership"
"Not enough!" Charles had slammed a file on the table. "Speaking of deals, this Passion Coleman situation, have you found an in yet. Can we handle her to our advantage or is she handling you?"
Scott hadn't blinked. "She's on our side, for now."
Charles had given him a long, weighted stare. "I built this empire from dirt, boy. And I'll be damned if a pretty face in heels is what topples it."
****
Passion had a glass of wine in her hands when the nightly report from Matteo rolled in. The Bishop PR machine had begun covering their tracks, humanitarian investments, sustainability pledges, medical outreaches. All smoke.
She scrolled through the list. "They're scared, worried that their skeletons may come out of the closet" she said aloud, almost thoughtfully.
"They're trying to look generous. That means we're doing something right. We should turn up the heat, push another leak" Elena suggested.
"Passion considered. "No. Not yet. Let them patch the hole... then we open another. Too many problems and they may figure out that it started when I came into town."
"Alright, have a good night dear"
"Good night Elena, good night Matteo"
Passion dropped her phone after the call and leaned back in her sofa. The taste of wine on her lips only made her remember the previous night. Scott's voice. His breath. The weight of his gaze like silk and steel against her skin. Even thought she didn't show it all day but she hadn't liked the way it made her feel, unmoored, alert, curious.
Curiosity was usually good but curiosity about Scott Bishop would only prove dangerous.