Ben was still two days away from officially starting his new job at Shepherd Film Studios, and he had already almost fucked it up his first day on the lot.

Lesson learned, my ass.

Two weeks ago at the wrap party, he'd come insanely close to kissing Aria Rose. Aria-fucking-Rose. He'd spent every day since then preparing for his new job, ingratiating himself to the board of Maguire Industries, and doing everything he could to erase that gorgeous woman from his mind.

The number of ways that would be inappropriate were never ending. She was, essentially, his employee. She was also the face of his company's biggest project at the moment. His future in the film industry, and the entire future of Shepherd's Film Studios, rested on the success—or failure—of Scarlet's Letters.

The moment he'd realized how close he was to pressing his lips to hers, he'd let go and taken off. Literally. Just turned and walked away without saying a thing. Fucking asshole. She must have been so confused. Or irritated. Or plain mad. He had no idea, and certainly hadn't stayed around to find out.

Now he was spending his second Saturday since in his future office, prepping for Monday. Reading scripts, looking over marketing plans, budgets, staff, prepping what he'd say in the staff meeting on his first day—there was no end to the amount of work that would be on his plate.

In truth, he didn't mind a heavy workload. Staying busy kept his mind from wandering, his heart from aching. It was too quiet at home, and too empty inside. Hell, it was too quiet in this office.

Pushing away from his desk, Ben stood and stretched his arms over his head. No better time than now to explore the studios. Filming was wrapped and everyone was off for the weekend to celebrate, so he'd have the place to himself.

A couple minutes later, he was strolling across the sunny lot, taking it all in as he paced his way across the entire compound. Parking lots. Warehouses. Giant hangars with built sets inside. Outdoor sets. Offices. While certainly not the largest studio lot he'd been on, it was impressive. One of the oldest in Hollywood, but you wouldn't know it by the spectacular upkeep.

Ben came to the building where he'd watched Aria perform in her final scene. He tested the handle, finding it unlocked. Probably should change that policy.

Stepping inside, he was plunged into darkness. One single light came from the bend at the end of the hallway, and he made his way toward it.

"Damn it! Get off!"

Ben frowned, walking faster toward the muffled grunts and sounds coming from the end of the hallway.

"Did they glue it on here? What the hell?" the voice said again, louder and angrier this time.

Finally, Ben stepped around the corner and found Aria standing on the counter of a large kitchen set. She was holding a screwdriver, pushing it behind a plaque on the wall that looked like it was permanently attached.

"Do not make me come back here with a hammer," she threatened, still unaware of his presence.

Ben stifled a laugh, not wanting to alert her. Was she talking to the wall? Wait...was she stealing that plaque from the set? Ben couldn't stop the smile that spread over his face. This was too good.

"Would it help if I said please? Please, please let me rip you off the wall and steal you?"

Ben couldn't hold it one more moment, deciding to blow his cover. "SECURITY! STOP!"

"Ack!" Aria screamed and leapt backward, her feet missing the edge of the counter and causing her to tumble to the ground.

"Shit!" Ben rushed forward, reaching for her and grabbing her inches before she hit the ground. "Are you okay?"

She blinked a few times, looking up at him. "Ben? What the hell! You scared the crap out of me."

"Admittedly, not my most thought out prank."

Aria snorted, rolling her eyes. Pushing back up on to her feet, she shooed him away and he instantly missed the touch of her. Holding her that first night, and now…he could do that forever and not get bored.

"Well, great. The brand new big-man-on-campus catches me stealing. Fantastic."

Her sarcasm was so thick that he had to laugh. "I don't officially start until Monday, actually."

One perfectly arched brow raised. "Really? So, if I were to take this right now..."

"I couldn't do a thing about it," Ben replied with a shrug. Truthfully, she could take whatever she wanted and he'd let her have it.

"Perfect, then can you get it off for me? I swear, it's glued to the freaking wall." She pointed to a wooden plaque over the sink with a quote painted in white.

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." —Emily Brontë

Ben felt the corners of his lips twitch. "That plaque?"

Aria nodded. "Yep."

"The one about soul mates?" he clarified, a thrill running through his body at what felt like a victory. This couldn't be a coincidence. It couldn't.

She felt it, too.

"It's just a sweet phrase. Let's not read too much into it," Aria hastened her reply, her cheeks already turning bright red. Even the slightest of blushes stood out against her pale skin and blond hair. "I just wanted a memento from my time here."

Ben pulled a chair over to stand on and took the screwdriver from her, managing to get the plaque off the wall with a bit of finagling. Climbing back down, he handed it to her. "Whatever you say, Aria Rose."

She eyed him, clearly annoyed. "Do you have a few free minutes?"

"I can make time," he replied, though he technically had the whole day free.

"Good. Come with me." She motioned for him to follow her, then tucked the plaque against her chest and headed down a long corridor with doors on either side that had actors’ names on them.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a door that read ARIA ROSE in big bold letters. She swung it open and stepped inside...into complete chaos. Clothes and boxes were strewn across every surface of the dimly lit room with no windows.

This is the dressing room they gave her? Ben made a mental note to change the crappy set up for upcoming films.

"Sorry about the mess. I'm packing my dressing room and taking it all home today." Aria waved around her at the piles of clothes. "Annnnd...I could use some help."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ben leaned against the doorframe. "Are you asking the CEO of one of Hollywood's oldest and most prestigious studios to help you pack?"

"You're not the CEO yet." Aria's smile was teasing, wicked. He hadn't seen this side of her yet, but it might be his favorite. "In fact, you don't even work here right now. I'm pretty sure that means you're trespassing. Help me pack, and maaaaybe I won't call security."

He chuckled. "You make it hard to say no, don't you?"

"Do you really want to say no?" She picked up a box and tossed a pair of shoes into it.

"Not even a little." His answer came without a second thought.

She glanced at him, pausing at his words, or maybe his tone. The huskiness in his voice. Her lips twitched, but she hid her smile. "Well, grab a box then."

He did, and they spent the next thirty minutes in near silence, stuffing clothes in boxes and carrying them down to her car. There wasn't as much as he'd first thought, now that it was neatly packed into several boxes.

"That's the last of it." She closed the trunk of her car. "I'm officially all moved out."

"Are you going to miss it?" Ben turned to look at the building.

She took a deep breath then shook her head. "No. I won't. I'll be back."

The studio had a few other small budget movies currently filming, but nothing she was involved in. The next one set to film didn't have her on the cast list either. Though, he would certainly love any excuse to keep her around. "You will?"

"I will."

He wanted to push at her, tease her confidence. "What makes you so certain? This movie could tank and we'd never use you in another film again."

She didn't take the bait, turning dreamy, blue-gray eyes to his. "I'll be back."

Suddenly, every time he'd tried to push her out of his mind over the last two weeks broke down. She was too beautiful, too enticing, too mesmerizing.

He needed to feel her again. He needed to kiss her. He needed her.

Closing the gap between them, he stepped toward her. One hand on her back, pulling her against him; the other, cupping the side of her face. For a split second, they stared at each other, then, unable to resist, he pressed his lips to hers.

Soft. Slow. He waited for her response, for her to encourage him, to want him. She moaned, barely above a murmur, and leaned into his chest. It was all he needed to do what he'd wanted to do since the moment he’d first seen her on set.

He kissed her deeply, eagerly. She parted her mouth, and his tongue plunged inside, tasting everything she gave him.

Her hands twisted in his shirt—tighter, pulling, needing. She moaned against his lips, his tongue, his body.

Every doubt in his mind, every reason why they shouldn't be doing this...disappeared. Nothing about this felt wrong. She felt perfect. She felt like she'd been meant to be his all his life, and he was just realizing it now.

It was dizzying. Maddening.

When he pulled away, they were both panting and trying to regain their breath. Her chest rising and falling against him at a fast pace, distractingly provocative.

"Ben..." she breathed, blinking rapidly.

"I'm sorry." He tried to find a way to explain his complete break with sanity. "And I'm also not sorry at all. I've wanted to do that since the moment I saw you. And it's completely against the rules—if there even are rules. It's entirely unprofessional, and I should know better."

"You should know better," she agreed, her head tilted to the side and a small smile on her face. "But so should I."

He grinned, but kept his tone serious. "This shouldn't happen."

"It definitely shouldn't." She pulled her lips between her teeth and let go. Full pink lips that he'd just been kissing…and wanted to be kissing again. "It would be completely inappropriate."

Ben felt sure his entire body was about to explode. His jeans suddenly felt entirely too tight, and his skin entirely too hot.

Aria slid her tongue across her lower lip. "Or...maybe it's not?"

"I'm listening." Anything.

"Aside from some promotional photo shoots, yesterday was my last day here. And you..." Aria pointed squarely at him, the corners of her lips twitching. "You don't officially work here until Monday."

"We're free agents."

She nodded. "Only for two days."

Ben placed a hand on the trunk of her car. "You know, if you needed help loading all this in the car, then you'll probably need help unloading it at your house."

"You make a valid point, Mr. Lawson."

Ben's pulse quickened, his heart pounding in his chest.

Fuck. I'm in so much trouble.