Beneath the hate, a more insidious realization was taking root. She wasn't just trapped by Mike, but she was trapped by her own choices.
'This is karma,' she realized, the thought cold and sharp. 'This is exactly what I deserved...'
'I should have been smarter.'
'I should have kept it professional.'
Images of Kyle flashed through her mind: the secret dinners, the kisses in the darkness of the studio, the way she had allowed her boundaries to blur until they were nonexistent.
She had been the one to initiate the flirtation, the one to encourage the secret meetings. She had played a dangerous game with a man who was supposed to be her subordinate, a man whose career depended on her favor.
And then, the photo. The single, damning image of them together, caught in an intimate moment that would have destroyed both their reputations if it ever saw the light of day.
Mike had known. He had been there, watching from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
