Scandalous (5 page)

Raiza did not look impressed. She leaned back in her chair and moved the bag even further away, “Well then, you ‘seriously need’ to tell me when you and D did the dirty deed.”

“What?!” Cristal blurted, her eyes popping open and her jaw dropping. Those were just about the last words she would have expected to come out of Raiza's mouth. No one...and she meant NO ONE...knew about the fling between she and Dominic. They had both agreed it would be better that way.

Had his newly-sentimental ass told someone about it now that he had gone all soft and teddy bear like?

“What did he say?!” Cristal demanded, “I am going to kill him!”

Raiza smiled mischievously, and then giggled, “Hmmm...I
believe
he referred to it as the best night of your life, and YOU said that it ranked slightly below watching Friends re-runs.”

Cristal immediately grabbed at her ears, remembering the listening device in the diamond studs she was wearing last night. They weren’t in her ears.

“Oh, they’re not on anymore,” Raiza informed her breezily, “You took them off right before you got in the shower. Which was also, I might add, before you guys got to the good stuff. But, it doesn't matter. Because, right now – FYI - you are going to tell me about The Talk. No arguments.”

Cristal just stared.

“Come on, mama, spill,” Raiza goaded her, “I figured I would come over today and you would be basking in afterglow...but apparently you didn’t get any, cause you are seriously wound tight. I know you would not be jonesing as hard as you are for this Cinnabon right now if you had got some last night.” Raiza reached into the bag and took out a large chunk of cinnamon flavored gooey goodness and plopped it in her mouth. She groaned with pleasure as she chewed the soft and pillowy concoction.

“Evil,” Cristal proclaimed, “You are just pure evil.”

Cristal tried to bide some time while she let her mind play catch-up with this new information. So, it was she, herself, that had let the cat out of the proverbial bag. This would never have happened if she hadn’t been so distracted by you-know-who.

OK. Damage control.

“Who else knows?”

“Uh-uh, chickadee. You answer my questions first,” Raiza stared pointedly at Cristal.

Oh please, Cristal thought with an inner eye roll, Raiza should know her better than that. There was no way Cristal would be answering
anything
before she was good and ready to. And
that
would not be until after she found out how much damage her mistake had caused her. She sat silently, waiting Raiza out.

“Oh, fine!” Raiza folded good-naturedly, “No one. Pssshhhh. Why would you even ask that, girl? You know I got your back.”

And the truth of it was, Cristal did know that. Raiza Diaz was one of the few people in the world that Cristal trusted.

Although Raiza had not grown up in foster care like Cristal had, her childhood had not been any easier. After her Grandma, the woman who had raised her, passed away when Raiza was eleven, she found herself constantly being shipped between relatives in New Jersey and New York City. She stayed with various aunts and uncles, but they had all had a lot of kids of their own, and not a whole lot of money to feed everyone. Because of this, they all had to pass around the “burden” of caring for Raiza in order to spread the cost evenly. And, as Raiza had told Cristal many times, she was always made well aware, in every one of the homes, and in big ways and small, that that was
exactly
what she was – a burden.

Raiza’s Mom had never really been in her life due to drug-related issues, and she had never even met her Dad. She loved her Aunts and Uncles and cousins, they had done the best
that they knew how in a bad situation, and she fully realized that they could have easily turned her over to the state. But, the end result had been, Raiza had grown up knowing exactly what it felt like to always be the outsider.

When Raiza had come to apply at Red Hot, Cristal had just been promoted to head of undercover. She immediately told Red that she wanted
Raiza on her team. It was, in fact, her first managerial decision – and Cristal thought that it might still be her best.

Raiza was the epitome of a Latin beauty. She oozed sex appeal without even trying. The way she moved, the way she spoke. Cristal knew that as a bait girl, Raiza would shine - and she certainly had. She had never failed to draw in the mark, not even one time. Guys drooled the moment she came into view. Sometimes Cristal actually felt sorry for them - they didn’t stand a chance when Raiza turned her attentions their way.

But Raiza didn’t last long in undercover, as Cristal had suspected might be the case within the first five minutes of their very first conversation. Raiza was by no means all beauty and no brains. As soon as she began at Red Hot, Cristal saw that she had a voracious appetite for knowledge. She wanted to learn all about how every aspect of the business worked, coming in during her off-hours to soak up as much knowledge as she possibly could. Cristal had encouraged and facilitated this quest for knowledge in her young protégé.

Raiza became particularly enamored with the technical side of the business, and as she began to work with the sophisticated computers and tech gadgets that Red Hot employed, it became clear fairly quickly – even to the elite ex-hackers that were training her – that she was a bit of a technical genius. She had never realized her aptitude for all things tech growing up because none of the relatives she had lived with had ever been able to afford a computer – but she was making up for that lost time in spades.

She also had something that none of their other tech geeks possessed – people skills and managerial acumen. It wasn't long before she was running the entire technical division at Red Hot, and the 'nerd squad' (as Dominic so impolitely referred to them) were happy to report to her. They knew how much she respected them, and they returned that respect.

Cristal was proud of Raiza. She had done so well at Red Hot, fulfilling (and even exceeding) the potential that Cristal had spotted within her that first day.

There was yet another reason that Cristal was so happy that Raiza had shone so brightly within the organization, though, and it actually had nothing to do with Raiza herself. Cristal liked the fact that Red had seen what Raiza could bring to the company, all that she could contribute – with not just her body, but also her mind. That was one of the many reasons she loved Red so much.

Yet, even as close as she and Raiza were, Cristal still had not told her about her ‘one night’ with Dominic. Not just because they all worked together, but also because it was almost too much to put into words. It had not been your garden variety one night stand, no siree. This was…well, she didn’t know. Which was part of the reason she had never talked about it.

Another part was that talking about it made it real.

Cristal stared down at her hands, not knowing what to say.

Raiza took out the sinfully delicious Cinnabon and placed it on the accompanying cardboard plate, which she then pushed across the table. She handed Cristal a plastic knife and fork.

“Here, talk while you eat,” Raiza smiled.

“What? You already know it happened,” Cristal said defensively. She took a large bite of the gooey desert and did feel slightly better.

Raiza nodded wisely.

“So, when did it happen?”

“A couple of years ago.”

“Just one time?”

“Yes...well, I mean more than once...but just one night,” Cristal could feel heat rising in her cheeks. What the hell? Cristal Hart did not blush!

This was getting ridiculous.

Raiza, ever the quick one, did not miss the dusky rosiness rising in Cristal's cheeks. She exclaimed, “Ohhhh girl! I knew that man could put it down!” She fanned herself as she continued, “He is hot. No, not just hot. HAWWWT. Damn, I knew it! I just
knew
it!”

“OK! I get it! You knew it,” Cristal wanted this conversation to be over. Like, yesterday.

“What happened? Why was it only one night?” Raiza asked, her eyes sparking conspiratorially as she removed the coffee cups from their stiff brown cardboard holder and passed one to Cristal.

“It was just, I don’t know. I didn’t want…he knew that it was only...” Cristal paused, this was not coming out right.
She blurted, “We work together!”

Raiza pursed her lips and made a smacking sound, “Please, girl. If you won't tell me the truth, at least tell me a story I'll believe. Red thinks of you two as his kids. If you guys got together, it would be like Christmas, his birthday, and the Cubs winning the World Series all wrapped into one. Try again.”

“Ethically...” Critstal began.

Raiza interrupted her with a loud buzzing sound and then said, “Nope! It’s not an ethics issue, either, since neither of you have any power over the other one. You have the same position in separate divisions. Try again.”

Cristal dropped her forehead onto her folded arms on the table, “Oh, God, Rai...I don't know. I honestly don’t know. I'm not just saying that.”

Cristal tried to organize her complicated feelings about the situation into words and sentences, but she kept getting lost in the jumble.

“Well, then let’s start with the basics. Do you like him?” Raiza asked.

“He’s just…different. I’m not myself around him,” Cristal took another large bite of the Cinnabon.

A huge smile spread across Raiza face as she pointed at Cristal, “You
like
him, like him.”

“What are we, twelve? I don’t
like
him, like him.”

“I think you do. And I think that you are probably more yourself around him than any of the other guys you waste your time with. Because, the sad truth for those dudes is that none of them can even come close to keeping up with you. But Dominic...woooo, girl...I bet he gives you a run for your money! And you don’t like it very much because YOU, my darling dearest friend, are a control freak.”

Raiza sat back and crossed her arms, a pleased expression on her face.

“Wow,” Cristal said, her face completely impassive, “And how much do I owe you, Dr. Diaz, for this little psychoanalysis?”

“Hey, don't knock it. I minored in Psych, remember. But that’s not the point. The point is that you and Mr. HAWT are going to be living together. You obviously have some serious and
unresolved
issues. I think you should put on your big girl panties and deal with them.” She paused, a wicked smile growing on her face, and added, “Then, once you’ve done that, you can lose the panties altogether.”

Cristal shook her head, “It was one night. It’s not happening again.”

“Are you trying to convince yourself or me?”

“Probably both,” Cristal admitted reluctantly.

“Well what did he want to talk about? I wasn’t privy to that convo since you SO RUDELY took off your earrings before your shower.”

Cristal laughed at Raiza and shook her head, “Nothing really. He just wanted to clear the air since we're going to be spending so much time together.”

“And did you...” Raiza cleared her throat, “...um...'clear the air' so to speak?”

“You didn’t need to use air quotes. It wasn’t a euphemism. He said he was sorry for being an ass and that he wanted to use this time to 'get to know each other better' while we have the chance.”

“Oh, so it’s fine for YOU to use air quotes,” Raiza teased, “Double standard much?”

Cristal laughed, “Shut up!”

“Nice come back,” Raiza snorted. With a satisfied smirk, she wiped her hands and mouth with the white paper napkin and then stood. “Well, I think my work here is done.”

“Don’t leave!” Cristal pleaded, “I'm so booooooored!”

“Well, you won’t be for long,” Raiza said with a wink, “The 'man of the house' will be home soon.”

She smiled and then, just before she left, turned and, with an overly-affected casual attitude, “Oh, and one more thing. Red is coming by tonight. He wants to talk to you and Dominic together.”

“Why? What’s up?” Cristal asked with trepidation. She knew if Red was coming over it must be important. He liked to spend his evenings in his La-Z-Boy recliner with a beer in one hand and whatever sports was in season on the big screen.

“No idea, but he’ll be by around seven,” Raiza replied.

“Way to bury the lede!” Cristal exclaimed.

Raiza laughed, “Yeah, I knew you'd feel that way. I knew if I told you that part first, I'd never get any of the dirty dog details from you.” She grabbed her purse and scuttled toward the door as Cristal playfully slapped at her. As she put her hand on the knob, she added, “Oh, and by the way - you must have made quite an impression on the congressman last night. He ran a full background check on you first thing this morning.”

“Good. I’m interested to see what his next move is going to be,” Cristal said, and then added to herself mentally, for several reasons...not the least of which is that I am more than ready to be done with this assignment!

Raiza paused one last time as she opened the front door, “I know you didn’t ask for my advice, but you’re gonna get it anyway. I think that you should take advantage of your current living situation.”