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“Hell no! Whoever took the footage isn’t one of your competitors, but it is someone who knows about your world of ballroom. About you and what you value.”
“Yes,” Del agreed. “Someone who knew that competition was coming up and that the judges would punish you if such footage became public.”
“Any ideas who among your members that could be?” Shanna prompted.
Again, Ali looked at Del, who shook his head. “Not a clue. I could ask you the same question. Who are your enemies?”
Shanna’s blue eyes darted around as if scanning her memories. “No one else I can think of. If it’s not a former partner or a competitor, I know of no one who hates me enough to want to destroy me.”
“Well, if any guest was a friend of one of your former partners or competitors, we have no way of knowing.”
“True…” Shanna nibbled nervously on a hangnail, then, as if realizing she’d done something less than perfect, she stopped. “What about your employees? Do any of them have access to video cameras and those rooms?”
Del shook his head. “We have four types of employees: security, housekeeping, waitstaff, and bar crew. That’s it. They are paid to be invisible unless they’re needed. None of those employees should be anywhere near a room when it’s in use. All the watching and exhibiting is done for and with fellow members.”
“So, another dead end…”
“It appears,” Del agreed, then looked his way. His buddy had the glint of the devil in his eyes. “That we should draw this blackmailer out.”
“Have Kristoff come back and do it again and hope someone makes another recording?” She sounded confused.
“No,” Ali said, catching on to the idea. “Kristoff has been recorded. He has served his purpose. It is interesting that whomever recorded him chose to give the video not to him, but to you.”
“Exactly,” Del chimed in. “The blackmailer is trying to get to you. He or she wants you to suffer. Kristoff is just one avenue.”
“So what are you suggesting I do?”
One more time, Alejandro and Del exchanged a meaningful glance.
“I think, querida, he’s suggesting that I arrange a scene for you here and see if we can catch him red-handed in the act of filming you.”
Shanna’s jaw dropped. “Are you insane!! You think I should come here and get naked and…”
“Spend a little time showing our members what you enjoy,” Alejandro supplied.
“I can’t give this creep any more ammunition to ruin me.”
“He already has everything he needs to discredit you with the judges. But I do not think he’s actually trying to prevent you from competing, as much as he’s attacking you. This feels personal, not business related. If you want to find out who is behind this, you must…expose yourself.”
“I’m not into that!”
After last night, Alejandro knew better, but now wasn’t the time to remind her. “Pretend, if you must. But I believe the plan will work.”
Shanna hesitated, as if she was pondering his words. “If I agree to this crazy scheme, can I do…whatever it is alone?”
Alejandro couldn’t resist the grin spreading across his face. “Plenty of our members would jump through rings of fire to see you touch yourself.”
“Wait. You mean masturbate for an audience?” She turned terribly white under her usual golden glow.
“Even the thought of it makes me hard,” he whispered for her ears alone.
“Absolutely not!”
“No? Then I will be more than happy to assist you,” Alejandro volunteered.
“I’ll bet.”
“It would be more believable…and more blackmail-worthy,” Del chimed in. “I will hide in the room and watch all doors, windows, and passersby—see if I can identify our camera-wielding asshole.”
Her jaw dropped. “It’s bad enough to contemplate getting naked with the Latin Lover, here. But having you watch? No.”
That horror on her face was nothing but a lie. Her suddenly hard nipples told him that. She was scared—of herself, of him, of whatever was fueling her ambition. Suddenly, he wanted to get to the bottom of it all. He wanted to learn her.
“What troubles you? Is the idea too arousing?”
Shanna sent Ali a hard glare. “It’s too weird. And it won’t work.”
“What are your better ideas?”
Pausing, Shanna bit her lip. Oh, yes, she was thinking her options through.
A few moments later, she gritted her teeth. “I don’t have a better idea. But there’s got to be one.”
“This guy will return to the scene of the crime if we dangle the right bait in front of him. Catching him in the act of creating or delivering a video is the only way to be certain he’s the guilty party.”
Shanna’s firm ass outlined in white capri pants that made Ali’s tongue melt as she paced the floor and contemplated in a silence broken only by her high-heels.
“God, I can’t believe I’m actually considering this. I must be out of my mind.”
“It may be the only way to figure out who’s trying to screw up your career,” Del supplied.
