THE LION'S DEN

Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den

The Vane Headquarters was a building made of black glass and steel that stood tall in the midnight sky of Midtown. As Elena stepped out of the cab the cold wind blew her hair across her face. She didn't even notice. She was too scared. Her heart was racing fast.

The lobby was very quiet except for the sound of the elevators moving. The security guard didn't even ask to see her ID; he just pointed her towards the floor. Julian had already arranged for her to go up.

When the doors opened on the floor the office was dimly lit, with only a warm glow from the city skyline outside. Julian was standing behind a desk that looked like it was made of stone. He was still wearing his suit. His tie was loosened and a glass of brown liquid sat next to him.

He didn't look up from the tablet in front of him. "You’re late Elena."

"The city never stops moving just because you're angry Julian " she said quickly throwing her purse onto a leather chair. She walked up to the desk. Slammed her phone down next to his glass. A photo from a tabloid glared up at them. It showed Julian's lips near her ear, a moment that looked intimate but wasn't. "What is this? How did a photographer even get into the conservatory?"

Julian finally looked up. His eyes were red and tired. He looked like he hadn't slept well. "My brother’s wedding is a big deal. The press has been trying to get in for weeks. They didn't need to get in; they used a long-range lens from the building across the street."

". The caption?" Elena’s voice got louder. "Living at your estate? Julian if my investors think I’m sleeping with a client. The one who called me an amateur. My firm is done. Again."

Julian stood up. His height made him look intimidating. "You think you’re the one with something to lose? Vane Enterprises is in the middle of a merger with a conservative European firm. They care about 'family stability.' If the press makes me look like a predator who uses his brother’s wedding to take advantage of his staff, the deal will fall apart."

He walked around the desk. Stopped just in front of her. The air between them felt charged. "We have a problem, Elena.. Unfortunately there is only one way to fix it."

"Tell them the truth, " she said. "Tell them we were arguing about lighting."

Julian let out a bitter laugh. "The public doesn't want 'lighting.' They want a story. If we deny it now they’ll dig deeper. They’ll find the video from five years ago. They’ll make it look like a 'toxic power dynamic' or a 'revenge plot.' It will stay in the news for months."

Elena felt like she was running out of options. "So what are you suggesting?"

"We lean into it, " Julian said, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "We give them a story. Not a scandal. A romance."

Elena froze. "You want us to... Pretend?"

"For the three weeks until the wedding is over " Julian clarified, his eyes fixed on hers. "We are the couple of the year. We ‘reconnected’ months ago. I hired you not out of spite. Because I believe in your talent. It turns the video into a ‘meet-cute’ gone wrong. It saves my merger. It helps your reputation as the woman who tamed Julian Vane."

"I am not a PR tool!" Elena shouted, her pride hurt. "I spent five years getting your name out of my life! I will not spend another pretending to like a man who enjoyed watching me fail."

"Then watch your company burn " Julian said coldly turning his back to her to look out at the city. "Because the moment you walk out that door I will release a statement saying your firm was hired by Silas against my wishes and that we are terminating the contract due to 'unprofessional conduct.' You’ll be a joke by breakfast."

The silence that followed was heavy. Elena looked at the back of his jacket, her mind racing. She thought of Marcus, who had a mortgage. She thought of her mother, whose medical bills depended on this contract. She thought of the five years of work she’d spent rebuilding her name.

"I hate you, " she whispered.

Julian turned around his expression unreadable. "I'm aware. But can you act?"

The morning the "Leaning Into It" began with a brutal efficiency.

A black SUV arrived at Elena’s apartment at 6:00 AM. Julian’s head of security, a man who looked like he could crush a bowling ball with one hand, moved her belongings into two suitcases.

"Mr. Vane’s estate in Westchester, " the driver said, holding the door open.

"I have a business to run, " Elena argued. Her phone was already buzzing with a calendar invite for a "Couples Brunch" at the Pierre Hotel.

The Vane Estate was a fortress of stone and glass nestled in the hills. It was magnificent and lonely. As she was shown to a suite. Which to her horror was connected to Julian’s by a dressing room. She realized the scale of the trap she had walked into.

By noon they were at the Pierre. The paparazzi were tipped off of course.

As they stepped out of the car Julian’s hand slid around her waist. It was warm and heavy. Felt like a brand. Elena stiffened, her instinct to pull away overwhelming her.

"Smile, Elena " Julian murmured through a fixed grin as the camera flashes turned the world white. "Look like you’re in love or at least like you’re not planning my murder."

"I can do both " she whispered back leaning her head toward his shoulder as the cameras clicked.

Inside the restaurant the theater continued. Julian was the gentleman. He pulled out her chair. He remembered she liked sparkling water with lime. A detail he must have pulled from her file. He played the part well that for a moment even Elena felt the magnetic pull of his focused attention.

Then the conflict moved from the public to the private.

"Why me?" she asked over a salad she couldn't eat. "You could have picked any story. You could have fired me. Dealt with the fallout. Why go through this charade?"

Julian’s eyes darkened. He leaned across the table, his voice a vibration. "Because I don't like losing, Elena.. Five years ago after that video... I realized I’d been a bully. I didn't care about you. I cared that I looked like a monster. This isn't about the merger. It’s about balance."

"You want to balance the scales?" Elena felt a surge of anger. "You don't get to fix me Julian. I fixed myself."

"Did you?" He gestured to her hand, which was trembling slightly as she held her fork. "You’re still reacting to a ghost. I’m giving you a chance to be the hero of the story of the victim. Take it."

The brunch ended with a "photo of them holding hands that was on I*******m within minutes.. The real blow came as they returned to the estate.

Silas and his fiancée Penelope, were waiting in the foyer. Silas looked relieved. Penelope, a sharp-eyed woman from an old-money family looked suspicious.

"So it’s true?" Penelope asked, crossing her arms. "The wedding. The Best Man? It’s all very... Convenient, Julian."

"It's private Penelope, " Julian said, his voice tight.

"Well if you’re really a couple " Penelope said with a smile "then you won't mind the change in the itinerary. We’ve decided the rehearsal dinner will be a 'Couples Retreat' style event at the Vane cabin in Aspen. Just the four of us. Tomorrow."

Elena’s heart plummeted. The estate was big enough to hide in. A cabin in Aspen meant forty-eight hours of close-quarters observation.

"We’ll be there, " Julian said, his grip on Elena’s hand tightening.

As Silas and Penelope walked away Julian turned to Elena. "We need to study."

"Study what?"

"Each other, " Julian said, his face inches from hers. "If we’re going to survive forty-eight hours with Penelope you need to know everything about me. My favorite memories, my scars, how I take my coffee.. I need to know yours."

He pulled a black leather notebook from his pocket. "Starting with why you really started that firm.. Don't give me the PR answer."

Elena opened her mouth to argue. Her phone chimed. It was an email from the GoodNovel platform. Or rather the equivalent in her world. A notification that her story's "views" were skyrocketing due to the real-life scandal.

She looked at Julian, the man she hated and realized she was about to share her secrets with her greatest enemy.

​"Fine, " she said. ". First tell me about the video. What made you do it? It wasn't just because you wanted everything to be perfect was it?"

​Julian's face went totally blank. A chill ran down his face. "That " he said, "is one thing we don't discuss."

​He turned to walk away. Stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

​"By the way " he said without looking. "The tabloid got one thing right."

​"What?"

​"We are moving into the suite, in Aspen. There’s one bed."

​Elena stood in the foyer, the quiet of the mansion ringing in her ears, realizing that their pretend romance was about to become very real.