Chapter 20: Risky Partnerships

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel's private dining room felt like just the spot to hash out secrets. Sophia got there twenty minutes early, picking a corner table so she could keep an eye on who came in but still stay hidden. She spent a couple of hours getting ready, settling on a navy business suit that screamed "I'm in charge," while her bright red lipstick hinted there was more to her than just work.

Thomas Romano showed up right on time, his silver hair slicked back and his face hard to read. Even at 62, he acted like the big-shot businessman he'd always been, though Sophia noticed he was a bit more slumped over than he used to be. He hadn't been this way five years ago. Elena Romano's moves to steal his media empire really did a number on him.

"Sophia." He sat down across from her, no handshake. "I gotta say, I was curious when you called. How long has it been—three years since we talked?"

"Since the Peterson deal, yeah." Sophia smiled, remembering how both of them tried to outbid Elena and failed. "You look good, Thomas."

"Don't think you can butter me up. His pale eyes stared hard at her, the same look that used to freak out young execs. "You already know that can't happen. So, let's get to it. You said this had to do with Elena Romano's family? And taking them down?"

Sophia liked his straightforwardness. Thomas never played games, which is probably why Elena beat him so badly. "Not Elena herself. Her granddaughter, Bella."

"Oh yeah, the little princess who married Sterling and then vanished for five years." Thomas waved down a waiter for coffee. "I heard she's back with a kid. Scandalous."

"The real scandal's just getting started." Sophia pushed her phone across the table, showing him the hospital pics from the other day. "Mikel Sterling is trying to get back with his ex. They're acting like one big happy family for the cameras, and it looks like it's working."

Thomas looked over the photos, all business. "And you care because...?"

"Because Mikel should be with me." She said it louder than she wanted, letting on more than she meant to. "We've been a thing for five years. I've been there for everything. His split, his business problems, fixing his rep. I made myself important."

"But now he's running back to his ex the second she lets him." Thomas smiled, but it wasn't nice. "Maybe you weren't as important as you thought."

That stung because it was true. Sophia kept her cool. "That's why I need you to help me out. You know better than anyone what it's like to be beat by a Romano woman."

Now he was listening. Thomas leaned back, his face changing from "meh" to "tell me more." "Go on."

"Elena Romano took down your media company piece by piece over a year and a half. She bought off your investors, stole your best people, and then bought your main properties for next to nothing." Sophia did her homework. "You went from running the news on the West Coast to owning a couple of local papers and a failing cable channel."

"Old news," Thomas said, but his jaw tightened.

"Is it, though? From where I'm sitting, it looks like you've spent the last five years getting back just enough power to matter, but not enough to go after her directly. You're just stuck in the middle of your own revenge plot."

Thomas stopped drinking his coffee. "Careful, Ms. Chen. You don't make friends by insulting them."

"I'm not trying to be mean. I'm offering you something you've wanted for five years." Sophia leaned in, whispering. "A way to hurt Elena Romano where it really counts. Not her work, not her name. Her family."

The older man was quiet for a minute, thinking. "You want to wreck Bella Romano getting back with Sterling. I'm guessing you have a plan?"

"I have a few." Sophia pulled out a leather folder she prepped. "But I need some stuff I don't have. Media clout, political buddies, business muscle. Things you still have, even if they're not what they were."

Thomas opened the folder, his eyes going over the papers. Sophia watched as he went from "meh" to "I'm listening" to something darker as he read.

"You've been busy," he said. "Background checks on Sterling's staff, money stuff for Romano's recent deals, even the kid's hospital records. How did you get some of this?"

"Five years of being careful. I've got friends in high places." Sophia didn't need to mention the private eyes, the bribed assistants, or the security she'd quietly messed with. "The real question is, are you in or are you out?"

"What do you want to do?"

Sophia had this moment all planned out. "A plan to show Seattle who Bella Romano really is. The spoiled girl who dumped her husband when things got tough. The cold woman who kept a dad from his kid for five years for no reason. The business owner who uses family instead of being good at the job."

"You want to ruin her," Thomas said flatly.

"Spin the news," Sophia shot back. "We're not making stuff up, Thomas. We're just making sure people know the truth. The press loves a story about a fallen princess, especially when there's a kid involved."

Thomas kept reading, and Sophia basically saw him planning how to make this work. "This is a six-month push. That's a lot."

"It needs to be steady. One story dies down, people forget. But a series of stories, each one building on the last, each one making people wonder about her..." Sophia smiled. "That does damage for a long time."

"And what about Sterling? He's not going to like you going after his ex and kid."

"Mikel will try to save them, sure. But that's where you come in." Sophia turned to a page that showed where Sterling Industries was weak. "His company isn't doing great. Several big contracts are up for grabs, investors are still nervous from before. If people worry about him making good choices, being stable, keeping his personal problems out of work..."

Thomas nodded slowly. "Attack from both sides. She hurts his business, he makes her look bad. Each one makes the other a bigger target."

"Exactly. And the best part is, we're not the bad guys. We're just good citizens, business leaders who think people need to know the truth about who they're cheering for."

"What's your plan?"