Chapter 2 - The Man Who Wasn't Really a Businessman
At 6:42 the next evening, Marin stood in front of her apartment mirror and wondered whether she had completely lost her mind.
The dress was dark green.
Elegant.
Simple.
The kind of dress that looked expensive without announcing the price.
She had spent twenty minutes deciding whether wearing a dress at all made it appear too desperate.
Then she had spent another thirty deciding which earrings made her look least desperate.
Eventually, she had thrown both decisions away and worn the first earrings she picked up.
Laurel leaned against the bedroom door.
"You're nervous."
"I'm not."
"You've changed your lipstick three times."
"I was testing colors."
"You have one lipstick."
Marin glared.
"You're not helping."
Laurel grinned.
"So where is your mysterious boyfriend?"
"He is not my boyfriend."
"Fake boyfriend."
"Temporary escort."
"Paid stranger."
"I am going to throw you out."
A black car stopped outside.
Laurel looked through the window.
"That's him."
Marin's stomach dropped.
"You've got to be kidding."
The car was enormous.
Not flashy.
Black.
Quiet.
It stopped precisely beneath the streetlamp.
A driver stepped out and opened the rear door.
Adrian stood beside it.
He wore a charcoal suit tonight.
No tie.
His hair was slightly looser than the night before.
He looked less like a stranger in a bar and more like the kind of man who walked into important rooms and expected them to make space.
Laurel whistled.
"Your six-hour boyfriend has a driver."
"Apparently."
Adrian looked up.
His eyes met Marin's through the window.
He waited.
No impatience.
No wave.
Just waiting.
Marin went downstairs.
The moment she stepped outside, the cool air hit her.
Adrian looked her over once.
Not greedily.
Not suggestively.
Just enough to take her in.
"You look beautiful."
She blinked.
"That sounded surprisingly sincere."
"It was."
"Thank you."
He opened the door.
She hesitated.
"Before I get in, rules."
Adrian nodded.
"Go ahead."
"No kissing unless necessary."
"Agreed."
"No embarrassing stories."
"Agreed."
"No touching unless my family expects it."
"Agreed."
"No telling people we've never met."
"That would defeat the point."
She narrowed her eyes.
"What do you do?"
"Private security."
Marin smiled.
"That's vague."
"It's accurate."
"Are you rich?"
"Yes."
She sighed.
"Of course you are."
"Does it matter?"
"No."
"Then don't ask."
She climbed into the car.
The interior was quiet and luxurious.
There was a second man in the front passenger seat.
He turned briefly.
Marin recognized the bartender from last night.
Her eyes widened.
"You."
He nodded.
"Evening."
She looked at Adrian.
"Your bartender is your security?"
"Sometimes."
She stared.
"Who are you?"
Adrian watched the city pass through the tinted glass.
"Someone trying to make sure you survive tomorrow."
That joke stopped being funny.
"Survive?"
He looked at her.
"Your family has more enemies than you know."
She laughed nervously.
"That is dramatic."
"I'm not being dramatic."
She studied him.
"What exactly do you know about my family?"
"Enough."
"And why do you care?"
He didn't answer.
The car slowed as they approached the Hawthorne Hotel.
Adrian reached for her hand.
She looked down.
"What?"
"Your sister's dinner."
"Oh."
She placed her hand in his.
His fingers closed around hers.
Warm.
Steady.
The contact did something strange to her pulse.
"Remember," he said quietly. "You don't have to prove anything tonight."
She looked at him.
"Then why are you here?"
"Because you asked for someone to stand beside you."
Marin's chest tightened.
The doors opened.
Flashbulbs popped.
Family members waited near the entrance.
Bennett Hale stood beside Celeste.
His eyes went directly to Adrian.
The color drained from his face.
Marin noticed.
"Do you know him?"
Bennett didn't answer.
Celeste looked between them.
"Who is that?"
Adrian calmly extended his hand.
"Adrian Cross."
Bennett stared at it.
He did not shake.
Instead he whispered,
"Cross."
Marin looked at him.
"What?"
Bennett's jaw tightened.
"Nothing."
But the evening had already changed.
Her mother rushed over.
"Marin!"
She hugged her.
Then pulled back and stared at Adrian.
"Oh."
Marin introduced them.
Adrian was perfectly polite.
Charming.
Controlled.
He spoke to every relative.
He remembered names almost immediately.
He asked Clara about the engagement.
He complimented Marin's aunt on her necklace.
He made her grandfather laugh.
He even carried her mother's shawl when she got cold.
By the time dinner began, everyone was enchanted.
Everyone except Bennett.
He watched Adrian constantly.
Marin noticed.
During dessert, Bennett approached.
"Can I speak with you?"
Marin looked at Adrian.
Adrian nodded.
She followed Bennett toward the terrace.
He closed the door.
"What are you doing?"
Marin folded her arms.
"Having dinner."
"With him?"
"Yes."
"Do you know who he is?"
"Apparently private security."
Bennett laughed bitterly.
"He's not security."
"Then what is he?"
Bennett stared toward the glass doors.
"He runs the Cross organization."
Marin frowned.
"What organization?"
Bennett lowered his voice.
"You really don't know?"
"No."
"He is a mafia boss."
Marin's heart stopped.
She stared at Adrian through the glass.
He was standing beside Clara.
Talking to her.
Holding a champagne glass.
Looking completely ordinary.
"No," Marin whispered.
Bennett continued.
"People disappear after crossing him."
She turned.
"Then why is he here?"
Bennett's expression changed.
"That's what scares me."
Marin walked back inside.
Adrian looked at her.
One glance.
He knew something was wrong.
She came to him.
"Can we talk?"
"Of course."
They walked into a private hallway.
She turned.
"Are you a mafia boss?"
Adrian didn't deny it.
He simply said,
"Yes."
Marin stared.
"You lied."
"No."
"You told me you were private security."
"I am."
"For yourself?"
"Usually."
She stared at him.
"You could have mentioned the mafia part."
"Would you have agreed to come?"
"No."
"That's why."
She should have walked away.
Instead she whispered,
"Why did you choose me?"
Adrian's face changed.
For the first time, the calm control slipped.
"Because someone has been watching you."
Her stomach dropped.
"Who?"
"I don't know yet."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"I haven't figured that out."
He looked toward the ballroom.
"But tonight I will."
A crash came from inside.
Everyone screamed.
The chandelier above the dance floor flickered.
Security rushed in.
A man had collapsed.
He had been carrying a glass of champagne.
Adrian immediately pushed Marin behind him.
His entire body changed.
The man she had met in the lounge vanished.
The mafia boss emerged.
"Nobody leaves."
The ballroom fell silent.
Adrian's men secured every exit.
Marin looked at him.
He stared at the collapsed man.
"Someone poisoned him."
Then he looked at her.
And quietly said,
May you like
"They weren't trying to kill him."
"They were trying to kill you."
