Chapter 2 - Every Man Wanted Her
Dinner became a performance.
Luca smiled when cameras pointed at him.
Sophia smiled because she had learned how to survive uncomfortable rooms.
But beneath the table, Luca's hand rested near hers.
Not touching.
Protecting.
She noticed every movement.
Every glance.
Every man who looked too long.
"You're staring again," she whispered.
"I'm watching the room."
"With your eyes on me?"
He looked at her.
"You're part of the room."
Sophia smiled.
"That's almost believable."
Across the table, Ethan raised his glass.
"To unexpected evenings."
Daniel joined in.
"To unexpected women."
Sophia lifted her glass.
"To expensive food and people pretending they're enjoying it."
Laughter traveled around the table.
Luca said nothing.
He was watching the ballroom entrance.
Sophia leaned toward him.
"You know, pretending to be my boyfriend requires pretending to have fun."
"I'm having fun."
"You're glaring at a waiter."
"He looked suspicious."
"The waiter?"
"Yes."
"He's holding a spoon."
"Exactly."
She laughed.
Luca looked at her.
For one brief second, he forgot the room.
Then Ethan approached.
"May I?"
He held out his hand.
Sophia looked at Luca.
Luca remained still.
She took Ethan's hand.
The orchestra began.
They stepped onto the dance floor.
Luca watched.
He shouldn't have cared.
Sophia wasn't his.
She had agreed to one night.
But every time Ethan made her laugh, something dark moved inside him.
Daniel joined another group.
Then the investment banker.
Then a young senator.
Sophia danced with each only briefly.
Not because she wanted them.
Because she was polite.
But the room had noticed.
Everyone wanted to talk to Luca's beautiful secretary.
Luca hated it.
Not because of jealousy.
He told himself that.
He was simply protecting her.
That was all.
When Sophia returned, she picked up her clutch.
"Are you angry?"
"No."
"You're crushing your napkin."
He looked down.
The napkin was torn.
"I wasn't aware."
She laughed.
"You're a terrible liar."
He leaned closer.
"You shouldn't dance with every man who asks."
"Why?"
"Because some of them aren't harmless."
"Which ones?"
"Most."
"And you?"
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Am I supposed to be afraid of you?"
"No."
"Should I be?"
He paused.
"No."
"Then don't tell me who I can dance with."
His jaw tightened.
"Fair."
She smiled.
Then she noticed something.
A waiter approaching.
Black gloves.
Wrong uniform.
"That man."
Luca followed her gaze.
The waiter lifted a bottle.
Sophia grabbed Luca's arm.
"Don't drink that."
The waiter froze.
Luca moved.
His security team intercepted the man.
He ran.
The ballroom erupted in confusion.
Luca pulled Sophia behind him.
A bottle rolled across the floor.
Security examined it.
Poison.
Luca looked at Sophia.
"How did you know?"
She swallowed.
"He wasn't a waiter."
"How?"
"The real staff use white napkins folded over their left wrist."
Luca stared at her.
"You noticed that?"
"I notice everything."
A faint smile appeared.
"Apparently."
The gala continued after the police arrived.
But the mood had changed.
Luca took Sophia into a private hallway.
"What else have you noticed?"
She frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"About the people around me."
She thought.
"Your head of security avoids your CFO."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Your legal adviser checks his watch whenever my phone rings."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
She crossed her arms.
"And one of your board members spent twenty minutes tonight staring at the emergency exit instead of the stage."
Luca stared at her.
"You're observant."
"I'm your secretary."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"You're more than that."
Sophia's heart skipped.
Then he asked,
"Who are you?"
She stiffened.
"What?"
"The way you move. The way you read people."
"I'm good at my job."
"That's not enough."
"Maybe it's all there is."
Luca studied her.
He wanted to believe her.
But a thought had started forming.
Sophia Bennett had joined his company three years ago.
Perfect references.
Perfect record.
No scandals.
No debt.
No family.
No weaknesses.
Too perfect.
She looked away.
"What?"
"You don't have family listed."
Her shoulders tightened.
"I told you."
"No."
"You never asked."
"Now I'm asking."
She whispered,
"My family is dead."
Something about her voice made him stop.
He didn't push.
Instead, he said,
"I'm sorry."
She nodded.
"Thank you."
They stood in silence.
Then she looked at him.
"Why did you choose me tonight?"
Luca answered honestly.
"Because I trust you."
Sophia stared.
"That's a dangerous thing to say."
"I know."
Before she could respond, Ethan appeared.
"Sorry."
He looked between them.
"Am I interrupting?"
Sophia smiled.
"No."
Ethan turned to Luca.
"I need to talk to you."
"Later."
"Now."
Something about Ethan's expression had changed.
Luca followed him.
Sophia watched.
Ethan whispered,
"The woman you're protecting isn't just your secretary."
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
"I saw her photograph."
"Where?"
"In Prague."
"Impossible."
Ethan pulled out his phone.
A photograph.
Sophia.
Three years earlier.
Standing beside a man.
A man Luca recognized.
Nathan Voss.
A former Moretti enemy believed dead.
Luca stared.
"Where did you get this?"
Ethan looked at him.
"Because the woman beside her was my sister."
Luca's expression darkened.
"Your sister?"
"She disappeared six years ago."
He pointed toward Sophia's photograph.
"She was investigating Nathan Voss."
Luca looked back toward the ballroom.
Sophia was talking to a waiter.
She looked calm.
Ordinary.
But now he saw something he'd missed.
She wasn't simply observant.
She was trained.
And if Ethan was right, Sophia had been lying to him from the beginning.
Then the ballroom doors opened.
A man entered.
Luca recognized him immediately.
Nathan Voss.
Alive.
May you like
He looked across the room.
Straight at Sophia.
