Page 28 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal
"Your recent… entertainment." She made a point to let her eyes sweep the room before she looked me directly in the eye.
My fingers tightened around my glass. "Be specific."
"Blake heard from a friend whose father works at Cross Capital. Apparently, there's talk about you and a young woman. Someone who's been getting special treatment, traveling with you, attending meetings she has no business being in." Viktoria's blue eyes studied my face, looking for tells. "They're worried about the family reputation." If anyone could read me like a book, it was the woman to whom I'd spent years locked in a lifeless marriage.
As if she gave a damn about family reputation when she was feeding lies to divorce attorneys and tabloid reporters. "The children are adults. They can form their own opinions." I sipped my wine coolly, but I already regretted coming here.
She was going to make my evening miserable and there was nothing I could do about it.
"Can they? Because Elena called me in tears last week, convinced you're having some midlife crisis that will end up splashed across every gossip blog in the city. They remember what the divorce did to their social standing. They don't want to go through that again."
"Their trust funds are secure. Their futures are secure. What I do in my private time is none of their concern." I felt my temper starting to flare up against what I knew was right.
Viktoria was their mother, and her concern, while probably more faked than anything in order to get dirt on me for her own selfish reasons, was legitimate in part.
Blake and Elena had suffered during our divorce, and kids remember that sort of stuff. Though, it wouldn't have been nearly as bad if Viktoria had kept her trap shut.
"Everything you do affects them, Lucian. You know that." She leaned forward, her voice dropping. "Who is she?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not seeing anyone." My chest constricted as I thought of beautiful Tessa and the way our bodies seemed to ignite every time we were in close proximity. "And even if I were, it's not your business." It wasn't a lie, was it?
"It is when it threatens our children's stability. Is it serious?"
I kept my face neutral, but internally, I was thinking about who'd been talking.
Jamie in accounting, probably, or one of the junior analysts who'd noticed Tessa traveling with me.
Office gossip moved faster than stock prices, and I'd been careless.
But Tessa was nothing more than an intern to me and an assistant. We'd made that painfully clear during office hours, no matter how hard my dick got when she wore that blue dress that hugged her hips and made her tits look so perky.
"You're deflecting," Viktoria continued. "Which means it is serious. God, Lucian, please tell me you haven't lost your mind over some twenty-something gold-digger."
"Watch yourself." The warning came out low and dangerous.
She sat back, recognizing the tone. During our marriage, she'd learned when to push and when to retreat. "I'm trying to protect our family," she said more softly, but I knew how she was too.
She was nosing around for dirt and nothing more. If she could find some way to make me look bad, as a shareholder, she had leverage. I hated that fact, but I couldn't change it.
"Our family dissolved eight years ago."
"Our children didn't." Her wine arrived, and she took a careful sip. "Look, I understand the appeal. Young, pretty, probably worships the ground you walk on. But these things always end badly, especially when there's a power imbalance.The board won't overlook misconduct, no matter how much money you've made them."
"Since when do you care about my relationship with the board?" Finishing my wine, I jerked my chin up at the waitress while she was still here and she refilled it for me. I was fuming internally at how fast this all happened, especially given how careful we'd been. But we never had to cross a single line for people in my office to spread rumors. For all they knew, it was entirely untrue, and they were just being total jerks. In this case, they happened to be right and never even knew it yet.
"Since Blake and Elena's inheritance depends on your continued success." She set down her glass. "And since I know you well enough to recognize when you're in over your head."
"I'm not?—"
"You are. I can see it in your face, the way you're sitting, the way you've been avoiding my questions. You care about her. That makes you weak."
I drained my wine, considering my next words carefully. Viktoria had always been perceptive, had always known how to read people. It was what made her dangerous.
"My personal life is no longer your concern," I said finally. "The children are grown. They can handle whatever gossip comes their way."
"Can they? Elena's already had photographers following her to class. Blake's friends are asking questions. How long before this becomes a full-scale scandal?"
"There won't be a scandal if people mind their own business. Besides the fact that I'm not seeing anyone seriously. I am mentoring a young analyst who shows promise, and nothing more." The words sounded wrong coming out of my mouth. It made something twist uncomfortably in my chest.
