Empire Of Lies

CHAPTER1

Elias sits back in his seat, fingers drumming a slow beat over the wood of the tabletop, eyes cold and calculating. Never, ever, in life, in business, have I ever not been in command, but this woman, in a seat diagonally in front of him, seems to have a knack for getting under him at will. Her mouth twists into a smile that doesn't even make it to her eyes, a smile that seems to say "I have a secret, and I'm not saying it".

"Going to make me say it, then, Maura?" Elias's voice is rough, cutting, a knife grating over metal.

Maura doesn't flinch. "I'm not asking you to say a single word," she tells him, fingers drumming a soft beat over the edge of the file in her hands.

"Although," Elias continues to pester her, eyes tightening at her, jaw clenching tight enough to shatter glass, "you're not one to beat about a bush, I don't recall inviting you in for tea and biscuits, and I damn well don't recall inviting you in for a marriage discussion, and yet." Elias leans a little farther in his seat, eyes cold and hostile. "You're offering me one, and I have a feeling I'm not in a position to say no, even when I don't know what in tarnation I'm saying no to, yet."

"I know what's happening," Elias stands, leaping to his feet. Walls moves in, closing in around him. "But marriage with a stranger isn't ever going to work, no matter what."

Maura doesn't flinch but regards him, eyes weighing, sharp-edged razors. "It will, of course, if you marry the proper woman. I have her in my sights, and I assure you, she is ideal for the part."

Elias folds his arms, his voice thick with disbelief. "Who in the devil's name are you speaking about?"

"Lila Mercer," Maura tells him, opening the file in her hands. The artist. She's a little… infamous, but most importantly, desperate. And desperation, Elias, is precisely what we require".

Elias chuckles, rolling his head in disbelief. "You're suggesting I marry a desperate artist? That's your ploy?"

Maura doesn't waver in her smile. "Desire is a strong driving force," Elias said. She will do whatever is necessary in order to gain what she wants in the long run. And all you have to do is marry her. Give her your name, and the board wins. She wins her freedom."

Elias's hands clench at his sides, anger burning, but he doesn't say a word at first. Not at first. He simply glares at Maura for a long, long minute, working at reading her. She's a weed in a sewer, but even she can go too far.

"I don't appreciate this," Elias snarls, jerking his eyes off of her, moving over to stand at the window, thinking frantically. "I don't care about whatever you have to say about her. This is a twisted little ploy for you, isn't it?"

"Elias," she tells him, her voice a smooth silky strand that wraps around him, "This is business. It's not personal. You need her as much as she needs you. Think of it as a contract. Nothing more."

He grips the edge of the window frame, gazing out over the city skyline below. The weight of his responsibilities presses down upon him, choking him. "I don't care what the board wants. I'll run the company my way, with or without their approval."

"You can't," Maura interrupts, her voice cold, unforgiving. Not anymore. Do you think your father's name will protect you? Do you think they'll let you keep your position at the head of this company if you don't do what they want? You have no other choice, Elias."

She stands, moving toward him at a slow, deliberate pace, her heels clicking on the marble floor. Her presence is crushing, the air in the room seeming to thicken. "You need this. Kane Industries needs this. Your mother does too."

His heart rate accelerates at the mention of his mother, his jaw locked. "Don't you dare use her against me."

"I'm not," Maura says, her eyes flashing with something dark. I'm just stating the facts. You don't have a choice, Elias, but you need a wife, and Lila Mercer is the perfect candidate. If you do this, all the pieces fall into place. The board will be placated. "The media will eat it up. "And you—" she takes a step closer, her voice low and urgent—"you're still in charge."

Elias whips around to face her, fists balled at his sides. "You think this will make everything okay?"

"I know it will," she tells him, her voice a silver thread weaving him in. "It's the only alternative."

The tension between them thickens and chokes, and Elias's head spins. There's no escape for him. He knows it. Maura is correct. But that doesn't mean he should enjoy it.

He takes a deep breath, speaking softly. "What makes you believe she will consent to it? That she will marry me?"

Maura smiles, a wicked curve in her mouth. "The best part about it, Elias, is that she doesn't have a say in it. And she will sign the agreement when she sees what we have to offer her."

Elias shudders, shaking his head. "I won't become a part of your goddamn game."

"You're in, Elias," she whips at him, a taint of finality creeping into her voice. "You simply don't know it yet."

The weight of her statement clings in the room, and she heads for the doorway, heels clattering off of it in a sharp, deliberate beat. She turns, one hand resting lightly on its curve, and looks over her shoulder at him.

"I will make arrangements for it. The ceremony will take place soon enough. There isn't a lot of time."

He doesn't say a single word, doesn't have to. She knows perfectly well what he is thinking.

"Keep in mind, Elias," she continues, a smile in full, unemotive swing, "this isn't about you. It's about Kane Industries. It's about your future."

And with that, she slips out of view, out of the room, and Elias stands alone with himself, with nothing but a decision weighing him down. Outside, in the distance, a city stretches, but in his head, all he sees is a life that's been forced onto him. The agreement. The ceremony. The bride he will wed.

He stands for an eternity, a thudding heart in his chest.

Lila Mercer.

What sort of woman is she? What sort of life? What sort of desperation could possibly drive a person to sign a marriage agreement such as the one painted for him?

And whether, in reality, such is the sole option for him in a quest to save his corporation.

For if such is the case, then he will go through with it.

Even if it takes him down a marriage path with a woman whom he doesn't even know yet.

Even if it takes him down a path of sacrifice, of whatever little dignity is left to him.