The Merger Clause.

One Week.

Julian Vance

Julian woke up on Sera's couch.

For a moment, he didn't remember where he was. The ceiling was different. The light was different. The smell was different; coffee and something soft, like vanilla.

Then he turned his head and saw her.

Sera was in the kitchen, standing at the stove. Her hair was still down. She was still in sweatpants. She was making eggs.

She looked over her shoulder. "You're awake."

"What time is it?"

"Seven."

He sat up. His neck hurt. His back hurt. He had slept in his clothes.

"I should go," he said.

"You should eat first."

She set a plate on the counter. Eggs. Toast. Coffee.

He walked over and sat down. She sat across from him with her own plate. They ate in silence.

Then she said: "I talked to my father this morning."

Julian looked up.

"He wants to meet with you," she said. "Today. Alone."

"Why?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell me."

"Are you going to tell me what to expect?"

She shook her head. "I never know what to expect with him."

Julian set down his fork. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Helping me. You barely know me."

She looked at him. Her green eyes were steady.

"Because I know what it's like to be used," she said. "And I know what it's like to be thrown away. And I don't want to be part of that anymore."

**********

The Whitmore building was nothing like Cole & Vance.

Cole & Vance was modern. Glass. Open. The kind of place that said we're new money and we're proud of it.

The Whitmore building was old. Marble. Quiet. The kind of place that said we've been here for a hundred years and we'll be here for a hundred more.

Julian walked through the lobby alone. His footsteps echoed. A security guard nodded at him. A receptionist pointed him toward the elevator.

The top floor was one room. A massive office with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of the entire city. Charles Whitmore sat behind a desk that looked like it had been carved from a single block of wood.

He didn't stand when Julian walked in.

"Mr. Vance," he said. "Sit."

Julian sat.

Charles Whitmore was sixty-four years old. Silver hair. Sharp suit. Calm eyes. He looked like a man who had never been rushed in his life.

"Do you know why I asked you here?" he said.

"No."

"Because my daughter asked me to."

Julian blinked.

"She asked me to give you a chance," Charles said. "I don't usually give people chances. But she's my daughter. And she rarely asks me for anything."

He leaned back in his chair.

"So. Here's your chance. You have one question. Ask me anything. And I'll answer honestly."

Julian stared at him. One question. He could ask about the deal. About Victor Kane. About why Charles had pulled out. About what he wanted.

But he didn't ask any of those things.

He asked: "Why did you raise your daughter to be a contract clause?"

Charles didn't flinch. He didn't blink. He just looked at Julian for a long, long moment.

Then he said: "Because I was raised the same way."

Julian didn't expect that.

"My father raised me to be an asset," Charles said. "He told me who to marry. What to study. What to become. I hated him for it. And then I became him."

He paused.

"I love my daughter. I know you don't believe that. But I do. And I know I hurt her. I know I used her. I know I treated her like a business decision instead of a person."

He looked out the window.

"I can't undo that. But I can do one thing."

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a folder. He set it on the desk.

"This is the original merger agreement. The one I signed. The one I pulled out of."

He pushed it toward Julian.

"I'm putting it back on the table," he said. "Same terms. Same deal. No renegotiation. No games."

Julian stared at the folder. "Why?"

"Because my daughter asked me to."

He stood up.

"But there's one condition," he said.

Julian looked at him.

"Adrian Cole is not part of this deal," Charles said. "You are. Just you."

The words hung in the air.

"I don't understand," Julian said.

"You will," Charles said.?"

"You have one week to decide. Take the deal and leave your partner behind. Or walk away and lose everything."

He walked to the door.

"Yes"One week, Mr. Vance."

The door closed.

Julian sat alone in the office. The folder was in front of him.

He didn't open it.

**********

He called Adrian from the car.

No answer.

He called again.

No answer.

He texted: We need to talk. Now.

No reply.

He drove to the office. Adrian wasn't there. He drove to Adrian's apartment. No one answered the door.

He called Sera.

"Did you know?" he asked.

"Know what?"

"About the deal. About the condition."

She was quiet for a moment.

"No," she said. "I didn't know."

"Do you believe me."

He closed his eyes.

"I don't know what to do," he said.

"Then don't decide tonight," she said. "Come over."

He hesitated.

"Julian."

"Yeah?"

"Just come over."

**********

She opened the door in a different pair of sweatpants and a different loose shirt. She was holding a glass of wine. She handed it to him.

"You look like you need this."

He took it.

They sat on her couch. She didn't ask questions. She didn't push. She just sat there with him.

"I have one week," he said. "To decide whether to take the deal and leave Adrian behind, or walk away and lose everything."

"That's not a decision," she said. "That's a trap."

"I know."

"So what are you going to do?"

He looked at her. Her green eyes were soft. Warm.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't know anything anymore."

She reached over. She put her hand on his. Same as the night before.

"Then don't decide tonight," she said again.

He looked at her.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because it's true."

She leaned in. Just slightly. Just enough.

He leaned in.

And then his phone rang.

They both froze.

He looked at the screen. It was Adrian.

He answered.

"Julian."

Adrian's voice was wrong. Flat. Cold. Not like him at all.

"What's wrong?" Julian asked.

"You need to come to the office."

"Now?"

"Now."

The line went dead.

Julian looked at Sera. She looked at him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know."

He stood up.

"I have to go."

She stood up too.

"Be careful," she said.

He nodded.

He walked out the door.

**********

The office was dark.

Only one light was on. Adrian was sitting at the conference table. Alone. A folder in front of him.

Julian walked in.

"What is it?"

Adrian looked up. His face was pale. His eyes were hollow.

"Victor Kane called me," he said.

"What did he want?"

Adrian pushed the folder toward him.

Julian opened it.

Inside was a photograph. Adrian. In a parking garage. Shaking hands with Victor Kane.

Same photo Sera had shown him.

Julian looked up. "I've seen this."

"I know," Adrian said. "But look at the date."

Julian looked. The date on the photo was three days ago.

Three days. After the merger collapsed.

Julian's blood went cold.

"What is this?" he asked.

"He wanted me to know he's still watching," Adrian said. "He wanted me to know he can get to me whenever he wants."

"Adrian…"

"There's more."

Adrian opened the folder. Inside was a second photo.

This one was of Julian. At the coffee shop. With Sera.

Julian stared at it.

"He's been following me," he said.

"He's been following both of us."

Adrian looked at him. For the first time in days, there was something in his eyes. Not cold. Not controlled.

Fear.

"We're in trouble, Julian," he said. "Both of us."