Chapter 4 Closer To The Flames

Julian Cross didn't like being followed.

Sienna could tell from the way his jaw tensed when he caught her waiting in the lobby of the Winthrop Building, a fortress of steel and glass that housed the Cross & Roth Foundation. She'd done her research-Julian wasn't just Roth's political fixer. He was his shadow, his hammer, and, if the whispers were true, the man who cleaned up messes before they ever made headlines.

This was her first attempt to get close.

And she knew it had to be perfect.

Sienna POV

He didn't look surprised to see her. Suspicious, yes. Mildly annoyed, maybe. But surprised? Never.

"Ms. Langford," Julian said coolly as he stepped through the rotating door, his tailored navy suit catching the light. "We don't give interviews without appointment."

Sienna smiled. "Lucky for me, I'm not here for an interview."

"No?" he asked, adjusting his cufflink. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're hunting a quote."

"Just a conversation."

Julian's eyes scanned her, sharp and clinical. Not with the appreciation Roth had shown, but with the cold efficiency of someone measuring threat levels. He had that thing-predator energy in a businessman's body. The kind of man who calculated risk like others calculated cost.

And right now, she was the risk.

"I'm having coffee," he said finally. "Walk with me."

They stepped out into the wind-blown avenue, moving in rhythm like a reluctant dance.

"I know who you are," Julian said, sipping his Americano as they passed a food cart. "You make powerful men nervous."

"I'm flattered."

"You shouldn't be. That's a fast way to get in trouble."

She stopped walking. "Is that a warning?"

He looked at her, unimpressed. "If it were, I'd be more direct."

Sienna POV

Julian was harder to read than Roth. Where the senator danced around truths with charm, Julian buried them beneath layers of silence. And yet... there was something human in the way he squinted against the sun, the way he walked with purpose but glanced over his shoulder like a man who couldn't afford to relax.

A man with ghosts.

"You work for Roth," she said. "But you're not a politician."

"No," Julian said. "I'm not interested in applause."

"Then what are you interested in?"

He stopped walking. The corner café they reached was quiet, the patio half-empty. He motioned toward a table.

"You have five minutes," he said. "Use them wisely."

Sienna POV

She chose her words with care.

"I think there's something going on with the foundation. Missing funds. Silenced whistleblowers. And I think you're the one keeping it all from boiling over."

Julian leaned back. No denial. No outrage.

Just a dry chuckle. "Do you always accuse people before finishing your coffee?"

"Only when I think they're capable of more than what the press says."

Something flickered in his gaze.

"You think I'm corrupt?"

"I think you're the key."

Julian's smile was sharp. "You're bold."

"Curious."

"Obsessed."

She took a sip of her drink, not breaking eye contact. "You don't deny it."

"Doesn't mean I confirm it either," he said, standing again. "You're digging in places that don't appreciate light, Ms. Langford. Be careful."

"You mean Roth?"

"I mean the truth."

Sienna POV

He walked away before she could respond, disappearing into a black car with tinted windows.

But something in his words clung to her skin.

She'd spoken to dozens of men like Julian-controlled, cold, efficient. But none had looked her in the eye the way he did. As if he saw straight through her layers of confidence and charm. As if he knew this wasn't just about the article.

It was personal.

That night, Sienna replayed the encounter, lying in bed with her recorder paused and her notes scattered around her. Her instincts buzzed.

Julian Cross wasn't just Roth's fixer.

He was hiding something deeper.

And if she got close enough, maybe she could pull it out of him.

Even if it burned her in the process.