Chapter 5 The Interview

Sienna adjusted the voice recorder on the table, her fingers steady even though her pulse had a mind of its own. Across from her sat Senator Lawrence Roth, charmingly disarming in his crisp charcoal suit, a glass of untouched scotch at his side. They were in his private study-a room designed to impress. Mahogany shelves, leather-bound books, dim golden lighting. Everything smelled like power and legacy.

She should've felt intimidated.

She didn't.

Not exactly.

"Thank you for agreeing to this," Sienna said, offering her most professional smile.

Senator Roth leaned forward, his hands steepled under his chin. "For you, Ms. Langford? I'd agree to almost anything."

There it was again-that smooth, predatory charm. The way his eyes didn't just look at her, but searched, measured, consumed. She'd encountered men like him before, but Roth was different. More practiced. More dangerous.

Sienna POV

I knew this wasn't just about politics for him. Not tonight. Not with the way he looked at me-like I was a puzzle he wanted to solve and savor.

But I came prepared.

She pressed RECORD on the device.

"Senator Roth, you've spoken often about transparency and reform. Yet in the past two years, your foundation has received over fifty million in anonymous donations, many from shell corporations linked to defense contractors."

Roth chuckled. "So we're diving right in."

Sienna didn't smile. "That's why I'm here."

He leaned back, unfazed. "Funding is often complicated, Ms. Langford. Especially when donors value their privacy."

"And when those same donors receive federal contracts?"

"That's an implication," Roth said coolly. "Not a fact."

"You've built your reputation on integrity, Senator. But your financial ties suggest otherwise."

His gaze sharpened. "What is it you're really digging for?"

"The truth," she said.

"Or something more exciting?" Roth asked, voice low, intimate.

Sienna held her ground. "This isn't flirtation, Senator. It's journalism."

He smiled, but there was heat behind it. "Isn't it possible for it to be both?"

Sienna POV

God, he was good.

But I'd dealt with better liars.

Still, the energy between them was palpable. The room hummed with it-the friction of ambition and seduction, of truth and secrets.

She flipped a page in her notes, forcing herself to stay on track.

"Why did Julian Cross transfer full oversight of the Cross & Roth Foundation to you six months ago?"

Roth blinked slowly, then reached for his drink. "Because Julian prefers shadows. I don't."

"But he still works closely with you."

Roth nodded. "Julian is... essential. Loyal. And completely uninterested in public opinion."

"Or is he the one doing the dirty work while you stay clean?"

Roth's eyes darkened slightly.

"You have guts, I'll give you that."

"You have a lot to hide."

They sat in silence for a moment, the recorder capturing every tick of the clock in the background.

Then Roth leaned in.

"Tell me, Ms. Langford. Do you always come in this hard, or is there something about me that brings it out?"

Sienna POV

It wasn't what he said.

It was how he said it.

A challenge. A tease. A warning.

"I'm here to expose the truth," she said, keeping her voice steady.

"Careful," he murmured. "The truth has sharp edges."

"So do I."

For a moment, the air grew heavy between them-charged, almost dangerous. She saw it in his eyes: the recognition that this wasn't just an interview anymore. It was a game. One they were both playing too well.

Sienna POV

I should've left then. I had what I needed-soundbites, implications, a public denial that didn't quite sound honest.

But I stayed.

Because I wanted to know more.

Because part of me wanted to win.

And maybe... part of me wanted to understand him.

Senator Roth finally stood. "You've got your quotes. I'm sure you'll twist them into something thrilling."

"I won't twist the truth."

He smirked. "Everyone twists something. Even you."

As she walked to the door, his voice followed her like a whisper.

"You'll come back. They always do."

She turned slightly, just enough to meet his gaze.

"I'm not like the others."

Roth's smile deepened. "God, I hope not."