Chapter 3 The Man Behind The Smiles

Sienna's heels clicked softly on the marble floor as she entered the senator's private library, a room off-limits to the public. Her invitation-slipped discreetly into her clutch by Roth's assistant-had been unexpected and intriguing: Midnight. One glass. No questions.

She wasn't sure what she was walking into, but curiosity-and the assignment-drove her forward.

The room was warm with dark paneling, shelves lined with leather-bound classics, and low lighting that gave everything a seductive glow. Jazz hummed from an old speaker in the corner, and the scent of aged scotch and cedar drifted through the air like memory.

Senator Lawrence Roth stood by the fireplace, jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled up. He looked more like a man about to confess something than a politician preparing for re-election.

Sienna POV

She paused in the doorway, tension winding around her ribs.

He didn't turn.

"Ms. Langford," he said, voice low, almost amused. "I was beginning to think you'd declined."

"I thought about it," she replied, stepping inside. "But you made it sound like I'd regret saying no."

He finally faced her, the light from the fire casting gold and shadow across his angular features. His face was the kind that belonged on billboards and biographies-elegant, composed, yet impossible to read.

"That's because you would have."

Roth gestured to the armchair opposite him. She sat, crossing one leg over the other, careful to look comfortable without letting her guard down. He poured two glasses of scotch, handing her one.

"No recording devices tonight?" he asked.

"Nope," she replied. "Just me."

"And who exactly is just you, Ms. Langford?" He took a sip. "You ask questions with more precision than most journalists. You don't flinch at rooms meant to intimidate. And when you walk in, people notice."

"Sounds like I'm doing my job well," she said.

"Or you're doing a job I haven't figured out yet."

He smiled, but the warmth didn't quite reach his eyes.

Sienna POV

There it was-beneath the smooth lines and perfect posture. A flicker of caution. A guarded man who didn't like unknown variables.

And right now, she was one.

"You invited me," she said simply. "If you didn't want mystery, you shouldn't have opened the door."

Roth studied her in silence, his gaze intense but not invasive. More like... assessment. Like she was a puzzle he couldn't quite solve.

"I did some digging," he said after a beat. "Sienna Langford. Real name: Sienna Blake. Investigative journalist. Recently exposed a senator in California for laundering campaign funds through real estate. That wasn't just impressive. It was surgical."

She didn't blink. "It was justice."

"Depends on who you ask."

"You looking to be next?" she asked softly.

Roth laughed. "If I were guilty of anything, you'd never be sitting here."

She sipped the scotch. It burned just enough to ground her.

"You're not afraid," he murmured.

"Should I be?"

"Everyone who plays in the dark eventually finds something sharp."

Sienna POV

He wasn't threatening her. Not quite. But the undertone was there-woven through the velvet of his voice.

And she couldn't deny it thrilled her.

This was the man she came to find. Not the smiling senator in photo ops. This version-layered, mysterious, dangerous-was the one with secrets worth unearthing.

"What's the real reason you asked me here?" she asked. "If you know who I am, then you also know I won't back off."

Roth's gaze softened, oddly. He leaned back in his chair.

"Tell me something, Sienna. Do you ever wonder what it's like to live without consequences?"

She frowned.

"To make a decision without worrying about fallout," he continued. "To want something and take it, knowing the world will justify it because of who you are?"

He was no longer talking about her.

She leaned forward. "Is that what you do, Senator? Take what you want?"

He gave a slow, tired smile. "I used to."

His hand grazed his cufflink absently, and for the first time, she saw it-regret. Not manufactured. Not for show. But deep-rooted and hidden beneath decades of ambition.

"You're more interesting than your reputation," she said.

"And you're far more dangerous than your byline."

They sat in silence for a moment, the fire crackling between them.

Sienna POV

She wasn't sure what game they were playing anymore. Flirting and probing, truth laced with lies, attraction cloaked in suspicion.

But she was no fool.

Roth didn't just invite her for drinks. He wanted to see who was circling. To understand her before she got too close to whatever secret he was protecting.

"You're not the first to come for me," he said, setting his glass down. "But you might be the first I don't want to lose."

She froze. "Lose how?"

He stood, walking to the window. "Good night, Ms. Langford."

Dismissed. Just like that.

Later That Night

Sienna stepped into the cool night air, her head spinning.

Was this manipulation? Was it honesty?

She didn't know. But one thing was clear.

Lawrence Roth wasn't a man easily understood.

He was a maze. And somewhere in the center of it was the truth-twisted, hidden, dangerous.

And she was going in.