Chapter 5 5. Golddigger

Lucien's POV

"What was that supposed to mean?"

I remained composed, my expression the exact look Rafael alongside my PR team had drilled into me for tonight; part possessive alpha male, part lovesick fool who couldn't live without his woman. A man reclaiming what was his after being publicly dumped.

If only she would stop looking at me like she wanted to stab me with the nearest champagne flute.

"What don't you understand, Ms. Sterling?" I talked lowly, aware of the curious glances circling us.

"For starters, why the hell you kissed me." She spat the words, not attempting to hide her disdain.

I took her hand before she could pull away. Her fingers were stiff, trembling slightly. I lifted them to my face and pressed a slow kiss to her palm. She smelled faintly of vanilla, clean and soft, completely at odds with the fire in her eyes.

"Is it a crime to kiss my girlfriend in public?"

Her green eyes glinted fiercely as I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. "You better play along before I expose who you really are."

Frankly, I didn't know anything yet, just that her little cafeteria stunt had blown up, the internet had crowned her a national hero for dumping me, and my PR head was now living on caffeine and panic.

A kitchen worker claiming to be my girlfriend, right after the leaked recording accusing me of abuse?

Coincidences like that don't exist in my world.

Someone was pulling strings, and I intend to find out who and use it to my advantage, starting with the redhead in front of me.

I pulled back, expecting to see some compliance in her expression. Instead, I was met with the same murderous glare.

"Lucien! Oh my God, you're loved up again!" Jessica Bloom appeared, wearing enough gold sequins to light the room.

Jessica turned to Camila, eyes roving over her dress. "Wow! You are absolutely stunning, dear. Where has Lucien been hiding you?"

"Beautiful, isn't she?" I slid my arm around Camila's waist. Her body went rigid.

"How did you two meet? It must be a wonderful story."

"He was rude to an employee, so I got up from my table and poured my coffee all over him," Camila blurted out before I could stop her.

The boldness of her words caught me off guard. She was going to be harder to control. Jessica laughed awkwardly, clearly unsure if this was some private joke.

"Well, they say the path to true love never runs smooth. You two are adorable." She eyed me before backing away.

Once she was gone, I leaned close to Camila again.

"Could you just behave for an hour before we talk?"

She didn't. Instead, she ignored my subtle warnings-a gentle squeeze of her hand, an occasional press of my fingers against the bare skin of her back. By the time we were ready to leave, my patience had worn thin.

Holding her wrist, I guided her through the crowd of reporters, ignoring their shouted questions as we entered into the waiting car. The moment the door closed, I loosened my tie with a sharp yank, tossing it aside.

"What the hell?" she snapped, shoving my tie away from her.

"I specifically told you to behave. You spent the entire night acting like you'd rather be anywhere else but with me. That's not an image I want to feed to the public." I ran a hand through my hair, feeling it fall out of its styling.

I needed the pictures to come out in a way the media would find "cute". She didn't smile, not once, since I joined her in the ballroom.

"I would rather be anywhere else but with you," she shot back. "Did you expect me to fawn all over you? Over a goddamned abuser?"

"What did you just call me?" I hated that word.

"Are you gonna deny it? That you didn't abuse her?"

I turned to face her fully. So that was what this was about. She was testing me.

Now I was certain; if she was a strategic plant, then it must be for Catherine Moretti.

Are they sisters? Best friends plotting revenge together?

"You wanted my attention, Miss Sterling, and now you have it," I changed the topic. "All of it."

"Exactly. And now I'd sue you for kissing me without my consent," she threatened.

"And I'd counter-sue for defamation."

That shut her up, her throat bobbing a little as she swallowed hard.

"Now, let's talk. There's a halo over your head right now, and I need it."

"Straightforward English, no?"

"I'm saying you are going to be my girlfriend."

"And what do I get in exchange?" She raised an eyebrow.

The question wasn't what I expected.

I leaned back against the leather seat. My index finger dragged slowly across my lower lip as I studied her. She wasn't fighting me, not refusing outright. She was negotiating.

I was wrong about her.

"I just figured you out, Camila Sterling. This is what you wanted all along, isn't it?"

She is just a gold digger. No one would be stupid enough to send an amateur like her to destroy me.

Something close to panic danced across her face. That was all I needed to see. Then just as quickly, that iron wall came slamming back down.

"And what exactly is it that I want, Mr. Hayes?" she asked, crossing one leg over the other.

"My money. You're a gold digger, plain and simple. The question is whether you're smart enough to recognize when you've won."

"Congratulations. You've cracked the code. Gold star for the billionaire."

I searched her face for more tells that would confirm my theory. Most people crumbled under my scrutiny, but she didn't even blink.

"You don't know the kind of mess you created, right? My PR team has been working overtime. Have you seen the hashtags? There are meme compilations of your little cafeteria stunt set to soundtracks mocking me."

"I'm flattered. That's the exact reaction I was chasing," she said, examining her nails. "Public mockery."

The car slowed to a stop at a red light, casting her face in crimson. It suited her, this woman who'd thrown my carefully constructed world into chaos.

"Who are you really?"

"Just someone that saw an opportunity to get rich and took it." She tilted her head. "Isn't that what you would do, Hayes? Take what you want without asking?"

"You expect me to believe this was all your idea? That you just walked into Hayes Corp and decided to claim you were my girlfriend on a whim?"

"Believe whatever you want," her casual little shrug made my jaw clench. "But here we are. You need my halo, as you put it. And maybe I need something from you."

I hated that she was right. I did need her. The public loved her; loved how she dumped me, loved her fire, her simple story.

Rafael said our "reunion" would fix everything.

It would be good for my image, my new app, and regain the board's confidence in me before we roll out the new product we've been working on.

I'd never done something like this for business. But I'd do anything for results, even if it meant fake-dating a cheap opportunity chaser.

"Name your price."