Lila

Lila almost asked Chris what was wrong, but just as she was about to catch his eye, he walked over to Dane and murmured something in his ear. Dane shook his head sharply. Chris's lips went flat. Dane said something else, then they both turned back to her.

​​

Tonya and Grant were quiet immediately.

"I can do a press conference," Dane declared, as if he were giving a gift to the world. "And I can let them know how important all of this is to me, but—"

"Not just important, Dane," Lila interrupted. Tonya's eyes went wide. "You have to be humble. You have to show them that it would hurt you if one of your clients was harmed through something you could have changed. They have to know that anyone who's in your hands is safer than they are anywhere else. You have to cast doubt on her story."

"Shouldn't I be the one to do that?" Chris piped up uneasily.

Dane cut him a glare so sharp it would have cut his hair. "I told you—"

"No, it has to come from Dane because everyone sees him as the center of the company. It's his security system, his people. Even if you were at fault, Chris, and were fired, Dane would still have to answer to the charges of negligence. So, you should be there to show support—and a damned apologetic face—but Dane's the one they need to hear from."

They all looked at him. Dane didn't appreciate the scrutiny and looked right back at her. Lila folded her arms over her chest, sweating. But she wasn't going to back down.

Finally, he raked that hand through his hair and snapped, "Fine. Write it up, Lila, and set up the conference for tomorrow morning. Chris, you clear your day, you're with me tomorrow. And you two—" he looked at Tonya and Grant who both froze, "—you make sure no one else in the company knows what was said here, do you understand me? Me, Chris and Lila won't be talking to anyone. If any of this gets out, we know who our leaks are, you understand?"

"Yes, sir," they both squeaked.

Dane stared a second longer, then stormed out of the room, but he wasn't even into the hallway before Lila was on his heels. "Dane. Dane, stop."

"Leave me alone." He stalked down the hallway, arms swinging, his broad shoulders tense. She couldn't believe how big he was.

"Dane, I know you don't like interviews. Let me help you."

"I said, leave me alone. You have plenty to work on." He swung open the door of his office and stepped inside, obviously expecting her to listen, but she hurried in behind him. He hadn't even looked when he'd walked in, just swung the door closed. He didn't know she'd slipped in too and he slowed down his pacing as he loosed a deep sigh and started yanking at his tie.

"Um, Dane—"

"Holy shit—didn't I just tell you leave?" He whirled around, but for once his face was wide with surprise, rather than twisted in anger. "What, Lila?"

She tried to pretend she hadn't noticed him using her nickname and put her hands up to soothe him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, but I want to help you. I get it, okay? I know you hate the spotlight. But this is exactly where I shine. I know what you need to do, and how you need to do it."

His nostrils flared as he turned back to his desk, shaking his head. "I told you, write it down. I'll look at it. I'll make sure all your information is there. But you aren't doing this for me."

"I want to help, I know—"

"No, you don't!" And just like that, he was angry again. Lila bit her lip. She supposed she could take the blame for that. She had ignored his instructions. She tried to look apologetic as he stormed up to her. She had to brace herself to stop from giving way and stepping back. He didn't stop until they were toe-to-toe, but she held her ground and lifted her chin as he leaned down, barking in her face. "Leave my office. Do your job."

"That's exactly what I'm doing, right now," she said softly. "It's why you hired me. I know this hard for you, and I know how to cut through it all so you have the shortest possible discomfort, and the greatest possible gain."

Dane leaned even closer, until they were breathing each other's breath. "Get. Out."

"But—"

"I don't care!" he shouted in her face. "I don't care what the life with your father taught you, or what advice you'd give—my life, my father taught me different and you don't know jack shit about that. So huff all you want, but get the hell out of my office, and next time I tell you to leave me alone—leave me the fuck alone!"

She closed her eyes when he swore, and when she spoke it was extremely quiet. "I will leave in one second, just—" he opened his mouth to interrupt her, so she brought her hands up again, pleading, "just please let me say this one thing: you're enough."

Dane blinked, then frowned. He straightened, looking confused. "What?"

Lila kept her voice low. "I don't know about your past, you're right. But there's certain things I recognize and I just want you to know: when you speak about yourself, your life, your business . . . it's enough. You shine. And I think no one's ever told you that before. So I want you to know, this isn't about strategy. It's not about manipulation—that would be a death knell for this company right now. The only thing this needs is you, Dane. You. The man. Not the CEO. You understand? Whatever's true, just say that. I'll handle the rest." She swallowed and stepped back from his stunned face. "I'm sorry for pushing. I really am. I'll try not to do that again. I just wanted you to know."

She scuttled out of there as fast as she could without running.

He still hadn't moved when she closed the door on his office.

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