What do you want me to say? Maya asked carefully. Victoria stared at the photograph. They looked happy, natural. Like people who belonged together regardless of tax brackets or job titles.
Nothing, Victoria said. We don't comment on my personal life. That's your official position? Silence? No.
Victoria stood and grabbed her coat. My official position is that it's none of their business. She found Daniel in the basement mechanical room performing routine maintenance on the building's HVAC system. He looked up when she entered, his expression unreadable. You've seen it, Victoria said, not a question.
Hard to miss. My phone's been ringing since 6:00 a.m. Reporters. Old marine buddies who think it's hilarious. My sister sent me 17 texts asking if you're actually my girlfriend or if we should sue for defamation. What did you tell them?
Nothing. Because I don't know what we are. Daniel set down his wrench, his voice steady but strained. Are we friends? Are we dating?
Are you just a lonely person who's been using me as some kind of emotional experiment? The words hit harder than Victoria expected. Is that what you think? I think, Daniel said carefully, that you live in a world I don't understand, where people keep teams of lawyers on retainer and photographs turn into scandals, where what other people think apparently matters more than what's actually happening. I could release a statement, Victoria offered.
Say we're just acquaintances, professional relationship, kill the story. Daniel's jaw tightened. Don't what? Don't lie about me to protect your reputation. If you want to distance yourself, fine.
But don't make me complicit in pretending I don't exist. He met her eyes. I spent two years watching Sarah disappear piece by piece, being erased slowly. I won't voluntarily erase myself for anyone. Victoria felt the full weight of what she'd been about to do.
Reduce him to nothing to protect her carefully constructed image, the same thing she'd been doing to herself for years. You're right, she said quietly. I'm sorry. I won't issue a statement. Any statement.
They can speculate all they want. And the board, the investors, the people who care about Hale Tech's image, will have to accept that I'm a person, not a brand. Victoria smiled weakly. Though that conversation will be extremely unpleasant. Daniel's expression softened slightly.
World's smallest violin for your billionaire problems. Fair. They stood in the mechanical room's fluorescent glare, the building humming around them while somewhere far above the internet debated their relationship and journalists crafted narratives from a single photograph. For what it's worth, Victoria said, "I don't know what we are either, but I know I want to find out." Daniel considered this, then nodded slowly.