"Why me?" he asked simply. Victoria almost smiled at that. "Because you're invisible. No digital footprint I can find. No social media presence, no connections to anyone in my world.
You're perfect precisely because you're nobody. She paused, seeming to realize how cruel that sounded. I mean that you're nobody to them. The media, the investors. Richard, they can't use you against me because they can't find anything about you.
She moved to her desk, pulling out a document that looked like a contract. I need you to keep playing this role for 2 weeks, just until the shareholders meeting. We'll stage a few public appearances. Nothing too demanding. I'll provide you with appropriate clothing, a cover story, whatever you need.
In exchange, I'll set up a full scholarship fund for your daughter. Elite schools from kindergarten through graduate school. All expenses paid. Daniel felt his chest tighten. She'd already researched him, already found his weakness.
But when he looked at her, really looked at her, he didn't see a manipulator. He saw someone drowning who'd grabbed the first life preserver she could find. You know about Lily. I know you're a single father. I know you work nights to be there for her during the day.
I know you're doing everything alone. Her voice softened slightly. I respect that. I'm not trying to manipulate you, Mr. Morrison. I'm offering a business arrangement that could benefit us both.
He thought about Lily's school, where budget cuts had eliminated the art program she loved. He thought about the college fund he'd never be able to build on a janitor's salary. He thought about Catherine's voice telling him to be kind, even when the world wasn't. Sometimes kindness meant helping someone even when they could only see you as a convenient prop. "Two weeks," he said, but I have conditions.
I keep my job here. I don't miss any of Lily's school events, and she doesn't know about any of this. Victoria nodded quickly, relief flickering across her features. Of course, Hannah will coordinate everything. Can you start tomorrow?
There's a charity gala and appearing together there would solidify the narrative. As Daniel left her office, he wondered what he'd just agreed to. He'd spent 3 years being invisible, and now he was about to be thrust into spotlight he'd never wanted. But something about Victoria Sterling's hidden fragility reminded him that everyone was fighting battles nobody else could see. Even ice queens apparently could crack.
The transition from janitor to CEO's boyfriend required more than just expensive clothes, though the clothes certainly helped. Victoria's personal shopper arrived at Daniel's apartment the next morning with an entire wardrobe that probably cost more than his annual salary. Lily watched from the couch, eating cereal while cartoons played as strangers transformed their living room into a temporary fitting area. "Are you going to a costume party, Daddy?" she asked, giggling when he emerged in a tailored suit that made him look like the executive he'd once been. "Something like that, sweetheart?" he said, kneeling down to her level.
"I'm helping a friend with something important, but it might mean some different schedules for a couple weeks." Mrs. Patterson next door will watch you a few extra evenings. Is that okay? Lily studied him with those two wise eyes she'd inherited from her mother. "Is your friend nice?" Daniel thought about Victoria's desperate grip on his hand, her trembling masked as confidence. "She's trying to be." The charity gala was held at the Museum of Modern Art.
A glittering affair where champagne cost more per glass than Daniel spent on groceries for a week. Victoria met him at the entrance, stunning in a midnight blue gown that made her look like she'd been poured from starlight, but her hand shook slightly when she took his arm. "Remember," she whispered. "We've been secretly dating for 3 months. You're a consultant from Seattle, helping with our new medical technology division.
Keep the details vague." What struck Daniel most about the evening wasn't the opulence or the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes watching their every move. It was how naturally they fell into rhythm with each other. Victoria laughed at his dry observations about the pretentious art installations. He studied her when her heels caught on the marble floor. When Richard Blackwood appeared, all sharp smile and calculating eyes.
Daniel instinctively pulled Victoria closer, his hand protective on her waist. "So you're the mystery man," Richard said, his tone suggesting he didn't believe it for a second. "Funny how Victoria never mentioned you before. Funny how she never mentioned a lot of things about you either, Daniel replied calmly. Though I'm starting to understand why the flash of anger in Richard's eyes was worth whatever complications this might cause.
Victoria's surprised laugh, genuine and unguarded, was worth even more. As they danced later, she whispered. "That was unexpected." "The consultant from Seattle doesn't usually have claws." "Even nice guys have limits," Daniel said, spinning her gently. Besides, he seemed like the kind of person who deserved it. For a moment, Victoria's mask slipped entirely.
He destroyed everything he touched and made it look like love. I thought that was just how relationships worked. She caught herself, stiffening. I'm sorry, that's not appropriate, but Daniel just adjusted his hold, keeping her close. My wife used to say that real love makes you more yourself, not less.
If someone makes you disappear, that's not love, that's theft. Victoria stared at him, something shifting in her expression. For the rest of the evening, her smiles seemed less calculated. Her laughter less performed. When photographers asked them to pose, she leaned into him like she belonged there.
By the time they left, even Daniel had almost forgotten they were pretending. living at Victoria's penthouse was supposed to be part of the arrangement. The paparazzi are watching, she'd explained. It needs to look real, but nothing about her home felt real at first. It was all white marble and floor to ceiling windows, beautiful and cold as a museum. Daniel brought Lily over after school one day when Victoria was at work just to pick up some clothes he'd left there.
But Lily, being Lily, immediately made herself at home. Daddy, she doesn't have any pictures, Lily announced, scandalized by the bare walls or books or toys. Does anyone actually live here? When Victoria came home early and found them there, Lily was drawing at the dining table while Daniel made grilled cheese sandwiches in the pristine kitchen that had probably never seen actual cooking. Victoria froze in the doorway, looking lost in her own home.
"I'm sorry," Daniel started. But Lily had already bounced over to Victoria holding up her drawing. I made this for you. It's you and Daddy and me at the park. See, you're the one in the pretty blue dress.
Daddy says, "Blue is your favorite color." Victoria took the drawing with careful hands, studying it like it was a priceless artifact. It's beautiful, Lily. Thank you. Her voice was soft, almost wondering. Would you would you like to stay for dinner?