Chapter 6: The Art of the Double Bluff

Camilla Verman circled Lucas like a predator inspecting a trapped meal.

She moved with a slow and calculated rhythm. Her high heels clicked softly against the Italian marble floor of the executive suite. The crimson fabric of her dress shifted and hugged her curves with every step.

Lucas stood frozen in his newly tailored jacket. He did not know where to look. Maintaining eye contact with her felt dangerous but looking anywhere else felt like an invitation to get eaten alive.

"He is not a toy," Victoria said. Her voice cut through the heavy silence like a knife. "Step away from him."

Camilla paused right next to Lucas and turned her head to look at her rival. "You always were so possessive of your staff. Do you enforce a strict dress code now or do you just enjoy dressing up your assistants like little corporate dolls?"

"This is Lucas Vintage," Victoria stated while walking back around her massive desk. She picked up a silver pen and held it with practiced elegance. "He is an independent wealth management consultant. We are currently discussing a short term contract regarding international asset allocation."

Lucas kept his face perfectly neutral. Victoria lied with the effortless grace of a woman who had spent decades manipulating the stock market.

Camilla tilted her head. Her piercing green eyes dragged up and down his frame one more time. She was evaluating his worth based on his posture and the cut of his suit.

"An independent consultant," Camilla mused softly. "He looks a bit young to be handling international portfolios. Are you sure he has the stamina to keep up with your demands?"

"His stamina is none of your concern," Victoria snapped.

Camilla laughed. It was a rich and musical sound that carried a hint of genuine cruelty. She reached into her designer clutch and pulled out a sleek black business card embossed with gold lettering.

Before Victoria could protest, Camilla slipped the card directly into the breast pocket of Lucas’s suit jacket. Her fingers brushed lightly against his chest.

She leaned in close enough for him to smell the intoxicating blend of dark cherry and vanilla lingering on her skin.

"Independent means you are free to explore other opportunities," Camilla whispered so only he could hear. "If you ever get tired of the freezing temperatures up here, give me a call. I treat my consultants much better than she does."

A blue notification flashed in his peripheral vision.

[Target Interest Acquired.]

[Camilla Verman views you as a potential asset and a useful weapon.]

[Current Dependency Level: 1%]

Camilla stepped back and offered Victoria a mock salute. "Read the settlement papers, Victoria. Have your lawyers call my lawyers. I will see you at the charity gala on Saturday."

She turned and walked out of the executive suite with the confident stride of a woman who knew she had just ruined someone’s morning. The heavy oak doors clicked shut behind her.

The silence returned to the office but the tension remained.

Lucas took a slow breath and pulled the black card from his pocket. He placed it on the nearest coffee table as if it were radioactive. He did not want Victoria thinking he was actually considering the offer.

Victoria walked out from behind her desk and approached him. She stared at the closed doors for a long moment before a dark and calculating smile curled her lips.

"She took the bait," Victoria said softly.

Lucas blinked. "You wanted her to see me?"

"I wanted her to think she discovered you," Victoria corrected him.

She picked up the black business card and inspected the gold lettering. "Camilla is arrogant. She does not trust anything handed to her. If I sent you to her charity gala out of nowhere she would run a background check and find out you were serving coffee yesterday."

Lucas realized the terrifying genius of her plan. Victoria had not just dressed him up for the office.

She had dressed him up as bait knowing Camilla would eventually barge in to deliver those settlement papers.

"Now she thinks you are a private contractor I am trying to hire," Victoria continued while tossing the card back onto the table. "She wants to steal you just to spite me. We are going to let her do exactly that."

"How does that help you?" Lucas asked.

"Because you are going to feed her poison," Victoria said as she walked closer. She stopped mere inches away from him. "Camilla is smart. She will not believe a simple rumor about her waterfront project. You have to make her think she is prying confidential information out of you. You are going to pretend to betray me."

Lucas felt a cold sweat form on the back of his neck. "If I give her fake information she will verify it with her own analysts. She will know I am lying."

"That is why you are going to give her real information," Victoria replied. "You will give her the preliminary zoning files for my upcoming expansion in the financial district. They are authentic documents. But the internal profit margins will be subtly altered to look like a massive vulnerability. When she tries to exploit that weakness she will walk right into a trap that costs her millions."

The System had warned him this was a suicide mission. Now he understood why. He had to convince a ruthless real estate tycoon that he was willing to commit corporate treason just to impress her.

"She will not trust me just because I hand her a folder," Lucas pointed out. "She is going to test my loyalty."

Victoria reached out and straightened his collar. Her dark eyes locked onto his with an intense and unreadable emotion.

"Camilla does not trust business contracts," Victoria whispered. "She trusts leverage. She trusts her own ability to break men down and make them addicted to her. You need to make her believe she has you wrapped around her finger."

Lucas swallowed hard. "How wrapped?"

"As tight as she wants," Victoria said. Her voice was devoid of any warmth. "Keep her occupied. Make her feel powerful. If she invites you to her penthouse after the gala you accept the invitation. If she expects you to cross professional boundaries to prove your devotion you cross them."

Lucas stared at his boss. She was subtly ordering him to sleep with her worst enemy for the sake of a corporate merger.

"You want me to..." Lucas trailed off.

"I want you to secure her trust," Victoria interrupted firmly. "I do not care what methods you have to use. Do whatever it takes to keep her distracted until she signs off on that poisoned zoning deal. But you report every single detail back to me."

[Warning: High Risk Variable Detected.]

The sudden chime of the System made Lucas flinch. A glowing red window materialized in the air directly between him and Victoria.

[Audio surveillance equipment detected.]

[Camilla Verman’s business card contains a micro-transmitter embedded in the cardstock.]

[The target is currently listening to your conversation. Time Since listening: 12 seconds]

Lucas felt his blood turn to ice.

Camilla had slipped a bug into his pocket under the guise of flirting. She was probably sitting in the back of her luxury town car right now listening to Victoria explain the entire double bluff.

If he said nothing, Victoria’s plan was ruined and his career was over. If he pointed out the bug, Camilla would know he was loyal to Victoria and the honey trap would fail instantly.

The displayed time since listening meant she did not hear everything, she must have waited to leave the building before listening in.

He had three seconds to make a decision before the silence became suspicious.

Lucas forced a nervous chuckle and took a deliberate step away from Victoria. He made sure to project his voice so the hidden microphone would pick up every word.

"Ms. Sterling," Lucas said in a loud and hesitant tone. "I appreciate the opportunity but I am not a spy. I am a wealth consultant. I cannot just steal your files and hand them to a rival CEO. That is illegal."

Victoria frowned in confusion.

She opened her mouth to reprimand him but Lucas frantically pointed a finger at the black business card resting on the coffee table. He tapped his own ear and then pointed at the card again.

Realization dawned in Victoria’s eyes. The anger vanished and was instantly replaced by cold calculation. She seamlessly adapted to the script he had just forced upon them.

"You will do exactly what you are paid to do," Victoria snapped loudly.

She slammed her hand against the desk to create a convincing sound of frustration. "I am offering you a massive commission to leak those altered files to her. Are you going to be a coward or are you going to do your job?"