Chapter 4 Dinner with Sharks

The ballroom at the Hôtel du Rhône was drenched in candlelight and quiet power. Crystal chandeliers glimmered overhead, silver cutlery glinted on linen-draped tables, and the murmur of European accents filled the air like a low tide. This wasn't just a dinner - it was a stage, and every investor, politician, and green-tech magnate here was an actor playing for keeps.

Damian's hand rested lightly at the small of my back as we entered. Not possessive, but steady - like a reminder, or a warning. I didn't know which.

The photographers' flashes went off again. I smiled for the cameras, my expression practiced. Inside, my stomach was tight. This was my world once - investors, deals, speeches - but tonight it felt like enemy territory.

"They're waiting for us at the head table," Damian murmured in my ear. His voice was low, velvet over steel. "Ready?"

"Always."

He smiled, the faintest flicker at the corner of his mouth, as if my defiance pleased him.

We took our seats. The table was a who's who of European green-tech power: the chair of the GreenTech Council, a Swiss billionaire who owned half the hydropower stations on the continent, a young French minister with eyes like hawks. They all turned to Damian first, of course. His reputation preceded him like a trumpet blast.

I kept my smile polite as the introductions went around. When it was my turn, I felt their eyes assess me - the underdog, the upstart American CEO clinging to her company in the jaws of a corporate giant.

"It's an honor to finally meet you," said the council chair, a silver-haired woman with diamond studs. "We've heard much about GreenSphere's innovations."

"Thank you," I said. "Innovation has always been our heartbeat."

Dinner began, course after course appearing like magic. Conversation flowed easily around the table, but under it ran a current of calculation. These people weren't here for food. They were here to decide who to back, who to crush, who to ignore.

Damian spoke smoothly about the merger, laying out his vision. The others nodded, murmuring approval. He had them in the palm of his hand, and he knew it.

Then one of the investors - a sharp-eyed man named Victor Lang, whom I'd only seen in headlines - turned to me. "And you, Ms. Grant? How do you feel about... sharing power with Mr. Cross?"

It was a knife wrapped in velvet. I felt Damian's gaze flick to me, a warning to tread carefully.

I set down my wine glass and smiled. "GreenSphere was built on independence and responsibility. Those values haven't changed. Partnering with Mr. Cross allows us to scale while protecting those values. I'm here to ensure we do just that."

A ripple of interest passed around the table. Victor Lang tilted his head, intrigued. "And if Mr. Cross disagrees?"

The question hung in the air like a guillotine.

I held Victor's gaze. "Then Mr. Cross and I will have... spirited discussions. But ultimately, we both want success. And I don't lose."

A soft chuckle went around the table. Even Damian's lips quirked. "She's telling the truth," he said lightly. "She doesn't lose."

The council chair smiled at me with something like respect. Score one for me.

As dessert was served, Damian leaned closer, his shoulder brushing mine. "Nice answer," he murmured.

"Thanks," I said without looking at him. "I've had practice."

He chuckled softly. "You might actually enjoy this if you stopped seeing it as a battlefield."

"It is a battlefield," I said. "You just like the war."

Something flickered in his eyes - not anger, but recognition. "Maybe. But you like it too."

My fork paused halfway to my mouth. "I don't."

"You do," he said quietly. "I watched you tonight. The way you handled Lang. You were electric."

I stared at him. "Electric?"

"Alive," he said simply. "You think I'm your enemy. Maybe I am. But I'm also the only one at this table who sees what you're capable of."

His words sent a strange current through me, more dangerous than his smirk ever could be.

Before I could answer, Victor Lang leaned back and said something about hosting a private roundtable tomorrow morning - just Damian and me. His tone made it sound less like an invitation and more like a test.

Damian accepted smoothly. "We'd be delighted."

After dinner, we stepped out onto a balcony lined with potted olive trees. The night air was crisp, the city lights glittering below. I wrapped my arms around myself.

"You handled Lang well," Damian said again.

"I don't need your approval."

"That wasn't approval. That was admiration."

I turned to face him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you keep looking at me like I'm some cartoon villain," he said quietly. "I'm not here to destroy you, Elena. I'm here because I think we can build something extraordinary together."

"You mean make you richer."

He smiled faintly. "I'm already rich."

The way he said it made something in my chest tighten. I turned back to the view. "We're still opponents, Damian."

"Maybe," he said. "Or maybe we're something else."

I hated the way my pulse jumped at that. "Don't try to play me."

"I'm not." His voice was soft now. "I'm just telling you the truth."

For a long moment, we stood there, the city stretching out beneath us, his presence like heat at my side. It felt dangerously like standing on a cliff edge, the wind at my back.

Then I stepped away. "Goodnight, Mr. Cross."

His mouth curved in a half-smile. "Goodnight, Ms. Grant."

I walked back to my suite without looking back. But even with the door shut and the city lights winking below, I could still feel the echo of his gaze on my skin - a question, a challenge, maybe something more.

Six months. That's all I had. Six months to keep my company, my independence, and my heart intact.

I wasn't sure which would be hardest.