Page 45 of Their Diamond Ring Ruse

‘I know,’ he replied.

‘You know you’re my plus one, right? Even if you don’t get an invitation, you’ll still attend.’

‘I know that, but getting one will make convincing those people to work with me much simpler.’

‘You still have time,’ Lily offered.

He did, but it wasn’t all that much. The longer it took for him to be accepted into the ranks of this group, the further away the Arum deal would get.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE INVITATION LANDED on Julian’s desk that very same afternoon.

Step one was complete.

Now he would have to gauge how his relationship with Lily affected Zenith’s perception of him.

But for the first time since coming up with this plan, Julian was unhappy. Something between him and Lily had shifted. He no longer wanted to flaunt their relationship in the faces of those who wouldn’t accept him without her. He wanted to protect what they had behind very thick walls. Except it wasn’t just up to him. Lily would benefit too, and any change in the plan would affect her life. She had given him no indication that her wishes had changed and he couldn’t expect them to—especially when all he could commit to was something temporary. His goals hadn’t changed either.

So he would continue with his end of the bargain and when Arum signed it would all be worth it.

He hoped.

Julian up picked the invitation card, eyeing the Zenith logo. These people advertised their power and wealth unapologetically. It was ridiculous to him that he could create an international powerhouse and still have to cater to their whims to get a real foothold in his own city. But he had to. Because not achieving this goal meant failure, and he couldn’t withstand that.

While it irritated him, it wouldn’t have bothered him as much before. Now it felt like the price was growing. And that price was his relationship with Lily. Yet everything rested on this event. His future and the future of IRES.

What he needed was time with Lily away from all this. Time that was just theirs.

* * *

Julian had Lily pressed against his side in the back of the car. He noticed her fingers tracing along the stones of the elaborate yellow diamond choker he had given her before they’d left the house.

They were both clad in black, as per the invitation, but for some reason he’d hated the idea of Lily in something so lifeless, so he’d presented her with a gift. A little bit of the colour that he had grown so accustomed to seeing her in.

She was staring out of the window, but he knew she was looking at nothing in particular.

Raising the partition between them and his driver, Julian pressed a kiss to her temple. ‘Don’t be nervous. I’m not letting you out of my sight.’

She leaned into him with a sigh, but said nothing, and Julian suddenly wished they were anywhere but here.

But he couldn’t take his eyes off the goal.

For either of them.

They approached a magnificent high-end hotel, recognisable immediately by its carved façade and towering stone pillars and a landmark in San Francisco. It was fitting that the dinner should be held here, where business had been conducted by the wealthy and influential for over a hundred years.

Julian himself had used their boardroom facilities to secure several deals. It seemed like a sign.

The car pulled up to the entrance and once the door was opened for him Julian stepped out and offered his hand to Lily.

Every head looked their way when they entered the room. Everyone saw her hold on to Julian’s hand. Watched as she stepped even closer to his side.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. ‘Are you ready for this?’

‘Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.’

Lily smiled. She could have fooled anyone else here, he thought, but not him. He could see she was nervous about being here. Facing the repercussions of their actions. But he also knew she would do anything to have her life back, and with or without him she would handle these people with grace.

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