“Of course,” he said, not a hint of suspicion in his voice.
It was obvious he knew I wasn’t going to actually use the bathroom. But he wouldn’t let me know it was obvious to him. Billionaires didn’t become billionaires by wearing their hearts on their sleeves, even if they were the kings of them.
The bathroom was not too far from where my exhibit had been set up, and I stepped inside. Hardly any time had passed since my entry—even though speaking with Cassius felt like an eternity—so I was alone with my thoughts.
Two things had become abundantly true, and a third thing was of great curiosity to me.
First, Cassius could not be trusted to not have ulterior motives. I didn’t think he necessarily wanted to publicly shame me in front of a crowd; even if he hated my guts, he didn’t ruin people by mocking them publicly. Often, people who fell to himin business or in feuds didn’t even realize the salvo had come from him until it was too late. But just because my undoing would directly come from some place other than his mouth didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it. A man like Cassius didn’t just forget the death of his youngest brother.
Two, this was an absolute gift to my career if I played my cards right. Artists always joked about having billionaire patrons to fund their lifestyle so they wouldn’t have to get real jobs. Well, that joke had turned into my life here. I had to be careful; if Cassius so much as caught a whiff that I was going beyond the terms of the deal, his quiet, behind-the-scenes monster might not be so subtle. He’d let me do whatever we agreed to, but anything else…
That just meant that before I left this room, I had to negotiate carefully. I had to make sure I knew exactly what I wanted to ask for and leave no loopholes for him to exploit. I had to make deals with someone who had made deals to the tune of a ten-figure bank account. Easier said than done.
The third thing, however, most occupied my mind.
What if Cassius was serious?
Or, what if Cassius was serious and felt more than he was letting on?
The rational part of me dismissed the idea as ludicrous. Cassius could date someone far more famous, far richer, far more beautiful than me with just a phone call or text if he wanted. I might have been a part of his past, but I hadn’t been a part of his present in years.
And yet…
And yet, he’d just spent what felt like an hour fixating that cold, steely gaze upon me. The most valuable thing to a billionaire was not money, it was time, and Cassius had chosen to spend his time with me. He might have controlled the conversation, he might have controlled my responses, but he’dchosen to fixate on controlling me. There were many other far easier options that could have satisfied his desires for money or sex.
It had to be because of the oddity of seeing me and realizing I’d used a fake name to not alert anyone.
But the thought enthralled me in ways I almost didn’t feel comfortable with. Not in that I didn’t like it, but in that I knew it could spiral badly if I didn’t handle it well. My life could be ruined even if almost no one else knew about it.
There was only one way forward that didn’t provoke Cassius’ ire, didn’t trap me into a game I couldn’t get out of, and still allowed my art career to flourish.
I had to challenge him.
That was different from trying to beat him. Cassius never wanted to be beaten, and the instant he caught a whiff that he might be beaten, the monster in him came out. But challenge him? Negotiate in a way that made him think?
That was almost intoxicating to him. He enjoyed little games of give and take. He relished seeing what he could get out of you while giving up as little as he could. He was no fool; he wouldn’t refuse to give up something.
I looked in the mirror and smiled. Yes. Play Cassius’ game on his terms with my requirements. And even if the rules of the game got broken, as long as I didn’t appear a threat to him, the consequences were likely to be small, temporary at worst.
I walked out of the bathroom with a small smile on my face; I had to make sure it wasn’t too strong. Cassius, of course, still had that steel gaze, and I almost just dropped to my knees and said I’d take whatever deal he wanted. But no matter what a man like Cassius said, outright domination with no resistance would have bored him. Conquering a powerful foe was far more rewarding than defeating a pushover that someone without billions of dollars could run over.
“I’m intrigued by your offer,” I said. “But I want to make some terms clear.”
“Of course, I would rather you be upfront with how you want this to go,” Cassius said, but there was a hint of a warning in his voice, reminding me who had the power here. A part of me said to ignore it; it was all part of the game… but Cassius had grown up, too, from before. What was playful to him years ago might now be a nuisance, an aggravation.
“If this is just a date for a gala with the intent of going our separate ways,” I began, “then I want to make it very clear that this is not the beginning of a real relationship. Which means that we will not engage in actions that would escalate anything.”
This was risky. Partially because I was using this to get more out of him.
Partially because if he just accepted exactly what I asked for, I wasn’t sure it was what I really wanted.
“I will hold your arm for any photo ops or any carpet walks, anything of that nature,” I said. “But I will not hold your hand. I will not hug you. And I will certainly not do… well, anything past that.”
A very long silence followed. I folded my arms and told myself I had no choice but to sit with the awkwardness. I wouldnotfold, no matter how much Cassius pressured me with quiet. I might give in to holding hands or even hugging if Cassius walked away, but?—
“So closed off, Sarah,” Cassius said. “This is very unlike you.”
“You said it yourself, we go our separate ways after. This is just to cleanse your soul. Would you really want to muddy it by doing something more?”
