I look at her hand for a beat too long before taking it. Make her wait for acknowledgment. Her handshake is firm, practiced. Years of boardroom negotiations where showing weakness gets you eaten alive.
"Sit." Not a request. I gesture to the chair across from me.
Simone sits with deliberate control. Back straight, ankles crossed, purse in her lap. Every movement is measured, calculated. Pure executive polish.
It's the same performance she probably brings to private rooms thinking it makes her look strong.
"You've been getting photographs," I say. A direct statement, no softening. "Someone's been watching you scene. Documenting it. Sending the evidence to prove they can reach you anywhere."
Color rises in her cheeks. "I wouldn't phrase it quite that way."
"No?" I lean forward, invade her space across the table. "How would you phrase it, Ms. LaCroix? Someone's been politely observing your private activities? Respectfully documenting your time at the club?"
Her jaw tightens. "I'm being threatened. That's why I'm here."
"You're being hunted. There's a difference." I pull up the file on my tablet. "First delivery. When and where?"
"Over a week ago. My office at LaCroix Petroleum. Unmarked envelope."
"Second?"
"My penthouse. The next day."
"And you didn't think that pattern was worth mentioning to Dominion's security after the first delivery?" I let the question hang. She's processing being called out. "Someone sends a photo to your work showing you bound and vulnerable, then another picture shows up at your home the next day, and you just kept showing up to the club like nothing was wrong?"
"I didn't want to overreact."
"You didn't want to admit you were scared." I hold her gaze. "Third delivery?"
Her mouth tightens. "My gym. A few days ago. Someone got into my locker while I was training."
The pattern shows escalation. Starting with her professional space, moving to her residential building, then infiltrating her private gym locker. Each delivery is more invasive than the last, proving they can reach her anywhere.
I pull up Dominion's attendance logs on my tablet, cross-reference with the photo timestamps. "And during this period of escalating threats, you attended the club multiple times. Last visit was recently."
Her face flushes. "I didn't think I should let them control my life."
"You didn't think at all." I lean forward. "Someone's documenting your scenes and you kept showing up to give them more material. That's not brave, Ms. LaCroix. That's stupid."
"The overt threats started yesterday," I add. "Text overlay on the photographs. Specific language about control, submission, what they know about you."
Her jaw works but she maintains composure. "The last message said I'd learn what real control feels like. Soon."
"Which means the timeline's compressing." I lean back in my chair. "Whoever's doing this is moving from surveillance toaction. The documentation period is over. Now comes the part where they make you scream."
Her face goes pale. The reality's hitting now. Better this happens here than when she's already in their crosshairs.
"You think they're going to try something."
"I think they've been telling you exactly what they're going to do. The question is when and how." I pull up the file on my tablet. "Which is why you're here. Because someone who knows exactly where Dominion's cameras don't reach has been documenting your scenes for weeks. They know your patterns, your vulnerabilities, your psychological triggers. They know what makes you submit and what makes you fight. That knowledge makes them dangerous in ways a simple physical threat wouldn't be."
"So what do you recommend?"
"I don't recommend anything. I tell you how this works." I lean back. No room for negotiation here. "You move into a secure location tonight. The guest house on my family's property. You don't go anywhere without me. Your schedule, your movements, your decisions all run through me. No exceptions, no negotiation."
Her eyes narrow. "I'm only submissive at the club, Mr. Pascal."
I snort. "Right. That's why you're sitting there with dilated pupils and shallow breathing while I tell you how your life's going to work from now on."
