The Exit Strategy

Lily stared at him. For five years, she had been told to shrink. To be quiet. To be grateful for the scraps.

Julian Thorne was looking at her like she was the sun.

"I'm scared," she admitted. "If I walk out there... if they see me with you... the headlines. They'll say I'm sleeping my way back to the middle."

"Let them talk," Julian said. "I own the magazines too. I'll make sure they spell your name right."

He stood up straight, offering her a choice. He didn't force her. For all his dominance, for all his anger, he was waiting for her signal.

"You can go out the service entrance," Julian said, gesturing to a small door behind the bookshelves. "You can disappear. I won't stop you. You can go back to Queens and hide."

He paused, his eyes searching hers.

"Or," he said, extending his hand. "You can walk out the front door with me. My hand in yours. And you can remind them exactly who the hell you are."

Lily looked at the service door. It was safe. It was quiet. It was the life she had resigned herself to.

Then she looked at Julian. He looked lonely. Beneath the power and the suit, he looked like a man who had been waiting five years for someone to sing a song he actually liked.

She reached behind her back and untied the apron strings.

It fell to the floor with a soft *swish*.

She unbuttoned the catering vest and let it slide off her shoulders, revealing the simple black camisole underneath. It wasn't couture, but it was hers.

She reached up and pulled the pins out of her hair, letting the blonde waves fall around her face.

Julian watched her transformation with dark, hungry eyes. He didn't touch her, but the weight of his gaze felt like a caress.

"I don't have a microphone," Lily said, her voice stronger now.

"You don't need one," Julian said. "Your presence is loud enough."

She took a deep breath. She stepped away from the desk. She placed her hand in his.

His fingers closed around hers—warm, large, and protective. He didn't just hold her hand; he claimed it.

"Ready?" he asked.

"No," Lily smiled, a spark of her old fire returning. "Let's go."

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