Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN WHO OWNED THE ROOM|
Claire left the ballroom through a private corridor, accompanied by a paramedic and the event's security director.
She refused a wheelchair, though her cheek throbbed with every step. The paramedic recommended a medical evaluation, and Claire agreed. She had learned the hard way that ignoring an injury never made it disappear.
Roman followed at a respectful distance.
At the elevator, she turned toward him.
“You don't have to come with me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you?”
“Because someone may have used your identity in a business transaction connected to my company. Until we understand what happened, I have a professional interest in making sure the evidence is preserved.”
Claire studied him.
“That sounds considerably less romantic than the rumors about you.”
One corner of his mouth moved.
“I've never been accused of being romantic.”
“I'm not surprised.”
The elevator doors opened.
Roman allowed her to enter first.
At the private medical suite, a physician examined Claire's face and confirmed that she needed follow-up care if her symptoms worsened. The injury was painful, but there was no immediate sign of a serious complication.
Claire thanked the physician and sat quietly while a nurse brought her an ice pack.
Her phone began vibrating.
Ethan.
Again.
And again.
She switched it off.
Roman stood near the window speaking with his chief operating officer, Daniel Price. He didn't ask Claire to explain her relationship with Ethan. He didn't tell her how she should feel.
That restraint made it easier to speak.
“Ethan and I were engaged for four years,” she said.
Roman ended his call.
“I gathered that.”
“He ended it six weeks ago. He said we wanted different things.”
“What did you want?”
“To stop being treated like an employee in my own relationship.”
Roman's expression remained unreadable.
“Did he know about your company?”
“He knew I worked in events. He never bothered to understand what I had built.”
Claire looked down at her hands.
“I let him believe I was smaller than I was. I thought if I didn't threaten his pride, we could have a peaceful life.”
“And did you?”
“No.”
The answer came out with a bitter laugh.
Roman pulled a chair closer but did not sit until she nodded.
“Why did you keep your ownership private?”
“Because I wanted my clients to hire me for my work, not because they wanted access to Ethan. And because the Crowe family treated women like decorations. I thought staying anonymous would protect what I built.”
“Did it?”
“Not from him.”
For a moment, Roman seemed to consider that.
Then Daniel approached with a tablet.
“We found the contract,” he said.
Claire looked up.
“What contract?”
Daniel displayed a document bearing the C.W. Atelier logo. It described a consulting arrangement connected to a proposed redevelopment project in downtown Chicago.
The payment authorization was substantial.
At the bottom was Claire's signature.
She stared at it.
“I've never seen this.”
Roman leaned toward the screen.
“The agreement grants the Crowe organization access to confidential vendor information and allows certain project expenses to be billed through your company.”
“That's impossible. I never agreed to that.”
Daniel nodded.
“We're checking the document history. The file was submitted through an account using your business name.”
Claire took a closer look.
The signature was convincing, but the date was wrong. On that date, she had been attending a conference in Boston.
“I can prove I wasn't in Chicago.”
“That will help,” Roman said.
“But it doesn't tell us who did this.”
“No,” he agreed. “It doesn't.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because I don't like fraud.”
“That can't be the entire answer.”
“It is the answer you need tonight.”
His refusal to offer an easy promise irritated her more than it should have.
She wanted certainty. She wanted someone to tell her that Ethan would pay, that the forged contract would disappear, and that the life she had built would remain untouched.
Roman offered none of those guarantees.
Instead, he handed her a business card.
“My legal team can coordinate with your attorney if you wish. You remain in control of your company and your decisions.”
Claire accepted the card.
Then Daniel received another message.
He read it once and turned pale.
“Roman, we have a bigger problem.”
Roman looked at him.
“What now?”
Daniel turned the tablet around.
A financial report showed that C.W. Atelier had been listed as a guarantor for a loan worth several million dollars.
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The loan was tied to a Crowe Development project.
And if the lender accepted the forged documents, Claire's company could be held responsible for a debt she had never agreed to guarantee.
