Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Found the Enemy Inside
Three days later, Lydia Bennett walked into Mercer Development wearing the same ugly cardigan.
Roman noticed immediately.
"You kept it."
She looked down.
"Kept what?"
"The disguise."
"It's comfortable."
"No, it's familiar."
Lydia stared at him.
"You always analyze people this much?"
"Yes."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It is."
The answer was so honest that she almost laughed.
Roman Mercer was terrifying to everyone else.
But with her, he was strangely direct.
No games.
No pretending.
The first week working for him, Lydia discovered something unexpected.
Roman wasn't careless.
He wasn't cruel.
He was demanding.
Extremely demanding.
But every employee knew exactly what he expected.
And they respected him.
Unlike Tyler Voss.
Tyler used fear.
Roman used control.
There was a difference.
One afternoon, Lydia entered his office holding a stack of documents.
"We have a problem."
Roman looked up.
"Someone stole money."
"No."
She placed the papers down.
"Someone wants you to think money was stolen."
Roman studied her.
"Explain."
"The missing funds were moved between three companies."
"That happens."
"Not like this."
She pointed.
"They moved exactly enough money to look suspicious, but not enough to trigger automatic investigation."
Roman's expression changed.
"You noticed that?"
"Yes."
"Nobody else did."
"Your accountants look at numbers."
She looked at him.
"I look at patterns."
Roman stood.
"Who?"
"I don't know yet."
"But you have a guess."
Lydia hesitated.
Roman noticed.
"Tell me."
"I think someone close to you is involved."
The room became colder.
Roman's face hardened.
"Why?"
"Because outsiders steal money."
She looked at the files.
"Insiders steal trust."
For several seconds, Roman said nothing.
Then:
"You're good at this."
Lydia shrugged.
"I had practice."
That answer bothered him.
Because he knew what she meant.
She had spent years cleaning up someone else's disasters.
That night, Roman found her working after everyone left.
"You should go home."
She didn't look up.
"I don't really have one."
Roman stopped.
"What?"
"My apartment lease ends next month."
"Why?"
"Because I can't afford it anymore."
Roman stared at her.
"You were working for me while having nowhere stable to live?"
"I'm fine."
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"But you keep saying that."
Lydia looked up.
"And you keep acting like you know everything."
Roman stepped closer.
"I know what exhaustion looks like."
Something about his tone made her stop.
Because for a second, Roman Mercer didn't look like a powerful businessman.
May you like
He looked like someone who understood loneliness.
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