First Rule: Don't Fall For The Enemy

CHAPTER 23

ADRIAN’S POV

Jesse's smile was like a blade as he approached us in the lobby. I felt Elise go rigid beside me, her breathing shallow and panicked. Whatever connection these two had, it was about to explode in my face.

"Mr. Roth," Jesse said, his voice carefully professional despite the swelling on his jaw from where I'd hit him. "I was hoping we could have a word."

"A word about what?" I kept my voice level, but every instinct I'd honed in fifteen years of business was screaming danger.

"About Elise." His eyes flicked to her, and I saw something pass between them, a look that spoke of shared secrets and bitter familiarity. "There are some things you need to know."

Elise made a sound that might have been a whimper. "Jesse, don't—"

"Don't what?" Jesse's smile widened. "Don't tell him the truth? I think he deserves to know, don't you?"

I looked between them, seeing the terror in Elise's eyes, the satisfaction in Jesse's. Whatever was happening here, it was bigger than office politics or a jealous ex-boyfriend.

"What truth?" I asked quietly.

"Perhaps we could discuss this in private?" Jesse suggested, glancing around the lobby where a few security guards were pretending not to listen. "Your office, maybe?"

Elise grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my sleeve. "Adrian, please—"

"Please what?" I looked down at her, seeing desperation in her green eyes. "Please don't listen to him? Please don't find out what you're hiding?"

"It's not what you think—"

"I don't know what to think anymore." I gently pried her fingers from my arm. "But maybe it's time I found out."

"Adrian, no—"

"Go home, Elise." My voice was harder than I'd intended, but I was tired of the lies, tired of the games. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"You can't just—"

"I can and I am." I turned to Jesse, noting the way his eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Let's go."

The elevator ride to my office was silent except for the sound of Elise's sobs as the doors closed between us. Each sound was like a knife to my chest, but I forced myself to focus on the man beside me.

"You have something to tell me," I said as we entered my office.

"I do." Jesse settled into the chair across from my desk like he owned the place. "But first, I owe you an apology."

"An apology?"

"For this afternoon. For putting my hands on her." He touched his swollen jaw ruefully. "You pack quite a punch, by the way."

I moved behind my desk, using the familiar barrier to maintain some semblance of control. "You were hurting her."

"Was I? Or was I trying to shake some sense into her?" Jesse leaned forward, his blue eyes intense. "Tell me, Mr. Roth, what do you really know about Elise Hart?"

"I know enough."

"Do you? Because I think you'll find that everything you know is a lie."

Something cold settled in my stomach. "What are you talking about?"

"Her name, for starters." Jesse's smile was predatory. "Her real name is Mira Weston, not Elise Hart."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "That's impossible."

"Is it? Have you ever seen her driver's license? Her passport? Any form of identification that says 'Elise Hart'?"

I opened my mouth to say yes, then closed it. Because I hadn't. In all the months we'd worked together, in all the intimate moments we'd shared, I'd never seen any official documentation of her identity.

"You're lying," I said, but my voice lacked conviction.

"Am I? Mira Weston, age twenty-eight, born in Portland, Oregon. Daughter of investigative journalist Marcus Weston, who died three years ago under suspicious circumstances." Jesse pulled out his phone, scrolling through what looked like official documents. "Would you like to see her real employment history? Because I can guarantee it's nothing like what's in her file."

I stared at the phone, not wanting to look but unable to stop myself. The documents looked official, birth certificate, college transcripts, employment records. All bearing the name Mira Weston.

"This proves nothing," I said, but the words felt hollow.

"Doesn't it? How about this—I'm her boyfriend. Have been for two years."

The casual revelation hit harder than everything else combined. "You're lying."

"Am I? How do you think I knew where to find her this afternoon? How do you think I knew about her little shopping trip to Miami with you?" Jesse's voice was conversational, almost friendly. "We live together, Mr. Roth. Same apartment, same bed. Well, we did until recently."

"She would have told me—"

"Would she? The way she told you about her real name? The way she told you about her real job?"

"What real job?"

Jesse's smile was like poison. "She's a federal agent, Mr. Roth. Has been for six years. Specializes in corporate infiltration and financial crimes."

The room tilted. I gripped the edge of my desk, fighting the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm me. "That's impossible."

"Is it? Think about it. How did she know so much about corporate finance when she interviewed? How did she spot discrepancies in contracts that my legal team missed? How did she integrate so seamlessly into your world?"

"She's intelligent—"

"She's trained. Trained to be whatever she needs to be to get close to her targets." Jesse leaned back in his chair, clearly enjoying my shock. "And you, Mr. Roth, are her target."

"Target for what?"

"Financial crimes. Corporate espionage. Bribery. Take your pick." Jesse's voice was matter-of-fact, like he was discussing the weather. "Her father was investigating Roth Corporation when he died. She's here to finish what he started."

The words kept coming, each one a hammer blow to my chest. "You're lying. You have to be lying."

"About which part? About her real name? About her being a federal agent? About her being sent here specifically to bring you down?" Jesse pulled out another document, sliding it across my desk. "This is her service record. Six years, multiple commendations for undercover work."

I stared down at the document, seeing a photograph that was unmistakably Elise, Mira, in federal agent attire. The same green eyes, the same beautiful face, but cold and professional in a way I'd never seen.

"She volunteered for this assignment," Jesse continued relentlessly. "Asked for it specifically. Because bringing down Adrian Roth would make her career."

"Stop." The word came out as a whisper.

"Stop what? Stop telling you the truth? Stop explaining why the woman you love has been lying to your face for months?"

"She loves me." Even as I said it, the words felt pathetic.

"Does she? Or does she love the information you've given her? The access you've provided? The evidence she's gathered?" Jesse's voice was almost gentle now, which made it worse. "Every intimate moment, every secret you shared, every time you thought she was falling for you—she was doing her job."

I thought about Miami, about the way she'd looked at me when I'd told her about my family. The tears in her eyes when I'd shared my deepest pain. Had all of that been performance?

"The sex was probably pretty good though," Jesse added casually. "She's very dedicated to her work."

"Get out." The words came from somewhere deep inside me, raw and broken.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Get out of my office. Now."

Jesse stood slowly, straightening his security uniform. "I thought you deserved to know the truth."

"The truth." I laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. "The truth is that I'm an idiot who fell for a lie."

"You're not the first. She's very good at what she does."

"What does she want? What is she trying to find?"

"Evidence of financial crimes. Proof of the bribes, the money laundering, the offshore accounts." Jesse paused at the door. "But I think you already know that, don't you, Mr. Roth?"

I didn't answer. Couldn't answer. Because he was right. I did know. I knew exactly what crimes Mira—not Elise, Mira—was looking for evidence of.

"She's very close to getting what she needs," Jesse continued. "Close enough that she was willing to risk everything to stay undercover. Close enough that she chose the mission over me."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I love her. And I'm tired of watching her destroy herself for a man who can never give her what she really needs." Jesse's smile was sad now, almost pitying. "Because sooner or later, she's going to have to choose between her feelings and her duty. And I think we both know what choice she'll make."

After he left, I sat alone in my office, staring at the documents scattered across my desk. Birth certificate for Mira Weston. Service record for Agent Mira Weston. Photographs of the woman I'd fallen in love with, the woman I'd trusted with everything, the woman who'd been lying to me from the moment we met.

I thought about every conversation we'd had, every moment of intimacy, every time she'd looked at me with those green eyes full of what I'd thought was love. Had any of it been real? Or had I just been a mark, a target, a stepping stone in her career?

The woman I loved didn't exist. Had never existed.

Elise Hart was a ghost, and I'd fallen in love with a lie.