Chapter 67 SPEECH REHEARSAL
"Ms. Cross?" Kai called loudly from across the room. "You were great. Let's take a break?"
It was Monday, and Vivienne barely remembered the morning session. Kai had run them through a new sequence, but inside her there was a storm. Not after the baby blanket. The bloodstains.
With the blackmailer trailing and taunting her, she could hardly focus. And yet, she made it to work.
Though Kai had a lot of corrections, but he wasn't one to tear down a woman's confidence.
When the session finally ended around three, everyone started packing up, eager to get home before the evening traffic.
"Vivienne." Alexander appeared beside her as she was pulling off her mocap sensors. "Can you stay for a bit? I need to go over the gala speeches."
Her stomach dropped. "Now?"
"If that's okay. We're running out of time, and I want to make sure we're both comfortable with what we're saying."
She couldn't exactly say no. "Yeah. Okay."
Kai paused on his way out. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Cross?"
"See you tomorrow, Kai. Thank you," Vivienne said.
He nodded, then headed out like everyone else, leaving Vivienne and Alexander alone.
Alexander had printed out the speeches and laid them on a table near the monitors. "So. The format is pretty straightforward. I'll give opening remarks, introduce the project, then bring you up to talk about your experience as Athena."
Vivienne picked up the paper with her name on it. The speech was short. Maybe two minutes. But reading it made her palms sweat.
"I know public speaking isn't everyone's favorite thing," Alexander said. "But you don't have to memorize it word for word. Just hit the main points. Be yourself."
Be yourself. Right. Except she wasn't really herself. Not to him or anyone at that gala.
"Let's run through it once," Alexander suggested. "I'll do my part, then you do yours."
He picked up his own speech and cleared his throat. When he started speaking, his whole demeanor changed. He spoke like the businessman everyone expected him to be.
"Good evening. Thank you all for being here tonight to celebrate not just a project, but a vision. Tyranny isn't just a game. It's a story about power, choice, and the cost of both. And at the heart of that story is Athena, a character who embodies strength in its truest form. Please welcome Vivienne Cross."
He gestured to her, prompting her turn.
Vivienne looked down at her speech. The words blurred together.
"It's okay," Alexander said quietly. "Just try."
She took a breath and started reading. "Working on Tyranny has been an incredible experience. Bringing Athena to life required more than just physical performance. It required understanding what it means to fight for something worth fighting for."
Her voice sounded off. Rehearsed and fake.
"That was good," Alexander said. "But try it again. Less formal. Like you're talking to a friend."
"I don't think these people want to be my friends."
"Maybe not. But they want to believe in you. In what you're bringing to this project." He set his paper down. "Try it without reading. Just tell me about Athena."
Vivienne set her paper down too. "What about Athena?"
"You tell me. In your own words."
She thought about it. About all the hours in the mocap suit. About learning to move like a fighter who'd survived impossible battles. And pretending to be strong while falling apart inside.
"Athena is an incredible character who doesn't give up," Vivienne said finally. "Even when everything's against her. Even when running would be easier. She stays and fights for what's hers."
Alexander was watching her intently. "That's it. That's what you should say."
"It's not very polished."
"It's real. That's better than polished." He picked up his speech again. "Let's try the whole thing together. From the top."
They ran through it three more times. Each time, Vivienne felt a little less like she was going to throw up. A little more like she might actually survive Friday night.
On the fourth run, Alexander moved closer to demonstrate how they'd be positioned on stage. "We'll probably be standing about this far apart. You'll be slightly behind me during my intro, then step forward when I say your name."
He walked through the blocking. "Like this. I finish my part, turn toward you, and then you take center."
Vivienne followed his direction, moving to where he indicated. They were closer now than they'd been lately.
Close enough that she could see the stubble on his jaw that he'd probably shave ahead of the gala. She noticed the way his tie was slightly loose, like he'd been pulling at it all day.
"Good," Alexander said. "That works. Now when you finish your speech, I'll come back to close everything out. Maybe something about how grateful we are for everyone's support. Then we're done."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Ten minutes total. Maybe fifteen if people ask questions after."
"They're going to ask questions?"
"Probably. But we can handle it." He smiled slightly. "You handled Isabella. You can handle some investors."
Vivienne wasn't so sure about that.
"Let's try it once more," Alexander said. "With feeling this time."
"With feeling?"
"Yeah. Pretend you actually care about this project." His tone was teasing, but there was truth underneath it.
Did she care about Tyranny? Did she really care about this project that was threatening to turn her life upside down?
Or did she just care about saving CrossLight?
"I'll try," she said.
This time, when they ran through it, something changed. And when Vivienne spoke about Athena, she wasn't thinking about the character anymore.
She was thinking about herself. Elara even. About ten years of hiding and rebuilding and pretending to be someone else.
"Even when running would be easier, she stays and fights for what's hers," she continued.
When she finished, Alexander was quiet.
"What?" Vivienne asked. "Was it bad?"
"No. It was..." He paused, searching for words. "It was honest. Raw. Like you weren't just talking about Athena."
"I thought that's what you wanted."
"It is." He took a step closer. "I just didn't expect it to feel so personal."
The air between them suddenly changed. Thicker.
Vivienne knew she should probably step back. Put distance between them. But she didn't.
He was her boss. He was Alexander Hunt, who came with his own mountain of complications.
But she didn't step back.
"Sometimes it's hard to separate the character from the person," she said quietly.
"Is it?" Alexander's voice had dropped lower. "Or is it that you're more like Athena than you want to admit?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Yes, you do." He was close enough now that she could see the gold flecks in his brown eyes. "You're fighting for something more than your business. I can see it. I just don't know what it is."
Vivienne's mouth went dry. "Maybe I'm just fighting to keep my job."
"Like I said, it's more than that." His hand came up slowly, like he was going to touch her face, then stopped halfway. "You're afraid of something."
She should say something. Deflect. Change the subject. But the words wouldn't come.
They stood there in the empty studio, frozen in a moment that felt like it could break in either direction.
Alexander's gaze dropped to her mouth. Then back to her eyes. His hand was still suspended in the air between them, not quite touching but not quite pulling away either.
"This is a bad idea," he said softly.
"Yeah." Vivienne's voice came out barely steady. "Probably."
"We shouldn't."
"We shouldn't."
But neither of them moved.
The moment stretched. One second. Two. The space between them felt electric, charged with everything they weren't saying.
Then Alexander stepped back abruptly.
"I'm sorry," he said, running his hand through his hair. "That was inappropriate. You work for me and I..."
"It's fine," Vivienne said quickly, even though nothing felt fine.
"Right. Yeah." He wouldn't look at her now. Just gathered up the speeches from the table, shuffling papers that didn't need shuffling. "You should go. It's getting late."
"Alexander..."
"I'll see you tomorrow." His voice had gone formal again. Distant. "We'll do one more practice run before Friday. Make sure we're ready."
Vivienne stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened. Trying to understand why she felt like crying.
He'd almost kissed her. Almost. And then pulled away. Apologized like it was a mistake.
Which it was.
She wasn't Elara. She was Vivienne Cross. An employee. Someone he'd hired to do a job. He didn't know her. Not really. And whatever moment they'd just shared wasn't real.
Couldn't be real.
So why did it feel like something had just shattered?
"Right," she finally said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She grabbed her bag and headed for the door, moving quickly before he could see how much his restraint had landed.
It shouldn't hurt. She should be relieved. Glad that Alexander wasn't the type to just kiss random women he worked with. Glad that he'd stepped back instead of crossing a line.
But it hurt.
And now, she felt more alone than she'd been in a long time.