Chapter 31 Compliance Games
Eli's POV
The collar itched in a way body armor never did.
I tugged at the edge of the suit jacket and told myself it was just fabric, not a noose. Across the desk, Sloane watched me with that flat look she used when she was trying very hard not to show anything at all. Her own suit was perfect, of course. Today she looked like no one would dare ask her what she did with her bodyguard after hours.
“Remember,” she said, voice low. “They are looking for sound bites they can cut free of context and feed to investors. This is not truth and reconciliation. It is optics.”
“So I pretend I do not care if you live or die,” I said.
Her mouth twitched, then smoothed. “You pretend you have never once overruled me or wanted to.”
“That would be a lie on both counts,” I said.
Her gaze softened for half a heartbeat, then the mask slid back into place. There was a knock on the door.
“They are ready,” Ava said, peeking in. Her eyes flicked over my suit once, like she did not quite recognize me without a gun on my hip.
The interview room looked like it had been designed by someone who thought neutral colors could make people honest. Glass walls, blinds half drawn. A round table in the center. On one side sat Dr Evelyn Wardell, older, silver hair pulled back, eyes too sharp to miss much. Ex regulator, from what Lucas had said. The kind of person who had built careers asking questions like the ones that were about to come out of her mouth.
In the corner, Mariah Chan, tablet on her lap, posture relaxed, face arranged in concerned advocate mode. She was not technically part of the panel, which meant she was exactly the one I needed to watch.
“Ms Mercer, Mr Ward,” Wardell said, gesturing to the chairs opposite. “Thank you for making time. We will keep this focused.”
Sloane slid into her seat with that particular grace that said she would rather be anywhere else but would own this room anyway. I took the chair beside her, feeling the distance between my knees and hers like a live wire.
They started with scope. My authority, my role. How much discretion I had in deciding where Sloane went, how we responded. Whether there had ever been a time I overrode her wishes.
“Yes,” I said. “When I deemed immediate physical risk unacceptable, I have said no. She has argued. We have compromised. Ultimately, if there is a bullet coming, I answer for it.”
Wardell made notes. “And Ms Mercer, have you ever felt Mr Ward exerted undue influence over your decisions unrelated to physical safety”
“No,” Sloane said, cool. “My board and my conscience are more than capable of that.”
Light titters around the edges of the table. Mariah smiled like she had taught Sloane that line. I knew better.
Then Wardell shifted. The air changed.
“Has there been any romantic or sexual relationship between you and Mr Ward, either before or during this contract,” she asked. No preamble. Just dropped it on the table like a grenade.
Sloane inhaled. I saw her mouth open, saw the choice flicker in her eyes between deflect and aim clean.
“My focus has been and remains her physical safety,” I said before she could answer.
Wardell’s gaze snapped to me. “That is not what I asked, Mr Ward.”
“It is the only answer that does not turn this into a circus,” I said. “Any history that predates this contract happened when she was not my client. Since taking this job, every decision I have made has been through the lens of risk mitigation, not personal gratification.”
Her eyebrow arched. “So your personal feelings play no role in your work”
I could have lied. Said no. Said she was just another name on a file. The words refused to come.
“I care whether she lives,” I said instead. “More than I did at the start. That concern does not dull my vigilance. It sharpens it. I am not less likely to step in front of a threat because I give a damn. I am more likely.”
Daniels, compliance, sat back with a face that said he had just heard a lawyer’s nightmare and a PR win in the same sentence.
“We simply want to ensure Ms Mercer is not left vulnerable in a crisis due to divided loyalties,” Mariah murmured from her corner, voice smooth. “It is our job to see around corners.”
To Sloane, it was clear she was framing me as the corner. Her jaw tightened, but she kept her tone level.
“No one has ever stopped me from saying no,” she said. “Not Eli. Certainly not this board.”
The questions kept coming. Could I imagine a situation where Sloane ordered me to stand down and I refused Would my attachment make it harder to redeploy if the company required it
By the time we were released, my shirt was sticking to my back.
In the hallway outside, away from the glass, Sloane rounded on me.
“You did not need to answer for me,” she hissed. “Cutting in like that just makes it look like I cannot speak for myself.”
“I was trying to keep you from saying something they could twist into a confession,” I snapped back. “They are not here for your emotional truth. They are hunting for a headline.”
“I know exactly what they are hunting for,” she said. “I do not need you to throw yourself in front of their questions like they are bullets.”
“That is the reflex,” I said, more tired than angry. “In case you had not noticed.”
We stared at each other, both breathing a little fast. Underneath the fight was the same fear, just facing different directions. She was terrified of losing control of her narrative again. I was terrified of being written out of the frame entirely.
“Sorry,” she muttered finally, looking away. “I just… hate how they talk about me like I am a problem to be managed.”
“I am not used to talking about feelings in front of people with pens,” I admitted. “I forgot you have weapons of your own.”
Her mouth twitched. She reached out, squeezed my arm once, quick and firm, then dropped her hand like it had never happened. “Try not to volunteer to martyr yourself in there next time,” she said. “I need you functional, not noble.”
“Copy that,” I said.
My phone buzzed as she walked back toward her office. Mila.
Intercepted from Chan, the text read, followed by an encrypted attachment. When I opened it, I saw a snippet of an email from Mariah’s account to a burner address.
Call with NG tonight 2100, it read. Discuss Sentinel Gate rollout.
NG. The codename we were pretty sure belonged to Noah inside his own network.
The ethics game was not the only one being played tonight.