Corporate Secret And Lies

Laying on the polished desk, the cream-colored sleek envelope seems quite unusual and in contrast with the surrounding environment. Elena Price put her fingers on it for some time, then she picked it up. The paper was thick like cardstock, and it had a very flashy look that seemed rather costly. The gold lettering gleamed a little as she looked at the light.

Without any delay, she placed her finger around the flap and tore it aside. In its interior there was an invitation-no, it was more like an invitation to a private charity event that only a handful of people in the city would attend belonged to. This kind of invitation Elena received countless times before, but for some reason this one gave her food for thought.

"Victor Price and his highly recommended daughter, Elena, are more than welcome." She read aloud and stopped at the name of the host.

Julian Blackwood.

Her breath hitched slightly. Those intense blue eyes glanced over as she remembered his name all too well. The man was a billionaire; he was accused of being ruthless in business and victorious in appellation, which had the ability to captivate critics. But more than that, he was an enigma-a rumors man-a man who became an authority in a few months.

"Elena?" Her father interrupted her thoughts.

Victor Price, well groomed, neatly tailored, and reflecting the air of a man who is in control, was standing at the doorstep, observing the unfolding scene with a healthy dose of bewilderment and apprehension. "What is it?"

She gave him the card of the invitation. Joseph looked at the card, and the expression on his face said it all: his eyes flicker over the card very passively-almost too tamed. "Julian Blackwood," he said, but to whom only he was speaking.

"Do you know him?" She looked straight into her dad's eyes suspiciously while asking the man.

It was something she had acquired over time-the signs that he was keeping something from her and tried not to.

Victor only nodded, and his reply to the situation was evasive. "You've met before," snapped the man whose eyes never left me. . He... is a persistent bastard.".

Elena raised an eyebrow. "Persistent how?"

"It is not something you should be concerned with. It is just business as usual."

But Elena wasn't convinced. This, she had always thought, was too fishy for her father; she never knew the full extent of his business empires, but this invitation, this man-it was all a missing piece in a puzzle she has been struggling to solve for years.

To Elena's surprise, the night of the event arrived sooner than she thought. She twirled round in front of the looking glass, tightening a black sling of a strap of her black strapless gown. Her hair was as dark as her eyes and was tied up in a beautiful twist; diamond earrings reflected the light from the bedroom's lamps. She appeared to be the billionaire's daughter in every sense, yet in her heart, she was a precipitous of questions and uncertainty.

Every time they got to the magnificent place-a large house that was illuminated like a ship that guides sailors through the darkness-Elena felt nervous. It was very brightly lit inside, and the ambience was rather tense; one could sense that the rich aroma of luxurious fragrances was in the air, coupled with the hushed voices of people. The gentlemen waiting staff wearing neat black and white checked shirts and black trousers were weaving through the throng, offering champagne on silver platters.

"Elena, there is a person that I wish you to get acquainted with," Victor remarked, putting his hand on her back as he led her through the crowd. She looked around, waiting for the man who she had been thinking about since she received this invitation.

And then she saw him. She remembered but never really thought that she would get the chance to see him again.

Julian Blackwood was leaning by the grand piano, the taut and muscular body language that seemed to convey the man's inherent self-possession. To the small audience that was engaging him he was actively speaking to, his eyes looked lost-looking for something or someone. Finally, his eyes met with Elena, and a slow, devilish smile spread across his lips.

He stopped speaking and started walking towards her; his steps were calculated and measured. When he slowly advanced towards her, Elena experienced various things: excitement and fear, all at the same time. This was it-the start that had been being built up for so long now was the time where the match would commence.

"Elena Price," Julian responded, saying her name in a very husky voice, as though sounding like velvet. He offered her palm, shaking it, and she also shook it and felt for the first time the warmth of his palm. I

Is a man with a great reputation? "I have traveled most of the time with him."

"What about you, Mr. Blackwood?" Elena asked in a polite and reserved manner.

"Oh, I hardly think it would be appropriate for me to be on first name terms with you, sir," I spluttered. "Please, call me Julian," he replied, and his lips lightly curled into a more mischievous smile. "I was expecting this meeting to happen even before now."

'Meeting', of course, was the key word that was not lost on Elena. She could hardly doubt that Julian Blackwood had planned this whole thing simply to get her here. But why? What do we know that he wanted from her?

"I know that you have some quite... unusual experiences in the enterprise," Julian told her, staring straight into her eyes.

Tilting her head up to look into his eyes, Elena looked right back at him. "You could also say the same to me."

Julian smiled, and it was malicious more than amusing. "You could, perhaps, tonight, put business out of your mind because I think we are here to have fun, aren't we?"

Before she could say anything, the lights went off and the note played from the grand piano became louder. An offer to engage further averted when for the hand that no longer had a ring on its finger Julian offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

Elena did not take long to accept his offer and wrapped her arm around his and placed her hand that still held the glass in the crook of his elbow. As she stepped onto the dancing floor, she realized that people were watching them, but her attention shifted to the man by her side-this stranger who pulled her in without her realizing it.

They started dancing for a few moments; the silent tension that filled the air was quite visible. In Elena's head she was asking all the questions, but she remained calm, calm as the perfect daughter of Victor Price.

After a while, Julian sighed and resumed speaking, "Well, it is rather unusual, but all right, maybe I have to correct myself-you are even more mysterious than I originally thought."

Elena arched an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment?"

"It's an observation," Julian said in a flat tone.

As they danced, at some point, with Dorian, Elena was gradually getting the impression that there was more to it than what she could grasp at the moment. It was evident that he was dangerous, so Julian Blackwood was dangerous. But there seemed to be more; there was some part of him that was still poorly polished, and she could not help but feel the desire to discover that part of him yet.

The music started to get softer, and as it continued, Julian closed his face to her and whispered to her. "Eleanor, I have a proposal for you. Stay with me. I have something very important to disclose to you, something that will be really advantageous to both of us."

Elena came slightly away from him and looked at him directly. 'Well, what may be that?'

Julian looked at him and smiled, but there was no trace of friendliness in the gesture. "I will tell you that in due course; for now suffice to say this is a chance you do not want to lose."

Before Elena could manage to explore the issue to the very end, the music stopped and the brief was over. Julian let go of her hand and moved away from her, considering that the color of his eyes was something between triumph and joy.

"Goodbye then," he told her and tipped his hat before walking away into the numerous people present.

Silently, Elena remained there, staring at him, feeling the loud pounding of her heartbeat and the great number of questions that filled her mind. She was almost certain that this was not it, that whatever Julian Blackwood had planned for her, he was not yet through with her.

As he disappeared into the crowd of sparkly people, Elena had a nagging feeling that she just crossed a line of some sort of game the rules of which she was never told-a game where everything is more dangerous than she could ever comprehend.

And in some unexplainable way, the routine and the happenings of the next event were something she was looking forward to.