Chapter Seventeen Setting the Stage
Chapter Seventeen: Setting the Stage
Camille stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the cuff of her blouse, her reflection staring back at her with a calm she didn’t recognize anymore.
It wasn’t emptiness this time.
It was control.
Carefully built. Carefully maintained.
---
Behind her, Adrian moved around the room, loosening his tie, his movements sharper than usual. She could feel it—the tension lingering from the night before, from the dinner, from everything he refused to say outright.
“Camille,” he called, his tone clipped.
She turned slightly, meeting his gaze through the mirror. “Yes?”
He hesitated for a moment, like he was choosing his words carefully.
“I want to speak to Mikhail,” he said finally.
Camille blinked once, slowly turning to face him fully.
“Oh?”
“Before you start working for him,” Adrian continued. “If you’re going to take this job, I need to know exactly what’s going on. What his intentions are.”
There it was.
Control.
Or at least… his attempt at it.
---
Camille held his gaze, her expression calm—almost thoughtful.
“There’s nothing to figure out,” she said evenly. “We’re just friends. Mikhail doesn’t have any… hidden intentions.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t stop.
“And I don’t like what you’re implying,” she added, her voice still soft, but firmer now.
The words made him pause.
Camille took a small step closer, her gaze unwavering.
“Both of us would never stoop that low,” she said quietly. “Cheating on your partner is a disgusting, unforgivable offense.”
The room went still.
For a split second—
Adrian’s expression faltered.
Just barely.
But she saw it.
The discomfort.
The guilt.
It flickered across his face before he masked it, clearing his throat and looking away.
Camille said nothing.
She didn’t need to.
---
A small, almost excited smile curved her lips.
“Okay,” she said lightly.
Adrian frowned slightly, caught off guard. “Okay?”
“Yes,” she said. “That makes sense.”
The ease in her voice unsettled him more than resistance would have.
Camille tilted her head slightly, as if considering something.
“Actually…” she began. “Why don’t we make it easier?”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”
Her smile widened just a fraction.
“Let’s have dinner.”
He blinked.
“With Mikhail,” she added casually. “You can talk to him properly, ask whatever you want. No pressure.”
Adrian hesitated—but eventually nodded.
“…Fine. That works.”
---
Camille’s smile didn’t fade.
“Great,” she said, reaching for her phone.
There was a pause.
Then—
“And we should invite Elara too.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Camille glanced up at him, her expression perfectly innocent. “A double date. Like we used to.”
The words hung in the air.
“That’s not necessary,” he said quickly.
Camille shrugged lightly. “Why not? It’ll make things less formal.”
She held his gaze.
Daring him to refuse.
---
“…Fine,” Adrian said eventually. “Invite her.”
Camille’s smile softened—but there was something sharper beneath it.
“Perfect.”
---
As Adrian turned away, Camille unlocked her phone.
Mikhail.
Dinner tonight. Adrian wants to talk before I start working.
I turned it into a double date.
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Of course you did.
Her lips curved.
Play along.
Always.
---
Next—Elara.
Camille paused for just a moment before typing:
Dinner tonight? Like old times. You and Adrian, me and Mikhail.
Send.
---
She set her phone down and looked back at her reflection.
Calm.
Composed.
In control.
The stage was set.
And this time—
She wasn’t the one being played.