The clatter of silverware and fake laughter faded as Lex approached the shaded corner. The Ivy's patio bustled around him, but here—right here—the air felt different. Denser. Like pressure building behind glass.
Eli Harrow sat alone at a small circular table, posture precise, suit crisp, expression carved from marble. He didn't rise when Lex approached. He simply watched.
And it wasn't the look of a man greeting a guest.
It was the look of a man measuring a threat.
Lex stopped three feet from the table.
Kade shifted his weight beside him, casual but ready—like a stone pillar that could break bones if pushed.
Eli's gaze flicked to the bodyguard, then back to Lex with a faint, polite smile.
"Mr. Latham," Eli said, tone smooth as polished steel, "thank you for arriving so promptly."
Lex didn't return the smile.
"You summoned me. I'm here."
Eli gestured to the empty chair.
"A man who respects efficiency. Refreshing. Sit."
Lex didn't move.
He scanned the table first—the silverware alignment, the placement of the water glass, the untouched salad that was obviously meant to project calm rather than nourish.
No extra cutlery for company.
No second drink.
A staged scene.
Finally, Lex sat.
Kade remained standing, one hand near the back of Lex's chair.
Eli raised an eyebrow at him.
"Your… escort," Eli said lightly, "is quite imposing."
"He's not here to escort me," Lex replied. "He's here so this conversation remains civil."
Eli chuckled softly.
"A teenager with boundaries. Delightful."
Kade's jaw tightened.
Lex ignored the bait.
"What do you want, Mr. Harrow?"
Eli folded his hands—an elegant, expensive motion.
"Let's start with what I don't want," he said. "I don't want the press frenzy currently surrounding Miss Russo. It's… inconvenient."
Lex didn't blink. "You mean dangerous."
Eli offered a diplomatic tilt of his head.
"For both of us."
"We're not on the same side."
"Oh but we are," Eli replied smoothly. "Public turmoil benefits no one. Least of all Miss Russo."
Lex's entire body went still.
Eli's eyes brightened at the reaction.
"There," he said, "that spark. The protective instinct. You care for her."
Lex didn't answer.
Eli leaned back slightly.
"Care can be admirable. Or dangerous."
Lex's voice cooled.
"You're not here to discuss admiration."
"No," Eli said. "I'm here to discuss control."
Kade shifted, and Eli noticed—smiling as if he had expected it.
"Young men with resources and tempers often make messy decisions," Eli continued. "Particularly when… emotional attachments are involved."
Kade murmured, "He's trying to get under your skin. Don't let him."
Lex exhaled once.
"I'm not here for warnings or philosophy, Mr. Harrow. I'm here because you asked for a word."
"And you came," Eli said. "Which means you understand influence… or you fear it."
Lex's eyes narrowed.
Eli laced his fingers.
"Miss Russo," he began carefully, "is a promising young woman. And promising young women often attract attention—good and bad. When she declined an opportunity I offered her, I accepted her decision."
"You don't sound like a man accepting anything."
Eli smiled thinly.
"You're perceptive. Let me be clearer: I do not pursue those who decline me. But I do monitor potential instability. Miss Russo was… upset. Vocal. Disruptive."
Lex's jaw flexed.
"She told you no and walked away. That's not disruptive."
Eli's expression didn't change.
"She also insinuated certain things about my business practices," he added mildly. "Things that could have caused reputational harm if spoken in the wrong rooms."
Lex leaned forward, voice low.
"Are you implying you silenced her?"
"Implying?" Eli gave a soft, amused laugh. "No. I do nothing by implication. I simply said she became a… complication."
Kade's hand slowly curled into a fist.
Lex's voice sharpened.
"Where is she?"
Eli paused—a long, deliberate silence.
Then he tilted his head, studying Lex the way one studies a rare artifact that might shatter or explode.
"Mr. Latham," Eli said softly, "if I had taken Miss Russo, we wouldn't be having lunch."
Lex's stomach tightened.
Eli leaned in.
"And if I do take someone…"
He tapped a finger against the table.
"…no one ever finds the trail."
Lex's blood chilled.
Eli offered a serene smile, as if discussing weather patterns.
"Fortunately for you, I did not take her. But her disappearance does complicate matters for me. And for you."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I expect you to understand motives," Eli replied. "If I wanted to hurt her… or you… I would have done so directly."
Lex's hand slipped toward the jade bangle in his pocket.
"Then why ask for a meeting?"
Eli's eyes hardened.
"Because someone else took her," he said, "and wants you to think it was me."
The air left Lex's lungs.
Eli continued:
"And when misunderstandings lead powerful young men into dangerous crusades, cities tend to burn."
Lex inhaled through his teeth.
"So who took her?"
Eli smiled—slow and razor-thin.
"If I knew," he said, "I wouldn't be sitting here."
He lifted his glass.
"But I do know this: the person you're hunting… is hunting you back."
Kade stiffened.
Lex didn't breathe.
Eli set the glass down gently.
"And you, Lexington Latham," he said, "are not nearly as hard to find as you think."
Lex's heartbeat thundered behind his ribs.
Eli leaned back, utterly calm.
"Eat, Mr. Latham. We have much more to discuss."
Lex didn't move toward the fork.
Instead, he smiled.
A slow, conversational smile — the kind that put men off-balance because it didn't belong in a battlefield like this.
"You know," Lex said lightly, "I've wondered for weeks what you'd actually be like in person."
Eli blinked once.
He hadn't expected chatty.
Good.
Lex leaned back, crossing one leg over the other with disarming ease.
"I pictured someone taller," he mused. "Or maybe louder. You have the reputation of a man who enjoys hearing himself talk."
Eli's lips curved in a small, controlled smirk.
"Is that so?"
"Oh, absolutely," Lex said. "Half of Hollywood pretends they've never heard your name while clearly terrified. I assumed you'd be… I don't know… flashier."
Kade fought a smirk behind Lex.
Eli's fingers tightened — barely — around the stem of his glass.
Lex continued, cheerfully oblivious on purpose:
"But here you are. Clean cut. Quiet posture. Small salad. Almost humble."
He tilted his head. "Almost."
Eli finally set his glass down.
"You're deflecting," Eli said with a faint hum of amusement. "Teenagers usually deflect with attitude. You deflect with analysis."
"I multitask," Lex said.
"And I," Eli replied smoothly, "identify patterns."
Lex's eyes gleamed.
"Do tell."
"You're frightened," Eli said.
Lex didn't blink.
He didn't react.
He let his smile widen.
"Of course I'm frightened," Lex said pleasantly. "You're dangerous. Your people are dangerous. Your reputation is—well—somewhere between myth and indictment."
Kade snorted quietly.
Lex leaned forward, elbows on the table now, voice soft and conversational.
"But I don't freeze up when I'm scared. I get chatty."
Eli's expression sharpened.
"And why is that?" he asked.
"Because," Lex said, "people talk too much when they underestimate me. And you're already starting to."
A flicker — there — irritation or intrigue, Lex couldn't tell.
He pressed gently.
"See, Mr. Harrow, I came here expecting a man who controlled the narrative of every room he entered. But you're losing this one."
Eli arched a brow. "Losing?"
"Yes," Lex said brightly. "You're trying very hard to project dominance without revealing information. That's usually the posture of a man who doesn't know something important."
Kade folded his arms, watching Eli like a wolf waiting for the moment prey slips.
Lex kept going, chatty and sharp:
"For example, you said someone else took Rose. You said they want me to think it was you."
He let that hang. "Which tells me you have enemies in your own territory."
Eli's smile hardened.
Lex leaned even closer.
"And it tells me you're not meeting me because you're powerful."
He lowered his voice to a whisper:
"You're meeting me because you're worried."
A shadow crossed Eli's face — quick, but unmistakable.
Lex sat back again, smiling like they were discussing golf instead of threats.
"So," he said, "before we continue… would you like to talk about who your enemies are?"
Silence.
Thick.
Tense.
Electric.
Eli's jaw tightened just enough for Kade to notice.
Then Eli slowly exhaled and gave a measured, dangerous smile.
"Well," Eli said, "you are far more interesting than I was led to believe."
Lex lifted a brow. "I hope that's a compliment."
"It's not," Eli said.
"It's a warning."
Lex's smile didn't fade.
"Good," he said softly.
"I like starting with those."
Kade murmured under his breath, "He's rattled. Keep going."
Lex did.
He reached casually for his water glass for the first time.
"Now," he said warmly, "let's have that discussion. You first, Mr. Harrow."
And for the first time since Lex walked into The Ivy—
Eli Harrow didn't look like the wolf at the table.
He looked like the man suddenly unsure
whether the boy across from him
was prey…
or something far more dangerous.