Chapter 6 - The Cost of Being Seen

Audrey wasn't used to a relationship becoming real through ordinary decisions.

There were no dramatic declarations. Dominic asked before calling. If she was working, he didn't demand a response. He remembered the name of the colleague whose scheduling mistake had nearly cost her an important project and later asked whether it had been resolved. He appeared to regard a conversation as something two people participated in, not a service provided by whichever person possessed less power.

That should not have felt remarkable. Audrey was disturbed to discover how remarkable it felt.

They met twice more over the next three weeks. Once for lunch, where Dominic misidentified a dish with the confidence of a man used to people nodding politely at his mistakes. Once for a walk along the waterfront, where he listened to her explain why she distrusted anyone who described an organization as a family while measuring employees only by how often they said yes.

“I'm going to remember that,” he said.

“You have people to remind you.”

“They generally remind me of things I already believe.”

“That sounds expensive.”

“It is.”

He spoke about his own work without turning it into a performance. His family's shipping interests had once depended on personal favors and fear. The modern company required transparent bids and licenses, but a change of procedures did not erase the reputation it inherited. He had accepted security after threats against the firm and disagreements over the restructuring. Daniel was cautious because caution was his job.

Audrey believed the explanation as far as she could verify it. She also kept asking questions. Dominic never suggested she should stop.

One Friday, an unfamiliar photograph appeared on a local business account. It showed Dominic outside a restaurant, with Audrey visible beside him, turning her head away from the camera. The caption identified him. It did not identify her, but someone in Ryan's circle recognized her immediately.

By dinner, her brother had sent the image into the family group.

Brother: Audrey. You neglected to mention your new friend owns half the waterfront.

Dad: Is this the man you brought up at dinner?

Audrey stared at the messages. She hadn't brought him up at dinner. She had barely finished making clear that her relationships were not a group project.

Brother: Looks like somebody owes me twenty dollars.

Then: Unless he's your date. That changes the odds.

She switched off notifications and called Ryan directly.

“Did you ask before sending that photo?”

He sounded surprised. “It was already on the internet.”

“That isn't what I asked.”

“Come on. He's a big deal. I thought everyone would want to know.”

“Then you should have asked me what I wanted.”

Ryan exhaled. “You can't keep somebody like that a secret.”

“I'm not keeping him a secret. I'm getting to know him. Those are different things.”

“Dad's going to have questions.”

“He can ask me. He doesn't need a betting pool.”

Ryan went quiet. When he finally spoke, his voice had lost some of its impatience.

“I didn't think you'd mind.”

“I know. That's part of the problem.”

After hanging up, Audrey called Dominic. She was angry enough that the ringing sounded accusatory, even though none of it had been arranged by him.

He answered from Boston.

“I saw the photograph,” he said before she had to explain. “My office is requesting that the account take it down. I should have warned you this might happen.”

“You did tell me your life was complicated.”

“I didn't tell you being seen with me could make strangers photograph you.”

Audrey sat at her kitchen table. “I don't want you ordering people around on my behalf without asking me.”

“I asked the office to contact the publisher about the unauthorized image. I can stop the request if you prefer.”

She considered the distinction. “No. I would rather they remove it. But tell me what you're doing before it becomes my problem.”

“I will.”

“Good.”

A pause.

“Are we having a fight?” Dominic asked.

“We're having a conversation about a boundary.”

“I find your terminology reassuring.”

“You should. I'm extremely good at those.”

“That's becoming apparent.”

She didn't tell him what Ryan had said about the odds. Not then. She wanted to decide what to share, and she was beginning to appreciate the difference between privacy and secrecy.

The next morning, Aunt Ruth arrived with a container of food Audrey had not requested and an expression that suggested she knew the visit might be poorly timed.

“It's soup,” she said, holding up the container. “Not potato salad. I can learn.”

Audrey let her in.

Ruth sat at the kitchen table while Audrey made tea. “Your father saw the photograph. He wanted to know whether Dominic Serrano was the reason you objected to the wagers.”

“He isn't. He hadn't even entered my life when I started disliking them.”

“I told him that.”

“What did he say?”

“That it's different when you meet someone important.”

Audrey put down the teapot. “Important to whom?”

Ruth's expression softened. “Exactly.”

It was the answer Audrey had feared. When she appeared alone, her family made a game of her loneliness. When she appeared with a wealthy, powerful man, they began treating the association as a family achievement.

Ruth looked at the phone on the table. “Your father isn't wicked. But sometimes he confuses worrying about you with having a right to manage you.”

“And Ryan?”

“He confuses being funny with not having to apologize.”

Audrey breathed out. She had spent years explaining those habits away as affection. Having someone else name them didn't make them vanish, but it made them harder to deny.

Later, Dominic called from his office. He was due at a public reception the following week, part of the same Boston agreement that had nearly failed because of his travel problem. He told Audrey before he asked whether she wanted to attend.

“There will be photographers,” he said. “People who think asking intrusive questions is a professional skill. You are entirely free to say no.”

“What would I be to them?” she asked.

“A guest I invited.”

“Not an asset?”

“Not to me.”

She accepted only after they discussed the practical details: she could arrive separately, leave whenever she wanted, and would not be expected to answer questions about his business. The arrangement was almost comically unromantic.

Audrey found it reassuring.

That evening, Ryan sent another message, this one private.

Dad hopes you'll bring Serrano next weekend. Says it'd be nice to have someone around who understands investments.

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Audrey read the sentence twice. There was no question about whether she enjoyed Dominic's company. Only a calculation of what he might be useful for.

She put down her phone and decided that if her father wanted to meet Dominic, he would first have to learn how to speak to Audrey without treating her life as an opportunity.