[003] a man's world

                    Elizabeth can hardly keep the smile off of her face.

                    Walking alongside Logan at the park, she felt a rush of emotions go throughout her body. It wasn't like this was Elizabeth's first time going out with a man. But Logan seemed to be a step above all the other guys she had gone out with before. There was something about him that Elizabeth was attracted to: maybe it was the air of mystery that surrounded him or the charm he carried with ease.

                    Either way, Elizabeth was absolutely enamored with him.

                    "I haven't been in the city for very long," Logan admits, walking alongside Elizabeth. "But I already know that I belong here. It feels like a place I can spend the rest of my life in."

                     "I really hope so. You've already created quite a storm in the city. It'd be a shame if you were to suddenly leave," Elizabeth responded.

                    It wouldn't be unusual since many people came to the city looking to get rich, only to fail after a year or even less than that, and leave with their tail tucked in between their legs. Many stars in the city burned bright far too quickly, only to die out. Elizabeth didn't want Logan to suffer the same fate.

                    "Nothing's going to make me leave or scare me away. I'm not going back," Logan determined.

                    "Back where?" Elizabeth asked.

                    "Canada," he reluctantly answers.

                    "Oh, I've never been to Canada. What is it like?" she inquired, feeling curious. This was the most she had learned about him since they met.

                    Logan shakes his head. "Nothing like New York City, that's for sure."

                    It wasn't much of an answer but Elizabeth quickly gathered that getting straight answers from Logan was like pulling out teeth.

                    "Do you miss it there?" Elizabeth tried next.

                    "I'm so glad that I made the decision to come to the city when I did. It was just the right time," Logan responded, it being the closest thing to a blatant no.

                    "You certainly were lucky," Elizabeth chuckles.

                    "It wasn't luck, Lizzie. There's no such thing. It was all me," Logan quickly denies with a shake of his head.

                    "I see you're not much of a believer in luck. What about fate?" Elizabeth inquired.

                    "Fate is something that people made up just to justify simple coincidences. There's no such thing as fate. There's no divine being pulling the strings. It's just us human beings. If something happens, it's because we make it happen," Logan responded.

                    "You seem so sure of that," Elizabeth raises a brow.

                    "Of course. Everything that happens in my life, it'll be because I made it happen. Because I gave in to my hunger instead of ignoring it."

                    "Hunger?"

                    "Everyone's hungry, Liz. Everyone's hungry for something. But I'm not talking about the carnal hunger for food. I'm talking about the other kind."

                    "Other kind?"

                    "Most people don't act on it. They suppress it, they grow content with their average and pointless lives. But there's only a few that do. A few who give into their hunger for more. For power. I'm one of those few. I'm the hungriest motherfucker in this city and because of that, I'm close to getting everything that I always wanted."

                    "Money."

                    "Power. But the money, of course, is always a nice bonus. I'll never say no to having more of that either."

                    Elizabeth chuckles. "No one would."

                    "Fate didn't get me to this point, Liz. And it won't get me to the next fucking point. That's all me," Logan responded. "How about you? What do you believe in?"

                    Elizabeth falters. No one had ever cared to ask Elizabeth that before. "I don't know if I believe in fate either. I guess it's... easier to. It's comfortable. If it really is just us, it seems more terrifying."

                    "Why?" Logan questioned.

                    "Because when we make a terrible mistake, the only person we have to blame is ourselves. And humans are inherently selfish. It's easier to blame God than ourselves. I know I do. I'd prefer having someone else to blame for my problems," Elizabeth admits.

                    "I doubt you've ever made a mistake in your life," Logan argued. "You seem absolutely perfect."

                    "Just ask my parents. They'll tell you," Elizabeth chuckles. "What would your parents say about you? I bet they must be proud of you. You're already so successful, I'm sure they're happy."

                    "I'm more focused on building an empire now. That's most important to me," Logan stated.

                    Elizabeth sighs. He had avoided the topic entirely. It was obvious that he hated talking about his past. Maybe he and his parents weren't close or maybe they passed away. She didn't want to seem pushy but if they planned on seeing each other more, she wanted to feel special enough to find something out about him.

                    "Your family's made quite a name for themselves. Your father's insurance company is very famous," Logan continued, carefully steering the subject away from him and focusing it right back on her.

                    It works like a charm.

                    "Yes, but it's so behind on the times. With everything changing, you'd think my father would go along with the changes. But he's so old fashioned and stuck in his ways," Elizabeth replied.

                    "What do you mean?" Logan furrows his brows.

                    "I'd like to think that there's some hope out there for women to join the workforce. There are women working now but it's not nearly enough. We're more than just receptionists and assistants. Women can do all the work a man can do and more. If there's one thing I'd like to change, it's women having more access to the same careers men do," Elizabeth stated.

                    For a while now, Elizabeth had felt this way. But being friends with Freida ignited this fire inside of her. Of course, she wasn't the first woman who felt this way. And there were lots of women out there who were working towards turning things around and getting the equality back. She just couldn't wait for things to change and she certainly hoped that it'd happen during her time.

                    Logan chuckles. "It's nice to dream but... this is a man's world, Lizzie. That's just how it's always been. How it always will be. Besides, you'd probably be bored to death doing what I do."

                     "And what is it that you do?" Elizabeth inquired.

                     "Haven't you heard?" Logan responded.

                     "Of course I have. But I'd rather hear about what you plan on doing with Waystar," Elizabeth shot back.

                     "I plan on ruling the world. And what better way than the media? Media controls the world, darling. Everyone knows that," Logan explained.

                      Elizabeth couldn't argue with him on that. The news pretty much controlled the world. Everyone went by it. It was the only source of truth. Or what they said was the truth. It told people what to fear, what to eat, how to dress, what to desire, etc. A man who controlled the media truly controlled the world.

                      "I'm going to make sure the entire world knows who my name and my company. And I won't stop until that's done," he continued.

                    "You had no help?" Elizabeth asks.

                    "What?" Logan blinks.

                    "You said it was your company. It's a pretty big one at that. You created it entirely on your own?" Elizabeth asked.

                    Logan falters for just a moment before shaking his head. "Yes, absolutely none at all. I started it all myself."

                    "Wow. That's truly impressive," Elizabeth nods.

                    A part of Elizabeth doesn't believe him, although she feels guilty for thinking that. Logan was nothing but a gentleman to her, so why would he lie to her now? All of Elizabeth's doubts don't go away however. Even when Logan continues to dance around her questions with ease when it came to his past. Continuing to walk around the park with Logan, Elizabeth found that she only had more questions than answers when it came to him.

                    "I'm an only child. I was used to always getting what I wanted as a child," Elizabeth declares, looking over at Logan to try and gauge his reaction.

                    A clouded look crossed his eyes for a moment right before he looked at Elizabeth. "That sounds nice."

                    "Do you have any siblings?" Elizabeth then asked.

                    "Just a brother," Logan responded.

                    "That's all?" Elizabeth pressed on.

                    "Yes," Logan states, and Elizabeth waits for Logan to even say his name. But he never does, of course.

                     Elizabeth huffs, stepping in front of Logan with her arms folded across her chest. "What's the big secret?"

                     "Big secret? I don't have any secrets," Logan shakes his head. He sounds so genuine that Elizabeth almost believes him.

                     "So what's with the mystery? Why are you barely talking about yourself? Every time I ask you a question about yourself or your past, you become incredibly vague," Elizabeth pointed out.

                    "There's not much to say, I'm afraid. I'm an incredibly boring man," Logan explained.

                    "I don't believe you," Elizabeth shook her head, suspicion beginning to grow inside of her. "Are you married?"

                      "What? No. I'm not married," Logan answered.

                      "Is there another woman then? A girlfriend on the side?" Elizabeth accused. His reputation certainly never left the back of her mind, even if she hoped that he was over that phase by now.

                      "No, I promise. The only woman I'm interested in is you. You have to believe me," Logan assured.

                      "I don't like being lied to, Logan," Elizabeth remarked.

                      "And I promise you that I will never lie to you," Logan promised her.

                      "You can't make a promise just like that, Logan. You really have to mean it or don't say it at all," Elizabeth shook her head.

                    Logan reached over to where Elizabeth stood, stroking her cheek so gently that Elizabeth nearly shattered into a million pieces from his touch. "Of course I mean it. I really like you, Elizabeth."

                    "Why me? Out of all the other girls you've ever been with, why me?" Elizabeth questioned.

                    "Why not you? You're absolutely beautiful and you have a feisty little spark about you that excites me. You're not like other girls, Elizabeth Spencer, and I intend on having you all to myself," Logan answered.

                    "I'm not a prize to be won," Elizabeth looked up at him.

                    "No, you're not. You're so much more than that," Logan replied, using the right words to keep Elizabeth underneath his spell all over again.

                    Elizabeth smiles. "If you really want me that badly, you have to take me on an actual date. Show me that you're not all talk."

                    "And here I thought you'd never let me properly ask you out," Logan chuckled.

                    "Well... go on. I certainly won't stop you," Elizabeth shook her head.

                    Maybe she should have. Maybe she should have ended things now and ran back home. It certainly would have saved her a lot of heartbreak and pain later on down the road. With all of the red flags staring Elizabeth in the face, she should have left while she still had a way out.

                    But Elizabeth was blinded by his charm, hoping to finally find the man of her dreams. How could she have known that it'd all turn out to be a lie?

                    "Would you like to go out on a date with me, Miss Spencer?" Logan asks, holding out his hand for her to take.

                    Elizabeth nods, immediately taking his hand. "I'd love to, Mr. Roy. Where do you plan on taking me?"

                    "Only the finest restaurant in the entire city. You deserve nothing but the best," Logan replied as the two resume walking once more.

                    Elizabeth giggles. "Aren't you sweet?"

                    Just then, a piece of paper blew their way and Elizabeth bent down to catch it before it could leave.

                    "What do we have here?" Elizabeth thought aloud as she scanned the brightly colored poster.

                    "What is it?" Logan asked.

                    "Poster to the local fair," Elizabeth answers, showing it to Logan. "Wow. I haven't gone to the fair since I was a child."

                    "You know, when things with Waystar really take off, I'd like to open my own amusement park," Logan admitted.

                    "I think that's a lovely idea! The children would love it," Elizabeth smiles. "I look forward to seeing it when it opens."

                    "You'll be right there beside me when I cut the ribbon," Logan declared.

                    "You sound awfully sure of yourself, Mr. Roy," Elizabeth teased. Yet she can't ignore the way her heart flutters at the prospect of her and Logan being together for that long.

                    "That's because I'm hardly ever wrong about these things, Miss Spencer," Logan grinned.

                    And unfortunately for Elizabeth, he wouldn't be.

(🦢🍸💄)

word count: 2115
notes: here's the third chapter! logan's the least feminist guy we know but are we surprised? plus with the times this is set in, it's definitely not shocking. but even with all the red flags, lizzie is still falling which will prove to haunt her later. let me know what you all thought in the comments!