NINE - ROMAN #3
“That would be the one, assuming you only have one Chris on payroll. Are you fucking him?”
The steak knife slipped from her grip, causing a loud clanking sound as it landed against the edge of her ceramic plate. “Excuse me? That’s awfully accusatory.”
“I didn’t accuse you of anything. It was just a question. You’re the one taking it that way. So, are you or aren’t you?”
“I’m not fucking him.”
“Anymore.” Now, that was accusatory. Whether she’d fucked him two months or two days ago, it’d be the last time.
“If I were, that’s none of your business.”
I leaned forward over the table, closing the space between us, and spoke at a volume that only she could hear.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Seeing as I have to watch your every move from here on out, everything you do is my business.
So, whatever went on between the two of you ends now…
unless you plan on banging him in the bathroom. ”
“I might,” she quipped.
Rage flashed in my eyes; there was no way she didn’t see it. “Then you’re no longer allowed to go to the bathroom alone.”
“Is that going to be a problem for you?”
“He is my problem, and he won’t be yours anymore if he comes near you again.”
“He is my GM. We have a working relationship. Christ, what is it with you two? You’re acting like man-children.”
“Oh, so he’s already said something to you about me, then?” Good to know. All I knew was she’d been with him in his office not too long before I’d gotten there, and the thought of her bent over his desk filled me with an insurmountable rage.
“Not really…kind of. Why does it matter? Are you jealous?”
I leaned in even closer. I wanted to make my point very clear. “You’re goddamn right I am. That’s not new information to you. So don’t sit there and act like you don’t know what I’m capable of. As far as you’re concerned, Chris no longer exists to you on anything more than a business level.”
She narrowed her gaze, leaning forward. “Fuck. You. Roman. I have spent my entire life under the thumb of men telling me what to do and how to do it. I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here and let you start now.”
“Don’t test me, Jameson.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Hmm.” I sat back, relaxed, and reminded myself she wasn’t the enemy here.
“What am I going to do? For starters, I’ve got half a mind to haul you upstairs and remind you of how a real man fucks.
I might not be able to have you, but the last thing I’m going to do is sit back and watch you with someone else. ”
If that didn’t shut her up, nothing would. Seemed like it worked since she didn’t argue back for a change. She just sat there with her mouth agape.
“You don’t mean that.”
“Don’t test me.”
“You’re absolutely impossible.”
“And I intend to stay that way. So what’s on the agenda today?”
“I—for me or you?”
“Us,” I clarified. “I’m officially an extension of you, and now that I have a phone, you don’t have any reason to go unprotected.” Unless it’s with me.
“You mean anywhere without you,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“That’s exactly what I mean. Look.” I softened my tone. “I’m well aware this is a lot to take in. Hell, I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of it, but something tells me if you didn’t really need me, I wouldn’t be here. Whether you want to admit that or not is a different story.”
She let out a long, defeated sigh. “It’s just…everything is so overwhelming. That’s all.”
“I agree. Let’s start over. We got off on the wrong foot yesterday, and I apologize.” My apology was sincere, and I wanted nothing more than for her to believe me. “We all have battles to fight, James. Let me help you fight yours. Please.”
Demons aside—hers and mine—Jameson’s life was my priority now. Nothing else mattered. I didn’t expect to pick up where we’d left off and be her best friend, though there was nothing I wanted more than to be her friend and some. It just wasn’t the right thing to do.
I just needed her to open up to me a little bit and stop shutting down every time I asked for any kind of information. I’d already ruined her life once; she needed to trust me that it wouldn’t happen again.
She took a drink of water and cleared her throat. “Apology accepted…for now. You’re on thin ice. But I’m sorry for being such a raging bitch to you.”
“Let me guess? Comes with the territory?”
She smirked. “You already know.”
I reached across the table and set my hand on top of hers. It was meant to be a friendly gesture, nothing more. She glanced down at our hands for a brief moment before jerking hers away.
“Relax. I didn’t mean—never mind. Can we just talk? Give me something to work with here.”
Her eyes surveyed the room, then flickered toward the ceiling and back down to me. Cameras. “Now’s not the best time.”
“Then when is? Give me something to work with…truthfully. It would make my job and your life a hell of a lot easier if you did.”
She tossed a cloth napkin onto her plate. “Let’s head back up to my office. We can finish this conversation there. People might not talk a whole lot, but they sure as hell listen.”