Phoenix is at his desk, laptop open, shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He doesn't look up when I enter, just keeps typing with the kind of focused intensity that makes me want to throw something at him.
"We need to talk," I say.
"About?" Still typing.
"About why I'm really here."
Now he looks up. His eyes are dark, unreadable in the low light of the office.
I cross my arms over my chest. "You paid my debts. Brought me to Malibu. Put me in a literal glass cage. For what?"
He stands slowly, deliberately, and walks around the desk. "I told you. I wanted to see you."
"Bullshit. Nobody spends almost $400 grand just to see someone."
"You think you have me figured out?" He's closer now, and I can see the exhaustion around his eyes. He hasn't been sleeping either.
"I think you want something from me. I just don't know what yet."
"Maybe I want you to stay."
"Why?"
"Because I do."
"That's not an answer." My voice rises. "You can't just throw money at people and expect them to fall in line. You can't just decide what's best for me and make it happen without asking. You can't?—"
"I can't what?" He's even closer now. Close enough that I can smell his cologne, cedar and something darker. Close enough to feel the heat coming off his body.
"You can't just—" I lose my train of thought when he takes another step. "This isn't fair."
"What isn't fair?"
"Any of this. You. This house. The yacht. The way you look at me like—" I stop myself.
"Like what?"
"Like you own me."
"I don't own you, Jade." His voice is low, dangerous. "But I want to."
The admission steals my breath.
"You can't say things like that."
"Why not? It's the truth." Another step. "I want you here. In my house. In my life. I want you to stop fighting this and just let yourself feel what's between us."
"There's nothing between us except debt and manipulation."
"Liar."
The word hangs in the air between us, charged and intimate.
"I should leave," I say, but I don't move.
"Then leave." He's right in front of me now, close enough to touch. "The door isn't locked. Robert will drive you to the airport. I'll even pay for the flight."
"Stop trying to pay for everything!"
