The way he says my name strips the argument out ofmy mouth. So like a good boy, I sit.
The chair is cold but comfortable, wrapping its luxury around me. I remove my coat and place it over the back of my chair as he shuffles the deck. The sound of the cards adds to the tension. I’m not sure I want to know what his game is this time.
“What is this?” I ask.
“A game.”
“I don’t want to play.”
“You already are.”
My stomach tightens, knowing that to be true. He’s been playing this secret game with me since the moment I walked into him on my first day at work. He slides a glass of water toward me, but I don’t touch it.
“High card wins,” he says. “One draw.”
“And if I win?”
“You can leave.” I lose my breath at the threat. Is he threatening to keep me here against my will?
“And if I lose?”
His eyes lift with zero life behind them, unblinking.
“You stay.”
“That’s not a game. That’s coercion.”
He smiles faintly. “Everything is coercion, you’re just too blind to see it.”
Fuck this. I’m over this bullshit so I push back from the table.
“You can’t do this. You can’t keep pulling me into your life like this. You’ve already interfered enough.”
“Have I?”
“My job. My marriage. My head —”
“Your marriage was already dead.”
The words land like a slap across my face. That fucking prick.
“You don’t get to say that.”
“I get to say what I want.”
I stand fully now, adrenaline pumping so hard I want to punch that handsome fucking face.
“You’re manipulating me.”
“Of course I am. Have you only just figured that out?”
Of course he doesn’t deny it, because why would he? He’s not normal. I know this but here I am. The irony is his honesty is worse than any lie because you can’t argue with the truth.
“You followed me. You cornered me at work. You invited my wife to dinner just to insult her while exploiting me. You —”
“I was trying to remove an obstacle.”
“She’s a person.”
