I could hear the smirk in his voice when he added, “It’s a shame when the truth is a hard pill to swallow, isn’t it?”
I swung around and shook my head at him. “There is something seriously wrong with you. It’s no wonder you have no relationships with the people who work for you while Lennon is the star in everyone’s eyes.”
Since we were sharing truths, it was good he was reminded of his own. Then again, I didn’t really have enough information on him to do that. He never let me get close enough to learn the important things. What I said was a crumb being flicked in his direction compared to the boulder he dropped on my head.
He laughed but there was an edge to it. “You think I care about all those peoplelikingme?”
I stayed quiet.
“I come to this building towork. If I wanted to make friends, I’d spend my time at a social club, or perhaps a sports bar, after work. Lennon and I pay our employees to do a very specific job. Friendship isn’t listed under the requirements of the position.”
The most unhappy smile pulled at my lips. “You can’t stand it that your brother is the favorite, can you?” I stepped closer to him, feeling on top of the world for a split second until he also stood from his chair and towered over me. He had at least a foot on me and looked down at my face, his arms loose at his sides. Meanwhile, my fists were clenched at mine.
“Lennon is Lennon,” he said, his posture straight and shoulders back. “He’ll always be the one people gravitate toward because hecaresthat people like him. He’s a good,loyal man when he applies himself, but he needs affection to survive.”
I wanted to laugh when he said the L word.
“And you’re saying that you do better with no one there? No friends. No relationships. No girlfriend to cater to this self-fulfillingrottenprophecy you're running with?”
This close, it didn’t matter that the room was clouded in a sheet of slate. I could see the whites of his eyes. And I noticed it when his gaze dropped to my lips and lingered.
I couldn’t help myself, not when those goosebumps came back. I licked my lips in response, this unexpected desire sweeping through me despite the reminder of that blade sticking out of my back. He inched half a step closer. I bit the inside of my cheek, preparing myself for whatever was going to come out of his mouth next.
“Those things aren’t essential to survival.” His voice was in between a normal volume and a whisper. It was gravelly and flawed like an overworn pair of jeans. “Humans,” he started, lifting a finger and dragging it down the outside of my jaw ever so lightly, “are like the security code I spend so much of my time studying and scripting. There are very few things we need to ensure permanence. You start adding in the nonessentials, and things get messy. Lines become broken and then you run into a slew of compilation errors that take a fuckton of energy and time to fix and rewrite.” My toes curled against the soles of my heels, and his breath floated over my skin. “Excuse me if I don’t feel the need to waste my time on suchtrivialbullshit.”
“No.” The words drifted out of me. “You say that to make yourself feel better about the truth.”
“The truth—which is what, exactly?”
“That you’re in desperate need of help when it comes to socializing.”
He reared back, titling his head as he took me in. And then he laughed mirthlessly, continuing on his tirade. “If that was the case, I wouldn’t have made it this far.” He ran his tongue over his teeth before making this quick sucking sound that almost sounded like a tsk. “The name on the walls out there belongs to me, Olivia. Or have you forgotten?”
“No.” Emotion stirred deep within me, racing through my bloodstream like a banshee. “I haven’t.”
“Then what is this? Are you telling me I need help in hopes that you’ll be the one who will make me see reason? Who will trigger enough self-reflection for me to look in the mirror and agree?” he pressed.
I repeated myself. “No.”
He ignored my response and continued. “Is it possible that Little Miss Hudson, dressed in blue, wants to befriend the big bad wolf? Is that it?”
Again. “No.”
“You had Lennon, the golden one, and now you’re feeling like you might like to step into the shadows where his mysterious older brother lives, hmm?”
Oh my God.
Why was he doing this? Why was he badgering me, pushing me,coaxingme into something that wasn’t the case at all?
Or was it?
Internally, I shook my head at myself.No.
I gritted my teeth, razoring them together, and spit out words that didn’t exactly align with what I felt. “There is no part of me that wants any kind of connection to you, Weston. I was simply stating the obvious in hopes that maybe, just maybe, you’d pull your primitive brain out of your ass and be considerate for once in your life. That you’d actually want totreat the people around you with kindness instead of the cruelty that seeps from your pores.”
He squinted slightly before his face flared with this intensity. “You’re not going to get the same kindness from me that you receive from Lennon. If that’s what you’re searching for, you’d do best to stay as far away from me as possible while we’re stuck in this room.” A second passed. “Lennon’s courteous ways are in the form of chivalrous charm and wordy promises that he waters down in whatever way he can to get what he wants.”
I almost wanted to laugh with how accurately he hit the nail on the head.
