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“Does he always assume everyone will follow him?” I asked. I continued to sit there, watching his back until it disappeared.
“Yeah,” Cookie said.
“Why?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Dice asked, looking up from his oiling.
Connor was watching me over the top of his magazine, as if his life might be upended if I didn’t follow Kaden.
Cookie looked at me a moment later, when I hadn’t gotten up. “I don’t know why you’re fighting it. Healwaysgets his way.”
“Al-ways,” Connor said.
“Maybe he shouldn’t always get his way?” I asked. Did that never occur to any of them? Did they not care?
The three of them laughed. The most grating part of it all was that Iwantedto hear what he had to say. If I was going to get out of here, I couldn’t walk away from any information. I could make a point or I could get answers. What was more important? My pride or figuring out what was going on?
I got up. Their laughter popped new holes in my battered ego.
They could laugh, but I wasn’t knocking. Nope. I’d stroll right in, no matter how rude it might be. Of course Kaden ruined that as well, leaving the door open.
He wasn’t sitting behind the desk but in a chair facing another only a few feet away.
“Sit,” he said, pointing to the empty seat.
“I’m fine.” I remained on my feet. This was going to be short and sweet. We’d do this on my terms. “And just so you know, what happened with that guy? I’ve been thinking about it. It wasn’t me. It was a fluke.”
He leaned back, resting an arm on a table, stretching out his legs and taking up too much space.
“Sure,” he said.
“I’m glad you agree,” I said, as if that had been a legitimate agreement of some sort. Some weird shit had happened, and I wasn’t taking credit for it, no matter what he wanted to think.
“Something upsetting you?” he asked, looking pointedly at my arms. I had them crossed in front of my chest, my hands fisted.
“Nothing at all,” I said, dropping my arms and leaning a hip on his desk. He wasn’t the only one who couldlean.
“Then are you ready?”
“For you to test me? No. I’m not. There’s no need.” Because if there was something funny going on inside me, he was the absolute last person I’d let know.
Not that there was.
His eyes hardened. “Let’s make something clear. You came here, to me. You say you don’t know how, that you didn’t want to, but you are here. If you can be of use to me, you’re going to be of use to me.”
His tone was soft but lethal. This was the predator I sensed every time I walked into the room. This man, the one showing his true colors right now, was one of the main reasons I needed to get out of this place.
“You’re not using me,” I said, every bit as serious as him. I might act calm, but I’d be every bit as savage as him if needed.
“Youcame here. You weren’t invited. You showed up and then called reservation status. Now you need to carry your weight. So we’re going to do a little testing, and then you’re going to start taking assignments and tinkering.” His eyes, tone, everything about him was unyielding.
I’d taken care of myself, and my mother, the majority of my life. If he thought at twenty-four years old, after living the life I had, I’d roll over and take orders from him for no other reason than I’d happened upon this place, he was more lost than I was.
“I’m done.”
I turned and had made it halfway across the room when he said, “I think you should sit down and smile, Wilhelmina.”
His tone was pleasant, calm, cultured, and I wanted to tell him to go screw himself, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t take a step toward the door. I couldn’t speak. Most importantly, I couldn’t resist the urge to do exactly what he said. I fought it for a few seconds more, but the compulsion continued to grow until I was walking back and taking a seat.
