“Watch your mouth, Aurora. For real. Before you write a check that ass can’t cash.”
“I’m ‘pose to be scared or something?”
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
I stepped off before he could answer.
“Hey,” he snapped behind me. “We weren’t finished talking.”
“Oh yes we were.”
The cellar was colder than the rest of the building. The walls were stone, old and solid, like him. Shelves ran floor to ceiling inlong rows, packed with bottles laid on their sides, labels facing out.
The lighting was low and warm, set into the walls instead of hanging overhead, so everything felt close and quiet. I kept walking deeper into it, too annoyed to appreciate how beautiful it was.
“The nerve of you,” I said, spinning around to face him, “to keep undermining every single effort I’ve made since being here.”
He said nothing.
“And the worst part is…” I shook my head, hating how emotional I sound. “I started to believe you actually cared about me. I really thought I was making a good impression on you.”
He still didn’t answer again.
“But why do I gotta care about what you think?” I asked, my voice rising as I moved along the aisle. “Look at what I’ve accomplished in spite of you. I could run this whole business by myself if I put my mind to it.”
“…really now?”
“I’d do a lot better than you,” I shot back. “I ain’t so scared of losing control that I’d cut off my nose to spite my face.”
“…uh huh.”
“And it’s dumb,” I snapped. “You’re preventing business from happening because you need to be the boss of everybody and everything. You only wanna get rid of Wyatt because you knew it would piss me off. And the gag is…you don’t even like me.”
I grabbed the first bottle I recognized off the shelf more roughly than I meant to.
“All this over nothing.”
I turned back to him, bottle in hand. He hadn’t moved much. He just stood there at the end of the row, watching me wear myself out.
“I’m over whatever sick game you’ve been playing since I got here. I’m not about to run behind you, Marlon. You ain’t the only fucking man in the world.”
I stepped closer.
“Matter of fact, I’m sure there’s somebody at this very party who wouldn’t mind keeping company with a woman like me. Maybe I’ll pick one up.”
Nothing.
“Maybe you’re right,” I pushed for a reaction. “Wyatthasbeen eyeing me lately, so maybe it’s time I do that.”
Still nothing.
I scoffed and looked away first. “Whatever. I got the stupid wine. Let’s just go. The sooner this shit is over with and I can get out of here, the better.”
I turned toward the elevator and his hand closed around my arm before I made it.
“You know what.Fuck it.”
I jerked against his grip and looked up at him. “What are you?—”
