Page 21 of Exodus

A long silence passes before he speaks. “I’ve spent over half my life making plans and setting them in motion until you showed up.” He tightens his hold as my lips squish together. “I’m trying really hard here to have an adult conversation with you. I was angry, I’m still angry, and it’s not going away anytime soon. But I’m going to do my best to try and talk this out with you because it’s what adults do. So, I’m going to release your mouth, and you’re going to do your best to work with me because, like it or not, we need to come to a business arrangement. At this point, we’re both holding cards the other needs. And maybe, if you play nice, I’ll give you some of the answers you seek. A conversation is what I’m asking for. Nothing more. If it was pussy I was after”—he pauses, his eyes dipping to my heaving chest—“I would’ve had it already. My patience is running thin, so I’m calling a temporary truce so we can sort this out before it gets any uglier. Blink once if you agree, twice for disagree.”

Furious, I fight his hold and his eyes flare in warning.

I blink once.

He releases me and I work my jaw to get the burn out. “Jesus, you’re a bastard.” He rips his eyes away from me and walks over to the stove. “So, is this what you do to women? You break into their houses, assault them, and then force-feed them?”

He pulls a strainer from the cabinet and drains the noodles.

“I can’t imagine how any woman puts up with this shit long-term. It’s ridiculous. What kind of life can you build with someone based on lies?”

“Trust,” he corrects sourly. “It’s based on trust, not lies. And right now, I’m running short.”

“You say trust. I say omissions and half-truths. At least that’s what I got from it.”

“Depends on who you’re with.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not with anyone.”

He doesn’t so much as spare me a glance as he tosses the pasta under cold water.

“Your feelings make you a reckless loose end, Cecelia, which is really fucking bad for business. I told you when we met: you were loyal to them for the wrong reasons.”

“You mean love. But that reason doesn’t matter anymore. I’m moving on. I’m dating again. And you know that.”

He looks over to me, skeptical brows raised.

I match his stance and lift my chin. “Wait...that’s what this is about? Because I’m dating, trying to move on, you think that I’m going to spill your secrets to the next guy I sleep with?”

His silence infuriates me.

“Newsflash, I’ve been in far worse shape before now, I’ve been angrier, far more resentful and haven’t uttered a word. Not even to the people closest to me. Your logic is ridiculous.”

He doesn’t flinch. “You were still waiting. Therefore, you were still loyal. Think about it objectively for a second. If you were me, would you put the fate of your entire fucking operation in the hands of an emotional lit”—he rolls his eyes as my expression hardens—“twenty-year-old woman?”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you—”

He shakes his head ironically. “Took your boyfriends away? You keep proving my point. And if we’re going by track record—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence! I’ve been insulted by you enough to last a lifetime. You’re a sexist pig.”

“Say what you will, but twice I’ve seen you let your emotions overrule your judgment, and I’m not willing to gamble on that.”

And then it hits me.

“This isn’t a conversation. This is a negotiation.”

He’s here to strike a deal.

Not once in my time here have I ever taken advantage of my position. But I’ve learned well that everything comes with a price. And I seem to be the only one who’s been paying it. Until now.

“You truly don’t believe love and loyalty go hand in hand?”

“Two separate words with two distinct definitions. But if you look up the synonyms for love”—his eyes lock with mine—“I’m sure you’ll find weakness amongst them.”

“And what exactly is it that you think you have to barter with? You took away the only—”

He raises his brows.

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