The Truth

Before I can try and plead my case, a delivery guy walks up, and as he hands over the food, I disappear outside only to find fate seems to be tossing me a bone here. What I was looking for all along is pulling up right now as Tiffany climbs out of a cab out front.

I don’t know how I beat her here, but I’m not going to question the perfection of the timing.

“Tiffany?”

She startles, and I see her weighing her options, considering getting right back in the taxi to get away from me. Quickly, I close the gap, not touching her and freaking her out but putting a hand on the door frame.

“We need to talk.”

Tiffany snorts, her eyes still flashing with anger. “You said everything you needed to,” she snaps. “The silence was deafening.”

She pushes past me, her heels clicking on the concrete as she stomps toward her door. I follow right behind her. I wrap my hand around her forearm, stopping her and stepping next to her, my mouth close to her ear. “Tiffany, please.”

She glares at me in response, but I stand my ground. “Fine, let’s get this over with.”

Despite the agreement, she resumes her already speedy steps at time-and-a-half tempo, and I follow, not like a lost puppy but like a stalking tiger. We have some things to discuss, and I’m not leaving until she understands the method to my madness. My silence with Paul was not about her, and it certainly wasn’t intended to hurt or offend her. It was about me and Fox.

As she unlocks her door, I see the light change in the peephole across the hall and give the neighbor a quiet nod. They might have been trying to block me, but they were doing it for the right reasons. I can respect that.

The door opens, and we’re back in Tiffany’s apartment, behind a locked door, where we can finally talk this out. But before I can say a word, she starts her rampage as though she never stopped.

“How could you!” she says, whirling on me. It’s not a question but rather an accusation. And without a breath, she keeps rolling.

“That pompous asshole was being rude and crude, and you didn’t say a fucking word to defend me. To defend us.” She points from her chest to mine, digging her red-tipped fingernail into my skin through my shirt.

“You didn’t give me a chance,” I snap defensively. “And he was obviously wrong!”

“Ugh!” She spins to stomp away from me, ranting more. “I told you up front to be honest with me. You said you wanted ‘more’. Remember that? I do. Because I wanted it. Guess I’m the naïve one for believing you! You let me hope that this was something and then sit there silent as a fucking statue with no reaction. Tell me . . . what does a woman have to do to get a reaction out of the great Daniel Stryker?”

“Enough!” I shout. It shocks her enough for her eyes to widen, but just as quickly, they narrow sharply as she crosses her arms. The fury coursing through her is electric, calling to the anger in my own blood.

“I didn’t say anything to that asshole because he was digging his own grave,” I continue. “Before you left, you heard us agree to a fresh contract negotiation without conflicts. But do you think for one fucking second that I would go into business with someone who speaks about you that way?”

Tiffany looks surprised and eyes me warily. “Explain.”

I prowl toward her, past ready to have a chance to tell my side.

“Tiffany, people have been kissing my ass and putting up façades with me for decades,” I point out, “and I have to tease out who’s genuine and who wants me to do something for them. That’s just gotten harder over the past few years.”

She interrupts to ask, “You think I want something from you? I don’t need some knight in shining armor, but I expected you to have my back.”

“And I expected you to know me well enough to give me the benefit of the doubt for a fucking second!” I yell, pleading.

Tiffany gasps.

My outburst surprises me. I pride myself on control, my ability to contain my emotions and make logical decisions no matter the situation. But the fear of losing something I’ve only just begun to explore hits sharply, pulling up the sludge of the past from deep in my soul.

I beat at my chest with a fist. “I said I wanted more with you, and I mean it. I haven’t felt like this about anyone in years. But the only woman I’ve ever trusted, ever let in . . . she betrayed me and left me a shell of a man. Without Elle, I wouldn’t have recovered. And now . . . I want you, but you scare the fuck out of me because of how quickly you’ve gotten inside my shields.”