The ride back to the penthouse was a silent war. The air in the back of the Rolls-Royce was so thick with tension the driver kept his eyes glued to the road, his shoulders hunched.
Crockett had taken off his soiled jacket, but the damp, sticky patch on his shirt was a constant, humiliating reminder of his defeat. Erin sat perfectly still beside him, staring out the window at the blurred city lights, an oasis of calm in his storm.
When they arrived, he didn't try to touch her. He went straight to the bar and poured himself a double scotch, the amber liquid sloshing in the crystal glass.
Erin slipped off her heels by the door, her only intention to retreat to the master bedroom and lock the door behind her.
"Stop."
His voice was cold, sharp, and cut through the silence.
She paused, her back to him, but didn't turn around.
He swirled the whiskey in his glass. "You think you were clever tonight, don't you?"
He walked towards her, his movements predatory. He snatched her phone from her hand, grabbing her wrist and forcing her thumb against the home button before she could pull away.
He scrolled to her photo gallery, his lip curling in a sneer as he saw the pictures she'd taken of business cards from the artists she'd met.
"Pathetic," he muttered.
One by one, he deleted them. He held the phone so she could watch as the images vanished from the screen.
"Stay away from people like that," he said, his tone that of a master chiding a disobedient pet. "They don't want you, Erin. They want the name. They want the money."
He tossed the phone back at her. She caught it, her expression unreadable.
He took a long swallow of his scotch, the alcohol doing nothing to soothe the rage coiling in his gut. He felt a sliver of his control return. He had re-established a boundary.
"Now," he said, walking to the window and looking out over his kingdom. "Let's talk about your... 'investments.'" He said the word as if it were a joke.
"Ninety million dollars. For a portfolio of worthless tech stocks and that ridiculous payment to Sotheby’s." He shook his head, a small, condescending laugh escaping him. "I'll give you this, Erin. As far as revenge spending goes, you've certainly made a statement."
He had it all figured out. This was her goal. To get under his skin. To make him angry.
He turned, expecting to see her look wounded, or defiant. He wanted a reaction.
Erin's face was a mask, but he thought he saw a flicker of something in her eyes. Hurt? He seized on it.
"You're doing all of this to get my attention," he said, his voice softening into a tone of patronizing psychoanalysis. "You think if you make me angry, make me jealous, I'll come running back. It's a classic, textbook move."
He smiled, a cruel, knowing smile. "And it's incredibly stupid."
Erin said nothing. She just watched him, letting him build his own narrative, letting him construct a cage of his own ignorance around himself. His arrogance was the best camouflage she could have asked for.
"I'll let you have your little shopping spree," he said, walking towards her again. He reached out and tilted her chin up with his finger. "Consider it a fee for you to behave yourself. But this stops now. Don't push me again."
He expected her to yield. He expected the fight to be gone, now that he had so cleverly exposed her childish motives.
Erin pulled her head away from his touch.
"Are you finished?" she asked, her voice flat.
His smile faltered.
"If you're finished," she said, her eyes like steel, "then you'll have nothing more to say." She turned her back on him, pulled out her phone, and calmly dialed a number. He could hear the faint, professional voice on the other end. "Hello, this is the office of Julian Croft." Julian Croft was her family's lawyer. Crockett felt a jolt of ice in his veins. She was ignoring him, dismissing his threats as if they were the buzzing of an insect, and conducting business right in front of him.
The condescending certainty on Crockett's face crumbled, replaced by a fresh wave of disbelief and fury. Even after he'd cornered her, exposed her, she was still fighting back.
