Unwound

He played the silent card.

“Look, you don’t need me here. You didn’t want me here in the first place, and I pushed my way in, so it’s best if I leave.”

Ronin lifted his head and looked at her. “Don’t go.”

“Give me a reason why I should stay.”

Very carefully, he pushed up from the couch and stepped into the path between her and the elevator. Curling his hand around the nape of her neck, he pulled her in, bringing her mouth to his for far too chaste a kiss. Then he rested his cheek to her temple. “Is that reason enough?”

“Ronin—”

“Look at me. I’m covered in sweat just from walking to the damn couch. Part of the reason I ignored medical advice and left the hospital when you weren’t there? I hate that you’re seeing me like this . . . like a f**king invalid. I’d rather take another beating than let you see me, even briefly, in a goddamn wheelchair.” He broke eye contact.

Amery grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. “Don’t. I get you’re injured. But you need to understand that I won’t let you use it as an excuse; nor will I stick around if you keep avoiding the issues between us.”

“I get that now. And I’ll tell you everything—I will answer every single question you throw at me with complete honesty from here on out, but can we please sit down during this discussion?”

Then she felt like an ass. The man was wounded. “Pick a spot because we’ll be there for a while.”

He hobbled back to the couch.

After she sat next to him, she gave him a pointed look. “Start talking, billionaire baby.”

He sighed. “Contrary to what my sister told you, I’m not a billionaire. The Okada empire is worth billions, but I’m not directly involved in it.”

“Except for suggesting Okada use my company for a prime design gig.”

“After you told me you were struggling financially, I tried to help you out because I know you’re talented—not because we were lovers. But in my defense, I never knew Maggie Arnold followed through and contacted you.”

“If she had, then you would’ve told me the truth?”

“Yes. But Shiori wields the corporate power. If she told Maggie to keep me out of the loop, she would. Why didn’t you say anything to me when you were contacted?”

Oh, hell no. She was not taking the blame for this. “I signed a ton of nondisclosures. But that’s not the point.” She jabbed her finger at him. “You did nothing when I confronted you with the truth except treat me with disdain. There wasn’t a single sign of the man”—I’d fallen in love with—“I knew when I showed up to talk to you. You’d never treated me like that, Ronin. It hurt. It scared me, and I lashed out.”

“But you’re not apologizing for your behavior,” he said curtly.

“At the time, I wasn’t sorry. Because you showed all the emotion of a goddamn parking meter.” She inhaled and exhaled. “That’s why I left. If you’d acted like you cared at all—”

“Five minutes after you ran out, I hurled a chair through the window. I’d gotten a good start on destroying the conference room when Knox stopped me.”

Amery’s mouth dropped open.

Ronin leaned forward slightly. “You think I’m scary when I’m trying to maintain control? Wrong. I’m scary when I lose it.”

Holy. Shit.

“After you walked out? I. Lost. My. Fucking. Mind. Knox dosed me with an entire bottle of rum because passed-out drunk was the only way he could keep me from going after you. And trust me; you didn’t want to deal with me in that state.”

“I’m not being trite when I say thank you for telling me,” she said softly. “I’m sorry for the shit I spewed. Some of what I said is a blur.”

“What stung the most was your accusation that I’m a billionaire who plays at running a dojo.” His hands clenched and unclenched. “Direct f**king hit to the one thing in my life I’m most proud of. Everything I’ve built? I’ve earned. Every drop of blood I lost fighting, every sketchy thing I did to make a buck went into building this business. The only exception?” He gestured to the room. “My living space.”

“Your grandfather offered to pay for it?”

Ronin shook his head. “He’d set up several trusts to be paid at various milestones. I never touched a penny until the year I turned thirty-two. I’d been living in an office on the third floor for years—I didn’t need more than a futon, a TV, and a hot plate.”

Hearing him describing how he lived and looking around this place . . . It was hard to reconcile those two images and maybe even those two men.

“I’d convinced myself there was no shame in living a minimalist life. But something . . . clicked right around that birthday, and I decided I deserved to use some of the cash to create a living space with all the amenities. As soon as I withdrew money to pay the architect, I got a call from my grandfather.”

“What did he expect from you?”

“It’s not important now. But at the time? I had so much resentment toward him. He disrupted my business to attend to his, and he meddled in my personal life.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “He manipulates Shiori with this same shit. She’s been trying to prove herself worthy of taking over since she started working in the Okada offices at age twelve. She’ll follow any instructions he gives her.”