I walk the little spitfire into one of the private alcoves that adjoin The Gilded Room. I snap the door shut and turn to her. Just as I suspected, she gives me the finger jab to the chest that she held back in the main room.
“You are the biggest dick on the fucking planet.”
“You called me in here to talk dirty to me?” I taunt. “If I’d known that’s what you wanted, I would’ve come much sooner.”
“Don’t get cute with me. It suits your brother, but not you.”
I noticed them talking earlier in the night. I have to bite my tongue from asking what exactly they were talking about.
“I just got a call from my boss,” she says, her eyes flashing dangerously. “She let me know that I’ve been terminated, effective immediately.”
I raise my eyebrows but don’t say anything. Obviously, that just pisses her off more. “You just got me fired, motherfucker! Aren’t you going to say anything?”
I stroke my chin. “Well… I did warn you.”
She stares at me in shock. “You… you’re not even going to deny it?”
I scoff. “Why would I?”
“But—what—why—what was the fucking point?” she seethes.
“The point?” I ask, taking a step towards her. “The point, Jessa, is that you refuse to listen. I wanted my phone back; you refused. I could use force and get what I want. But this method strikes me as so much more fun.”
She processes that, her eyes blinking fast, her chest rising and falling with horror. “This job… it was my whole life.”
“Shame you gambled with your life then, isn’t it?” I say. “But I didn’t exactly throw you into the ocean without a life vest, you realize.”
“Didn’t you?”
“There is a job offer on the table,” I remind her.
She narrows her eyes with disgust. “Working for you? No thanks, I’m not taking your fucking pity job.”
I shrug. “Your choice.”
“You can’t honestly think this will work. It’s blackmail.”
“And who are you going to report me to?”
The defeat starts to sink in as she continues to stare at me. Her voice is a hollow croak. “Why are you doing this?”
“It’s simple. If you had complied from the beginning and returned my phone, that would have been that. But you chose to provoke me. Now, not only will you have to return my phone, you’re going to have to pay off your interest.”
She pales. “Interest?”
“That’s right. I’ve wasted a lot of time chasing down that phone, Jessa. And my time does not come free. I demand compensation, and this is what I want.”
“So you’re asking for slave labor. I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
I laugh and saunter closer to her. She’s only a few inches away now. Close enough to smell her perfume, to sense her warmth. To see the fear and fury brewing in her eyes.
“The longer you delay giving me back my phone, the longer you’ll have to work for me.”
She shakes her head, breaking eye contact. “This… this isn’t fair.”
“If you’re looking for ‘fair,’ you’re looking at the wrong man,” I tell her. “You should know that by now. So what do you say? Ready to return my phone now?”
Her expression turns to stone. “Fuck no.” I chuckle, which prompts Jessa’s eyes to narrow even further into angry little slits. “What the hell is so funny?”