Page 13 of A Corruption Dark & Deadly

"It sounds lonely," she murmured without thinking. Immediately, she looked up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You're right. It was lonely. Even at school, people hated me because of who my father was or loved me because of my legacy. No one really knew who I was. No one really cared about me. So I embraced the solitude." He shrugged. "It's why I don't like the city. If I'm going to be alone, I'd rather be alone. Not surrounded by a group of people only there to kiss my ass."

Annie nodded but didn't say anything. There was too much there, too much that wanted to settle under her skin but she couldn't let it. She was starting to feel sympathy for Jericho, for the man behind the mogul, and that was the last thing she wanted to feel. He was a criminal, she had to remind herself, a criminal that partook in acts of violence without hesitation. Yet, as he stared at her across the dining table, he looked like nothing more than a man. A beautiful one with a tragic past but a man nonetheless.

"What about you?" he asked, scrunching his brow slightly, making him look adorably pensive.

No. Adorable was the last word that should come up when discussing Jericho. And yet... somehow, it fit. There was no other word that accurately described him so she decided to go with it. Because she didn't really have a choice not to.

"What about me?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"You look nice," he said, his eyes dropping to her attire but not in a solicitous way. Almost immediately, he picked them back up and held onto hers. "Your brother said you're an accountant in the city?"

She wore a white pencil skirt that clung to her body and a flattering lace black sleeveless shirt that scooped just below her collarbone. Her hair was pulled into a high, tight ponytail so no stray strands were allowed to frame her face. Her makeup was light and she wore black high heels.

A flare of anger sparked up at the reminder that Bruce had a big mouth but she tried not to let it show. It wasn't Jericho's fault that Bruce told him anything. Jericho might not have helped the situation but Bruce was a grown man who could make his own choices. As far as she knew, Jericho hadn't forced the situation.

"I am," she said.

He paused, crossing his arms over his chest and peering at her. "You don't like talking about yourself very much, do you?" he asked.

Annie shrugged. "I don't see the point," she said. "I'm not very interesting."

"I beg to differ," Jericho said. "The fact that you aren't like other women who won't shut up about themselves makes you more intriguing. It makes me want to ask you more about yourself."

Annie didn't know what to say. She wished she hadn't finished her food as fast as she did so she could pick at it or shove some in her mouth so she would have a reason not to answer. Instead, she stared at him like an idiot.

"You're guarded," he stated. "I suppose I can understand. I'm a stranger living in your home."

"So you are living with me," she said. "And you admit that it's my home."

"I wouldn't presume to make you leave," he told her. "I like it here. The mansion is too big, it’s overwhelming. This is quaint and comforting. So yeah, I'm living here. If that's okay with you."

"It really doesn't matter what I want," Annie pointed out. "I could tell you to leave but you won't. This is your place thanks to my idiot brother. What I say, my opinion, doesn't matter."

"That isn't true," Jericho told her, his eyes a grass-green color, the kind that was both intense and serious, as though he wanted her to understand that what she was saying was the truth. "Your opinion does matter. I like to hear what your thoughts are on everything, really."

"And why is that?" Annie asked, raising a skeptical brow. She leaned back in her chair, waiting for his response. "You and I are strangers. We don't know anything about each other."

"That's exactly my point," he said. "I would love to hear what you have to say, even if you and I won't agree. Which we won't about a lot of things. But that's what makes things interesting, right? Respectful discord." He smiled at her. "You aren't like anyone I've ever met before. It's why I'd like to know more about you."

"Okay," Annie said. "I don't understand you. I don't understand your decision-making process at all. I don't understand your choices. So it doesn't matter what I say because you'll make your choices and I won't understand them and I don't want to be exhausted by trying to understand your logic."

"I think you're just writing me off," he said, "and that isn't fair."

"Fair?" Annie asked, furrowing her brows. "You want to talk about fair? How about Bruce not giving you any consideration when he offers up a home his sister still lives in? It's the only home I've ever known. Even when I went to college, I still lived at home so it would be more cost effective for me and my parents. And now that's taken away from me because my brother thinks he's some kind of entrepreneur and invests forty-six grand in some kind of cabin in the woods he thinks is going to retire him. On some kind of whim, he decides to borrow money because you go around asking your employees how they're doing and how they can help."

"I'm sorry?" he guessed, perking his brow. As though she was looking for some kind of answer from him when the truth of the matter was she would prefer it if he didn't talk at all.

"That isn't fair," she continued. "And instead of just letting me live here like some kind of tenant and letting me buy my parents' home, you decide you want to move in and be here."

"I won't be here all the time," he told her. "I'm not charging you rent. I took over the mortgage when your brother transferred the deed to me, which I will pay off today, when I go into the city. You will retain the same rights you've always had - your privacy. I will take responsibility for all the bills relating to the house including the energy bill, the cable and internet bill, the water bill, the trash bill. All you have to worry about is your cell phone bill, though if it would appease you, I would pay for that as well."

“You already told me this last night,” Annie pointed out.

“I know,” he said. “I just want to reiterate it because I think it’s important.” He rubbed his lips together. “What time do you leave for work?”

Annie glanced at her cell phone. “I’ll probably go up and brush my teeth in a few minutes,” she told him.