Yeah, she sounded like a pissed off girlfriend, but she wasn’t his girlfriend. She was the woman who had played him and then nearly painted her initials on his chest. And he was the idiot who had stood there and almost begged her to do it.
He cringed at the thought of how stupid he’d been about her. He knew he was ping-ponging, caught between wanting to understand her and wanting to throttle her, but most of all, he wanted to get his hands on her.
He wanted to see just how much she’d lied about.
“You might want to think this thing through, Jesse,” Adam began.
He was just about to tell Adam where he could shove his thought process when Big Tag strode out of his office. A thunderous look clouded his boss’s face, but Jesse was ready to throw down with whoever he needed to. This was his op and his…fuck, he didn’t even know what to call her, but Phoebe was his.
Ian stopped in front of them. “Take her to your office. Do what you need to do but keep it down. Apparently we’re still having a baby shower and I have to attend or risk having my balls ripped off my body. I like my balls, Murdoch. Keep her quiet. Charlie’s serious about this party thing. When did I fucking lose control? She’s not even an employee here.”
“No. I’m part owner,” Charlotte said, her voice a sharp instrument. She was a beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair. She rested her hand on the bump on her belly that seemed to get bigger every day. “Eve and I own half this company, you know. And we have all the boobs so try getting around us. Phoebe, I swear to god if I find out you’ve done one thing to put this company and our people in danger I will take you apart myself. Is that understood? You better hope you can prove you weren’t going to hurt Jesse. He’s one of my men and I will deal with you.”
Phoebe’s head came up again. “Your men? That’s a little presumptuous, isn’t it? You treat him like a puppy you can pat on his head and send away. He isn’t yours and if you think you can take me, you’re wrong.”
Charlotte’s lips curled up and Jesse realized Phoebe had just fallen into a trap. “She doesn’t like the fact that I said you’re mine, Jesse.”
Big Tag was frowning at her. “I didn’t either.”
She waved him off. “I meant as a friend and employee, but Phoebe’s brain goes straight for the sexual. I wonder why. Li’s right. You’re going to owe him a hundred bucks at the end of this thing. She’s all Stockholmed out. Who wants cake?”
Ian’s eyes narrowed as his wife strode off toward the break room. “Handle her, Murdoch. Any way you can and keep it the fuck down. I still haven’t heard back from Ten.”
He felt Phoebe’s whole body go stiff at the mention of Ten’s name. “I still think she works for him.”
“Ten knows when a game is up. He would have told me.”
“Or he would just burn her,” Adam mused.
That was a more reasonable explanation, but Ian seemed unconcerned. He strode off after his wife and Adam sighed a little and then followed them.
No one was going to save Phoebe from him. No one would try to come between them. Satisfaction settled in his gut. At least his brothers recognized he had a claim on her.
“Jesse, you should let me go. I’m not a threat to you.” She sounded so reasonable. “Honestly, I’m not a threat at all, but you are still in danger. If you let me go, I’ll tell you what I can.”
So she still thought he was an idiot. He walked down the hall and opened the door to his office. He slammed it behind and locked the door. The office was full of well-meaning busybodies, and he wasn’t about to be interrupted.
He set her down and then took a deep breath.
She leaned against his desk, needing it to balance her. Her manicured fingers gripped the edge of the desk, tension throughout her body. “Can we talk?”
“Who do you work for?”
“I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that someone sent me that kill order and they won’t just shrug and walk away. You’re in danger, Jesse.”
At least they’d gotten past one thing. “So you’re dropping the whole ‘I’m just an accountant’ act?”
“I am an accountant,” she replied beseechingly. “I have a degree from Georgetown. Not everything I said was a lie.”
Just the little things. “Oh, I think it’s safe to say you lied enough. What’s your name? I think I should know the name of the woman who made me a fool.”
She flushed. “I didn’t, Jesse. Damn it. It wasn’t like that. And my name is Phoebe. You know it’s easier to work with something similar. A partial truth is easier to sell than a lie.”
“Yeah, well, the partial part is the one that hurt. Did you have to pretend to like me?”
“I wasn’t pretending. I do like you.”
“That’s something I can test, you know.” He was feeling a little cruel. He didn’t like it, but that didn’t seem to matter.
“Jesse, I can’t make you believe me. I can only tell you that I’m sorry you got hurt in all of this.”
“You’re sorry? I chase after you for months and you lead me on and you’re sorry. That’s good to know. Did you bug my house?”
She nodded slowly.
“So that’s why you agreed to come over.”