“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 fucking 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.”
“Still?”
“She’s been in Colorado for more than seven weeks. I don’t know if she has an agenda—besides fucking up things between us.” Ronin’s eyes bored into hers. “That’s not me refusing to take responsibility for not telling you about my familial ties, but what Shiori freely admitted to me.” He reached for her hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about any of this. But being an heir isn’t something I’m proud of because I didn’t earn it. I hate that you questioned your own judgment because of me. I know what that feels like.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“I’d really like to have you back in my life, because it’s been empty without you in it.” Ronin stroked her cheek. “I missed you.”
“So you’ve said.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t believe me?”
“I think that you actually showing me this sweet side of you is the result of your concussion.”
“I’d turn you over my knee for that smart-ass comment, but it hurts too fucking much.”
“Speaking of . . . You are putting on that brace as soon as we’re done talking,” she warned him.
“When did you become such a hardass?”
“When you asked me to take care of you. That entails more than fluffing your pillows and administering your meds.”
“Yes, ma’am. So now it’s your turn to talk about fun family stuff.” He blinked at her with confusion. “I know in the past I’ve been lax about remembering details of things you’ve told me, but I’m positive you never mentioned you were planning a trip back to North Dakota.”
Amery’s cheeks heated. “I needed to get away. And since money is tight—not that you’d understand what that’s like—I couldn’t jet off to a tropical island for a few days. I ended up in my car, heading north. Ironically enough, my father’s thirty-fifth anniversary as an ordained minister was that weekend.” She twisted her fingers. “I wasn’t going to go. In fact, I’d told them I wouldn’t be attending. Then all that happened with us, and I couldn’t leave town fast enough.” She looked away. “Pathetic, huh? That the only place I had to go was the last place I ever wanted to be.”
“Jesus, Amery. How—”
“I’m glad I went if for no other reason than my brother, Aiden, got seventy-two hours’ leave from the army and surprised our parents, which worked out for me because I didn’t spend much one-on-one time with Mom or Dad. They were pleased that I showed up more for how it looked to my father’s congregation and the community than from joy at seeing me. So it was a miserable trip with the exception of spending time with Aiden.”
“Baby. I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.”
After an uncomfortable moment, Ronin asked, “Are we done talking about this?”
“For now. But I reserve the right to ask other questions as they occur to me.”
“Anything, anytime. From here on out, I’m an open book for you, Amery.”
As much as she wanted to believe him, unless he proved that statement true, he was just paying lip service to what she wanted. “Good. But for now, you need to get back in bed. I’ll grab the knee brace.”
He slowly rose to his feet but still had to slap a hand on the wall to keep his balance as he started down the hallway.
His knee buckled, and Amery made it to his side before he hit the floor. “Sweetheart, you need to remember I’m here to help you.”
“God, I missed hearing you call me that.” Breathing hard, he sagged against the wall.