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Ronin looked shocked by thatand not the least bit contrite
"Yes, I knew about your appointave you le one Soan important part of your recovery process SoYou shut ain"
He crowded her "Is this about payback? I didn’t tell you one little thing that happened in oddamn secret fro Second of all, how can you even say that tothis fking iether--to try to make this work, I have laid s about me that no one else does Not only in our intimate relationship, but in my business relationships What I’ve done for TP and Max? Very privileged information It’s a testament to how much I trust you that Max spoke so freely in front of you tonight"
Shit
"I’ns, because you have the talent and drive to get to the next level But since this is my family in the mix, and I knohat my family is capable of far better than you, you need to understand that I don’t trust it I don’t want you to be beholden to theested my company for the project in the first place After all the bullshit that went down between us, I put it out of o boost that Shiori didn’t toss the designs in the garbage She passed thens stood on their own irlfriend a bone because you’re feeling sorry for her and you had the means to contribute to her self-worth"
"Did you ever consider that I’d like to be a part of celebrating your achieveht?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You are the reason I asked ABC Brazilian jujitsu to becoested I needed to think outside of my little dojo box and I did I value your opinion But I see now that you don’t value mine"
Her eyes searched his "Ronin That’s not even re s? Well, here it is I’m pissed off at you I don’t even rate the courtesy of you tellingfor my fah about my health to snoop around for answers but not askaboutin with me I’m pissed off you still haven’t toldknow you do This has beco relationship, and you know it"
Daravate him further and come across as -term, open and honest intimate relationship with you on every level, or don’t Your choice"
For the first time ever, Ronin walked away from her
And not for the first time, she slunk away, e days since Ronin had heard fro Days
Since he’d left it up to her to contact hi over to her place Not calling her Not tracking her down in a parking garage and doing a hojojutsu capture on her for real
He’d spent all day Saturday with Blue, Knox, and Gil, hashing out revised class schedules They’d gone over the receipts froht’s event Charted orked and what hadn’t Devised a strategy for the next event in six short weeks
That’s when his train of thought juain before Aain Maybe she got what she wanted--a lucrative contract with Okada--and she doesn’t need you anyical side tried to sta fear rehts, hand work, foot work, cardio on the treadhest belt rank in the dojo, her continued training fell on his shoulders She was a tireless pupil, and they spent two hours working on what she called drills, skills, and thrills
Then, at Shiori’s request, they’d gone over the DVD of her h she’d insisted the only reason she fought was to keep the fight card full¸ Ronin understood that she had the same need he did to physically prove herself She ad a woarnered interest When he questioned if her ti with her position at Okada, she changed the subject He assumed any questions about Amery’s project with the company would elicit the same response, so he didn’t bother to ask
Ronin had been tempted to invite Shiori to his penthouse for dinner, but he decided it would be aard if A on his part, as it’d turned out
A shower and an hour of meditation centered him
Still, he’d slept poorly, so Monday started off on a bad note Katie’s constant chattering got on his nerves, and he passed her off to Blue