Page 17 of Fighting the Pull
Right.
That was it.
We were done.
“Forget it, Mr. Wheeler,” I said icily. “You’re off the hook. I’ll go dark while you sort out my studio, so I don’t need this place. And Brandi doesn’t have to contact me to reschedule the interview. Our relationship, such as it is, has run its course as of now.”
It was me who moved to leave then, and Hale who stopped me by standing in front of the door.
I looked up at him. “Please get out of my way.”
“I saw the interview, Elsa, so you can’t act wounded about what I said because I spoke the goddamned truth. That was personal business no one is entitled to, and you gave her the forum to put it out there.”
“I had no idea what your mother was going to say, and if I’d known she was going to share what she did, I wouldn’t have had her on.”
“Right,” he said disbelievingly.
“Right,” I repeated crisply. “Now, if I could be on my way.”
I tried to move by him, but even though he wasn’t a large man, he was tall, and far bigger than me, and still blocking the door.
I stopped moving, took in a breath through my nostrils, and let it out the same way, sounding like an irritated bull.
And I didn’t care.
Because I was a dozen shades more than irritated, and I did not mind he knew it.
He cocked his head to the side and noted softly, “You’re genuinely pissed.”
I didn’t respond.
“She blindsided you,” he whispered.
My mouth spoke before I gave it permission.
“Everyone knows what kind of man Tom Pierce is, and he’s not that man. Even if what she said was not a lie, you’re right, your family’s pain wasn’t anyone’s business. The camera was on her. If it was on me, you would have seen my reaction. We were live, it wasn’t taped. And that is not only the last live interview I’ve done in years, it’s the last one I’ll ever do. Not only because I don’t need that kind of legal headache, but because that kind of thing reflectson me. And whether you like what I do or not, Mr. Wheeler, I take it seriously. It’s important to me. It might not be crucial knowledge the world needs. But it’s absolutely in the public interest. And I’ve worked hard to create a program that gives the public what they’re interested in without being gimmicky or snide or defamatory or salacious. I have a point of view, and I have a personality, and both are part of my brand. But the woman you think I am is not the woman I actually am. And I want nothing to do with a man who thinks I’m that other kind of woman. Now, please,step aside.”
He didn’t step aside.
He said quietly, “I’ll have to watch it again.”
“That would be impossible because I’ve taken it down, and whether you believe me or not, I did that before Imogen Swan’s team descended on me. Now, I’ll ask one last time,step aside.”
“Tomorrow, nine. My place. We’re still on.”
“I think you missed the part where I don’t want the interview anymore, Mr. Wheeler.”
“Call me Mr. Wheeler one more time, baby.”
I went perfectly still.
His soft, sexy, warning tone, the hot, aggravated, even sexier look on his handsome face, the vibe emanating from him—everything about him made it feel we were both in suspended animation, standing inches apart, staring at each other.
He wasn’t touching me.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t in his clutches.
And I liked it there.