“I’ll pay you back, Christopher. I’ll pay you every penny no matter how long it takes.”

An eye roll was his response. He said, “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Don’t bring it up. For both our sakes, okay?”

“Okay.” My eyes were still wet. “Thank you for all your help. I’ll come to your party and I’ll be a good sport. I promise.”

“Thank you.” He blew out air. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“To see my staff. The more contact I have with my employees, the harder they work. And while I’m in the cafeteria, I’ll put in the lunch order for your daughter. Do you want anything?”

“No, but I’ll come with you,” I said. “Practice being a good little wife—”

“Teresa, my love, I’ve run out of juice for this conversation.” He headed for the door. “I’ll see you later.”

“Chris, I need to get out of here.” He stopped walking and turned to me. I said, “And I wouldn’t mind a fresh cup of coffee.”

“Okay.” His eyes softened. A big intake of air and then he exhaled. “Baby doll, I want you at this party because your presence is my Valium. Even in high school, after you pulled away from me and I pretended to ignore you, even if you weren’t with me, I always knew where you were.”

“You stalked me?”

“Always.”

“What about when I was in Mumbai?”

“I kept tabs on you. Not me personally, but I hired people over there who were watching for me. That’s how I found out that Devek owed money.” He paused, then he said, “Are we still on for dinner?”

“Of course.” A weak smile. “And I still want that cup of coffee.”

“Then let’s go.”

As I walked to the door, he took my arm and held me back. I looked up and smiled again, but his face was unreadable.

He said, “I’m a hard case. Impenetrable. And I’m never going to change because I don’t want to change. I like my psychopathy. But it’s not easy for you. Thank you for putting up with me. Don’t think I don’t notice.”

“Just get me …” I stopped talking.

He dropped my arm. His voice was even. “I know, baby, but no more. Please?”

“I’m sorry.” My voice cracked, but I held back tears. “Thank you. Let me practice opening the front door.”

“Go for it.”

I knelt on his office chair and found my balance. “Could you please get me a stepladder, Chris? You might not need it, but I do, and as of right now, there are two of us here.”

“I’ll get you a stepladder.”