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“So what’s the problem?”

“Well, she started dating my ex, and since then, they’ve been leaving comments about me on my videos, saying that I’m a thief and a fraud. That I had stolen all my workouts and passed them off as my own.”

He nods again.

“It’s not true. I work really hard to create content that will work well for people. I build my videos from the ground up...Actually, Danny had helped me set everything up at the beginning. He was amazing, really. So I haven't done it all myself, but I’ve worked hard nonetheless.”

Another nod.

Maybe Jenny wasn’t wrong about the strong, silent type with this one.

“But yesterday...” I turn away as my eyes start to prick. I take a deep breath, fiddling with my fingers in my lap. “Yesterday, they posted a video, calling me out. And Travis, my ex, said that I showed him how I would copy videos. It’s a lie, but I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know if I need a lawyer or if I should message them or block them. I just don't know what to do. And now I’m rambling to the man I’ve held hostage in my basement for the last three days. What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Well, aside from abducting someone rather than just asking them on a date, I’d say you’re just a victim of jealousy.” He winks.

“I . . . I don’t want to date you,” I splutter.

“We’ll circle back to that.” He smirks, and a flutter hits me in my core. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you broke up with him.”

“Correct.”

“Another guess would be that he didn’t have your drive or work ethic.”

“Correct.”

“Final assumption for him, apart from being an entitled, work-shy scrounger, was that he wasn’t exactly...fulfilling in the bedroom.”

He stares me down, forcing me to look him in the eye.

How does he know that?I feel the flush of my cheeks, my neck, my chest; everything must be crimson.

Was Travis good in bed? No. He was a racehorse. Slapping his pelvis against my butt cheeks at a ferocious rate with no skill or finesse. He thought the harder the better, which left me unsatisfied and, honestly...reluctant to do it a lot. At least it was always over quickly.

My lack of response has apparently already answered for me.

“Okay, so correct on three counts. Well done for dumping him. At least he’s this other person’s problem now.”

“Mmhmm.” That’s all I can muster up for a response.

“You could get a lawyer if you want a long, drawn-out case which will cost a whole lot of money, or you could post your own video in response...but that only makes people assume there’s some truth in it for you to respond to. Or you can do nothing and hope that it goes away.”

“Like I said, it seems like a lose-lose situation. And I don’t like losing.”

He smiles, and I shrug.

“What?”

“People don’t often surprise me. And you seem to at every turn.”

Warmth spreads in my chest, and I forcibly stop myself from overthinking this. He’s saying what I want to hear to get out of here. Obviously, he’s going to play to my weaknesses. He knows he can manipulate me. I crave more praise from him. Hearing it from someone so established, regardless of what he does, makes me feel so validated.

Silence fills the room. I’m not sure how to respond to that. I think it's complimentary. But it only makes me wonder what he thought of me before.

“I should get some work done. Did you read the books?” I divert the conversation to safer territory.

“Yes, they were very enlightening. I especially liked the highlighted sections.” He laughs.

“The what?” I frown, trying to remember which books I had given him.