“The only words I’d like to hear from you right now are about what you and Jodie discussed,” she continued.

He glanced quickly back at her, startled.   How did she know about that?

“Bette, let me explain about Tina,” he tried again.

“Do. Not,” she said quietly, her voice dropping. “I don’t want you to try to explain that shit you pulled on her, do you understand?”

“I…”

“Don’t. Give. A. Fuck. About. What. You. Have. To. Say,” she said again, enunciating each word.

“I don’t want to repeat myself, alright asshole?”

He bit his lip nervously.

“And if a first class ticket to a prison-like beat down doesn’t appeal to you, then you’d better start telling me what I’d like to know about what you and Jodie talked about.”

He looked at her curiously. This went beyond Tina.

“I never discussed anything with Jodie,” he said, avoiding those eyes that were pinning him, as if nailing him to the back of his chair.

She shook her head, her eyes remained narrowed. This jerk has no idea I own his sorry ass.

“So you’re saying the meetings with her never took place?” she bit out, her voice calm.

He almost preferred a knock-down drag out fight with Bette, instead of this steady, raking over the coals that she seemed to be preparing for him.

“Umm… yeah. You’re making a mistake,” he responded, trying to stall again. “I never …”

“Scott, you are either a moron or a pathetic excuse of a man,” she cut in. “But I don’t care either way.”

She casually crossed her legs, and rested her elbows on the armrests of the chair. “Maybe I should tell you more clearly that I know every little dirty secret of your sorry life. Stuff Spencer’s collected, and which I am pretty sure he must have warned you about, right?”

Scott swallowed drily, “Spencer? Do you know all about …”

“He told me enough about everything,” she said, waving her hand dismissively at his questions, ignoring them. “And Jodie’s told me some, albeit unintentionally.”

She formed a steeple with her arms, and rested her chin lightly on her thumbs.

He was leaning forward now, half out of his chair, intensely curious.

Her eyes cut twin lasers into his blue ones, reaching down to his soul, he felt. He couldn’t escape her now, if he’d tried.    She wasn’t going to take further stalling from him.