Phoenix shot a glare at Tarik but was met with a shrug. Obviously Tarik didn't know what was going on, either. That couldn't be good.

"Can't I just stop by to say hello? Don't tell me that you've developed some sort of feelings for the timid woman, Phoenix. I mean, seriously, Damien's told me how shitty she is in bed. You forget I know you better than that."

"You don't fucking know me at all," he argued, ignoring the comment about Mia.

"I'm going to check on her," Tarik stated.

Phoenix nodded at him.

When Teresa reached for Tarik, Phoenix knew she was up to no good. No one touched Tarik. No one. Not unless he invited them to, and he'd always kept a safe distance between himself and Teresa.

Tarik glared at the spot where her hand touched his arm.

"I'd highly encourage you to move your hand," Tarik growled.

She pulled her hand back as though she'd been burned. "I don't think they want to be interrupted. Damien called her before he decided to go by. She sounded upset."

Phoenix didn't believe a word she said, but he didn't know for certain. He hadn't had a chance to speak to Mia yet.

"Go check on her," he instructed Tarik, ignoring Teresa's nonsense. "I'll take care of this."

Tarik nodded and moved passed Teresa, forcing her to shift out of his path.

"I'm so glad you-"

"I don't want to hear it," Phoenix said. "Not another word from you until he gets back."

And with that, Phoenix headed back to the kitchen for his coffee.

"MIA, I'M TELLING you. I didn't see it coming. I was blindsided by it just as much as you were. Sure, I'd been working with his father on the sale of the team when he was having financial troubles, and it's all just snowballed since Sid passed away."

"His father died ten months ago, Damien." Mia couldn't hide the incredulity in her tone. She couldn't believe Damien was using that as his argument.

"It saddened me when he passed. We'd become ... well, I'd like to say we'd become friends at the time. I'd talked to him about you a few times. I..." Damien looked away as though he was ashamed of what he was about to say. "I was asking his advice. Our marriage was having problems."

Mia started to say something but clamped her lips shut. Ten months ago was the same time she'd asked for a divorce. Right about the time Damien had made her aware that he'd been cheating. She couldn't help but wonder whether the two were related as the article had mentioned, only not in his version of history.

"Our marriage was only having problems because you were cheating," Mia huffed out, unable to keep looking at him. Although that wasn't necessarily true. Mia had begun falling out of love with Damien long before that, but she'd been intent on making things work. Right up to the point when he'd slept with another woman.

"It was a setup, Mia. That's what I've been trying to tell you."

God, was there no end to his lies? Mia pushed away from the table, wanting to get as far from him as possible, but Damien grabbed her wrist to keep her in place. He wasn't hurting her, but she didn't want his slimy hands on her.

Glancing down at the spot where he touched her, she waited until he pulled his hand back. He finally released her slowly, making sure to rake his thumb over the back of her hand once. She had the urge to stab his fingers with a fork.

"Hear me out, Mia."

"Why? So you can make up more lies? What the hell is going on with you, Damien?"

Mia couldn't believe her ears. For the last fifteen minutes, Damien had been sitting at her small kitchen table, pleading his heart out - or so he claimed - trying to convince her that he'd been taken advantage of during this supposed business deal. Something about Sid wanting to sell and Phoenix trying to put a stop to it. He was trying to convince her that Phoenix was actually the one who had set him up, convincing Teresa Somerhaus to seduce Damien. He apparently would go to the ends of the earth to try to convince her that he still loved her and that he'd been wrong.

Well, he'd been wrong, she would agree there. But the rest was... It was bullshit was what it was.

She was torn between laughing in his face and shoving him out the front door. How stupid did he really think she was? Truthfully, she didn't want to know the answer to that question or the others she'd asked him. Damien thought she was clueless, lacking a single brain cell in her entire head. That was one of the reasons he'd married her. And yes, he'd been inclined to share that revelation with her at one point during one of their many arguments.

Meeting his gaze, Mia swallowed hard. "You lied and said that I was cheating on you."

"Mia... I... God, it's been so hard on me. Losing you... It-"

"You. Lied," she exclaimed.

"I don't know that..." Damien looked at the table. "I don't know that it's a lie. I've seen the pictures, Mia." He met her stare once more. "I've seen them. You two look mighty damn in love for two people who don't know each other."

"I've known them for a month," she declared, realizing instantly that she'd referred to both of them. Damien didn't seem to notice. "How long do you think it takes to get to know someone?"

Damien looked at her skeptically.

Oh, Lord. He was losing his mind. "Look, Damien," Mia said, trying to regain her composure. He was the one worked up, and the guilt glittered in his eyes because of it. There was no reason for her to try to defend herself. He was the liar. Not her.

"No, Mia, hear me out."

"I thought that's what I'd been doing, but you don't seem to have anything to say," she snapped. "Everything that's come out of your mouth has been a lie."

Hell, at one point, he'd tried to convince her that, although he'd been unfaithful, it hadn't been his fault. Teresa had tricked him because Phoenix had put her up to it. Something about Phoenix wanting to get to her so that he'd have leverage against Damien and the lawsuit. Not that Mia understood how any of it would've worked, but okay.

A knock on her front door had her looking over Damien's head.

"Don't answer that. We need to finish talking first."

They were finished, but she didn't bother to tell him that. Mia placed her hands on the table and pushed to her feet, staring at her ex-husband as she did. "I'll be right back."

Leaving Damien behind in the kitchen, Mia escaped down the narrow hall that led to the door. She glanced in the security hole to see Tarik standing in the outer hallway. Instantly opening the door, she hoped he saw the relief in her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"Are you okay?" he asked directly, looking past her into her condo.

"I'm..." Glancing over her shoulder, she shook her head before meeting his gaze once more. "As good as can be expected, I guess."

"Landry's here?"

"Yeah." Mia stepped out into the hall and shut her front door behind her so they could talk in private. She didn't particularly like leaving Damien alone in her condo, but she didn't have much of a choice. She needed a breather, and he clearly wasn't planning to leave. "Wait. How did you know he was here?"

"His fiancee stopped by for a visit," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Really?" What the hell was Teresa doing there?

"Just showed up a little while ago. Mentioned Landry was down here talking to you."

"Well, he's talking, all right. He's not saying anything, but his lips keep moving. Honestly, I think he's got a screw loose." Mia smiled, refusing to think about Teresa talking to Tarik and Phoenix alone upstairs.

"Yeah, well, I think there might be a few missing, too," Tarik replied.

Tarik automatically pulled her into his arms and hugged her. Without releasing her, he slid his hands into her hair and pulled, tilting her head back so that she was forced to look up at him. She had to crane her neck to meet his gaze, but she didn't mind. And she certainly didn't have any issues when he leaned in and placed his mouth on hers. God, she'd missed him. Both of them. After spending most of the weekend with them, being alone in her bed last night had been hell. And with everything Phoenix was dealing with, she hadn't been sure she was going to get the chance to see them today, either. Tarik's arrival was certainly a nice surprise.

"So what does Teresa want?" Mia asked when Tarik released her lips and her hair, allowing her to take a step back so she could see him better.

"Don't know for sure, but I know they're up to something. She mentioned Landry was down here paying you a visit because you were upset."

Mia noticed the way Tarik continued to stare at the front door as though he had x-ray vision and could see through it. If that were the case, Damien would probably be burned to a crisp at the moment.

She suddenly wished superpowers were real.

"Yeah, well, he's talking nonsense, and if I'm upset, it's only because he's here," Mia explained.

"Speaking of nonsense," Tarik muttered, and a cold chill raced down Mia's spine. "His lawyer hasn't been able to produce anything yet, so I still think he's lying, but he claims Sid actually moved forward with the sale. The question is why wait till now?"

"Lying is second nature to him," she said. "But I'm with you. This seems farfetched, even for Damien. What he's really after, I don't know."

"Just whatever you do, don't let him get you talking about Phoenix."

Nodding her head, she didn't know what to say to that.

Tarik cupped her face in his big, warm hands. "Do you trust us, Mia?"

"Yes," she said, surprising herself by the truth in that single word. She did trust them, even though everything that Damien had said about Phoenix so far should've made her think otherwise. Then again, she'd have to dig through the blatant lies to possibly decipher even an ounce of truth.

Just as Tarik opened his mouth to say something more, Mia's front door opened, and Damien loomed over her. Turning to face him, Mia welcomed the warmth of Tarik's arms when he pulled her in against him.

"What are you doing here?" Damien asked Tarik as though he had every right to question her visitors.

"He came to see me," Mia responded. "I'll be inside in a minute, Damien."

Her ex-husband nodded but didn't hurry to close the door. He continued to watch Tarik. A strange expression crossed his face, but Mia couldn't place it.

Once the door closed, she turned back to Tarik.

"Do you want me to come in?" he asked.

"No. I need to handle this on my own," she explained.

"Call me when you're finished," Tarik told her.

"I will." Mia took a deep breath and turned back to her front door. Looking back with her hand on the knob, she said, "Oh, and do me a favor, would you?"

"Anything," Tarik said.

"Get Teresa Somerhaus away from Phoenix. I don't want her near either one of you."

The knowing smirk that tilted his lips said he approved of her possessiveness, and that made Mia feel good.

The feeling didn't last long when she pushed open the door. She didn't want to talk to Damien any longer. She knew what he was trying to do, but she didn't see any way to avoid it aside from not going back home. And that wasn't an option.

The moment she stepped inside, Damien was right there, reaching for her.

Mia had to jerk away to keep him from touching her. "What are you doing?" she asked, suspicious.

"Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked. She wanted to ask him whether he was taking any new medication, something that could possibly throw off his brain function, because he was certainly acting strange.

"I just wanted to make sure. It's just like Phoenix to send his lackey to do his dirty work."

"He's not Phoenix's lackey," she snapped.

Damien stared down at her for a minute before he finally spoke. "I thought you were seeing Phoenix. Are you..." Damien glanced over her head toward the front door before he continued, "You're not seeing him, are you?"

Mia sighed heavily. She did not have any intention of going into details about her personal life with him. He'd given up all right to ask her questions when he'd started sleeping with other women. The best thing to do was to get him out the door. It was that or scratch his eyes out. He was obviously doing his best to upset her. "Damien, it's not gonna work."

His blond eyebrows lifted in question.

"I'm not interested in telling you anything more. And I'm done listening. Now, if you don't mind, I really do have things to do today." Motioning toward the door, Mia prayed that he would leave.

"I came to tell you that I'm sorry, Mia. I'm so sorry for hurting you. Is there any possibility that you'll give me another chance? Give us another chance?"

Mia's eyebrows furrowed. "Us? Are you serious? Don't you have a fiancee waiting for you upstairs in Phoenix's penthouse?"

The guilt returned to Damien's eyes, something she was all too familiar with. She waited for him to lie, to tell her some other bullshit story about how he'd been duped into something he didn't want. There had been a time in her life when she might've believed him, but not today. Not ever again.

The first thing she'd done when she'd woken up, the same as she'd done since she'd stumbled upon the last article that had mentioned her name, was check the Internet.

She'd become a pawn for Damien, and based on what she'd read that morning, he wasn't relenting, even though he pretended to want to make amends. What she'd found online had surprised her. Damien's name, as well as Phoenix's, was everywhere. Everyone was talking about both of them at the moment, and she'd been curious as to what had spurred the sudden intense interest. A lawsuit alone wouldn't incite the press that much.

What she'd found hadn't been surprising. Someone was trying to dig up dirt on Phoenix. It always worked that way, and since she'd been hounded by a couple of reporters on her way home from school last week - something she hadn't bothered to tell Tarik or Phoenix because they had enough to worry about - she'd been expecting it.

Of all the things the media could've said, Mia probably would've believed anything other than Phoenix was after her to get Damien off his back. It sort of negated all of the other nonsense. First of all, she knew Phoenix hadn't been hurting for female companionship when she had met him. She'd read more than her fair share of articles from his past about the women he'd been seen with. He'd been with some incredibly beautiful women. She was nothing compared to them. Phoenix didn't need to use her. She truly believed that.

The fact of the matter was, someone was trying to use her to get to Phoenix. The question was why.

"Look, I've got things to do, so if you don't mind," Mia repeated. Holding out her arm, she reached for the doorknob.

"Mia, please."

"I know what you're doing, Damien. And it's not gonna work."

And just like that, the pleading tone and the sad eyes were gone, and in their place was the crude businessman she knew so well. The one who didn't do anything for anyone other than himself. Whatever he was up to, Mia knew she needed to be cautious. He was looking for something. Likely details on Phoenix, as Tarik had suggested, although she truly didn't understand why. Or why he thought she would give him any information.

It was a little ridiculous, even for Damien. Not to mention, he was rich in his own right, and his business was thriving, so why was he putting so much effort into getting money from Phoenix?