“Yes.” Sebastian answered honestly, maintaining eye contact with Jim and ignoring the surge of adrenaline as his body prepared for a fight.
“I was… Not in a good place.” He explained quietly, before reaching for his mug and taking a small sip of tea. He set it down again before continuing, still looking Jim in the eye.
“I was becoming a liability; a dangerous one. So I removed myself from the situation for a few months to give myself time to recover and to make sure I was useful to you once again. There was no point in me being around if I would only put you in danger, sir.”
Jim slowly blinked. He was for honesty, he just didn’t expect it, ever. He didn’t look away as Sebastian wasn’t. His eyes were rapidly turning icier by the minutes, the anger inside him going from boiling to ice in a matter of seconds.
He lifted his glass off the table, taking a careful sip while Seb drank from his cup. He kept a hold on the glass, ignoring the slight tremble that broke through the surface of the content.
“I am the one deciding whether or not you are allowed to be removed from situations. I am the one deciding whether or not you are a danger to me. You don’t decide that, not without my consent, not when you work for me."
The words were sharper than a knife’s blade and went well with the sour expression slowly etching itself into his face.