Vicious

After several days awake, Vicious finally sleeps. When he wakes, he goes to see his father, whose death looms. Vicious reveals that he has known for years that Baron Sr., with Jo’s encouragement, contracted Daryl to kill Vicious’s mother after the car accident left her with quadriplegia. On the day of his mother’s death, Vicious saw Daryl coming out of his mother’s room. Baron Sr. is too ill to speak as Vicious explains his plans to destroy every aspect of his father’s legacy.

Vicious and Emilia return to New York. Vicious ignores Dean’s attempts to get in contact with him, instead throwing himself into work. When he closes a major deal just before Christmas, Jamie and Trent both call to praise him. Their excitement does little to diminish Vicious’s sadness over spending the holiday alone. On impulse, he goes to the apartment he has given to Emilia and Rosie as compensation for Emilia’s employment. He asks her out to dinner, cursing himself for being vulnerable. She refuses but invites him in to eat with her and Rosie.

Vicious asks about Emilia’s interest in cherry blossoms, a frequent motif in her art. She explains how her grandmother taught her about the trees and how she has always loved the idea of their brief splendor. Vicious talks about losing his mother, which he thinks of as “more ammo” to keep Emilia at his side, though he reflects that he is able to tell her the truth because he trusts her. They banter and flirt, and Vicious likes her approval. They are just about to kiss when Rosie returns home.

While Emilia is out of the room, Rosie tries to stop Vicious from completing any plan that will hurt Emilia. Vicious denies any intention to hurt Emilia. As he leaves the sisters’ apartment, he gets a message from Dean, who announces his imminent return to New York.

Rosie disapproves of the near kiss between Emilia and Vicious. Emilia knows that her sister is likely right but considers getting to kiss Vicious as worth the “payback” she fears she will face. To avoid her sister while she spends time with Vicious, Emilia purchases a plane ticket to send Rosie to Todos Santos for Christmas.

At work, Emilia snoops in Vicious’s digital files, and he teases her when he catches her. She enjoys this more lighthearted relationship between them, though she does not plan to forgive him for forcing her to leave Todos Santos as a teenager. Emilia and Vicious kiss in Vicious’s office. Though she is thrilled by the taboo of kissing her enemy in a public place, Emilia insists that they leave. Their abrupt departure garners interest from Vicious’s employees, but Emilia finds herself unconcerned. Because Rosie has not yet left the apartment, Emilia shows Vicious around New York, which she jokes is a “day date” as he grumbles that he is uninterested in dating. They steal kisses at a museum, both enjoying the anticipation.

When Emilia asks why Vicious was “so hateful” toward her in high school, he explains that he felt like “a monster” as a teenager. He saw Emilia as “clean,” which made him want to make her “dirty” (179). He confesses his fear that Emilia knew about Daryl’s abuse and would tell others, which he thought would make him the subject of pity in his community. After this emotional openness, Vicious returns to making sexually suggestive comments, which Emilia recognizes as a self-protective measure. They discuss their careers; Emilia is exasperated about Vicious’s “fascination with money” (184), which she doesn’t think brings him happiness.

Vicious chafes under Emilia’s genuine interest in his life, something he has never experienced before. They go to a tattoo parlor, where Emilia gets a tattoo of a cherry blossom tree. Vicious bribes the tattoo artist to leave them alone for several minutes. He demands that she apologize for denying her interest in him when they were teenagers; she counters that he must apologize for all the cruel tricks he played against her. They both apologize, though they tease each other with their phrasing. They have sex.

They return to the apartment where Vicious is staying, which Emilia still does not know actually belongs to Dean. He quickly hides evidence of Dean, wanting Emilia to focus on their present. While he does so, however, Emilia falls asleep. When she wakes several hours later, she tries to leave, which annoys Vicious. He carries her back to bed, and the two have sex. Emilia insists that Vicious take off his shirt, which he typically refuses to do during sexual encounters. He struggles with the vulnerability of letting her see his scars but still finds sexual pleasure in their encounter.

The next day at work, Emilia and Vicious have sex again, during which Vicious tries to convince Emilia to return to Los Angeles with him. When she refuses, he reminds himself that he doesn’t need her, but he finds the idea of being parted from her painful.

Emilia overhears a phone call between Vicious and Trent about a woman who is extorting Trent after he got her pregnant. Emilia is unimpressed with Vicious’s callous disregard for his friend’s concerns. She cajoles him into letting his receptionist leave early so that she can prepare for Christmas; the two flirtatiously negotiate sexual encounters in exchange for his permission. Despite their frequent sex, Emilia is nervous to ask Vicious to eat dinner with her so that neither will be alone on Christmas Eve, and she is pleased when he agrees, even calling it a date. She feels especially tender toward him when she sees him asleep, and she frets that she no longer finds their relationship casual.

Emilia shops for a Christmas present for Vicious the next day, thinking about how, despite his wealth, his Christmases as a child were likely lonely and unhappy. She prepares Christmas Eve dinner, but Vicious doesn’t arrive. When he doesn’t answer his door, she consults the building’s receptionist, who reveals that Vicious has left and that Dean is the owner of the apartment. Rosie calls and reveals that Baron Sr. has died, precipitating Vicious’s hasty return to California.