"Hmph! I fiercely despise being trapped in a deadlock, let Nuance specify how much I hate being completely cornered!" Phoebe scoffed, averting her face to sever his absolute optical lock.
"That anomaly occurs simply because you have never been cornered before," Raymond countered, his baritone unbothered and laced with a smooth, heavy confidence.
Phoebe clicked her tongue, snapping her eyes back to meet his challenging gaze. "Yes! And you are officially the most irritating man who has ever forced my system to think this critically, just to formulate an escape from your grid!"
"Excellent."
"What exactly about this is excellent?!" Phoebe demanded, her volatile frustration reaching its absolute boiling point.
Maintaining his proximity, Raymond leaned his face a fraction closer, invading her space completely. "Because it implies that you have finally crossed paths with a man capable of matching your intellect. Or perhaps... completely overriding it."
