"Oh - I'm not implying anything, Jesse," he intones in something sort of like surprise. "Just saying that we all have things we play close to the chest. My manuscripts are my life, you know?"

Slimy is a very good word for it. He's tempted to hurl a rock at her from behind, but thinks better of it for now. Save that for later. Just keep needling for now.

"I didn't mean anything by it, you know that, right?"