Chapter 24 Episode 24
1587 Words
She doesn’t answer. Not that I expected her to. We’re only afew hours into the silent treatment period. Long way yet to go.
I sigh and head downstairs. As soon as I step onto thesidewalk, there’s a car and a personal driver waiting for me.Part of me expected to find the curb empty when I cameoutside. After the way Nikolai bailed last night like thepenthouse was on fire, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
He’s not your boyfriend, I think. He doesn’t owe you anything.
And thank goodness for that, is what I tell myself. The man isa criminal. In the harsh light of day, I see his behavior at theclub last night in a whole new light.
He is violent and rash and worst of all, unpredictable. Oneminute he’s burning hot, the next he’s Arctic cold.
“Do your job and leave,” I mumble to myself as I climb intothe backseat. “Just do your job and leave.”
And by the time I walk into the lobby of ZhukovaIncorporated, that’s exactly what I’m determined to do. I’mgoing to keep my head down and do as I’m asked.
Then I’m going to put this chapter of my life to a close.
But as I’m walking to the conference room, I hear footstepsbehind me. I turn around just as a broad-shouldered mancovered in tattoos passes me.
“Ma’am,” he says, a sly smile tilting the corner of his mouthas he struts past.
For reasons I can’t explain, a shiver moves through me.
I watch him go. The man continues down the hallway, hishands clenching and unclenching as he moves towardsNikolai’s office door. From behind, I can see tattoos peekingout from the collar of his dark t-shirt.
He’s clearly not a businessman. I should go into theconference room and ignore him. Ignore whatever Nikolai isdoing.
But I’m frozen in place.
The man stops at the end of the hall and knocks at Nikolai’sdoor. I don’t hear what Nikolai says, but the man answersloudly, his voice booming like he wants everyone on the floorto hear him.
“Giorgos Simatou here to see Mr. Zhukova.” He snorts, likethe title is some kind of joke. “Your receptionist let me in.”
A second later, the door is wrenched open and Giorgos walksinside. Then it slams closed behind him.
“What the hell was that?” I whisper.
Indecision has me shifting on my feet, torn between walkingdown the hall to understand what is happening or going intothe conference room and burying my head in the sand.
Then Bridget comes up behind me in the hall, moving quickly.Her sculpted face is twisted into a panic as she hurries downthe hall. And just like that, my decision is made.
I snag her elbow. “Mr. Zhukova wanted you to run out forbreakfast,” I say to her.
She skids to a halt in her towering heels and turns to me with ascowl. “Excuse me?”
“I was just in his office,” I lie. “When Mr. Simatou arrived, heasked me to send you out for some pastries and coffee.”
“Pastries and coffee?” she asks dubiously. “For Giorgos?”
I shrug. “It seemed strange to me, too. I offered, but he said heonly trusted you.”
It’s a cheap ploy, but I can tell by the small smile that settleson her face that Bridget is flattered. The woman has got it badfor Nikolai. Poor thing.
“Did he say where to get them from?”
I shake my head. “He said you know what he likes.”
I’m worried I’m taking it too far, but then Bridget’s smile dialsup to a full-wattage grin. “Okay.”
Without hesitating, she turns around and hurries back downthe hallway, a little extra pep in her step. The moment shedisappears around the corner, I slip down to Nikolai’s office.
The door is solid and heavy, and I wouldn’t be surprised ifthere’s extra soundproofing in the walls because I can hardlyhear a damn thing. I can only make out muffled male voices. Itdoesn’t help that anytime I hear a noise anywhere else in thebuilding, I jerk away from the door in a panic and try to lookcasual. But it’s almost like everyone who works here has beentrained to avoid Nikolai’s office. They don’t disturb him oreven look his way most of the time.
Which makes it even more strange that someone so rougharound the edges would waltz into Nikolai’s office first thingin the morning without an appointment.
I’m still outside the door, my ear pressed to the wood, whentheir voices get louder.
“You can’t just show up here unannounced,” Nikolai issnarling. “Or at all. It looks bad.”
“I had no choice. You wouldn’t take my call.”
“I took your first call and said what I needed to say,” Nikolairetorts. “You shouldn’t have kept trying.”
Is that the call Nikolai took last night? When his phone rang,he seemed upset about it. But it was enough for him to walkaway from me.
My face flushes with shame at how stupid I was. He did onenice thing for me, and I let myself forget everything else. All ittakes is a pretty face and one little favor and I’ll hop right intoa bad man’s bed, apparently.
“You struck a deal with me, Nikolai,” the man responds. “Iwon’t take kindly to you breaking it.”
More angry barbs fly back and forth. I don’t catch most ofthem, so I listen harder. I don’t realize just how exposed I amuntil I hear the handle move.
Horrified, I jump back and paste myself to the wall next to thedoor. It’s a godawful hiding spot, but thankfully, the manstorms out of the door and down the hall without looking back.I don’t think he sees me. If he does, he doesn’t seem to care.
I sigh in relief, but it’s short-lived. A moment later, Nikolaiappears in the doorway.
I turn and see his gray eyes skewering me.
“Inside,” he says darkly. “Now.”
I look down the hallway as if there might be a magic portalthere I can escape through, but Nikolai makes a low noise inthe back of his throat.
“You’re working down the hall, Belle. You’re staying in myhotel. You can’t run. I’ll find you.”
I frown and walk past him. “You don’t know what I wasthinking.”
“I do, actually. You’re rather easy to read.”
He closes the door. It feels oddly like being sealed into arocket ship out in space. Like the world beyond is far awayand there’s only us.
Immediately, I feel myself being drawn to him. It’s a magneticpull, a tingle in my body that seems to know where he is at alltimes.
I feel him standing behind me. Moving closer. When hewhispers in my ear, I don’t even jump. I already know he’sthere.
I shake my head. “I was coming to see you.”
“About…” I open my mouth, but the lie refuses to come. Ihave no excuse.
He clicks his tongue. “You’ll have to lie better than that if youwant anyone to believe you.”
Suddenly, it comes to me. “About last night. About… whathappened between us.”
He circles around me and leans back on his desk. It’s criminalhow good he looks perched there. His muscular legs strainingagainst the material of his dark gray pants, his fitted button-down tight across his chest. There’s some gray dusting thedark hair at his temples and every single goddamn inch of himis a work of art.
“Nothing happened between us,” he says.
“I know.” I ignore the pang of longing that comes from thetraitor between my legs. “You seemed… upset when you left. Iwanted to make sure you were okay.”
He snorts. “You are here to check on me?”
“I was,” I snap, hoping the lie is convincing. “Until I sawsome skeezy guy walk in here.”
“I wouldn’t have suspected you to be so judgmental, Belle. Afew tattoos and you assume someone is a criminal?”
He says it in a lilting, singsong kind of way. I know he’stoying with me. This is fun for him, watching me squirm.Watching me try and fail to tease out the dark truths hiddenbeneath his shiny lies.
“No, I assumed he was a criminal when you told him it wassuspicious for him to be seen here.”
Nikolai’s smile slips. I know I’ve hit on something.
“It’s not usually suspicious for you to do legitimate business atyour place of work, is it?” I challenge. “Unless, of course, thebusiness you’re conducting isn’t official. Unless it’s illegal.”
“We already talked about this. Several times.” He lifts hishand, and I can’t help but remember that those same fingerswere inside of me yesterday—which is obviously his intention.“If you need a refresher of why you’re going to do exactlywhat I say, I’m all too happy to give it… and I know you’re alltoo happy to receive.”
“Only for you, Miss Dowan.” He winks. It’s way moredevastating than it should be. “Now, get back to work. You’reon a deadline.”
He walks around his desk like I’ve been dismissed. I’mtempted to flee. This is my opportunity to get out of here, tountangle myself from this man.
- Writer
