Chapter 35 Episode 35
1567 Words
Elise points towards the door. Her black Vans are laying in aheap by the door. “I tore through the sole of my shoe the otherday.”
“They were already duct taped together,” she says. “But I tookthe stairs from the lobby to the penthouse the other day andthey fell apart. I’m not fit for a walking tour.”
I chew on my lower lip. I know exactly how much money is inmy bank account: barely enough to get us back home.Definitely not enough to get us home and buy her a new pairof shoes.
Especially if I refuse to go back to Zhukova Incorporated andget fired.
Elise must see the concern on my face because she waves ahand dismissively. “It’s fine. I’ll steal one of these bathrobesand sell it online. Have you felt them? They’re like clouds.”
I laugh, but we both know it’s not a joke. If Elise wants a newpair of shoes, that’s the kind of shenanigans we’ll have tostoop to.
Unless I go back to Zhukova Incorporated, finish my work,and keep my job.
In the end, it’s not a hard choice.
I can’t run away from this. Not unless I want to take my littlesister down with me.
Walking through the hallways of Zhukova Incorporated hasalways been uncomfortable, but now, it’s on another levelentirely.
I study each face as I pass—Bridget at reception, Arnoldtapping away in his dark dungeon of an office, all the peopletucked away and quietly lying for Nikolai day in and day out.
How many of them know what is going on here? Are they partof the Bratva or are they as unaware as I was when Iaccidentally stumbled into this snake pit?
I try to keep my head down and my mind on the task ahead ofme, but then I catch movement from the corner of my eye.Three people are in the conference room down the hall fromwhere I’m working.
One of them is Nikolai. His back is to me, but I recognize thesharp cut of his suit jacket, the silky wave of his dark hair.
The other is Giorgos Simatou.
I should keep moving, but I freeze in place. Giorgos is wearinga suit today, most of his tattoos hidden beneath the tailoredmaterial. He looks almost presentable. If I didn’t know who hewas, I wouldn’t question a thing.
Though the woman next to Giorgos would have sparked morethan a few questions.
She’s long and lean. An off-the-shoulder sweater hangs downdangerously low over her chest, revealing an unbusinesslikeamount of cleavage. And she’s looking at Nikolai with stars inher eyes.
Someone should tell her who she’s looking at. Someoneshould tell her what he’s done. Then maybe she wouldn’t bemaking “f**k me” eyes in his direction.
Far beneath all the jealousy boiling inside of me is a littlevoice wondering why I care so much. But it’s obvious: I maywish I didn’t want Nikolai as much as I do, but I know all toowell that wishes rarely come true.
Before I can gather myself and move on, Giorgos looks over atme. His mouth twists into a curious smile that makes my skin
A moment later, Nikolai turns around, too.
His expression is unreadable as his pale gray eyes land on me.And I realize that, yet again, I’m lurking, eavesdropping on theexact kind of heinous s**t I’m supposed to be steering clear of.I lower my head and practically sprint into the conferenceroom down the hall.
My heart is racing, far too much adrenaline flooding mysystem, when I hear a soft chuckle.
“About time you showed up,” a familiar voice says.
I jolt away from the door and see my boss sitting at the head ofthe conference room table.
He’s wearing a ridiculous floral button-down and a vicioussunburn. “Roger?” I gasp, rubbing my eyes just in case I’mhallucinating. “Where did you—why—what are you doinghere?”
“I came to surprise you.” He holds out his arms and waggleshis fingers like tentacles. “Surprise!”
“Surprise,” I mumble back, too stunned to say anything else.Then I shake my head. “Did Nikolai call you?”
Roger’s face twists in confusion. “Mr. Zhukova? No, he didn’tcall me. Never met the guy, actually. After our call the othernight, though, I decided you needed my company.”
“You left Aruba to come help me?”
He smiles like a hero coming to claim his reward. “I kind ofthrew you to the sharks having you handle this one alone. Plus,Aruba was making me wish I had some company of my own.”
Aaand, there it is: he wished he had someone to f**k. Itdoesn’t take a genius to puzzle that one out.
Still, Roger being here is some level of protection, right?When drowning, you don’t refuse a piece of driftwood inhopes of finding a dinghy. You take whatever help you can get.
Roger, for better or worse, is help.
“Wow,” I say, trying to paint a smile on my face. “That’s great.It will be really nice to have your expertise. I’m… Well, I’m inover my head here.”
Roger steps closer and lays a hand on my shoulder. His thumbcircles lightly over my collarbone. “I knew you’d be happy tosee me.”
I’m about to pull away when I see a shadow near the door.Without looking, I know it’s Nikolai. And without thinking, Istep forward and throw my arms around Roger’s neck.
He smells like sweat and mildew, like he left his shirt in thewasher too long before drying it. But I hold the hug, even ashe wraps his arms around me, his hands inching dangerouslylow on my back.
But just before he reaches the waistband of my pants, I backaway. “Okay. We should probably get to work.”
Roger turns towards the table. I turn towards the door just intime to see Nikolai walking briskly down the hallway.
“Wow, you really were in over your head,” Roger says for atleast the fifth time. “You’re lucky I came to help. You wouldhave been here forever.”
“It already feels like I’ve been here forever,” I mumble.
The week has dragged on, but I’m talking specifically abouttoday. It’s well past eight and the rest of the office is empty.But Roger doesn’t show any signs of wanting to call it a day.
“We have a lot of ground to make up.” He points to thehamburger sitting in front of me. “You should eat. This couldbe a while.”
I bite back a groan. I already texted Elise to warn her I’d belate again. I did not mention Roger was here. Her mind wouldjump to the worst possible conclusion if I told her I wasworking late with Roger.
I’m having a hard enough time not letting my mind wanderthere myself. But thankfully, he’s been hands-off all day sinceour hug.
“I’m sorry I got so far behind,” I say. “I just wasn’t sure whatto do with all of the discrepancies.”
I’ve mentioned all of the errors in Zhukova Incorporated’sbooks several times today, and each time, Roger has had thesame response.
“Not many companies handle their charity this way, so it’scomplicated. I should have warned you.”
I truly can’t tell if Roger believes what he’s saying or if he’strying to cover for Nikolai. At this point, I don’t want to ask—I know far too much as it is. As much as I dislike Roger, Idon’t want to bring him into this tangled web. Innocence isbliss, right?
“I should have come with you, actually,” he says, turning toface me.
“No, it’s not.” Roger wheels his rolling chair closer to me. Hisknee brushes against mine, and I pull back. But he follows,maintaining contact. “I told you that you could handle thisaccount on your own, but I knew it wasn’t true. The truth is, Ididn’t think I’d be able to handle sitting in this small roomwith you day after day.”
Oh no. Danger. Red flag. Every alarm system in my body isgoing off, but I try to quiet the noise.
I take a deep breath and laugh. “Hey, no worries. If you don’thave an annoying coworker then that coworker is probablyyou, right?”
Roger licks his dry lips and shakes his head. “It’s not becauseyou’re annoying, Belle.”
I grab my hamburger and take a large, disgusting bite. Ketchupdrips down my chin as I chew, but Roger is undeterred. Hereaches out and swipes the drippage away with his finger.
Then he licks his finger.
I struggle not to look as disgusted as I feel.
“It’s because you are absolutely delicious.” He’s clearlypleased with his sweet talk, but I feel like I’m going to barf.
“We should work,” I say while chewing. “There’s a lot to do.”
“I’d say we both deserve a break, wouldn’t you?”
Why did I wear a skirt today? I should have worn pants. Aparka. A space suit. I want at least five more layers of materialbetween my skin and Roger’s fingers.
“We’ll switch!” I offer, standing up to walk around the table.“You take a break, and I’ll input the data for a while. Take aload off and—”
- Writer
