Chapter 40 Episode 40
1663 Words
“I didn’t say it was yours,” she snaps. “I said it is for you.Nikolai called it… a ‘gift.’”
It takes actual effort for Bridget to grit out the last two words.The woman is head over heels for her boss. If she didn’t hateme so much, I’d almost feel bad for her.
I reach for the suitcase. It feels heavy. I have no clue what’sinside, but knowing Nikolai, it might be a body. Or a bomb.
Either way, I wheel it behind me onto the elevator and headback downstairs to the main lobby.
Just like Bridget said, there’s a black car waiting for me infront of the building. Through the tinted back windows, I seesomeone moving. I assume it’s Nikolai.
But when the door opens, a young girl slides out.
“Elise?” I blink, not computing what’s happening. “Youwere… I just left you at the hotel half an hour ago.”
She shrugs. “Two minutes after you left, someone knocked onthe door.”
Looking at her, I can tell she didn’t have time to brush her hair.She’s still in her lounge pants and soft sleep shirt.
“What is going on?” I whisper.
“Isn’t this for work?” Elise asks, suddenly looking nervous. “Ijust thought, I don’t know. I thought this was Nikolai again.Isn’t it? Or—”
“It’s fine,” I tell her quickly. “You know, he told me yesterdaythat, uh—that I’d be doing something different today. But hewasn’t clear. So, yeah, everything is fine.”
Denial is my friend. Denial will keep us safe.
Right now, it’s also my only option. Because I can’t tell mysister what happened last night. I can’t tell her that I have noidea what we’re going to do in the next few minutes, let alonein the next few weeks and months.
I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For right now, I’mtaking whatever path is in front of me.
“Come on,” I say, urging her back into the car. “We better getgoing.”
I shrug. “We’ll find out together. It will be… exciting.”
If free-falling without a parachute can be called exciting.
“What in the hell is going on?” Elise whispers.
She’s staring out the window, awestruck by the sight in frontof us: a private jet looming large on a private airstrip. A set ofmetal stairs lead into the belly of the plane and a snazzilydressed flight attendant is visible just inside the door.
To be fair, I’m a little awestruck, too.
“Are we going somewhere?” she asks.
I want to come up with some kind of explanation, but I can’tcome up with anything. Not a single plausible story. Instead, Ihold up a finger. “Give me a second.”
Then I climb out of the car and walk towards the plane. Maybethe flight attendant will know something.
But before I can even make it to the stairs, I hear someone callmy name.
I turn and find Nikolai moving towards me, dripping with hisusual ease and confidence. He’s in a pair of dark green chinosand a plain white pocket tee. Somehow, he looks better in thiscasual outfit than even the tux he was wearing last night. Itmakes him seem so… normal. But in the best, mostunattainable way.
He moves towards me. I don’t move a muscle. I’m sure he’sabout to fire me, and I have no interest in walking to my ownexecution. So I wait for him to stop in front of me.
“I was expecting a call from the driver that you wereresisting,” he says with no small amount of amusement.
“Would he have forced me into the car if I’d refused?”
Nikolai shrugs. “Once you saw Elise was in the backseat, Iassume that wouldn’t be necessary.”
“Which reminds me,” I snap, jabbing a finger in his direction.“Stop kidnapping my sister “
“It’s hard to call it kidnapping when she comes so willingly. Ifyou’re worried about me taking her, maybe you should tell herwho I am. What I do.”
“Is this a trap? You trying to trick me into spilling your secretsso you can kill me for talking?”
He smirks. “I guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”
The sight of his mouth tipped up at the corner, his eyesshimmering with dirty promises, is enough to make my faceflush. No wonder Nikolai is some world-class criminal. Theman could steal your wallet and then convince you with asmile that you gave it to him willingly.
“I probably won’t have to wait long,” I say, gesturing at theplane.
I raise my brows. “Um… because you’re sending me home,right? I mean, you fired Roger. And I worked for Roger, so—”
“I told you I’d take care of you.”
“And you did.” I give him a sarcastic clap. “You were greatlast night. Thanks for saving me from Roger and, you know,yeah, thank you. But now—”
The car door slams closed behind me. I turn around as Elisepads towards us. For the first time, I notice she’s wearing anew pair of white sneakers.
I frown. “Where did you get those?”
“You left them for me on the counter, didn’t you?” she asks.
No. No, I definitely did not. Where would I have found the timeor money to go pick up a pair of white leather sneakers?
I’m about to say as much when Elise turns to Nikolai, offeringup a surprisingly warm smile. “What are we doing here?”
Suddenly, panic flares in my chest. I should have told her thetruth. It would have been less embarrassing to explain all ofthis in the car instead of in front of Nikolai.
Nikolai opens his mouth to say something, but I lunge forwardand cut him off.
“I’m done working here,” I blurt out. “I… I finished up lastnight. So we’re done.”
Elise frowns. “You said you had a few more days of workleft.”
“I was wrong. I’m done. So now, we’re going—”
“To Iceland,” Nikolai interrupts. “In fifteen minutes. Weshould board.”
I spin around, my mouth hanging open. “To where?”
“I told you I’d give you the details once we got here,” he says.
Maybe Roger got in a good swing yesterday without merealizing. A concussion would explain why I can’t seem tomake heads or tails of this situation.
He nods. “I said I’d take care of you. That’s what I’m doing.We’ve got work to do.”
“I’m building a new hotel there,” Nikolai explains. “A five-star hotel and resort. I need to oversee things.”
Elise spins towards me. “But what about Roger?”
“Not important.” I sense a tinge of fury in Nikolai’s voice. “Heisn’t her boss anymore. I am.”
I do my best not to gasp, disguising the sound in a cough. ButElise spins to face me. “What?”
“What what?” I ask innocently.
She narrows her eyes. “You lost your job?”
“Your sister quit,” Nikolai says. “I offered her a job. Sheworks for me now.”
I can tell Elise senses something is amiss. She’s looking fromme to Nikolai and back again, trying to make sense of it. I’dlike to join her in that endeavor.
What the McFuck is happening?
“Yep,” I say with a pained smile. “And now, we’re going toIceland, so… go get your suitcase.”
Elise hesitates for only a second before she walks back to thecar. The moment she’s out of earshot, I spin around to Nikolai.
“You’re wel—?” I huff in frustration. “You never offered me ajob.”
“I said I’d take care of you.”
“I thought you meant sexually!”
He gives me a devilish smile. “Is that all I am to you? A sextoy?”
I close my eyes in anguish. “We never discussed this.”
“You needed a job. Now, you have one. So again—you’rewelcome.”
“I don’t want this one!”
He shrugs. “Okay. Then walk into the airport and buy twotickets for Oklahoma City.”
Heat rolls down my back. “I can’t.”
“Oh, right. I’m sure your company paid your way down here,didn’t they? Do you think Roger is still feeling generous after Ibeat him to s**t on your behalf last night?”
I grit my teeth. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“No, but without me, Roger would have taken what he wantedfrom you and you’d still probably be in the same positiontoday,” he says. “But instead of feeling ‘sexually taken careof,’ you’d be—”
“I know what he planned to do to me,” I snap. “I don’t needthe visual.”
“Do you? Because you don’t seem especially grateful for whatI’m offering right now.”
“And what are you offering, Nikolai? I don’t understand whatis happening.”
He grabs my shoulders and pulls me close to him. I find myhead tipping back, my lips parting. Despite everything, I wantto kiss him right now. If he bent down to press his lips againstmine, I’d let him.
Something is seriously wrong with me.
“You said you needed a job,” he says quietly. “So I’m givingyou one. You said your sister needed shoes. I gave her some.”
“You gave her the shoes?”
He continues as if I haven’t spoken. “What is happening is thatI’m giving you what you need.”
“Why not?” Nikolai asks, as though this is a perfectly normalthing for him to do.
- Writer
