Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“How was your weekend?”
“Um. G-good. You?” It is embarrassing how boring my life is, so I won’t bore Rafael with the details.
“It wasn’t bad. I managed to find that salon you told me about. Got Ark enough stock to get him through at least a week.” He smiles at me when heat flashes in my cheeks. “Didn’t see you at the restaurant Friday night. Did something more appetizing catch your eye?”
“Ah…” How am I meant to respond to that? Did Ark not tell him what happened? They seem close, so I’m surprised. Though I guess I shouldn’t be. Rafael ate dessert with the who’s who of Russia. Ark ate me. That isn’t close to the same thing. “Where should I s-start?”
Rafael pouts as if disappointed I didn’t tumble headfirst into the trap he set before he nudges his head to Ark’s third-floor office. “Ark wants you to start in his office.” He walks away, rubbing his hands together. “Something about his knob needing polishing.” I can barely hear him through his snickers. “Or bookshelves. Perhaps he said his bookshelves need dusting. Whatever it is, he wants you to start in his office.” He twists back to face me, his smile blinding. “Do you need me to show you the way, or is Goldilocks okay wandering in the bear’s forest unaccompanied?”
I love that he uses Goldilocks as a reference. It is one of the rare few nursery rhymes that aren’t about death and despair but more about respecting a person’s boundaries and belongings.
“I’ll be f-fine. Thank you.”
He dips his chin as if my praise is genuine before he disappears down a long corridor. I take a deep breath while heading in the opposite direction.
My steps halve in size when I veer past the bedroom closest to Ark’s office. The nasally voice announcing she isn’t going anywhere until she gets all the bang for her buck is recognizable even with me only associating with her for mere minutes.
Veronika’s voice is as whiny as her words. “He’s foolish to give this opportunity up, Fyo. My little minions will vote for whoever I suggest. Our collab could win him the presidency.”
A man I’ve not yet been officially introduced to rakes his eyes down my body when I veer past one of Ark’s guest bedrooms. His glare isn’t cruel. It is more understanding, which is weird.
After smiling like I have more power than him, he gestures for me to continue before he commences closing the door, blocking a frustrated but determined Veronika from my view.
Her nasally voice can travel miles, though. “I also have a contract. A legally binding contract.” Disappointment hits me hard when she says, “Arkadiy invited me to a two-week getaway to seduce him. I’ve not yet had the chance to show him all my tricks, so I’m not going anywhere until I have.”
My stomach is still gurgling about her confession when I knock on Ark’s office door.
“Come in.” Ark’s barked order is gruff, and it sends my pulse skyrocketing.
When I enter, my eyes stray to his bulky desk. The first thing I notice is my handbag, neatly packed and sitting on top. The second is Ark. He’s standing near a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window.
His stature emulates the driven businessman he is, but there’s something off with his posture. His shoulders are more slumped than sharp, and his breathing is labored.
Since his cell phone is attached to his ear, I wait at his open office door, not wanting to intrude.
Two seconds later, our eyes lock and hold in the reflection of the window. He tells his caller to wait, his tone clipped before he spins to face me. His expression is effortlessly relieved, but his smile is fake. It is rigid and tense, nothing like the one he gave me when he slid my panties to the side mere seconds before sucking on my clit.
When a squawk sounds from his phone, I point to the exit. “I’ll w-wait out there.”
“No,” he shouts, startling me. After lowering his tone and brows, he says, “This isn’t anything important.”
With his eyes on me, he walks to the servants’ entrance door, yanks down the spindle pinning it to the frame, and then pulls it open.
With one exit unblocked, he closes the one I’m standing next to. The waft of air its closure causes fluffs up my hair. It smells fresh and clean, like I replaced the shampoo he stole.
I haven’t, and the remembrance is thrilling.
He is still using my shampoo.
“Yes, Mother, I heard what you said.” Ark gives me a sympathetic look at the end of his sentence before he twists back around to face the window.
Since his actions expose his hostility isn’t directed at me, instead of fretting, I move into the servants’ corridor to collect a cleaning cart and get to work.
Ark’s office either had a dust storm roll through it over the weekend, or he’s never allowed anyone in the business half of his home to clean the mess. The shelves were coated in dust, the bathroom was poorly stocked and cleaned, and his desk is messy.