AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Adrik protested a few times as she worked on him, just as I did. Once he got past the initial pain, it started to feel better and he relaxed. The first time was the worst for both of us. Each time she worked on us we got better. He was more relaxed than he’d been in a long time by the time Monday rolled around. I, however, was slightly nervous about being included in this meeting for his building project with Armando.
“At least it gives me a reason to wear the clothes Ms. Jackson talked me into buying,” I said as I got out of the shower.
Adrik raised his eyebrow at me. “What did you have in mind, malishka?” he asked as he watched me wrap a towel around my naked body.
“Wouldn’t you like to know …”
“Cruel and unusual punishment is what that is,” he said, smacking my ass as he walked out of the bathroom.
I decided on a gray pencil skirt and a white blouse. The best part of the outfit, in my opinion, were the red heels. I usually avoided wearing heels. I was tall enough on my own, but being surrounded by literal giants meant that I was always the short one, even with heels. I didn’t have to worry about towering over anyone.
Adrik had gone to the kitchen to return a phone call as I finished getting dressed. I braided my hair, putting on minimal makeup. I heard him end the call as I walked down the hallway to the kitchen. He turned to look at me, his mouth open slightly. He groaned. “I’m not going to be able to take my eyes off you during the meeting,” he said, his sexy smirk slowly appearing on his face.
“Is it too much? I don’t want a repeat of the scummy lawyer in Italy,” I asked.
He pulled me to him, holding me tightly. “I’m not giving anyone a moment of hesitation that you’re mine this time,” he said. He grabbed my ass for emphasis, making me squeal. He took my hands and put them around his neck, wrapping his arms around my waist. “You look beautiful, Sephie. You always look beautiful, even when you just wake up and have hair that screams ‘I’ve just been properly fucked.’ That might be my favorite, if I’m being honest,” he said, smiling down at me.
“So, every morning, then?” I asked, laughing at his faraway look that broadcasted his dirty thoughts.
Chapter Eighty-Three
Adrik
I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sephie even on the elevator down to my office. This is going to be the longest meeting ever.
“Am I expected to remember everyone’s names? Because that’s not a thing I do,” she asked, chewing on her lip.
I laughed. “No, love. You have me. That’s a thing I do. You don’t need to.”
She cut her eyes up at me, a mischievous look in her eye. “I knew I kept you around for a reason,” she said as the doors opened. She walked off the elevator like she owned the place. I’ve never been more turned on in my life.
Armando was already in my office when we walked in. He had a habit of being extra early to large meetings to make sure last-minute details were taken care of. I appreciated it about him, as it meant fewer details for me to have to worry about. He looked up from the papers in his hand as Sephie walked in. “Sephie, my dear. You look beautiful as always, cara mio,” he said, opening his arms for her.
She walked to him. “Mando. It’s so good to see you,” she said as she hugged him.
“It’s been too long. I’ve missed you, but I’m very happy you decided to come today,” he said, kissing both her cheeks. Sephie was right. Giana had kept herself away from us so far. Armando had taken her to his house over the weekend again, so it had been a few days since I’d seen him, even. Things seemed calm for the moment, so I wasn’t complaining.
She stepped back, looking between both Armando and me. “What are the specifics of this meeting again?” she asked. She already knew the answer to that question. She was giving Armando a reason to talk to her. I turned, so he couldn’t see me and winked at her as Armando began filling in details about the meeting.
Armando was still talking twenty minutes later when Viktor stuck his head in the office. “Everyone is in the conference room,” he said. He gave Sephie a high five as she walked by. “You look like you’re about to run this meeting, sestrichka,” he said in Russian as we walked to the conference room.
“I am the goddamn princess,” she said, her gorgeous smile across her face as she walked into the conference room. I saw her hesitate once she glanced around the room. She turned to me, saying in Russian, “Second man from the end on the other side of the table owns the restaurant I used to work at,” she said. I could feel she was still calm. I think it surprised her to see him here more than anything.
I still stopped her before we walked any further. “Is that a problem? I can get rid of him if it is,” I said.
She smiled shyly at me. “He’s fine. He’s a nice guy. I just didn’t expect him to be here,” she said. “But thank you for always being willing to destroy anything that might be a threat to me.”
I kissed her temple as we continued to the table. “Always, my love.” I kept my eye on the man she had pointed out. He was clearly surprised to see Sephie walk into the meeting. Even more surprised that she sat down next to me. I pulled her chair next to mine, stretching my arm across her lap. I nodded to Armando, who started the meeting.
We were pitching the idea of the building to several restaurant owners, hoping they would sign a contract signifying they would lease space once the building was finished. There was space for at least five restaurants, with the potential for splitting the space up into smaller restaurants if necessary. The location was in a great part of town, so it should’ve been an easy sell. A few of the restaurant owners were hesitant, however. The owner of the restaurant where Sephie used to work was one that was hesitant.
“What kind of guarantees do you have that the building will be full? And what kind of taxes are we going to be hit with if we lease space in this building?” he asked. The tax question was more about which boss that part of the city belonged to. The building was in Armando’s area of the city, thankfully, so we didn’t need to go into details about how that wouldn’t matter very soon. Two of the other restaurant owners nodded in agreement to his question. I wasn’t sure what areas of the city they were from, but I imagined they were being charged extra taxes right now.
“We already have 30 percent of the office space leased, as well as 50 percent of the apartments sold or leased. We haven’t even broke ground on the project yet. The building will be full by the time it’s finished. As for taxes, I don’t charge unfair taxes in my area of the city,” Armando said.
Sephie stood up, going to a map showing the location of the building. “Gentlemen, I don’t know the location of all of your restaurants, but I do know where yours is, Kevin. You’ve got at least fifteen other restaurants within a five-block radius of your restaurant. Those are just the ones I could remember off the top of my head. I’m guessing it’s a similar situation for the rest of you, give or take.” She pointed to the map. “This building will be here.” She ran her finger over an entire block of buildings on the map. “These buildings? Apartments. There’s one bodega, but no restaurants.” She moved to the next block. “These buildings? Office space. Two more bodegas and one coffee shop. No restaurants.” She continued for three more blocks around the location of the new building. “So that makes five restaurants total in this five-block radius, not counting the restaurant space this building will provide. I’m not the best at numbers, but even I know those are pretty fucking good odds. You’d be idiots not to jump at this chance, but by all means, keep hesitating if you hate making an easy profit.”
I heard Viktor clear his throat at the door. I knew he was trying not to laugh. I had casually rested my chin in my hand to hide my smile when she got up because I knew whatever she was about to do was going to be great. I glanced at everyone’s faces as she walked back to sit down. My business associates were all trying not to laugh as well. The restaurant owners who were on board originally were also trying not to laugh. The ones who were hesitant all had the look of being foolish across their faces. Armando caught Sephie’s eye as she sat down, winking at her.
