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There’s a chance the door automatically locks behind him. It could also open with some high-tech eye or thumbprint scanner. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit.
But when I twist the handle and push… the door opens.
I’m not the woman who sits around and waits for a man’s permission. I’m the woman who takes what she needs.
Whether Yakov wants me to or not.
28
LUNA
Yakov’s office is exactly what I expected: meticulous. His laptop is perfectly centered. Aside from a single black pen and a landline phone, there is nothing else.
Desolate as it may be, there is still a filing cabinet in the corner and drawers built into the desk. Plenty of things to sift through if I want to figure out what is going on here.
But my lonely ass is drawn to the phone.
Call Kayla, then snoop. Or call Kayla while I snoop. I can multitask.
I dial Kayla’s number and actually hop from one foot to the other while I wait for her to pick up.
“Hello, Kayla Stevenson speaking.” She has on her Adult Kayla voice. The one she uses for her monthly call with her grandma and talking to the dentist.
“Kayla, it’s me.” I don’t know why I’m whispering, but talking any louder feels like a risk. “It’s Luna.”
She gasps. “Holy fucking shit! Where in the hell have you been, Loon? I’ve been scared shitless for you!”
Adult Kayla has left the chat. Her grandma would be very disappointed in her potty mouth. I, on the other hand, have never felt more at home.
I drop down into Yakov’s ginormous office chair. “I’m so sorry. I’m okay. I’m fine. I’ve just been… busy.”
“Busy with what? I know it isn’t work!”
“Yeah, I took some time off.”
“You say that now, but the last time we talked, you said you were on a business trip. So, which is it?”
Shit. “Oh. Right. I was, er, on the trip, but then I got sick.”
“You got sick and quit your job?” she snaps.
“What are you talking about?”
“I called your work,” Kayla explains. “I called your desk number. Then I called the receptionist and asked to be connected to you. She told me you no longer worked there.”
I sag down even further in Yakov’s leather chair. If I was a giant like him, it would probably have great lumbar support. As it is, it’s digging uncomfortably into my middle back. “I quit?”
Yakov told me he handled work for me. He promised I’d have a job to go back to when this was all over. And I just… trusted him.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
“I’m such an idiot,” I moan.
“What is going on?” Kayla barks into the phone. “You aren’t at work. No one is at your apartment. Not even Gregory. I know because I used the spare you gave me for emergencies and went to check. I got so desperate I even went to Benjy’s place.”
“Kayla! I would never go back to him.”
“I wanted to believe that, but I was also desperate. This is a real tangled web you’re weaving, babe.” She blows out a harsh breath. “Also, side note: Benjy was beat to absolute shit. His face was swollen and bruised.”
