Page 117 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

She grabbed her keys without another word of argument, because she knew me well enough to understand that this wasn’t a conversation I could survive having twice.

The night of my mother’s death was the last time I’d prayed and also the last time I believed in any greater power, but tonight, as Anna swerved from lane to lane and the dome of the hospital became visible, I sent a desperate plea.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kazimir

“You’ve read the same line four times. Should I come back when you’ve finished?”

“I read it fine.”

“Then what does clause twelve say?”

I glanced down at the page and had no answer, which annoyed me more than the question itself. I closed the folder. “Get to the point, Nikolai.”

“I don’t have a point. You’re the one staring at the wall like it owes you money.” He leaned back in his chair. “Something happen with Genevieve?”

I flashed him a look. “What does she have to do with anything?”

“What can I say? She has become the sole determinant of your mood lately.”

I didn’t answer him. I got up and walked to the window instead, because the alternative was probably redesigning his jaw, and I was not in the mood to wipe blood off myself.

My eyes darted to her office door. She was probably in there doing some work, or in Caroline’s office. She’d been around, but she’d never felt more distant.

This morning, she’d barely acknowledged me while dropping off a file, and during the meeting with the clients, she hardly took a single note.

She was usually the one to grasp the points before they were even made and fine-tune whatever didn't make sense. Suddenly, she was barely going through the motions.

“Get her file,” I said. “The brother. I want to know if he’s gotten himself into anything again.”

Nikolai’s brows went up. “You think this is about him?”

“I think it’s the only thing that’s ever put that look on her face before.”

“Or it’s about you,” he said lightly, but his eyes stayed on me a beat too long. “You’ve been unusually attached to her lately, Kazimir. In case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Get the file, Nikolai.”

I had initially thought her silence had something to do with me, or possibly the run-in with Svetlana a couple of days ago, but her issues with me had never reduced her competence.

She would simply avoid me or pretend I didn't exist while doing her job flawlessly. This, however, affected every part of her. As much as I would’ve loved to be important enough to affect her in such an integral manner, I knew my limits. I also knew of a certain culprit.

Nikolai got up without arguing further, which was its own kind of warning, because Nikolai never let anything go without at least one more comment. He stopped at the door anyway.

“For what it’s worth,” he said, “if something’s wrong with her, you’ll know before the day’s out.”

He left before I could tell him I had built an empire on knowing things before other people wanted me to.

Nikolai took more time than I anticipated, and after a few minutes of pretending to get work done, I found myself walking into her office.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t there, but her bag sat open on the desk. I wasn’t one to sneak through a woman’s bag, but I was almost desperate.

A quick peek wouldn’t hurt. I’d just find out what was wrong, and I’d fix it. If you looked at it the right way, I was doing it for her.

I gently parted the flaps of her bag, pulling it open to reveal a stash of chocolates, sanitary wipes, makeup, and a few wads of cash.

Any normal person would’ve stopped there and simply waited for the search they ordered to return, but I wasn’t normal, so I opened her laptop—which, to my utter dismay, had a padlock icon.