Page 73 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

She stared at me expectantly.

“Oh… the tip. Yeah. Just be yourself, you know. Keep it simple, honest and straight to the point.”

Her expression soured a bit as she tapped a finger on her chin. “So you didn’t climb from receptionist to PA overnight? I could’ve sworn that’s what I heard.”

My body completely tensed; the room emptied of oxygen. She heard? I was being discussed? By who?

Shaking her head like she was dissolving the thought, she turned to pull more clothes from the rack while I stood, still processing what I just heard.

“Men with power,” she said, her back to me. “They’re all the same, aren’t they?”

“I don’t follow.”

“They pick you up from wherever they find you and bring you to where they want. Where you’ll be accessible to them. Completely taking you out of your niche and introducing you to something very different.”

My brows furrowed. I’ve read about women being confronted by other women and women meeting each other in the bathroom to talk about a man, but I’d never been in one of those.

This woman seemed like the type to be in control and not jealous about anyone, but I couldn’t ignore the tone in her voice.

“What has this got to do with me?”

“I was once like you, Genevieve,” she sighed. “Picked from a comfortable life and shown what was possible. Flown in private jets, access to exclusive parties, a fat salary, you know, the full package.”

She laughed, a bitter, dry sound that rattled my ears, and then she continued.

“I’d thought I had arrived. Moved myself and my best friend to a better neighbourhood, shopped from the fancy stores the staff frequented and enjoyed all the privileges, but you know,” her eyes lifted to mine. “Everything eventually comes to an end. The shiny new toy eventually stops being new with every use. The music stops, playtime ends and the toy is dropped just the same way it was picked.”

My throat tightened till breathing almost became a chore.

“I was quick though. I had built up a few connections for myself and was able to find something to fall back on, but his mark never left.”

She returned to unloading the rack like she didn't just unload a heap of information on me.

“My advice?” she said after a long pause. “Instead of prancing around shopping malls, gather as many resources as you can while he still fancies you and build a nice cushion for the big drop, because it will come.” She looked over her shoulder. “It always comes.”

She tapped the intercom while draining her drink. The sales girl that brought in the rack appeared almost immediately.

“I’ll take everything. Charge them to my card and have them delivered to the house in Tribeca this afternoon.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The girl hurriedly began gathering the dresses.

She began walking to the door, pausing when she held the handle. “I hope to see you around, Genevieve.”

She was out before I could respond, leaving a chill and an oddly familiar accent in her wake.

“Definitely not what I was expecting from your big shopping trip.”

I threw the bag containing the dress I got for Anna—which was also the only bag I was carrying—on her and hurried to my room.

Anna’s footsteps followed me, stopping when she was in my room.

“You good?”

I ignored her, snatching my MacBook from my work table and plopping onto my bed without kicking off my shoes.

The few seconds it took for the device to come on were easily the longest seconds of my life.

I cracked my knuckles, bounced my feet as distractions from the emotions coursing through me while I waited for the home screen to come on.