Page 79 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

“Nah. I can take care of one rude visitor.”

Caroline nodded, but she didn’t walk away while I fixed the coffee.

If it were a different person, I would’ve thanked her for the offer and happily handed everything over to her with the excuse of a bathroom break, but this was far more than a rude guest.

She was trying to make me as uncomfortable as she did at the boutique and assert whatever dominance she was after. I would sooner see my casket than give her the satisfaction of winning.

I covered up the coffee and headed back to the office without saying a word to Caroline.

I felt her eyes burning into my skull as I walked, and I knew she would have questions later, but I’d deal with them later.

If I was able to navigate days of grilling in the days following the employees' hangout and Kazimir leaving with me after beating Collin to a pulp, then I was sure I would survive another session of she and Rose picking my brain apart over a rude guest.

When I opened the door, Svetlana had her feet on the table while Kazimir watched her with a look close to irritation.

“Here’s your coffee.” I settled the steaming cup next to her on the table and turned immediately.

And again, I barely made it to the door before she called me back.

I turned to find her dramatically dabbing at her tongue. “This is too hot. Do you think you can get me some water to cool off?”

I glanced at the barely steaming cup and then to Kazimir, who pretended to have no idea what was happening.

“Of course. Will be right back.”

Caroline was still out, fixing a cup, when I grabbed a bottle of water and made my way back to the office.

At this point, every part of me that was confused by her actions in the boutique and felt she was trying to help despite her mode of delivery was all sorted out.

She was a bitch, and her sudden appearance here barely a week after the boutique told me she knew exactly what she was doing.

Maybe she was a friend trying to get promoted to something more, or maybe she wanted to stake her claim; whatever it was, I was done being humiliated.

“Here’s the water. I hope you enjoy your coffee.”

“One more thing, Genevieve—”

“Miss Sinclair is my assistant and not a server.”

She bristled under Kazimir’s tone, her bravado suddenly falling apart.

“I just needed a sandwich.”

“Then I’m sure you know where to get one,” Kazimir replied, his tone as hard as the lines marring his features. “You’re yet to tell me the reason for your visit, Svet.”

Despite the anger I was feeling, I was mildly relieved to see Svetlana grappling for words and trying to regain her composure.

Kazimir finally turned to me, his voice softening slightly. “You can leave, Miss Sinclair.”

I was mildly grateful to him for stepping in, but the thought did not make me giddy. It took him two tries to step in, and I was grown enough to know that no woman acted that way around a man if they didn’t have some form of relationship.

He cleared out an important meeting for her, asking everyone including Nikolai to leave, and now he let her act out a little before calling her to order? There was definitely something more.

It also wasn’t lost on me how he repeatedly called her Svet.

Chapter Nineteen

Kazimir