Page 87 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

I followed his gaze to the line of bags visible through the open bathroom door. Heat crawled up my neck.

“You left me in a hotel room for over twenty-four hours.”

“I curated some activities for you to enjoy within hotel grounds.”

I squared up to him. “I curate my own fun.”

His lips did the thing where they slanted upwards and shot straight to my core. “How much did that cost me?”

He didn’t notice the debits?

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, feigning nonchalance even though I knew I could never afford it if he asked for a refund.

“Of course you don’t,” he chuckled, walking into the room.

He eyed the bags, his gaze lingering on a piece of lace peeking through. “Model them for me?”

“No. You’re still under probation.” I walked past him and for the first time, I’d witnessed something close to a miracle.

Kazimir Ivanovich laughed.

Chapter Twenty-One

Kazimir

My office door creaked open mid-conversation with Nikolai and Lev, revealing a nervous-looking Caroline.

“Good morning, Sir. I’ve sent the itineraries for the week to your email and synced them with your calendar. I’ve also updated the minutes of the meeting with Karl and Karl and—”

“Where is my assistant?” I cut through her robotic voice in one beat.

She swallowed, shifting her weight from one foot to another. “She’s still sick.”

I dismissed her with a nod, not caring to look at the updates she made.

There was something inherently wrong with not working with Genevieve.

I’d never noticed how Caroline fidgeted around me or her robotic relay until a certain brunette with a smart mouth and gorgeous tits started working with me.

In the past two days of her absence, I’d slipped up twice, forgotten an important meeting and almost missed a review.

She took me from barely seeing the importance of an assistant to not being able to function without one.

The reason for the lack of functionality was, however, still under debate; was it her effectiveness or was it how I’d grown used to her presence and looked forward to watching her squirm whilst talking a big game like I couldn’t see her squeezing her thighs?

“Can we proceed?" Lev’s voice pulled me back to the moment, reminding me of the issue at hand.

My jaw tightened in reflex, rage seeping back into my veins.

“Clean up everything those bastards left behind and make sure no one is left to mourn them.”

“Noted.” Lev rose, gathering his keys and leaving the office with a single bow in my direction.

Nikolai, however, decided my office had the perfect atmosphere and the seat was the comfiest thing he’d ever sat on.

I ignored him, making a show of reviewing the files on my table even though I could barely understand the words.

“Maybe if you glared at them harder, the words would sink into your brain through osmosis.”