Page 52 of Baby for the Bratva King

“Exactly,” I say, rising from the couch in a huff. “Saskia lied about who she really is, and now she’s working as my maid.”

“If people learn the truth, your relationship could go public.”

“There’s no relationship,” I grumble.

“As I keep telling you—there doesn’t need to be. You stole Saskia from the pole, and she’s under your employment. Things get messy when you fuck around with employees. All these jealous women will make it hell for you.”

“And her.”

“But mainly you,” says Gabriel. “And the business…”

“We’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Business is about momentum, and we have to look at this preventatively,” says Gabriel. “Fire her.”

“She’s a good maid.”

“And a good fuck, by the sounds of things.”

Anger threatens to consume me once again, but I channel it back into that part of my brain that knows how to forget. “Saskia will stay with me. Vesper will be looking into this behind the scenes. She could be in trouble.”

“And what about the hotels, all the assets?”

“I create thousands of jobs. My hotels encourage tourism, and I have branches spread all across the world. Too many people have too much to lose. The hotels will be just fine.”

“I hope you’re right,” says Gabriel, ending the call.

I head into the kitchen, pulling a steak out of the fridge, ripping open the packaging.

Oh, the things I’m willing to lose to hold onto something real…

12

SASKIA

I dim the lights in the studio and grip up.

“We should find a Halloween playlist to dance to,” suggests Fleur.

“I guess so.” I spray a cloth, wiping down the pole. “But I feel like doing sensual flow today.”

Fleur arches her brow at me, doing a few easy spins on the pole to warm up. “You had sex with him again, didn’t you? And now you’re feeling yourself.”

“He caught me dancing. The guest bedroom is big enough for me to extend my leg without kicking something over.” I step on my outside leg, starting to spin. “Besides, you were called into work and I was cozy in the bedroom soaking up the heat, making use of the free electric.”

“And then?”

“I put on some music, started doing some yoga and felt like dancing afterward.” I climb the pole, releasing a hand to work on some conditioning. “He totally caught me off-guard, and it was… exciting?”

“Define exciting.”

“I was dancing to Land of the Free.”

“Dancing to let go, which resulted in you being tied down.”

“I let my body take me on a journey.”

Fleur flashes me a glare from the pole. “And did you reach the end of the journey?”