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She exhales sharply and I swear steam pours out of her ears. “What I’m saying is that I am fully capable of taking care of myself.”
“For fuck’s sake, we’ve been here before, Rayne. We had this exact conversation hours before Sasha Lenin tried to assault you five years ago. What has changed since then?”
“I realize how depraved people like you can actually be,” she fires back. “That’s the difference.”
I laugh. “Yes, my depravity knows no bounds. I picked you up when you were having a panic attack and tucked you into bed. How horrifying. I sent security to watch your house last night and I have someone repairing your front door and adding a bolt lock as we speak. I am truly a monster.”
“Stop it! Stop trying to take care of me!” Her hands ball into fists at her sides. “You don’t own me!”
I jab my finger back in the direction of the boardroom. “You might not think so. But they do. They know you work for me, but more importantly, they know you mean something to me.”
“Then tell them I don’t!”
“It’s too late. Yuliana is a shining beacon to how important you are. That connection to me makes you a target. Especially to someone like Sasha. He’s a shark. You two? You’re blood in the water.”
She growls in frustration. “You’re exaggerating. You’re just saying this to scare me so you can—”
“So I can what?” I ask, advancing on her “So I can continue fighting with you about every fucking decision I make to keep you safe? What do I get out of keeping you close, Rayne? Maybe no one has told you this before, but you aren’t exactly a bucket of sunshine all the time.”
She opens her mouth to respond, but I wave her off.
“No. Your boss is speaking now. Are you ready to be professional, Rayne? Are you ready to listen?”
She answers my question by narrowing her eyes, her face a shade of red I’ve rarely seen before.
I nod. “Good. The rules for tonight are as follows: You do not talk to anyone beyond the bare fucking minimum. No flirty chit-chat or conversation.May I take your order? Here is your food, sir. Can I get you a refill?There’s your script for the evening. If anything else comes up, pretend you’re mute.”
“Oh, you forgot one.” Rayne stretches out her arms wide. “Wipe your feet on me, sir. I’m already a doormat.”
I gesture to her body. “That reminds me. Your uniform should be a size too big, at least. Nothing form-fitting.”
“Dress like a sack of potatoes,” she hisses, miming a checkmark in the air. Her lips purse as she speaks. “Check.”
“Keep your head down, too. No need for eye contact. The less that people notice you, the better chance there is that I can make it through the night without committing murder. Are we clear?”
“We’re clear,” she says. “Clearly, you’re deranged if you think I’m going to let you dictate what I wear, who I speak to, and how I behave.Clearly, you’re on a power trip if you think you have that sort of authority. Crystal fucking clear.”
“I do have that authority, Rayne. Because at any moment, I could have Leonid fire you from his staff tonight. I could ensure you never get another maid job in this city. I could bar you from every school, every apartment, every employer in the goddamn country. Do not fuck with me, Rayne Garner. For God’s sake, I’m trying to help you.”
Real fear floods her expression for the first time.It’s about damn time.
“You don’t own me, Kirill. We may have a daughter together, but that does not give you the right to order me around like I’m—”
“Like you’re my maid?” I finish for her. “Newsflash, Rayne: you are my maid. By your own choice, might I add.”
She barks out a laugh. “My choice. The delightful choice I had between being your mistress or your maid. Between paying my way through life with secret sex rendezvous or with actual hard work. What a choice that was.”
I drag my hands through my hair hard enough to pull a few strands free. “You created those options. That is the reality you chose to live in.”
“I’ll take my reality versus your fantasy, Kirill. At least in my reality, I’m protected.”
“Protected from what? My depravity? That was called taking care of you.”
Her eyes shimmer with tears and she waves both hands in front of her face. “No, that was calledguilt. You feel bad about not being there for Yuliana, so you want to try and make up for it now. But this streak of altruism will pass. Eventually, I’ll go back to being this woman you once knew and you’ll want nothing to do with either of us. I know how this kind of thing goes.”
I blink at her, genuinely flummoxed by every word she’s saying. “So, in your world, I offered to take care of you and Yuliana for life because I feel guilty thatyoukept my daughter a secret from me? Please tell me you’re hearing the insanity coming out of your mouth.”
“Please tell me you’re not delusional enough to think you would seriously spend your life with someone like me!” She throws her arms wide again like maybe if I take a closer look at her I’ll change my mind. Like maybe I haven’t seen all there is of her yet.
