AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hear the shower going, and I print everything, putting the original proposal in one folder and keeping it on my desk while placing the other in another folder and slipping it into my briefcase.
I answer some emails while she showers, and when she emerges, she looks a lot more sleepy than I expected. In fact, she looks exhausted. I get up, walk to her, place my hands on her butt cheeks, and pull her against me. “Good morning.”
“Hmmm, good morning.” She leans up and kisses me softly.
I sigh as I return the kiss, holding her firmly. Once we break the kiss, I grin. “Coffee should be ready. You can have some while I fry some eggs and bacon for breakfast.”
She rests her head on my chest for a moment, and I treasure it. My body feels as though I’m being inflated with happiness.
We eventually move to the kitchen. She sits at the island counter while I make breakfast and drink coffee. We enjoy the silence. It’s not awkward or strange—just a calm, peaceful silence.
I serve her breakfast and sit beside her. “Do you have any plans for today?”
“I want to see Alessandro to confirm everything in the proposal is fine,” she says between bites. I can’t help as my eyes trail down to her breasts, which seem to be straining under her top.
“Are you listening?”
I give her a goofy grin. “I am. Just. Everything about you turns me on.”
She rolls her eyes, and I chuckle. “Listen, with everything happening, at least take one of my guards with you. In fact, I insist because we don’t know if you were the main target of that bombing or not.”
She raises her eyebrow. “Uh, okay. That’s fine. I didn’t actually think of that.”
“I don’t want you to be scared, just sensible.” I go back to my breakfast.
My staff wash the dishes as we gather our things to leave. “I am going to Ivan to give him my copy of the proposal, so let me know once you’re done. Maybe we can do something.”
I lean down and kiss her on the lips, lingering for a moment before pulling away. “Please be safe.”
“You too,” she says, smiling at me.
She leaves just before me. I watch my guard Konstantin drive her out, and then I get in my car with Gregori. I practice what I’m going to say to Ivan over and over in my head until we pull up to his house, which is almost like a fortress now.
He’s in the office when I walk in, and I feel nervous. “Pakhan,” I greet him. “Where’s Tori and Roman?”
“Outside playing on his new playground thing,” he says, not looking up from his papers. “Did you find out who’s behind these attacks?”
“I’m working on it.” I have never been this nervous around Ivan. “But I have a draft of the proposal for Don Pacheco that I’d like you to review. Preferably with an open mind.”
That last sentence makes him look up, eyebrows furrowed. He holds his hand out, and I give him the folder from my briefcase, watching him sit back and read the paper.
His frown continues to deepen as he goes through the text. “This is a fucking terrible proposal,” he looks up at me angrily. “Ettore Pacheco will be insulted by this. Where is your brain?”
I take a deep breath and recite what I’ve been practicing. “Ivan, I haven’t asked you for anything. Nothing that I haven’t worked for in all the years I’ve loyally served you. But please give me this.”
Understanding dawns on his face, and he tosses the folder to his desk. “Are you insane?”
He stands up, and I flinch, sure he is going to strike me.
“What is it with this woman that you would want to give up one of the most prime run spots, already set up, already making money, to her family?”
He storms past me and to the window, where he pours himself a drink, sipping on it slowly. “Evgenii, you are my favorite cousin, everyone knows it, but I can’t let you be my second in command if you let your feelings rule your gut.”
I don’t say anything because I know the weight of what I’m asking him.
The silence is long and painful, and I know Ivan is trying to make a decision. I console myself with the fact I’m still alive, and he’s at least considering it
I see he’s staring off, and I follow his line of sight to where Tori is helping Rowan climb and slide down his little plastic slide. They’re laughing together.
