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My mouth drops open in surprise, and I’m so ecstatic. This was what I was hoping for, but I wasn’t sure I was going to be picked. “Michael, thank you so much! I was hoping you’d see my potential and efforts here.” I smile widely, so happy.
“Of course. Having another pretty lady on the team won’t hurt, either. Helps with sales and makes the office a little more enjoyable throughout the day.” Michael winks at me, and my heart sinks into my stomach. Suddenly, I doubted he was keeping me here because of my work ethic. I imagine it’s because of my pretty face.
“Well, thank you for the opportunity. Like you said, I need to get back to work since the day’s almost ending.” I rise from the seat without any direction from him and head for the doorway.
“Perfect. Send Kim in next if you don’t mind,” Michael tells me, and hopefully, Kim will be here with me as well.
“Sure.”
I head back to my workstation and tell Kim I was offered a position, but now Michael wants to speak to him. Kim heads into the office with the most confidence I’ve ever seen from him, and for my sake, I’m praying he’s getting a position offered as well.
I respond to emails and make a few more calls. By the time I’m hanging up the phone, Kim’s coming back out, and he’s all smiles. Once he gets over to our workstation area, he tells me what happened. “I was offered a position too, girlfriend. The two of ushaveto go out for drinks after work to celebrate.”
As much as I want to say no, I haven’t gone out in so long. “Yes, we surely do. I need a drink so damn bad it’s not even funny. Getting called into the office had my heart pumping.” I laugh, and Kim laughs with me.
“Who knows, maybe when we’re at the bar, we’ll both find a nice man for each of us.” Kim’s flamboyantly gay, and he doesn’t shy away when it comes to ogling handsome men. Most of the time, I can’t blame him, but I wouldn’t go to stare and flirt as much as Kim does.
While Kim’s on the hunt for the man of his dreams, I’m caught in a situation-ship with Amelia’s soon-to-be husband’s brother, Lom Umarova.
I’m like a moth to a flame when it comes to him. We haven’t labeled anything, but the sexual chemistry is real between the two of us. Whenever he’s around me, it’s like I’m literally being pulled toward him, and I’ve never felt like that with any man before.
Lom and I have sex. It’s what it is, and we don’t go out on dinner dates or whatever. I’ve been debating asking him what this is, but I don’t want to push him in a certain direction. Thelast thing I want to do is lose the only person in Atlanta besides Kim, who I actually think gives a damn about me.
“Did you hear me, sweetie?” Kim asks.
I shake my head, “No, sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted to go to Mason’s. I’ve heard they have some good happy hour deals.”
“That sounds perfect, honestly. I have about another fifteen minutes before I’m done with all these. Is that okay?”
“Sure is, honey. You keep working, and I’ll clock in a little bit of extra stuff until you’re ready.” Kim smiles, and relief floods over me.
I can’t wait to just relax a bit tonight. It’s much needed and well-deserved.
Chapter Two
Lom
I’m just parking my silver Ferrari Roma when my phone dings in the cupholder. The screen in front of me notifies me it’s from my brother, Ruslan. I tap on the text message alert on the screen, and my Bluetooth reads it aloud. “Brother, things have settled in Atlanta. When can I expect you back in Grozny?” the computerized voice says.
My brother’s been pressuring me over the last couple of weeks that my time here in Atlanta’s coming to an end. However, I’m not ready to leave yet. Our business dealings with the Steele family are going as smoothly as ever, and we both said I didn’t need to stay in Atlanta for much longer.
I know my place is at my home in Grozny, but I don’t want to leave Atlanta just yet. As much as I’ve been lying to myself, I’m drawn to Emily, and Emily lives in Atlanta. She’s finished her master’s program here and has an internship at a real estate and design company. She even has an apartment here. All we do is fuck and spend time together, with no label on what we are… but I want her. I’ve been lying to myself all this time if I ever thought I wouldn’t grow attached to her. I figured she would be like the rest of the women I got involved with—hot but boring. Though, Emily is anything but boring.
She isn’t only beautiful with her dark chocolate, curly hair… but she’s meticulous, stubborn, strong-willed, and hysterical. Those are only a few of the things I’ve come to adore about her, but they are my favorite.
I know my brother can see when I’ve read his text messages, and I debate not answering him back at all, but I know better than to agitate him. So I pick up my phone and open the message.
To: Ruslan
We’ll have to discuss it later.
I keep my response vague, but I need to think about what I’m going to tell my brother. I can’t tell him I’m staying here for Emily. All he thinks I’m doing with her is keeping my dick wet. He has no idea I’mactuallyinterested in the woman.
I slide my phone into the pocket of my gray trousers and exit my vehicle. I lock the car, as always, and walk toward the building. The bottom few floors are used for storefronts and hold a bar calledMason’s, while the upper levels are condominiums. The bar is also tied to the Steele family. Rumor has it the man who was like a father to Brooklyn Steele owned the place, and then one of the family members purchased it after he passed away. I believe Christian’s wife, Selena, owns the bar now. Regardless, I want some hearty food and a couple of drinks. I figured this would be the best place to get some of both.
I head for the elevator and press the button to indicate I need to go upstairs. After a few moments, the elevator doors open, and I walk inside. A couple pairs of heels clacking behind me instantly tell me I have people who want to get on as well, so I hold my hand in front of the door, so it doesn’t close. Sure enough, two women in very short dresses come in behind me.
