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This is the start of something new. The next chapter to our otherwise unconventional story. I would have been perfectly content settling for an agreeable partnership, but this new territory I’ve found with Alina could prove as agreeable as it is pleasurable. Happy wife, happy life—as the old saying goes, and I’m certainly not complaining. I just have to be careful not to get addicted to this buzz at the base of my skull, the one making my mind wander to less than business-like thoughts.
I’m bombarded with thoughts of bending Alina over my desk, shoving into her, and railing her from behind. I think about settling between those soft thighs of hers and spending the whole afternoon eating her out. Maybe I can make good on my promise to tie her to my bed and fuck her until we both lost our minds.
Before closing out of the images, I send Luka a quick text.
I need the names of the photographers.As well as their contacts at TMZ.
I’ve already got them blacklisted.
Any idea who hired them?
I was searching through their inboxes earlier today. They’ve all been contacted by the same person, but it’s a burner email.
Can’t you find the IP address and the owner of the account?
That’s the thing. I can’t. They’re quadruple encrypted, and their VPN has them pinging out of Thailand. It’d take me at least a week.
Never mind. I think I know who it is.
The answer is pretty damn obvious. I already had my suspicions that Richard was the one behind the whole fiasco, but the information my brother’s provided all but confirms it. Who else has the resources to go to such lengths to hide their identity?
Burner emails, airtight encryptions,anda VPN? In trying to keep himself secure, Richard’s made himself an obvious target. Richard’s hubris will be his undoing.
Still, I can’t afford to rush my next steps. There were still eyewitnesses at the party. There’s no doubt in my mind word’s already spread amongst various whisper networks. I have to bide my time and find a way to take Richard out quickly and quietly. Until then, he’s an afterthought. I’ve got too much on my plate to worry about his underhanded antics.
I’ve got a company to run, and I won’t be distracted, thoughts of Alina aside.
Three sharp knocks sound at my office door. Merrybell pokes her head in, a huge stack of folders in her arms. “This just arrived for you,” she explains, walking over to drop everything on my desk.
“What is it?”
“A merger proposition from—”
“Don’t say it.”
“Richard Eaton Jones.”
I rub my temples and sigh deeply. I can already feel a headache coming on. Richard and I don’t need to exchange words. This is as obvious a threat as it’s going to get. I can either sign over CyberFort like he wanted, or he’ll likely follow through with his threat to sue me for assault—even though his claim is absolute bullshit.
“Shred it,” I tell Merrybell. “Better yet, send it right back to him and tell him not to waste trees next time.”
“Happily, Mr. Antonov. There’s also a lady waiting for you in the lobby. Should I send her up?”
I frown. “I wasn’t aware I had any appointments today.”
“She’s a drop in. Said it was rather urgent, but she wouldn’t give me her name. I thought it best to ask you first before I sent her away.”
This strikes me as suspicious. I personally hate it when people drop in on me unannounced, and the fact that she wouldn’t give a name? Absolutely not. I should have Merrybell send her away immediately, but I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can’t tell if I should take it as a warning sign or something else entirely.
“Send her up,” I say calmly.
“Right away, Mr. Antonov.”
“Oh, and one more thing. I need you to contact the nearest florist and have them send my wife a dozen roses.”
Even though Merrybell’s already starting to turn away, I can practically hear the smile in her voice. “What a lucky girl. Will do, Mr. Antonov.”
I try my best to sort through a few more emails before my unexpected guest walks into my office, her arrival announced by the sharp click of her stiletto heels on the floor. When I look up, I find a woman in her mid-thirties, dressed in a conservative black dress. I can’t look away from her face. Her curly hair is shorter and darker than I remember it, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over those hazel eyes.
