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“You’ll have to forgive my bluntness, but what are you doing here, Eileen?”
Her smile falters, but only slightly. She takes a deep, anxious breath. “Well, I… To be honest, I’m looking for a job.”
“A job?” I glance down at her hand, staring at the slim wedding band of white gold around her ring finger. “I thought you said William was going to provide for you. That’s why you left me.”
Eileen swallows, shifting uncomfortably. Things are officially awkward, but I won’t allow myself to feel bad about it.
“Pyotr, I, um…” She fiddles with one of her loose curls, twirling her locks around her finger. “I’m surprised you remembered his name.”
“He swept the woman I loved off her feet and whisked her away. It’s hard to forget someone like that.”
“We both decided it was for the best, Pyotr.”
“No,youdecided it was for the best.”
Eileen’s shoulders deflate. “I didn’t come here to fight, Pyotr. The truth is, I miss my independence. William takes good care of me, it’s true, but I feel like I’m going crazy without anything to do. I miss working, and I know for a fact there’s an opening in your accounting department.”
“So you decided to come straight to me to jump the interview line?”
“I came straight to you because I wanted to see a dear friend.”
“Friend?” I echo, doing my best not to sound bitter. I thought I let go of my heartbreak ages ago, but Eileen’s impromptu drop in has apparently cut open a wound I long since thought healed. “I was more than afriend, Eileen.”
Eileen hits me with her special look—one that’s somehow stern, but soft in understanding. “I would have said yes, Pyotr. YouknowI would have. But…”
“But I didn’t have a penny to my name and you wanted a secure future.” I lean back in my seat. “I can hardly blame you for it.”
“I’m genuinely proud of everything you’ve accomplished.” She smiles gently. It’s so hard to stay mad when she smiles like that, but the more we talk, the more I realize the feelings I once had for her are long gone. There’s no chemistry between us anymore.
Maybe her wanting to work here isn’t such a terrible idea. We’ve both moved on. We can be adults about this. And from what I remember, Eileen was always excellent at crunching numbers. I’d be an idiot to miss out on hiring a stellar employee just because we had a rocky break up nearly two decades ago.
“I just need this one favor,” she says. “For old time’s sake? I promise not to cause any trouble. I just want to work, but I’ve been out of the game so long that very few places are willing to give me a shot once they see the huge time gap on my resume.”
“A job in my accounting department, huh?” I ask. “Are you sure? I’ve been told I’m an asshole of a boss.”
She sits up a bit straighter, more hopeful. “Thankfully asshole-wrangling is listed as one of the skills on my resume.”
I chuckle lightly. “I’ll put you in direct contact with Terry, the accounting department head. I’ll put in a good word, but you’ll still have to go through our usual interview process. No guarantees you’ll get the job, but it’s a foot in the door.”
“Thank you, Pyotr. That’s more than I could have asked for.”
I rise from my seat and guide her to the door. “What’s William up to these days, anyway? Still working for the city council?”
“He’s actually running for mayor next term,” she informs me with a proud smile.
My ears perk up. I never know what sorts of contacts could benefit CyberFort in the future. I can’t be too obvious about it, though. Nobody likes a brownnoser. “Is that so? Good for him.”
“And what about you? Anything new with you? Massively successful company aside, I mean.”
“I—”
My cell phone rings in my pocket before I have the chance to finish my sentence. I pull it out, half expecting to see one of my brother’s names pop up on the screen. Mikhail and Dimitri only use this number when there’s a Bratva-related emergency. Imagine my surprise when I see Alina’s name, instead.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Pyotr?” Alina squeaks. Her voice sounds shaky.
Alarm lances through me. “What’s wrong?”
