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The man walks away as Maxim leans down and kisses the tip of my nose.
“Nice work,” he whispers.
“You’re a clever bastard,” I whisper back before shutting up just in case anyone else is around.
“I have my moments. It’s going to kill you not to speak all night, though, isn’t it?”
I smile innocently at him. Let him believe what he likes, but not having to make small talk with a bunch of misogynistic assholes sounds like fucking heaven to me.
Po returns with a woman who looks me up and down before looking away. I don’t take offense to the snub. I’m confident enough in my own skin to know she’s a fucking bitch. With the way she’s looking at Maxim, like she wants to lick him from head to toe, I’d say she’s jealous.
I offer her a small smile and a wave as Po explains to her in English that I can’t speak, and Maxim would prefer if they all spoke English since I don’t understand a word of it. She grins callously, loving that she is in on the supposed secret. She tells him in choppy English that she will tell the others.
She heads off to do his bidding while Maxim and Po talk. I pretend I’m Maxim’s adoring plaything, pressing my body against his and gliding my hand over his jacket, clueless to everything going on, but instead, I store away everything I hear. Maxim squeezes my hip a few times, and I know I’m affecting him. Serves him right. He’s the one who wanted to play this game.
It dawns on me later, as I’m sitting between Maxim and an older man who spits when he talks, that I’m learning far more about Maxim’s business than he intended. His hand slides over my thigh and squeezes, drawing my attention. His lips move to my ear, and he tells me the men will be retiring to the other room to talk business.
I nod and accept the quick kiss he gives me before I find myself with the handful of women that attended this evening. Wonderful.
After five minutes of watching them point and laugh at me, I find it almost impossible to keep my face neutral. See, I suffer from a condition known as involuntary eye-rolling syndrome. It mostly affects me when I’m around stupid-ass bitches, and the only cure is to set them all on fire. Unfortunately, that’s not an option tonight. Instead, I stand up and head off to find a bathroom.
I find the bathroom relatively easy and decide to make use of the facilities while I’m here, even if it’s just to kill time. The world I live in might be a crazy, chaotic mess at times, but I’d take that any day over the fake ass bullshit Maxim has to deal with.
I don’t know how people can live like this every day and not end up jumping off a bridge instead. I can feel my IQ dropping just being here. That’s not to say I think the people out there are dumb. I don’t doubt how clever they are for a second, especially the women. They are just playing a role similar to mine. It’s listening to them bitch about me like I’m dense just because, as far as they know, I can’t speak.
I will never understand why people feel justified spewing their toxic bullshit at someone because they find them to be lacking in some way. Nobody is perfect. We shouldn’t want to be. It puts too much pressure on people to strive to obtain the unattainable. All that happens is that we chase the things we want and never stop to appreciate all the things we already have. To me, that sounds utterly ridiculous and fucking exhausting.
Knowing if I stay in here any longer, it’s going to be weird, I wash my hands and leave the room, only to bump into a hard chest. I stumble back before steadying myself, forcing down the urge to scowl at the man. He yells at me in Russian, so I have no clue what he says, but my lack of response pisses him off. He grabs my arm, making me want to knee him in the balls. I let him drag me away instead of laying him out cold.
I stumble on my heels and adopt a scared face as I’m pulled into a large room. Every man in there turns to face me as the asshole holding me gestures to me and snarls something.
My eyes find Maxim’s. He looks pissed off. He stands and stalks toward us. The room goes quiet as he makes his approach, reaching out for the man’s hand on my arm. Maxim squeezes it until the guy lets me go. But Maxim isn’t done. He snaps the asshole’s fingers, making him cry out. He says something before he switches to English and orders everyone to follow suit.
“Nobody touches what is mine. Understood?”
The asshole nods, as do most of the others in the room.
He takes my hand and walks me to the chair he just vacated before he sits and pulls me onto his lap.
My dress falls open as he pulls my legs up over his and splays his large hand over my ass. He makes no attempt to cover my modesty. If the look on the guy’s face who is opposite is anything to go by, he just caught a glimpse of something he shouldn’t have.
“Because I can’t trust my own men with one tiny woman, she stays. Anyone who speaks Russian during this meeting will find that Alina will not be the only person in this room unable to speak,” he casually warns them while simultaneously reminding them of mycondition.
“She does not speak?” one of the men questions.
“Not she was born mute,” Maxim replies, lying with a straight face.
“Now, where were we?” He goes on to speak about shipments and payments as I rest my head against his shoulder and listen to the rhythmic beating of his heart.
The meeting drags on forever. While it does, I feel eyes moving over me the whole time, making me feel like I need a bleach bath to ever feel clean again. I start to feel myself drift off when the room starts to clear out. I’m about to open my eyes when, in a quieter voice, Maxim continues speaking.
“You have any idea who might be passing them information, you need to tell me now.”
“I know nothing. I’ve sent out some feelers, but right now, everyone is in the dark.”
Maxim huffs, and his hand rubs my ass almost absently.
“What about her? She is new. She could be a plant.”
