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She put a hand up as I started to step onto the elevator. “Can I please ride up alone? I don’t trust myself right now.”
“Of course.”
I stepped out of the elevator, confused.
“Sorry,” she said as she went inside the elevator and pressed a button.
She had nothing to be sorry for, but instead of telling her that, I just nodded. Clearly, she didn’t want to talk right now.
I waited a couple of minutes to make sure she had time to get into her apartment before I took the elevator up, taking my tie off and slinging it over my shoulder.
What the fuck had just happened? I’d assumed we’d make out the entire way up to her apartment door before reluctantly parting, but instead she’d run away.
We both knew the only place she really wanted to run was straight to my bed. And I knew we’d eventually get there. I also knew the wait was going to drive me insane.
CHAPTERTWELVE
Elle
I could seewhy people found Mila Pavlova intimidating. Not only was she young and stunningly beautiful, but her father was also a Russian billionaire with a reputation for getting what he wanted by whatever means necessary.
And she’d perfected the art of the glare. I was sitting along a wall in a conference room at theChroniclewhile she presented to our editorial board, and she’d directed her icy gaze at me several times.
“These economic impact numbers are, quite frankly, exciting,” she said brightly. “Commercial construction has been down since the pandemic, and we’ll be investing at least four hundred million in the project.”
Who waswe? This was a presentation for her to try to sway the editorial board with a polished presentation prepared by a PR firm, and the board would be able to ask questions later. I was just here to observe, but I really hoped someone would ask her who was backing this project, because I was pretty sure her father was putting up a lot, if not all, of the money.
Mila had money of her own from her father, and a lot of it. But why spend her own when her father pretty much had bottomless pockets and loved owning high-end real estate in America?
“This area will be a memorial garden,” she said, pointing to a spot on the map. “To honor the twenty-two people we lost that day.”
She seemed sincere. I couldn’t figure out where the bullshit ended and the real woman began, and usually I was good at that.
“I think I’ve covered anything,” she said. “I’m open to questions now, and of course your own Eleanor Lawrence has a close liaison on the team now if questions come up in the future.”
Wow.Every head at the conference table swiveled in my direction. I kept my cool, smiling at Mila. She was trying to get me in trouble with my bosses.
“I wouldn’t call us close,” I said smoothly. “I moved to a new apartment recently and a Coyotes player is my next-door neighbor.”
There were a few “oohs” and polite nods as Mila arched a brow, looking surprised.
“Oh, for some reason I thought the two of you were quite close.”
This bitch. If she thought I was backing down, she was mistaken. I laughed lightly and furrowed my brow.
“That must be why you asked if we’rebangingin front of a small crowd of people,” I said sweetly. “Which we are not.”
I could tell she was working to keep her smile in place. This meeting had been scheduled weeks ago; it was a coincidence that it was happening just a couple of days after the fundraiser. But Mila had been hoping to use this opportunity to dig a hole and then push me in it.
“Well, you know me,” she said lightly. “Always a straight shooter.”
After a moment of awkward silence, the managing editor of theChronicle, Brett Bailey, cleared his throat and said, “Okay, I think we can wrap this up.”
I’d rant to Sam, Luke, or more likely, both of them about this after work. But for now, I had to remain calm and collected. As Mila shook hands with the board members and passed out business cards, I got up and left the room.
It was 4:45 p.m., and I decided to call it a day. It was a little early for me to leave work, but it was too late to start anything new. I locked up my office, put on my trench coat, and headed for my car, eager to get home and unwind.
I had three missed calls from Sam. Something was wrong. I responded to a text from Luke about dinner and then dialed Sam.
