AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Billie
“What is he doing here?”I tighten my grip on my phone as a dark figure passes by my open office door.
“Who?” Hanna asks. I stand up at my desk, bringing my cell with me, as I hurry to the door.
“Roman,” I whisper into the phone, in case the man has bionic hearing. I peek my head into the hallway. “Why would Roman be meeting with the head of Masters Property Management?” I shut the door while waiting for Hanna to answer.
“Well…” The guilt fills in the dead air left after her voice trails off.
“Oh, my God, Hanna. Why didn’t you tell me he’d be back in Boston?” Even with my door shut, I keep my voice hushed.
“I did tell you. Last month when you were here in New York for Julianna’s birthday party. I told you Roman was moving to Boston permanently.”
“You did?” I sink back into my chair behind my desk. “I don’t remember you saying anything about it.”
“Well, I think I told you. I meant to tell you.”
“You didn’t.” I would remember if she did. The fact would have ingrained itself into my mind.
“Well, I meant to. Don’t blame me, it’s the pregnancy brain.”
“Fine, I’ll blame Gregor. He’s the one who did this to you anyway.” I can’t even pretend to scold her about it though. This pregnancy hasn’t been as smooth sailing as when she was pregnant with Julianna.
She laughs. “I doubt he’ll be regretful. But yes, Roman is there permanently, so he’s probably meeting with your company because he needs management for one of his buildings.”
It’s not my company. Far from it. I’ve worked here for the last year, working my ass off to move up quickly, but I’m nowhere near close to any sort of partnership in the firm.
“Why would he need a property management company? Doesn’t he have people to do that sort of thing?” Hell, they should have men who deal with the things those men need.
“I don’t know. Gregor put distance between himself and any of the Romanov businesses that aren’t completely legal.”
“I’m sure he’ll do fine with Jamison. He’ll give Roman the royal treatment, and I’ll just keep out of his way.” Once they sign the paperwork for the new accounts, Roman won’t have to be in the office for anything. If I can get through today without being seen, it will be smooth sailing.
“You two have been circling each other for two years now, Billie. Maybe get in his way this time?”
“No. There’s a reason nothing’s ever happened between us, Hanna.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“One. He’s not interested. And two, he’s… he’s Roman fucking Romanov!” I clench my eyes for a long moment.
She laughs. “Neither of those are reasons. Remember when you were here for Julianna’s christening? He looked ready to kill Brian.”
“Well, he’s a better judge of character than me. Brian was a bad choice.” I frown at my own stupidity. I wasted too many months on that toxic asshole. “He’s also older than me, Hanna. Like fifteen years older, right?” I do the math in my head, I’m almost twenty-five, and he just had his fortieth birthday; Hanna had mentioned going to a family dinner for his big day. The information just stuck.
“So what? Gregor’s older than me.” She says this like she doesn’t tease him about it whenever she gets the chance.
“That’s different.” It’s not, but what else can I say?
“Whatever.” I can practically hear her eyes rolling through my cell phone. “You might not even see him. And if you do, just go with it. Don’t hide.” She sounds more like her husband the longer she’s married to him, bossy to a fault.
“I’m not hiding.” I look at my closed door; maybe I should have locked it in case he sees my name on the plaque outside my door and decides to be civil and say hello.
“Of course you are,” she says. “Look, worst case, he asks you to lunch.”
“No.” There are worse things Roman could do to me. He could get all overprotective of me in front of my boss, making me look like a little girl who can’t take care of herself. He could lecture me about something trivial like he’s done in the past when we’ve bumped into each other. He could… he could not think about me at all.
“Just—” she tries to continue, but I cut her off.
