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I shut off the water and reached for my phone once more. I’d missed a message with the faucet on full blast.
Prep Chick: Thank you for caring.
And that response said it all. I let my answer be a little cheeky.
Me: Of course. Now, get that fine ass in bed. We’ve got a wedding to attend.
Sleep well, suits.Feeling calmer now I knew she was safe at home, I rushed back into the belly of the underworld. We had missing shipments that needed reclaiming and blood to spill in revenge for the theft. The sooner those details were mopped up, the sooner I could escape this hell to live a dream vacation and pretend my soul wasn’t stained with the lives of my family’s enemies.
Chapter 3 – Briana
Acutely aware of thetime on the wall clock and the cellphone in my top drawer, I shifted the briefs around on my desk and tried once again to concentrate on the Michaelson merger that was due before I left tomorrow morning. Mr. Avery, the name partner I worked directly under, had graced me with a deadline of three days when I came back. He knew my family, and from the outside, granting me the extra time to complete my brief could appear like nepotism, but I refused to let that be so. I wanted to show him and everyone else that I was worth the job on my own merits; therefore, I wanted this brief donebeforethe wedding. The need to impress those in authority clawed at my chest, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to think of anything else the entire trip if I didn’t get it done.
If Papa didn’t play golf with Mr. Avery....
I shut that thought away. Mr. Avery knew my value. Not only was he a senior partner, but his name was on the wall. To have a connection to a name partner meant I worked twice as hard to make sure everyone knew that wasn’t why I was here. He might have hired me, but he wouldn’t give me this level of work or this office if he didn’t think I was fully capable—or so I kept telling myself. But still, I wanted to have this done. Then I could relax.
Not that having Viktor Markovich around would be relaxing. After days of contemplation, I’d broken down and called him. The pros on the list were too strong to ignore.
There were hours of work left, and yet, the tick-tock of the skinny hand barraged my mind with the fact that Viktor had already landed in this city. The knowledge that he was here and ready to annoy me was a distraction I kept pushing away. I needed to get in the proper head space before I saw him.He’ll have to entertain himself until I’m done.Even without the self-appointed goal of finishing the brief before takeoff, I wasn’t cutting work early to play tour guide to an arrogant, larger than life, Russian bodybuilder.
While tapping away at my keyboard, I felt a shift in the air, as if a foreign, otherworldly presence was suddenly manifest in our busy legal department. Shaking my head, I told myself I was being silly, but I lost focus on the words as my senses strained to focus beyond the computer monitor. Noises from the bay of cubicles right outside my small closet office increased to murmurs and whispers. The first years and lower ranked associates sounded like barnyard animals, cackling and hawking over something. I glared through my open door at the paralegals and scrubs who didn’t have the prestige I’d earned to be granted an office.
There was another stirring of noise. This time laughter, flirtatious and loud, trickled into my office. I ground my molars. Something was clearly going on out there, distracting them all from their work. With half a mind to get up and slam my door, I stood up from behind my desk, only to catch sight of Mr. Avery’s sleek form moving through the rows of cubicles.
He was a silver fox; I already knew the water cooler gossip about his proclivities outside the office. Of course, I’d not shared my familiarity with him, nor how he’d been a fixed presence in my parents’ house for decades and that I’d secretly crushed on him as an awkward teen. According to the few romance novels that were my guilty pleasures, I could now make a play for him. We could have a secret, smoking-hot affair, except dating Mr. Avery would be like shagging my father. Major yuck. Other girls might be able to, but not me. I let out a short laugh and was about to get back to work when I caught sight of another presence that made my heart stop hard in my chest. It couldn’t be.
But it was.
“What in the hell is he doing here?” I hissed under my breath.
Viktor, wearing a sharp black suit and holding an ostentatious bouquet, was making small talk with Mr. Avery. All eyes were on the pair, and even I had to admit they cut a suave picture.
Strength and power rippled from Viktor. His muscles were hidden well under his perfectly tailored clothing, but a myriad of tattoos peeked from under his collar, down the sleeves of his arm, and across the back of his knuckles. All he was missing was a sword and an earring to look like a swashbuckler of old.
In contrast, Mr. Avery was clean-cut and trim, but he also had muscles under that pinstripe suit. I’d seen him at the country club plenty of times to know. Watching them stand this close, I could see the same lethal ferocity mirroring off their figures. Both were cutthroat businessmen sizing one another up, yet recognizing the predatory nature of the other.
