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He shut the door behind him, and I hardly had time to think of ways to deal with Joe Brown when the door opened soon after again.
Pavel stepped in with a cloudy expression. I clasped my fingers together on the desk, hunched forward, and narrowed my gaze.
“Sit.”
He sat, occupying the one left vacant by Rafa. His dark suit crinkled at the edges, and he straightened it with a rough pull.
“Is there a problem?”
He parted his lips and shut it.
“Pavel.”
“Boss.”
I tapped my feet against the soft rug, counting the fleeting seconds. “For the last time, is there a problem?”
“I...” he trailed off and licked his lips. “Do you remember the girl?”
“The girl?”
“Mike Collin’s daughter. Vanessa.”
Hearing her name felt like a punch in the gut. My shoes paused midway to the rug, and I unclasped my fingers. “Vanessa.” Even saying her name out loud made my stomach churn.
How could I forget her? Was it even possible?
Everything came back from that night. The night in which she gave herself to me, in which I was allowed to take her virginity, in which I was allowed to claim her. When her sweet innocence let me take her body like no one has ever done before, desperate for longing and belonging. Her soft lips on mine, the flick of her wet tongue, our interlaced fingers, my hand in her soft silky hair, her small perky breasts pressed against my chest, her delicate curves...
I wanted to convince myself that it didn’t matter. That, it happened a long time ago. That she was the past. That I had grown past pining and wanting. Then, I remembered my cock buried deep inside her, and how I’d ached to fuck her over and over again. How badly I wanted to feel her in my arms; to caress her skin, to hold her, to kiss her.
She was perfect, she could have been my perfect wife.
Fuck!
The need was blinding, almost maddening; the anger, consuming and suffocating.
I found my voice. “What about her?”
He licked the dryness off his lips and pulled out his phone from the pocket in his suit jacket. “My cousins went on a trip to Denver. It being the end of summer and all. Then, that happened,” he turned the phone and flashed the screen at my face. Those were Pavel’s cousins, alright. But behind them...
I didn’t recognize her at first in those skimpy denim shorts and grey flannel shirt.
I snatched the phone from his hold and zoomed in, past the smiling faces of the three hefty young adults, and stopped when her face was clear enough.
Under the bright ray of yellow sunlight, her auburn-dyed hair shone like flames of fire. She looked straight ahead, completely unaware of the selfie being taken, and minding her business. Still, she was way too beautiful for her own good.
“I reached out to Knox to help with some info, and it turns out she’s been living there for five years now, boss. She’s been there the entire time. That’s her most frequently visited grocery store and she works as a fashion designer for a local brand. Hilltop Designers.”
“I’ve heard enough.” The chair wheeled backward as I jolted from it. “Get the jet ready, Pavel. We are going to Denver.”
Chapter 12 - Vanessa
The car smoothly swerved into the small parking lot. I turned off the stereo and the running engine but mouthed the lyrics of One Direction'sDrag Me Downas I stepped out and strutted inside the grocery store. It was quiet and only had a few shoppers. I preferred the space and tranquility.
Less crowd equaled more ease.
I waved to the cashier, greeted him with a smile, and grabbed a trolley from the rack. As I walked into the beverage aisle, I plugged in my Air pods and opened my favorite podcast station. They talked about everything, entertainment, fashion, sports, and had a unique way of keeping the listeners tuned in.
