I furrow my brows. “Excuse me?”She walks toward me and in that moment, something takes over me. I stand upright and my hands are balled at my sides. I tell myself that I’m prepared to attack this woman if she does it to me first. She’s taller than me—much taller—and she’s wearing heels, which only emphasizes our height difference. Regardless of this, I won’t let myself be intimidated by her. She’s already called me a whore; she’s already crossed a line. She stops a few feet in front of me and narrows her eyes at me. They’re dark and lined with even darker eyeliner. Her skin is golden brown, and her dark hair is being held in place by a hair claw. “You must think you’re so special, don’t you?” she demands. “You strut around like you own the place and you don’t even realize how ridiculous you are!”This takes me aback because I have no idea what she’s talking about. “I don’t strut in any way and even if I did, it wouldn’t be any of your business.” This makes her chuckle. “Of course
The two guards who pulled the drunk man off me are now standing on either side of me while we wait for the damned meeting to end. The drunk man is passed out at my feet. I think he’s been knocked on the head but I’m not certain. I wasn’t focused on paying attention on what was being done to him. I just wanted him to stay away from me. I’m not as deeply affected by all for his as I thought I’d be. Maybe I’m becoming desensitized to all this; there’s so much happening to me that I don’t care anymore. Perhaps it’ll all hit me much later when I’m back in my room alone but right now I’d be lying if I said that I wanted to break down or cry. I just want to get out of here. It’s a long while before Igor strides into the apartment, followed by more guards. The sight of him makes me openly roll my eyes. He walks with this swelled sense of self-importance that is disgusting. “Dismissed,” he barks. “All of you, fuck off.”I stand as well though I know he isn’t talking to me. He cuts me a lo
It's as silent as a grave in the car.I tell myself that all I need is not show despair in order to see this through. If I can just keep myself together, I can survive anything. I've come this far. Whatever job he has planned for me isn't going to be the thing that will break me.The one person who is particularly pleased about all of this is Leo. He can't wipe the smirk off his face and I wish it didn't get to me so much. What's his problem? He acts like I had a choice in all this. I didn't ask for any of this to happen. Whatever troubles my presence here is causing is Igor's fault, not mine. His office is right downtown, which surprises me. I'm now curious about what kind of legitimate business he runs. I'm not ignorant to our ways; it's the illegal businesses that made us wealthy, and this is the same for everyone I know. I'm only shocked because I thought the Makárovs were strictly into illegal and obscure businesses.It seems I was very wrong.The driver parks the car right in f
Being alone with Boris isn’t how I thought I’d spend my day but again, if this is to get back at Igor, then I’ll gladly do it. Since Boris is part-owner of the company, he has rights to make decisions. And because employees are also under his jurisdiction as well, he can give me whatever order he pleases. Including leaving with him. “Don’t worry about Igor,” he tells me as we settle into the car seat. “I’ll deal with him later.”“Who says I’m worried?” This makes him shake his head with an amused expression on his face. He gives his driver an order in Russian and we’re off. I don’t know where it is we’re going and don’t ask either. I don’t really care. However, I can’t deny that the idea to try to escape creeps into my mind. Yes, I know I made a promise to Igor, but since my brother is no longer in immediate danger and there’s already a war anyway, what’s the worst that can happen? Once I’m safely back home, he won’t be able to get to me. He’ll stop being a threat. I don’t have
Boris took care of everything for me and now, I'm ready to go to this gala with him.My hair is up and I'm wearing a light pink dress that is absolutely fabulous. He arranged all of this last minute, which means that I couldn't have the dress adjusted, but I have no complaints. In fact, I think I suspect that this had to have been pre-arranged, because there is no way he got everything together so quickly.Then again, what do I know?We're back in his car and his driver is taking us to the venue. He complimented my appearance back at the boutique and all I could do was thank him. He was kind enough to do this for me and if I have to be completely honest with myself, I'm glad to be out of that apartment for a whole day. Even though I still think Boris is obnoxious, I'm glad he's done this for me.I don't think I'll be able to tell him that, though. I don't know if I have it in me to be so humble. It doesn't take long for us to reach the venue of the gala—only about five minutes since
Beside me, Boris shifts.I don't take my eyes away from Igor's face. Time seems to be frozen in place. The only thing that isn't stagnant is my fury. How much can one take before reaching their breaking point? How does one know when they've reached their breaking point?Is this my breaking point?"You forget the bargain we struck," Igor says carefully. It sounds like he's trying to keep himself from shouting. "You offered me your obedience in exchange for your brother's life. Don't make the mistake of thinking that I can't get my hands on him again if I want to. I will do so and this time, you'll be the one to blame."There's a knot in my throat that I can't swallow down no matter how hard I try. I try not to glance at Boris as I step forward. Igor tries to grab my arm but I inch away from him before he can do so and walk ahead of him with my head held high even though I'm crumbling from the inside. I wait for him outside only for a moment. He doesn't take along. His driver appears b
Igor left at around three and I didn't see him again after that.He didn't look at me as he walked past. It was clear that he was just doing that to make a point, which just added to the feeling of triumph hovering over my head the whole day. Paula told me they'd leave at five and so I was determined to stay and work the whole day to make up for the hours I missed in the morning. Now that it's time for us to leave, I'm not quite sure what to do. Do I take a taxi home? Unfortunately, I don't have any money with me and I haven't used my phone since the auction. I never got it after I left with Igor, and he didn't get me a new one. All three of us walk out together. I learn that they're roommates and live together, and so they drive to work together. Once we go outside, I see the driver who dropped me off standing in front of the car with his arms folded. Of course, he'd arrange for me to be picked up. He probably had the whole building on alert in case I decided to leave. Paula and B
After six hours of having to sit across from him in his private jet and being forced to watch him take notes and give orders to the guards who came along with us, we finally arrived. This whole trip is starting to feel like a drag and I’m starting to realize that what he wants is to bore me to death. I haven’t even attended to him in the way that he expects me to and I’m already sick of him. Arriving at the hotel takes about thirty minutes. We’re sitting next to each other in the back of the car and he’s smoking with the windows down. I’m tired and hungry because I refused to eat anything on the plane, and I want nothing more than to sleep what has already been a terrible day. Only, I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. I still feel like he’s planning something. Once the driver parks the car in front of the hotel, we get out. He speaks to the woman behind the counter while I stay a safe distance away, holding my luggage. After checking in, we go up to our rooms. The security g