The Pain In My Ass

ANASTASIA’s POV

2 MONTHS LATER, 

NOTTING HILL, LONDON. 

‘’Oh cut the bullshit, Bianca!’’ I screamed over the phone, my hand hovering over the lit screen in front of me.

I was in my office, battling the worst headache ever after a board room clash and the Bianca was the least of my worries.

It was Danm near the nth time she had crashed my apartment because she couldn’t afford to get her own place.

‘’I’m just gonna move out!’’ She shouted back, hanging up the phone before I could even retort.

Move out?

I’d heard that flimsy excuse slip off her lips a hundred times in 3 months.

She was barely even living in. Only crashing once in a while and ruining everything that made my house a home.

I hit my phone on the desk with a loud thud, massaging my forehead as I could already feel an headache coming.

The sound of my office door pushing open without a knock reverbarated in the air as the door was pushed with enough force to have the hinges ripping off.

‘’What the—‘’

My words hung in my throat as recognition dawned on me.

He wasn’t wearing a mask like he did before. Nor was he staring at me like he did when I was in Monaco.

Still, I recognized him. 

The man that had managed to have me bent over his bed, writhing under him and begging for more.

The only man that had managed to make me cry to be filled up.

Except he didn’t have the ‘I want you’ kind of look plastered across his face.

Yh, I could still see a hint of it flashing in his eyes.

But he looked different, with a suit hugging his body like it was tailor made for him and an aura that reeked of hostility.

I gulped, my face twisting like I’d never seen him in my life.

The plan was to let my secret die in Monaco. And I was going to do just that until the very end.

‘Get a grip’  I scolded myself, masking my expression.

I steadied myself in my seat and squinted my eyes at him.

‘’The least you can do is knock.’’ I muttered, my voice cold, distant.

‘’Right.’’ He murmured under breath, his voice dripping with a smooth, patronizing arrogance that had my skin crawling.

He walked forward, his eyes piercing into mine and took a seat in front of me before plopping on it.

‘’I don’t have a lot of time on my hands. Nikolai Starvros.’’ He introduced and my expression which I’d been trying so hard to mask faltered.

Nikolai Starvros?

Everyone knew better than to mess with Nikolai Starvros.

Any business he got into, he came out the Victor.

He was not only highly respected for being the number one ace in business but also feared greatly by people due to the rumors of his involvement with the mafia.

I’d tried so hard to dethrone him and become the best ever in business.

Still, I never came close to him. Nobody did because they never really knew what he looked like.

His identity was somehow a mystery and no matter how hard you searched his name, nothing ever pops up.

My hand curled into fist.

I had slept with Nikolai Starvros.

Cried, begged and whispered to be filled up by him. 

I had orgasmed to the sound of his voice.

My jaws ticked, hoping he didn’t recognize me from that night.

‘’If you’re done daydreaming, Miss Reed…Perhaps we can actually look at the projected margin. Assuming of course that your firm understands basic market volatility.’’ He uttered, his voice riddled with mockery.

I clenched my fist, my knuckles tightening around the ball pen. ‘’Our projections are perfectly aligned with the current market strategy, Mr Starvros.’’ I unclenched my fist and slid my hand into my drawer, pulling out a file.

I stretched it to him, watching his as his eyes fell on it, his expression unreadable.

He stared at it for a tab bit too long before opening it. ‘’What am I looking at here?’’ He asked, his voice cold.

I exhaled sharply. ‘’If you go through section 2, the risk mitigation strategy more than accounts for volatility.’’

He closed it just as fast as I spoke, not bothering to flip through the page or even go through the risk mitigation strategy.

He slammed the paper against the desk and stared up at me with intimidation. ‘’Section 2 is an idealized fantasy.’’ He countered smoothly, flicking a dismissive finger in the air.

He hadn’t even read it!

Asshole!

‘’If not assessed properly, the business is bound to fail before it even scales.’’ He added, swerving his cheer.

‘’It won’t.’’ I argued, my tone sharpening. I slid the file back to him and tried to calm my racing heart down. ‘’ If you just read the—‘’

‘’And what difference does it make if I read such an amateur curated work?’’ He tilted his head, a mocking, razor think smile breaking across his lips.

I was offended. More than freaking offended!

I opened my mouth and closed it without a single word coming out.

But he wasn’t done with his taunting.

‘’The only difference I see here is your lack of ambition.’’

I broke.

‘’Get the fuck out of my office!’’ I snapped, slamming the table harshly and getting on my feet.

He leaned even more on the chair, a sly smirk marring the side of his lips.

‘’I said get the fuck—‘’

‘’I don’t think your father would want.’’ He muttered, clicking his tongue.

My hand tightened into fist, my brow furrowing with anger.

My father?

What the hell does he have to do with this?

Before I could open my mouth, he spoke. ‘’Poor man was on both knees, begging my grandfather for this merger. Such a shame…’’ He drawled, pushing his chair backwards.

My heart hammered in my chest, my heart rate spiking.

My father had gone on his knees for the sake of this merger?

‘’Fuck this!’’ I cursed under my breath and stormed out of the office, my vision tunneling as my breath hung in my throat, fighting for release.

I reached for the balcony and started breathing harshly, trying to let in as much air as I could.

Meeting Nikolai Starvros was a mistake.

He was everything the rumors spoke of him.

Crazy, bloodthirsty and condescending.

I exhaled one last time before heading back to my office. But to my shock, he was still there.

‘’What the fuck are you still doin—‘’

He turned my monitor around and I caught a glimpse of myself.

I walked slowly to him and squinted my eyes. Staring skeptically from his face to the flash drive inserted in my monitor’s port then back to the video playing.

It was me. No. My hell of a damn, pain in the ass twin sister sneaking out through the window with a briefcase. 

My eyes widened and I squinted further.

The house…

It was the same house he had taken me to. Where we had our first fuck together.

Wait.

A shaky chuckle escaped my lips.

He didn’t really think that was me right? I mean… we did look alike. 

And no one knew I had a twin sister because father had never acknowledged Bianca as his daughter to the kind of lifestyle she lived.

So he most probably thought I was the one.

Another laughter escaped my lips, one that didn’t quite reach my eyes. ‘’I—I—‘’

The words hung in my throat but was unable to come out.

‘’Of course!’’ He muttered, pulling the flash drive off the monitor.

The screen went blank immediately and only my confused reflection stayed on it. ‘’What do you want?’’ I asked, trying to keep my heart at bay.

From what I could see, he had no idea who I was.

Had no idea I was the woman he had slept with.

The only thing he believed was that I had stole from him. 

‘’It’s Simple, Anastasia. Let’s get married.’’