Y A N A I don't want to turn around and see what's waiting behind me, but I force myself to do it when suddenly, Mikhail grabs my arm and pulls me gently to his side. And just like that, I find myself facing his parents. To make things a little worse, another man appears behind his parents and smiles happily at all of us. “And don’t forget your uncle!” he announces. Evan groans. “Dad, why are you here?” “Well, because I heard Mikhail is sick!” the older man says, stepping forward until they’re all lined up in front of me. Now I see where the good genes are coming from, because holy shit. His mother looks like she could be in her early fifties even though I know she's probably older than that. She shares the same eyes as Mikhail, right down to the shape and the last eyelash. However, her hair is blonde, now mixed with a tinge of silver. His father is definitely the one who gave him that certain air of confidence and intimidation. The man is tall with a terrifyingly perfect post
Y A N A Oh, my god. Does Sofia know about me? Has our cover been blown? What gave it away? Is it the fact that she can spot poverty from a mile away? Panic is rising in my throat like bile, but I swallow it all back when I feel Mikhail’s hand on my shoulder. It’s his way of telling me to calm down, or at least not to blow it. Either way is fine, because it did a good job of reminding me that my future rests on this, the biggest interview of my life. “First of all, we had to keep it a secret because I asked him to.” I glance at Mikhail and twist my hands. “I just felt like it was too good to be true. I didn’t really want people saying I’m unworthy or anything, and I realize now that that’s wrong of me.” To my utter relief, Sofia’s expression softens. She actually reaches over to pat my hand. “I understand, my darling. I just wish we knew about you more. We were so happy when he told us.” Thank god. I thought she was going to scalp me. “Well, that can be arranged,” I say lightly,
M I K H A I LListen . . . I love Uncle Amos like I love my own father, but at that moment, I has this urge to roll him down the stairs and out of earshot because he’s being a real eavesdropper right now and I hate myself for the fact that I didn’t even notice.So yeah, the crime would be fueled by self-loathing.But of course, I just smile and turn to face him, letting Yana cling to my arm. Judged by the way her nails are digging into my skin, I can safely say that we’re having the same bad thoughts.“There’s no secret, Uncle,” I say with a convincingly cheery tone. “We are thinking about it. We talked about it before but now it’s more . . . public.”“Yeah,” Yana agrees. “We might not do it anytime soon, though. We both think that it would be too fast.”“Ah, that I do understand.” He pats us both on the shoulders. “We’re just happy to see you happy. So excuse your mom and dad for jumping the gun. I’m sure they didn’t mean to scare both of you.”Yana forces a laugh. “Not scared! Just
Y A N AI wait for something bad to happen. Maybe this time it won’t be Mikhail throwing up. Maybe this time it would be some sort of unexpected interruption that would inevitably destroy the moment equally.But to my surprise, nothing happens.Mikhail just kisses me.At first, he’s slow, curious. He’s brushing his lips over mine, lingering and light, his breath warm and his scent almost overwhelming. Heat rushes all over my body, and as he threads his fingers in my hair, I just lose it.I know I should be smarter about this. I know I should take a moment to think and stop and say that hey, Mikhail is technically my boss. He’s funding all of my stuff, single-handedly moving me up a tax bracket by saving my dying business. And most importantly, I’m his employee.I’m just a hired actor paid to play a role.I shouldn’t want him this bad. I shouldn’t want him at all.And yet I do.Perhaps it’s just because I haven’t been in a relationship in a long while. Perhaps it’s just because I haven
Y A N AI don’t know that I fell asleep right after that embarrassing moment, and I especially have no idea how on earth I even managed. But only when I woke up do I realize that I dozed off right after I turned my back to Mikhail.Honestly, it’s a relief. Because that means I didn’t have to deal with the aftermath of being rejected by him.Sunlight is already slanting through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I blink a couple of times, debating whether I should or should not turn around and see what’s waiting for me. But then I realize that there’s no warmth against my back. I can’t feel anything else on the soft mattress other than my breath and my weight.I look behind me tentatively, and I see nothing but empty sheets.Should I be relieved or be sad that Mikhail is not here?It’s a mix of both, but there’s also another emotion rising in my chest that I can’t quite shake. Longing? Regret? Frustration and anger directed at me because I couldn’t hold it together and made a scene out of n
M I K H A I LI stare at the paper, and this time I don’t crumple it and decide to have it get burned into ashes. Instead, I fold it neatly and slip it into my pocket, standing up and handing the box to Evan, who’s staring at me dumbfounded.“What did it say?” he asks, following me as I walk toward the metal pole and break it into pieces as though it was a piece of bread. “Did it give a clue as to who sent it?”“No,” I say shortly, ignoring his first question. I don’t think I’m ready to tell anyone about what the nightmare was. It’s such an outlandish thing to dream about, and I don’t think Evan would be pleased to learn about it. “We have to go. Run some scans for fingerprints for those things, then dispose of them. I will go back home to check on Yana.”Evan pauses for a while like he wants to question my words, but he decides against it in the end and just climbs down the roof through the stairs. I do the same, lagging behind him and looking around in case I missed anything.I’ve m
Y A N AMy whole body tenses as the two men face each other. I slink to the side like a puppy, looking up at both of them and trying to figure out how I can intercept before things get nasty.But overall, I can’t get over how Mikhail is acting.Is he just trying to act jealous? Is this a show of some sort? Because if that is true, then I would say he’s doing a fantastic job.He’s still staring at Brody like he’s out for blood, and for some reason this makes my heart skip a beat. I wedge myself in between them and try to get his attention, but he’s still waiting for an answer.I turn to Brody instead, but he also ignores me.“You really are the CEO, aren’t you?” he asks Mikhail easily. “Wait, don’t say your name. I can guess it in one go. . . .”Mikhail flashes him a smile, but it’s so full of venom he might as well just scowl and attack. “Do you now?”“I do.” Brody glances at me excitedly. “You’re Mikhail Sartori.”“There we go, big boy.” Mikhail’s expression is as stiff as ever. “Now
Y A N AWhat Mikhail said shocks me to my core. For a whole moment, I just stand there with no idea what to say, and he stares back at me, his face completely devoid of emotion.When he turns around to leave, I can’t help but tap his arm. “It doesn’t have to be this way. I was merely pointing out that--”“I’m selfish and I only care about myself, yeah,” he supplied. “I understand what you mean, Miss Allard. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more important things to deal with.”He makes a move toward the back door, but then he steps inside again.“By the way, you really should check your phone, because I’ve been messaging you all morning.”I frown.”Dude, I was messaging you!”“Didn’t get anything,” he says coolly. “Goodbye.”With that, he leaves, even though I want to drag him back by the hair and pick a whole-ass fight. I understand that I’m being a bitch, but by god, he’s also being a giant asshole and I can’t stand him.Grumbling, I think about kicking the trashcan, but I stop myself