Chapter 3 - Maxim

Yegor sets a glass of whiskey in front of me, the single ice cube clinking against the side. "I told them that there would need to be more whiskey if the rest of the Orlovs were going to show up."

I sip the whiskey, tilting my head to Nikita. "Nik, did you hear of anyone else joining us?"

"Ivan might. Unsure of some of the others." Nik shrugs out of his tux jacket, hanging it on the back of the brass chair, catching the side of his hand on one of the tall spindles. "You should reconsider the chairs here. One of these days they're going to poke an eye out."

"They're fine." I put the tumbler down, shifting the champagne flute out of the way. "If you have a complaint, take it up with Yegor. He's the one that organized this entire event, so if there's an issue with anything, bitch at him."

"Geez, you are in a fine mood, brother." He teases me.

Nik grins and turns to Yegor, his mouth opening, but it snaps shut. "Who's the woman with Noah Hearst?"

"Doesn't matter." I tap my fingers on the table to the beat of the saxophone in the background. "Noah Hearst is nothing but a problem. He's trying to push his cloud computer program onto me, but it's obvious, he wants to sniff around in my businesses."

Yegor leans to the side, looking over my shoulder at the woman Nik is talking about. "No, Maxim. You must look. There's no way that he would be able to score a woman like her."

"I have no interest in what he does. Within a year, we'll compete with his tech company. Who he brings with him to try and flaunt his position in society is none of my concern."

"It should be." Nik rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, winking at a woman as she passes their table. "You may not want anything to do with Hearst, but she's been staring over here since he arrived. Wouldn't it be amusing if you went over there and stole her from under his nose?"

I roll my eyes, once again reconsidering the choice to come to the fundraiser tonight. Still, I turn and when I see her, there is no doubt in my mind that Hearst shouldn't have anything to do with a woman that beautiful. What a douche, he must have paid a hefty sum to bring a woman like her to this event.

Chocolate eyes flicker over to me, full mouth giving me a coy smile. Her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip before she reaches for the glass of wine in front of her with slender fingers.

When her grin grows around the rim, a dimple pops out on either cheek. Fuck me, she is gorgeous. Looking all innocent, but somehow, I can sense her determination.

How the hell would Hearst convince a woman as stunning as her to spend time with someone as dull as him? What the heck is she doing here?

I can't fathom it, and I am not going to spend time figuring it out. Not now.

Nik hums, fluttering his fingers against the side of his bottle of beer. "She looks familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I don't think I would forget someone who looks like her."

"You're right." I turn to face the pair of them, not wanting the woman to think I have any interest in her.

The only thing I want to do is get through the hour or two I must stay at this damn event before leaving for the night. Once I'm home, I'll be able to watch an F1 race or two while sorting through the latest profit and loss statements for Orlov Tech. It is still in the beginning stages of a business, but soon it will be climbing to the top of the tech world. The men my family hired are making advancements in their programming left and right. In no time at all, Hearst will become obsolete.

And I can't wait to see the look on his face when he is.

Yegor makes a noise in the back of his throat before rapping his knuckles on the table, sending the gold-rimmed plates rattling. "I know where I've seen her before. She's a high-end escort. One of the highest paid in the city if I'm not mistaken."

Nik takes a long pull of the beer. "That explains how Hearst was able to get her to come here with him. She wouldn't have given him a second look if he weren't paying her good money."

I cast a quick look at her again, my cock twitches when she stands and turns for the bar, her flowing gold dress hugging every curve like it was sewn onto her body.

She's fucking perfect.

"What else do you know about her?" I track her around the room, smirking when two men approach her, and she brushes them both off.

While she may be paid for her time, she's loyal to Noah. At least for the time being.

Perhaps it would be amusing to snap her from him. I could use a little entertainment to lighten up this party.

Yegor scrolls through his phone, shrugging. "Not much. Name is Pearl Wilson. She doesn't sleep with her clients, and nobody becomes her client without her approval, so as far as I know there isn't a man behind the scenes pulling her strings."

"Interesting, clever, for her age," I murmur.

She leans against the bar, the front of her dress dipping low, showing off the valley of her breasts and her bronze skin. Pearl enchants the men around her, and based on the mischief shining in her eyes when she arched an eyebrow at me, she knows it too. The men gather around her, all of them, vying for a moment of her attention.

Nik laughs and nudges me with his elbow. "If you keep staring at her any longer, you're going to fall victim to whatever siren song she is singing over there."

"He would never fall for that." Yegor snickers, getting up from his seat. "You know, if you don't go over there soon, Hearst is going to get up and scare everyone off. You might be the only person in this room who has a chance at rescuing her from a dull night."

Pearl's shoulders slump as she takes her drink from the bar, looking at me again.

As Hearst stands, so do I. Walking over to her, I feel like a man possessed. I don't know what's gotten into me. There's something in the back of my mind that says I must go to her.

Maybe she is a siren and slowly luring me in.

If that's the case, hundreds of dead sailors would tell me to turn and run. To avoid her at all costs before she kills me with her song. Yet, as I stop beside her, she flutters her dark eyelashes and puts on the icy but charming smile she's been wearing with Hearst.

Pearl's chest rises and falls like she's taking a deep breath and preparing herself for something.

What, I don't know.

"You look like you are growing tired of being swarmed." My words are loud enough for the men gathering around to hear.

They murmur to each other before scattering, leaving me alone with her.

"Impressive trick." She sips her pink drink before grimacing. "What must a girl do to get a decent drink around here, something a little stronger?"

Her soft and teasing tone is nothing but a diversion. It's designed to keep people at the surface level, thinking that she is having a good time and nothing else.

She's smart, and a woman who knows how to play the game. Making money from wealthy losers, yet no promise of sex or even a second date. Keeping it purely as a business transaction. There will never be a time when she asks you what you're thinking or any personal questions about yourself. Another woman could speak with you, and she would be entirely unintimidated.

But years of experience have taught me a thing or two about how to read people, and if I couldn't see the mask on her face, she could have fooled me too. She is challenging me; I'm itching to peel back layer by layer until I discover her truth, her vulnerability.

I lean closer to her, fingers brushing against hers as I lean on the bar. "What would you rather?"

"Reposado tequila."

The light drains from her face as I order her drink, and if I didn't know better, I would hazard a guess that she's bored with me. Women are never tired of me. They don't think I'm dull, or that their time would be better spent elsewhere. Hell, those women were always eager to cluster around me. If I were buying them a drink, they would become puddles at my feet.

Not Pearl.

She takes the drink, her black-painted nails scraping against the back of my knuckles when we touch in a deliberate move. "Thank you. I'm Pearl. You are?"

My teeth grind together as I analyze her, trying to figure her out. "Maxim."

"Are you Russian?" As she sips the tequila, I want to replace my lips with the glass, claiming her breath so she can't use it to insult me by not knowing who I am.

"Yes."

She tips her glass toward me. "Hint of an accent. I've always liked a man with an accent."

"Then what are you doing with Noah Hearst?"

Pearl studies me, her lips twitching like she's torn between telling me the truth and feeding me a lie. "Well now, I can't be expected to tell you all my secrets in one night, can I? After all, we just met."

"Don't forget the part where I bought a beautiful woman a drink." Smirking, I lean closer to her, capturing a strand of her cocoa hair and twisting it around my finger. The deep auburn strands scattered throughout catch the light, making her hair look glossy.

"I couldn't forget that part." She raises the tequila between us before downing it in one go, the elegance of her neck drawing my gaze to her pulse.

I want to feel it beneath my fingers, holding her in place as I sink into her.

Pearl pushes off the bar, leading the way to a quieter corner with the swish of her hips. Like a dog on a leash, I follow her, eager to go where she goes just to uncover who she is.

She's intriguing, but there's something about the way she doesn't want me that makes me more determined to have her. Just to bend her to my will. Make her feel what it's like to be with a real man instead of little boys who have to hire women to get their rocks off.

Pearl may not sleep with the men she dates, but I know they're going out and finding other escorts who will.

She leans against one of the columns near the poker machines, crossing one long leg over the other. "So, what do you do for a living, Maxim?"

Doesn't she know who I am?

Scowling, I prop one arm above her, the ridges digging through my suit jacket as I loom over her. Her breath hitches and it's then that I'm sure she knows exactly who I am.

Do I play her game, or do I expose it?

"I own the casino and a few other businesses spread throughout the city. What do you do for work, besides going on expensive and boring dates?"

"Between jobs right now, I'm afraid." She crosses her arms, the slender tone of her biceps showing.

"What were you doing for work?"

Pearl's jaw twitches, her tongue running along the inside of her cheek. That fa?ade slipping out of place for just a moment has me leaning closer to her. I wonder what she would do if I decided to close the distance between us.

It would be easy enough to kiss her senseless. Hearst would go wild knowing that I stole his little toy right out from under him.

"I have a degree in computer science. I used to work for a social media company, but that fell apart after a few months when the company went under. It was only a little startup, but I guess I should've seen it coming."

"You're interested in tech?" My eyebrows climb before I school my features into place.

"What's the matter?" she asks, trailing a finger up my chest, flicking my black bowtie with a smirk. "Never heard of a woman being a computer science major?"

"Didn't think a woman like you would spend years of her life going to school for that."

Her lips quirk. "I think you might underestimate me."

Before I can reply, Noah Hearst appears behind her like the steaming pile of shit he is. He puts a possessive arm around her waist, hauling her close to him.

My blood boils the second a flash of annoyance appears on her face. At the same time, I'm glad to see it. It means that she would rather be talking to me.

The sooner he figures that out, the bigger the thorn in his side is going to grow.

"Come on, Pearl. We have our dinner waiting for us. Maxim, excuse us." Noah nods to me, but he's no doubt picturing punching me in the face right now.

I shoot her a quick wink before leaning in and kissing her cheek. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Pearl. Remember what I said about coming with me the next time I travel to Japan."

She lights up with amusement, stifling a smirk as steam nearly pours out of Hearst's ears.

"Maybe I'll just have to take you up on that offer." She bites her bottom lip.

Despite knowing it was wrong, and that I only said that to piss off Hearst, if Pearly said she wanted me to take her to Japan, I would.

But only after I've unsheathed that mask she's got plastered on her face.