18. Natalia

18

NATALIA

The nerve of that man.

You just haven't accepted it. I've been repeating that in my head the entire drive to work, getting more pissed off every time.

The problem is, I'm also getting more and more turned on.

Pissed off.

Turned on.

Pissed off.

Turned on.

It's as much of a headache as it sounds, believe me.

I'm still fuming when we pull up outside the ugly brown building that's home to Sunshield Insurance. As soon as I step foot out of the car, my four new shadows swarm me, a wall of man-meat in every direction.

"So much for being discreet," I mutter, loud enough for Andrey to hear.

If he notices, he gives no sign of it as he climbs out of the car.

I greet the receptionist, Marge, with a quick "Good morning" and breeze past so I don't have to introduce her to the cavalry at my back.

Thankfully, only Leonty follows Andrey and me into the staff rooms where my desk is. But I don't have to look around to know that every pair of eyes on the floor is directed right at Andrey and me.

Well, mostly the female eyes.

And mostly at Andrey.

Abby Whitshaw actually jumps to her feet when we pass her desk, but I keep it moving. I have zero desire to introduce her to Andrey. Particularly not in that blouse she's decided to wear today, which is about three buttons shy of professional.

My pitiful cubicle is wedged against three others, only thin half-partitions separating us. It's never looked more miserable than it does today.

"Well, this is it. Where the magic happens." I point to the glass doors in the far corner. "That's where the senior staff works. Lunchroom is through that door by the water filter and that's the filing room. You can go now."

Andrey doesn't budge. "As it turns out, I've met your boss before. I'm sure Richard won't mind me dropping in and saying hello."

Richard . I cringe like a kid being dropped off at school by an embarrassing parent. "Please , for the love of all that is good and holy, don't go in there and speak to Mr. Ewes."

"It won't take long."

"Andrey. Andrey!" I turn to Leonty. "Can't you stop him?"

He snorts. "That a trick question?"

Sinking into my swivel chair, I groan and drop my face into my palms. How the hell do I explain this to everyone else? How do I explain any of it?

"You get used to him, you know," Leonty adds in his rumbling baritone.

I drop my hands to glare at him. "How long did it take you?"

"I've known Andrey my whole life. So it took me… well, pretty much my whole life."

"Ha-ha," I quip as Leonty snickers. I throw a nervous glance at the senior staff room. "Your whole life, huh?"

"I'm his cousin. Once removed, but it counts."

"Does that come with perks?"

"Please. Andrey doesn't play favorites."

"Shocker."

"I'm gonna go scope out the rest of the place. Just?—"

"No," I interrupt, using his elbow to draw myself up to my feet to see if I can spot Andrey through the frosted glass. "Stay right here and keep talking to me. I don't want Abby coming over here."

He glances over his shoulder. "Is she the one with the low-cut blouse?"

"The one and only. Don't make eye contact!"

The glass doors open and Mr. Ewes steps out, laughing loudly. Andrey is sitting in one of the chairs behind him, looking all too comfortable.

"Natalia!" Mr. Ewes calls over. "Join us in here for a moment."

I plaster on a fake smile and slump my way into the office. "Good morning, Mr. Ewes."

"You didn't tell me you knew Mr. Kuznetsov!"

"She never tells anyone we know each other," Andrey remarks with a wicked smile in my direction. "Embarrassed of me, I think."

"Ha!" Mr. Ewes guffaws. "Embarrassed of Andrey Kuznetsov… imagine."

I've heard that laugh before. It's the one he uses when he wants to schmooze a client.

"Well, don't you worry, my dear—Mr. Kuznetsov has explained the situation to me and I'm sure we can accommodate the security measures you need."

If my cheeks get any hotter, I just might burst into flames. "Are you sure it's not an imposition, Mr. Ewes?"

"Not at all, not at all! Happy to." He turns from me back to Andrey. "It's a little early for a drink, but my office has just been fitted with a new cappuccino machine."

Andrey rises and waves him off. "Nothing for me, Richard, thank you. I need to get going."

"Anything at all you need, just let me know, Andrey."

They shake hands. "I'll send word through Natalia."

Mr. Ewes doesn't look in the least bit put off. "Wonderful. Of course. Whatever you need." He practically bows us out of the office.

"Jesus," I mumble. "I think I threw up in my mouth a little."

We haven't even reached my desk before our path is blocked by none other than Abby. "Arch nemesis" is a slight stretch, but only very slight. She certainly annoys the crap out of me. Now more than ever.

Her gaze is fixated on Andrey. I thought she was already operating on too few buttons, but she's proving that there is no bar she isn't willing to stoop under, because I could swear another button has gone missing since we arrived.

"Can I get you anything, Mr. Kuznetsov?" she croons without bothering with an introduction.

To his credit, Andrey looks at her as though she's a wet piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his shoe. "Nothing, thank you."

That frigid tone would have sent me backing away, because I'm not a moron. Abby, however, is undeterred. "Are you sure? It'd be my pleasure to help out in any way possible." And just in case she was being too subtle, she strokes a hand along Andrey's arm and bats her eyes for effect.

I'm this close to pushing the bitch right out of our way when Andrey drawls, "Kindly remove your hand from my arm before I remove it for you."

Damn.

I could freaking kiss him.

Abby blinks, clearly bewildered that her magic boobs haven't done the trick. But at least she drops her hand. "I could show you the rest of the office, Mr. Kuz?—"

I don't know what comes over me. I grab Andrey's arm possessively and pull him towards my desk. "If anyone's showing him around the office, Abby, it'll be me . You can go back to your desk now."

I can feel his smirk burning the side of my face. "Shut up," I snap under my breath.

My desk isn't empty when we approach it, because bad news comes in threes, apparently. Byron is leaning against my cubicle wall with a takeaway cup of coffee from my favorite café down the street.

My God. The whole damn circus is out today.

"Hey, beautiful," he greets in his usual inappropriate fashion. "I brought your favorite."

He extends his hand, but before I can grudgingly accept it, Andrey beats me to the punch. "It's not her favorite anymore," he says coldly, dropping the entire cup into the wastepaper basket under my desk. "She's off caffeine."

I glare at Andrey. "That was unnecessary."

Even if it wasn't entirely unwanted. I wish I'd had the guts to do that ages ago.

Andrey is staring at Byron with an intensity that's causing Byron's smile to malfunction. The man looks like he's having a stroke.

"N-no caffeine, huh?" Byron asks, trying desperately to gloss over the awkward moment. "New diet thing, or…?"

There's something about Andrey's sudden smile I don't trust. I trust it even less when he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to him.

"Natalia's pregnant," he explains. "We're having a baby."