Chapter Seven

TAHEY WAS UP EARLYthe next day, her heart in a shambles. It still felt heavy, with Tahey unable to shake off the feeling that she had betrayed Thomas. But at the same time, her heart couldn"t help singing just a little, with memories of Dmitry"s tenderness playing over and over even in her sleep.

Since October in Paris was supposed to have unpredictable weather, Tahey decided to dress in layers: striped, short-sleeved knitted blouse, a dark skirt over leggings, and a trench coat to pair with her boots.

She also took time to apply a light coat of makeup and carefully worked on her long blonde hair to have it neatly braided up in a single plait. She was hoping that Dmitry would say she looked pretty once he saw her, but the moment she joined the two brothers in the lounge...

"Fuck."

Tahey bit back a sigh at her boss"s extremely familiar reaction. She should"ve known last night was more an anomaly than the new normal. Oh well. A girl could always hope.

Sasha had a hard time fighting back his smile at the way Dmitry had started glaring at Tahoma the moment she walked in. He supposed it was understandable, the way his brother"s demeanor could have fooled Tahey into thinking she often annoyed her boss.

Sasha, however, wasn"t as innocent as his brother"s secretary. Admittedly, it had also taken him a while to see through Dmitry"s act. Having known Dmitry"s very valid reasons for despising Tahey, he, too, had originally been convinced that Dmitry felt nothing but contempt for the girl.

Now, however...

He flashed the girl his most flirtatious smile. "Good morning, Ms. Baskerville. You"re looking exceptionally lovely today." The words had its intended effect, with Tahoma blushing and stammering her thanks while the focus of Dmitry"s glare had switched to Sasha.

Sasha raised a brow at his brother. What"s wrong?

Dmitry"s teeth gnashed. The fuck did Sasha think he was doing, saying such things to Tahey? Didn"t he know that Tahey was—-

Fuck.

A muscle began ticking in his jaw as Dmitry realized what he had almost allowed himself to think. He was supposed to find ways to kill his desire for Tahey, dammit, not feed it.

Tahey was just about to greet her boss a good morning when he suddenly stalked past her. A moment later, she heard the door to the office slam shut, and she couldn"t help glancing at Sasha rather glumly. "Did I do something again?"

"You did."

Tahey, who hadn"t really been serious with her question, felt her jaw drop at Sasha"s answer. "I did?" She racked her brains for something she could"ve done that would"ve angered Dmitry. "Is it...my clothes?" Maybe she had accidentally dressed herself in a style that reminded Dmitry of his ex?

"In a way."

Drat. That meant she was right, didn"t it?

Sasha, seeing the girl was about to start worrying herself to death, was torn between amusement and amazement. Dmitry had been an asshole to this girl from the very start, and yet somehow...

Lucky bastard, Sasha thought. If it had been any other guy, he"d probably have long tried stealing the girl away, just to teach the other man a lesson. But since Dmitry wasn"t any other guy, and Sasha happened to be on his brother"s side...

Sasha"s voice turned deceptively sober as he addressed the girl. "If you want my advice..."

"I do," Tahey said without hesitation.

"I think it"s best to give my brother some space for now. Obviously, he"s not the type to ask for that out loud, which is why I"m asking it on his behalf. He"s got certain things on his mind that he would have an easier time resolving if..."

A light bulb seemed to click inside Tahey"s head as Sasha gave her a rather apologetic glance. "I should keep my distance...is that what you"re saying?"

"It won"t work if he knows you"re keeping your distance," Sasha lied. "You need to be more subtle about it, maybe focus more on working with me or the other guys."

Tahey tried her hardest to understand how this was so. Mm. She had unwittingly reminded Dmitry of his ex with her choice of clothes, and this - according to Sasha - had made Dmitry realize he needed to make a decision on things. Things that required Tahey to keep her distance...

Oh!

Tahey felt herself pale.

What if Dmitry was so tired of having her frequently remind him of his ex that he had started wondering whether it was worth keeping Tahey around? After all, she also happened to be in love with him, and as far as her boss was concerned, her feelings were probably nothing but an added complication.

If she stuck to him like glue in the mood he was in, he might be more liable to fire her. But if he knew that she was deliberately keeping her distance, then Dmitry could think she was being too calculating, and that would still get her fired.

So in the end, Sasha was right. She had to be really subtle about keeping her distance, and just like Sasha suggested as well, she should focus on her job and remind Dmitry - from a safe distance - what a tremendous asset she was to Strakh Inc.

Maybe after that, he would finally stop seeing his ex in her and realize Tahey was her own woman.

And maybe...

Just maybe...

He could finally start being that with her.

WITH THE JET HAVINGalready landed and immigration clearing them to disembark, Dmitry reluctantly left the safe harbor of his office to rejoin Sasha and Tahey. Truth was, the sight of her had knocked him sidewise, and the billionaire had found her so fucking lovely and hot he had ended up fighting off the urge to lock her in a room with him and have his way with her body.

He could never tell her that, of course. But what he could and intended to do was to apologize. He might not be able to give her a reason for cursing at the sight of her, but he could at least say sorry.

And that was the plan...

But it was a plan that appeared impossible to execute, with the way Tahey suddenly seemed too busy to even meet his gaze.

The fuck?

Tahey forced herself to keep typing on her smartphone even as Dmitry"s brooding gaze never wavered from her. Every once in a while, she"d feel the strongest urge to look up and plead for his forgiveness. I"m sorry. I don"t want to act like I"m ignoring you, but I have no choice.

She had to be strong. She must remember that this was only temporary, and that concentrating on her job was the best way to remind Dmitry of the reason he and the other guys had her headhunted in the first place.

So stay the course, T.G.!

Stay the course!

Tahey could only repeat the words desperately in her mind as she continued to ignore Dmitry"s brooding gaze.

Once out of the airport, a limousine had come to whisk them off to the hotel, where the rest of Strakh Inc. was already waiting.

A breakfast meeting was the first thing on today"s agenda, and while the five men closeted themselves in a private conference room, it was Tahey"s first time to meet the two other people working for the company. Sixty-year-old Ada used to work for the IRS and was now Stelios" executive assistant while "Panda", a Chinese-American in his thirties, worked under Drake and introduced himself as "someone who used to be real bad."

Sasha and Bastien hadn"t any assistants, Ada shared complacently, but it should only be a matter of time until they did.

It was already half-past ten when the meeting ended, and Dmitry came out half-expecting Tahey to pop up with a ready smile on her face and a cup of his favorite coffee in hand.

Instead, he found her hard at work with Ada and Panda—-

Which is as it should be, he reminded himself forcefully.

Stelios, having received a rather informative and amusing text from Sasha, strolled out to the balcony where the other assistants were also having their own meeting.

Ada glanced up and noticed right away the gleam of mischief in her boss"s eyes. Oh dear.

Panda, seeing the same thing as well, hastily excused himself from the table. Whatever trouble Stelios had cooking, he wanted no part of it.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle."

Tahey suddenly found her chin being tipped up by the Greek billionaire, and her confusion only grew when she saw the seductive smile that had curved over his lips. He had always been charming and flirtatious, and she knew of his playboy reputation from the tabloids, but he hadn"t ever tried hitting on her...until now.

"Um...bonjour back?"

Stelios laughed, and Tahey could only smile weakly even though she didn"t really think her answer had been funny at all. Bonjour, merci, and c"est la vie were pretty much the sum total of her knowledge of French.

Sasha came to stand next to his brother and allowed a feigned frown to crease his forehead as he watched Stelios continue to banter with Dmitry"s secretary. "What the hell is Stelios thinking?"

Dmitry"s lips tightened.

"Doesn"t he realize how impressionable Tahoma is?" Sasha shook his head in disgust. "I enjoy teasing Ms. Baskerville once in a while myself, but I"ve at least made sure she knows not to read anything in it. Stelios, however..." He stopped speaking, with Dmitry having already stalked off towards the balcony.

Job well done, Sasha thought, and he could only hope that Dmitry would thank him for it one day.

Dmitry could feel his blood boiling hotter as he heard more of Stelios" conversation with Tahey. What the hell was the other man thinking, poaching on his—-

Shit.

His steps came into an abrupt halt as he found himself grappling with an internal dilemma. Sasha"s observations had been entirely accurate, and Dmitry knew better than anyone else what a gullible little fool Tahey could be. And as for Stelios...if there was any man who could turn Tahey"s head around, make her forget about her feelings for Dmitry—-

Fuck.

Who knew if she still had feelings for him anyway? And with Stelios around, and Stelios being Dmitry"s exact opposite - maybe it was inevitable for Tahey to forget Dmitry and move on with the Greek playboy.

And if that happened...

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Now was the time to prove to himself that he didn"t care for her in any way.

That she was nothing to him.

But then he heard her laugh—-

A soft, musical sound that was only supposed to be his.

Just for his fucking ears, dammit.

And Dmitry saw red.

Tahey let out a startled gasp when a strong hand suddenly gripped hers just before she was being yanked off from her seat. Her head jerked up, and glittering golden eyes immediately captured her gaze.

"We"re leaving." Dmitry"s voice was low and rough, and his big hard body seemed to be bristling with barely leashed violence.

Uncertainty crawled down her spine, and a ball of trepidation pooled inside of her stomach even as she heard herself stammer, "O-Okay."

Her quick acquiescence seemed to mollify him somewhat. She could sense him calming down a little even as the tightness of his grip didn"t ease. Turning around, Dmitry led her out of the balcony in a swift, powerful stride that had almost had her running just to keep up with him.

With her boss not even bothering to look at the other members of Strakh Inc., she could only give them a weak smile of apology just before Dmitry had successfully dragged her out of the hotel"s penthouse suite.

"Where are we going?"

But instead of answering, Dmitry shot a question back at her in a snarl. "What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"I was just talking to Mr. Diamandis—-"

"It wasn"t just that," he snapped.

Before she could reply, Dmitry had unlocked a door at the other end of the hallway. He then shot her a look that had her gulping in instinctive fear. "Get in."

Tahey hurried inside, knowing better than to argue. The room they were in was smaller than the one earlier, but it was just as lavish and had its own balcony as well. Turning around, she watched Dmitry put the lock in place, and her heart hammered away. She watched him slowly turn to face her, and her mouth slowly went dry as she saw the look on his chillingly beautiful face.

He was furious.

Very, very furious.

But more than that...

"You"re jealous," she gasped.

The glitter in his gaze intensified, and the growl he emitted was enough to make her take a nervous step back.

Tahey had always been fascinated with big, dangerous cats. Even as a little girl, she had loved watching documentaries that showcased their strength and agility, the way they could make their kill with the deadliest of grace.

And thinking about it now...she finally realized that was what attracted her the most about Dmitry. He reminded her of those predators, and he was like her own beautiful and deadly jaguar, with his bluish-black hair and glittering golden eyes.

As the billionaire strode towards her, she couldn"t help but tremble in a mixture of excitement and fear, and Tahey felt a serious lack of oxygen when Dmitry finally came close—-

Just inches away now, so, so close that there was no mistaking the violent edge of his strength, no way but to feel the raw feral streak in him that could break free from its leash at any moment.

And right now, he was already on the brink of turning savage, jealousy burning so brightly in his golden gaze that her head started to reel—-

Just as no one could ever feel completely safe sleeping next to a predator...

It was the same with her boss.

Dmitry Adrianov, she thought dazedly, would never be safe.