Chapter 2 - Alexei

I kick the base of the door and it springs open. My arms are full—my laptop, a takeaway coffee, a few files and a bad mood.

My office is a bit of a mess, and it feels as chaotic as my head.

"Donna," I snap angrily.

My assistant steps into my office.

"Yes, sir?"

I dump the folders onto the desk with the rest of the paperwork scattered over it.

"Why the fuck is this so disorganized?" I snarl.

"You told me you were in the middle of something and I shouldn't touch it, sir. I can clean it up right now." She hurries towards my desk.

I shake my head.

"Don't bother. I'm leaving in five minutes. Sort it out then."

She stops in her tracks and looks unsure about what to do.

I'm so annoyed, and I know it's not her fault.

The meeting I just had was a complete disaster. The clients had been all in from day one, and I did everything perfectly on my end, but when it came time to pay, they suddenly had a million excuses.

I had to cut them off, and now I have to explain this shit show to my brothers, who will not be happy with me.

They are always telling me I'm too reckless, I'm too impulsive. Fuck it, how are you supposed to get shit done in life if you don't take chances and use your instincts?

I slump down into the sofa on the other side of my office.

Donna has smartly left and given me some privacy.

I rub my thumb and forefinger against my temple to try and massage the headache away. It's been forming there for the last two hours now.

My fingers brush over the scar above my eyebrow—a deep one. I still remember that day. My brothers will say it's another example of me being reckless. I'll say that guy got what he deserved.

I chuckle.

Fuck it.

Fuck those clients.

I throw back the last of the coffee in my takeaway cup and glance towards the bin next to my desk.

Aim. Throw. The cup lands perfectly in the bin.

Silently, I cheer for myself, then lean back on the sofa and stretch my legs out onto the coffee table, folding them over each other and stretching my arms behind my head.

It's not even the clients that are pissing me off, to be honest.

It's Clara. That sexy little fox has been driving me crazy since the first day I met her.

Sure, I met her when my brothers and I kidnapped her, but that's not really the point now, is it?

The point is that ever since that day, I haven't been able to get her off my mind. And no matter how hard I push, she pushes right back, resisting every advance I make.

I am not the kind of guy who is used to having a woman turn me down. And to make matters worse, I have never wanted a girl so much in my life.

Clara has my full attention.

Every fucking day.

Every moment of every day.

I can't stop thinking about her.

I sigh and drop my legs off the coffee table again. I wonder what Clara is doing now.

Where she is.

Glancing at my watch I see it's already quite late in the afternoon.

I am over all of this work shit. Bad clients and failed deals. I'll take to my brothers about all of that shit tomorrow—right now, I want to see what Clara is doing.

I push myself up from the sofa and gather my phone and other things. I'm not even going to bother taking any work stuff home tonight. I'm not in the mood.

Heading for the door, I bump into Oleg, who is about to step into my office. If Oleg starts talking about work now, I'll never get out of here, and now that I've got my mind set on finding Clara. I want to go.

"Alex, how did the meeting go?"

"I've got to run. I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"Oh, sure. Tomorrow, then." Oleg looks suspiciously at me.

I throw him a wide grin, but he knows me too well, and in response he just raises his brows. No smile in return.

I turn and hurry away before he can start prying deeper.

In my car I pull out my phone. Clara is unaware that I have a tracker on her car.

She is parked at a restaurant in the city. It's a fancy place. Not the kind of place you go alone.

Six o'clock. That's not a work meeting.

I hit the gas and speed towards it, wondering what she is up to and who she is with.

Outside the restaurant, standing in the street near where I parked my car, I can see her through the window talking to a man in a dark gray suit.

He is one hundred percent into her. His body language is clear. She looks calm, leaning away, perhaps even bored.

I chuckle.

I guess I can have some fun with this.

I push the door open and walk inside, seating myself at the table right behind her date's chair.

Clara is looking directly at me. A fierce glare. I grin and tilt my head towards her, then pick up the menu and start browsing through it, as though this is the most normal thing in the world.

She is still talking to her date, who is yammering on about something that happened in their office today. Okay. So they work together.

This is an after-hours date.

Mm.

I don't like it.

Her date picks up his drink and swirls the dark red wine before taking a deep sniff of it.

I pick up my water, still waiting for the waiter to bring my whiskey. Clara is watching me. I swirl the water dramatically in my glass and then inhale the scent as though it was a luxurious red wine.

Clara looks amused, but only for a split second before she rolls her eyes and picks up her own drink, turning her attention back on her date.

"What's wrong?" I hear him say, and watch with a burning jealousy as he reaches out and touches her hand across the table.

"Nothing is wrong. Why?"

"I just—I thought you rolled your eyes."

"Oh, no, I just had something in my eye. It's gone now."

Her gaze catches mine, and I smirk. She looks quickly away again, pulling her mouth tight in anger.

Oh, this is fun.

Her date is going all in with his flirtatious comments, but they are all so generic I want to puke.

No one in the office is like you.

Your skin is like milk.

If I had a woman like you, I'd never let her go.

I fake gag and Clara catches me. She shoots me a very stern look that tells me I had better stop this bullshit.

But that isn't going to happen.

I don't like the fact that she is here with him at all, and I am certainly not going to walk away and leave them to enjoy this moment in peace.

She is mine. She belongs to me.

This idiot needs to get lost.

I stare at the back of his head for a long moment, wondering if I could just stand up, walk over to their table and slam his face into his plate of food.

I don't think it would go down very well.

Clara is glaring at me again.

Can she tell what I was thinking?

I grin and blow her a kiss. Subtle. Playful.

If looks could kill, I'd be burning in hell right now.

I pick up my knife and slice it across my steak, biting hard into the meat, keeping eye contact with her.

She drags her eyes away.

Her date is getting annoyed. He turns around, looking at me, trying to figure out what Clara keeps looking at.

I play innocent. Lean back in my chair, stare down at my phone. Then I glance up at her date and make eye contact, questioning him—what the fuck are you looking at me for, asshole?

He quickly turns away.

"Clara, is everything okay?" he asks. "You look distracted."

I grin again, tilt my head towards her. Raise my browse.

He turns to look at me again, then back at Clara.

"Sorry, it's been a long day. I'm just tired." She laughs, lightheartedly brushing off his questions. "I think I'm just going to go to the ladies' quickly—to freshen up." She says it a little louder than everything else.

Is that an invitation? Is she inviting me to join her?

I watch as she pushes herself away from the table, dropping her napkin next to her half-eaten food. She straightens her dress. "I won't be long." She smiles sweetly at the idiot.

"No problem," he smiles back.

She walks towards me, then kicks my chair really hard.

That is definitely an invite.

I wait until she is out of sight, then I wait a little longer.

Then I stand up and make my way towards the back of the restaurant as well.

As soon as I found the corner to the men's, she grabs me and pulls me into a side room, storage for all their glassware and plates.

She quickly closes the door behind us and pushes me against the wall.

She is tiny—her push hardly moves me at all—but for her benefit, I step back in the direction she wants me to move.

I stare down at her. Her bright brown eyes glaring at me in anger.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Alexei?" she hisses beneath her breath.

"Eating. Having some dinner. What are you doing, Clara?"

"Don't do that. Don't pretend like you haven't been messing with me the entire time. You need to grow the hell up. Who comes to a restaurant just to annoy someone else? How old are you?" She is angry, the veins on her neck visible.

"Sweetheart, you need to take a breath. Calm down. Before you give yourself a heart attack." I lean down and wrap my hand around her waist. In one smooth movement, I spin her around, and now she is the one up against the wall.

She is still glaring up at me with wild, angry eyes.

"Are you trying to tell me I can't eat dinner here just because you're here?" I purr.

"Don't be ridiculous. But go sit somewhere else. You're ruining my date."

"I think your date is ruining your date. You know he's not the right man for you. You look bored out of your mind," I grin.

"Excuse me?" she says in horror. "Who the hell do you think you are? I was having an incredible time right up until the moment you walked through that door."

Mm. I don't believe her.

"What's his name?" I ask.

"Who?" she stammers, confused.

"Your date, who else? Or did you already forget about him?" I push my body tighter against hers. She lets out a sharp breath.

"Um…"

"His name is um?"

"Stop that," she whispers, trying to push me away.

"His name isn't important because he means nothing. Come home with me."

"Grow the hell up, Alexei. His name is Brandon. He's a good guy. And I need you to step away from me so that I can go back to the date that I was very much enjoying ."

I chuckle and I feel my body vibrating against hers. Fuck. She is gorgeous.

I could just take her now.

In this store room.

I want to.