16. Zara

16

ZARA

Whatever Dimitri said to Giovanni seems to have worked because the man has been keeping his distance from me for the past week.

I cannot even begin to describe my relief knowing that perhaps this might be the end of it.

I was terrified that what Dimitri was planning to do would make things even worse, but I never should have doubted him. He promised me he would take care of Giovanni, and he has.

The knowledge that he’s in my corner has me breathing a little easier.

I wish I could deal with it on my own, but I have to keep reminding myself that there’s no harm in asking for help sometimes. And I think Dimitri likes playing the hero.

I didn’t wait up for him to come back from dealing with Giovanni. I knew he would likely be gone for a while, and I wanted to avoid any more questions, so I packed up the rest of our dinner and headed to bed early, hoping that the knowledge that Dimitri was honoring his part of our deal would make me rest easy .

And it sort of worked.

The thought of going back to work after what happened made me feel nauseous, mostly because I worried that Karlie wouldn’t buy my sickness excuse, but it seems she’s happy to give me the space I need and hasn’t brought it up.

It’s rare to find a good friend in the legal world, with most people willing to stab you in the back at any given opportunity if it means getting ahead. But Karlie and I have never been like that. We’ve worked together since I joined the firm, and we’ve become firm friends.

The only downside of taking yet more time off is that I’ve gotten seriously behind on my case reports. But it’s been a while since I’ve worked late at the office, so I make sure to pop out with Karlie at lunch time and stock up on some snacks to get me through the long evening ahead.

The office starts to empty around five, so I head to the break room to make myself a coffee before settling in at my desk and cracking on with case reports for the next few hours while the place is quiet.

It doesn’t take long for me to get through the first two, given that I only had to proofread them and tweak a few sentences here and there. It’s the Wilson case report that’s going to take a while. I should have completed it on Monday, but after what happened in Giovanni’s office, not only did I fail to organize the case file, but I didn’t even make a start on the final report.

I’m honestly surprised that he hasn’t pulled me up on it.

Ripping open a bag of gummy worms, I pop one into my mouth and load up the witness statements for the case file and get to work.

I’m an hour into the Wilson report when my phone lights up beside me with a message from Dimitri. My stomach flutters as I unlock my phone and scan the text.

Are you working late? X

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling.

Is he worried about me?

Yes, still catching up! Be home around nine :)

The three text bubbles instantly pop up, and I eagerly wait for his reply.

I’m picking you up in an hour and taking you to dinner. You can finish your work later x

I can’t stop myself from smiling as I read his message. I quickly reply, letting him know that I’ll be waiting outside for him as I know there’s no point in telling him no.

The man likes to make sure I eat, and I’m definitely not complaining.

Plus, it’s a nice added source of motivation to get my report done in the next hour so that I can enjoy this dinner guilt free.

Shutting off my phone, I try to ignore the excitement building in my chest at the thought of having dinner with Dimitri.

He’s turning out to be pretty great, and the more I get to know him, the more I’m really starting to like him, which scares the hell out of me.

I know I have no place to feel such things, but he’s got such a sweet and thoughtful side to him that has me swooning like a teenager in high school. It’s becoming clear that the cheeky playboy persona was more of an act than the real him .

I never would have seen him as the type to go to the trouble of bringing me my favorite takeout food after I had a bad day, but the gesture was so sweet it literally brought me to tears.

Am I really so broken that such a small gesture tips me over the edge?

I frown.

I hope not because I’m enjoying getting to know Dimitri. And I want to get to a place where I don’t run at the first sign of intimacy.

Putting my head down, I shut out all distractions as I focus on finishing up my report in time.

At five minutes to eight, I gather up my materials and neatly organize them back into the original folder.

All I need to do is drop it on Giovanni’s desk, and then I’m officially done for the week. I’m really proud of the progress I managed to make this evening. I hate getting behind on my work as I’m such an overachiever, so it feels good to have checked everything off my to-do list. Plus, I don’t want to ever give Giovanni a reason to call me into his office.

I’m hoping that the sight of my report on his desk first thing on Monday will keep him off my back for a few extra days.

Clutching the file to my chest, I quickly hurry across the empty office floor toward the private offices. I’m so busy thinking about my dinner with Dimitri that I don’t clock the fact that Giovanni’s office light is still on.

I throw open the door and let out a cry at the sight of him sitting behind his desk.

“Oh, my god, you scared me!” I clutch a hand to my chest as I try to catch my breath. “I didn’t realize you were still here. ”

“This is what hard work looks like, Zara.” Giovanni glares at me over the top of his computer. “And you’re interrupting me.”

“I have the Wilson case report for you.”

Giovanni holds out his hand, so I stalk over to his desk and drop it down in front of him.

I go to leave, but he holds up a hand, his eyes narrowing on me as he picks up the file and flicks it open. I fight the urge to roll my eyes as he quickly scans the first paragraph.

“This needs to be redone.” He tosses it back onto the desk without even reading the full report.

“What?”

“Did you not understand the instructions? I said it needs to be redone, and you’re not leaving until it’s finished, seeing as this was meant to be completed on Monday.”

“The report is fine.” I grit my teeth.

“I didn’t realize you had the authority to sign off on the reports.”

I bristle, trying hard not to lose my cool.

He’s being completely unreasonable.

“I’ve written dozens of reports. I’ve included everything you asked. You barely even looked at?—”

“What I saw was all the proof I needed that this is of poor standard, which I guess I should have expected from you. Your work has been slipping over the last few weeks, Zara. Perhaps if you focused more on your career rather than your personal life?—”

“Excuse me?” My patience starts to waiver. “If you’re annoyed that I took a few days off for my honeymoon?—”

“You’ve fallen behind because of it, and it seems you’re not putting in the effort to catch up.”

Screw this .

Perhaps it’s because I know Dimitri is waiting for me outside that I feel a sudden rush of confidence.

This fucker can go to hell because I’m damn good at what I do, and I always go above and beyond. It’s not my problem that he’s failed to notice what an asset I am to this company.

“I’m not re-doing the report.” I fold my arms across my chest.

“What did you just say?” Giovanni’s gray eyes narrow.

I know I shouldn’t have pushed back like that, but I’m sick of feeling weak.

“I said, I’m not redoing the report. You’re more than welcome to have another partner look over it, or email HR if you think my standards are slipping. You’re welcome to that opinion, but I’m not going to take it for fact.”

Giovanni is on his feet in an instant, and my heart rate quickens.

I take a step back, my skin prickling at the look of fury on his face. I’m all too familiar with that look.

Giovanni Saccone does not like being told no, and if I don’t get the hell out of his office right now, I might come to regret standing up for myself.

“I’ll see you on Monday.” I turn my back on Giovanni and head toward the door.

His footsteps thunder across the carpet, and my breath catches as I reach for the door handle.

I’ve barely opened it an inch before Giovanni has his hand against the wood, slamming it shut so hard the hinges rattle.

I jump, my legs trembling as Giovanni’s arms encase me, his hard body pressing up against my back.

“Stop,” I choke, screwing my eyes shut as I try to ignore the feeling of him behind me .

“You’re not going anywhere.” He grips me by the shoulders and spins me around, pushing me back against the wall so hard that I grunt as my back screams in pain.

“I think you need a little lesson in respecting authority.” His hot breath scorches my cheek.

I try to claw at his chest, doing everything I can to try and push him away, but I’m nowhere near strong enough.

He grips both of my wrists in one hand, pinning them above my head as he forces his legs between my own, knocking them apart.

My skirt rides up over my thighs, and he glances down, a triumphant grin spreading across his face as he takes in the ample amount of skin on show.

I squirm, trying to free myself, but it only makes my skirt lift up even more.

I’m trapped, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Please,” I sob as tears streak down my face.

“I think you just need a little reminder of how good it can be, Zara,” he purrs, his mouth barely an inch from mine.

I try to turn my head, but he grips my chin with his free hand, forcing me to look at him.

He presses himself between my thighs. “Then you might be more willing to do as I say when you know how good I’ll reward you.”

A strangled sound escapes my lips as I feel his hardness against my core.

Bile rises in my throat as he laughs, the sound making my skin crawl.

This is all just a game to him, one that I’ve already lost.

“We’ll have fun, Zara.” He releases my chin and moves his hand to my bare thigh.

His rough fingers trail along the inside, dangerously close to my panties? —

“Stop!” I scream just as the door to the office flies open.

One moment I’m pinned against the wall, and the next Giovanni is being ripped off me and thrown across the room by Dimitri.

Giovanni collides with his desk, shattering the glass top into a thousand pieces.

My legs buckle, and I fall to the floor, clutching at my throat as I try to take a breath.

“What did I tell you?” Dimitri storms over to where Giovanni lies in a pile of glass, groaning.

Blood already stains the carpet, and I know if Dimitri has his way, it’s about to get a hell of a lot worse.

“I warned you that if you touched her, I would put a bullet in your fucking skull.” Dimitri reaches into his jacket, pulling out a gun.

The sound of the safety clicking off makes me flinch.

I cry out as I take in the sight of Dimitri standing over Giovanni’s body, the gun aimed at his head.

He can’t do this here. The building is riddled with cameras. There’s no way in hell he’d be able to get away with it, and I can’t lose him.

Not when I’ve barely had a chance to have him.

“Dimitri.”

Dimitri turns and when he sees the look on my face, he lowers the gun.

He turns back to look down at Giovanni, and I can only watch, frozen, as he bends down and picks up a paperweight from among the glass slamming it against the side of Giovanni’s head, knocking him unconscious.

Dimitri gets to his feet and hurries over to me, crouching down and wrapping his arms around me. “ Sladkaya zhizn’. ”

I throw my arms around his neck, clinging to him as my body quakes.

“Shh.” He strokes my hair. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

His words only make me sob harder as I bury my face in his neck.

He holds me for a moment, the sound of his breathing calming me down.

“Don’t leave me.” I clench my hands on his shirt.

“Never.” He pulls back and takes my face in his strong hands. “Are you okay?”

I nod.

“I’m going to take care of this, Zara.” He wipes away my tears with his thumbs. “He’s never going to touch you again.”

As I look into his brown eyes, I know that Dimitri will do whatever it takes to protect me.

“W-what are you g-going to do?” I can’t let go of his shirt, sinking my fingers into the soft material.

I don’t want him to leave me.

“You don’t need to worry about that.” He bends down to press a soft kiss to my forehead.

My eyelids flutter closed at the comforting touch.

He’s got me .

“Mikhail’s going to come and take you home.” Dimitri rests his forehead against mine.

“But…” I swallow the lump in my throat.

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Y-you promise?” I cling to him.

He bends down to press the softest kiss to my lips. “I promise.”