Chapter 8 - Lev

If I thought spending time with Jenna alone would cure my infatuation, I was wrong. She was more enchanting than ever. I was not off the hook; she was the star of my thoughts the entire weekend. Images of her flashed before me when I tried to catch up on long overdue paperwork. I drifted during phone conversations with Aleks about how we were going to go about furthering our interests in San Francisco.

I hung up on him after he told me to get my head out of my ass, not bothering to call him out for his hypocrisy, since he'd interrupted the conversation twice to tell me how the baby was kicking so hard he could see a tiny foot mark popping from Katie's belly.

Not that I could begrudge him. I was happy for my older brother, and excited for a new addition to the family. Growing up in such a big, raucous family, loaded with mischief and practical jokes, I'd always thought it was a damn shame Aleks hadn't been able to have more children.

There weren't many times I thought it was such a shame that I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and get to work on that front myself. Until now. Now, I couldn't stop myself from wondering what it might be like to have a real future with my little intern. Was something like that even worth thinking about, knowing the fury that would be heaped on me by my older brother and his wife, who was as protective as any mama bear about her little sister?

Nothing got done, and I only made more work for myself by starting projects and not finishing them. My mind always returned to Jenna. She was remarkably mature, and it was clear she was hard on herself. I'd heard her sister talking about her struggles in school, but during our dinner on Friday night, she admitted it herself. In her eagerness to perform well, she'd overtaxed herself.

It seemed like she suddenly realized that she was admitting her shortcomings to her boss, and I rushed to assure her we were just friends that night. Her blush tormented me, my fingers aching to reach across the table and touch the pearly apples of her cheeks. I was hungry to know everything about her. Nothing she said was dull or insipid.

No, there was no getting over her; she was in my blood.

Going into the lobbying firm on Monday was out of the question. There was no way I could see her and not drag her into my office and kiss her senseless again. I met up with some of my men who'd been laying the groundwork for a seamless takeover of some local businesses, and we discussed strategy. Any rivals we might face up here were weak and scattered. It was the politicians we had to get in our pockets if we wanted to have any real power up here.

That was already well underway, and things were running so smoothly there were no more excuses to stay away from the office on Tuesday. And I had no more willpower to stay away from Jenna any longer.

I arrived to find the office in upheaval. Apparently, the new girl—my girl—added some dates wrong to the shared calendar, causing Vera to miss an important meeting with a client we hoped to bring on board. Vera was spitting mad and scurrying to make things right with the overseas delegates so we didn't lose a contract that would have meant over six million dollars in revenue for us if they'd signed.

I listened patiently to Vera describe the fallout of this disastrous mistake, while, the pieces were falling into place.

"I'll take care of it," I said, cutting my office manager off mid-rant.

"Did you hear a word I said?" she asked, pursing her lips in quiet fury. "Your little side project cost us a fortune, and I'm not sure I can salvage the situation. She has to go, Lev."

I gave her the look to quit while she was ahead. I didn't like the way she referred to Jenna, who meant so much more to me than what her harsh words implied. I hadn't meant to hit her full blast with the death glare, but she clamped her lips shut, her dark brows furrowed.

"I have full faith in you being able to salvage anything," I told her. "But I'll take care of Jenna. Send her in, please."

Quieting my fevered thoughts, I waited several moments for my intern to appear in the doorway. Jenna held onto the door frame as if to keep herself from falling over, and looked like she was on the verge of tears. I had no doubt she'd had an earful since this morning when her mistake was discovered, and everyone realized how pissed off the president of the overseas medical supplies firm was to be left dangling.

"Come in and shut the door," I said, keeping a level tone despite wanting to drag her into my arms and assure her everything was fine.

With a nod, she stepped in, oozing misery and practically shaking as she carefully closed the door behind her. She clung to the handle briefly, straightened her shoulders, and turned to face me. Tremulous, but holding it together and ready to weather any storm. That was my Jenna.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Volkov," she started, and I mentally cursed that she wasn't calling me Lev anymore. Not that she could in this situation. She couldn't possibly know what it did to me to hear her utter my name from her lush lips. "It was a stupid mistake, and I've already said I'll explain everything to Ms. Bodmer and her team. I'll do whatever it takes to fix things, but you have to understand how imperative it is that I don't lose this internship. If I get a bad report, it's—"

She bit her lip and stopped herself from continuing, then looked up at me with big hazel eyes, waiting for the guillotine to drop.

I sighed and stood up, rounding my desk. "There's no way I can keep you on here," I said. "People will know there's favoritism at play."

"I understand," she whispered, then set her jaw with determination. "But if I could—"

I held up a finger, and she fell silent, her head slowly lowering in defeat. "I can't keep you on here, but I can switch you to a different position if you want."

Her chin tilted up, and her eyes widened, full of fresh hope. "Anything, yes. I already accept."

A slow smile took over my face as I moved past her to lock the office door. "Good. Let me tell you the details."