Chapter 12 Jess
JESS
The train doors fly open at my stop, and I walk out like a robot.
Ever since that conversation with Nadir, my brain feels like it’s detached from the rest of my body.
Nadir knows Taro. What the actual fuck?
It would be nice if he told me how.
They’re not pals, that much is clear. If they were, Nadir wouldn’t be forcing me to stay at his penthouse until further notice.
He promised to fill me in tonight about everything.
I unfortunately can’t wait that long.
I collect my three kiddos from kindergarten, giving each of them a tight squeeze.
“Mommy!” Iris says, hugging me the longest. “Where were you?”
I glance at the time on my watch and see that I’m ten minutes late. “Sorry, baby. I got hung up at work.”
I was spaced out in my office, forgetting that time was a thing, and that I needed to be places.
“Hold hands,” I tell them as we walk home—something I tell them to do every time we go anywhere. I can’t afford to take any risks, especially now.
The look on Nadir’s face would’ve been priceless if I wasn’t involved in the situation. I’ve never seen him look as startled as that before, which means trouble.
Big trouble.
Taro must still be in the city.
Willow groans. “Ugh. No. I don’t want to hold hands.”
“Willow!”
“Charlie picked up a snail today and didn’t wash his hands properly.”
“I did wash my hands properly,” Charlie assures me.
I feel a smug smile crawl onto my face. Circumstances aside, Nadir really doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into with these three little menaces.
Although, these are his kids. The smile disappears as soon as I remember that.
As soon as we make it inside, I sit all three of them down on the carpet and steeple my hands, like I’m suddenly Nadir in a business meeting.
“I have some very exciting news.” I flash them a smile and hope it comes off as genuine. “We’re going to be living somewhere else for a little bit.”
Their faces drop in unison.
“A kind man has offered to let us stay with him for a while.” I hold my smile. “Isn’t that exciting?”
Iris frowns. “I don’t want to leave home, Mommy.”
“We’re not leaving home forever, baby. We just…need to move into somebody else’s home for a while to make space for the work men.”
Work men. Terrific.
“What work men?”
“The work men that will be fixing our house.”
It’s not a very believable lie, but it’s better than telling them about my crazy ex-boyfriend potentially stalking us around Boston again.
“It won’t be for long. Promise.”
No, it won’t be. Hopefully, with Nadir on the case, this will all be wrapped up shortly and we’ll able to move back home. For the time being, I have living under Nadir’s roof to look forward to.
I bring the kids into their room and start packing the essentials. Willow and Charlie seem thrilled with the change, like they’re going on vacation. Iris? Not so thrilled, but I’m sure she’ll lighten up when she sees where we’ll be staying.
I don’t expect anything shabby from Nadir Medvedev.
I take my first step into Nadir’s penthouse and immediately realize how weird this is.
“Charlie! Willow!” I hiss. “At my side. Now.”
Gravity pushes my jaw all the way to the floor. I expected something nice. Safe to say Nadir and I have very different definitions of “nice.”
“Do not leave my side,” I tell them.
My stomach flips when I look around the room, noticing all the decor. That decanter on the dining room table has to be worth more than my entire apartment. Even the table looks like it belongs in a palace. And that’s just one section of the room.
One part of the penthouse looks like it’s been converted into an observation deck, boasting the same floor-to-ceiling windows as the ones in Nadir’s office.
City lights twinkle outside and shine the same gold as the lamps in here, which have all been fixed to the wall.
That is definitely a stylistic choice, not a practical one.
Nadir isn’t exactly struggling for space.
“Woah!” Willow’s eyes peel wide in amusement. “We’re so high up!”
She and Charlie dart toward the windows, peering out.
“Take your hands away from the glass. Nadir doesn’t want your fingerprints everywhere.” I glance down at their feet and panic. “And take off your shoes!”
“I don’t mind.”
Ah, so he does speak.
Nadir takes off from the couch that his limbs have been draped around ever since we arrived. He didn’t need to let us in. He receives a notification on his phone and unlocks the door electronically.
“Willow! Charlie!” I call them back. “Back over here. Now.”
Oh God. How am I meant to discipline my kids in front of my boss? This is utterly humiliating. I can already feel my cheeks turning bright red as Nadir watches.
He walks toward the window, shoes clacking against the black marble floor. Does he not take those off at home? It’s six p.m. and he’s walking around like he has somewhere to be, tie on, top few buttons of his dress shirt fastened.
Nadir clasps his hands behind his back and I gulp hard, hit all of a sudden by a past memory.
Rip!
He tears my panties, his hands going to areas of me that have never been touched.
“Do you like the view?”
I snap out of my trance, blinking like a maniac to see Nadir talking to Willow and Charlie.
“How high up are we?” Willow asks.
“We’re on the ninety-second floor.” He watches with them.
“Ninety-second,” repeats Charlie, trying to make sense of that. “High.”
“Very high indeed,” Nadir says.
I’m sure Willow and Charlie are thinking the same about the man they’re speaking to. Compared to them, he can’t be much more than ninety-two floors himself.
“And who might this be?”
Iris cowers beside me as Nadir strides over.
God, I can only imagine how this looks for a five-year-old. Iris is as timid as they come and freaks out during story time when I go into detail about dragons and giants.
Nadir’s steps echo through the room, and Iris shuffles closer. I get why she looks petrified. Honestly, Nadir intimates me.
I squeeze my daughter’s hand. “He won’t bite, sweetheart.”
Even though I know he does.
He kneels down in front of her. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“I-Iris.”
“Nice to meet you.” Nadir offers his hand, which Iris takes after some prompting from me. After offering her a reassuring smile, he returns to full height.
And catches my eyes.
All the usual symptoms come to the surface. Stress. Nausea. Feeling like I’m gonna die because of how hot he is.
“Have you eaten?” he asks, brushing against my side to grab the bags.
“Y-yes,” I stutter.
Working for Nadir is totally different to living in his penthouse. This is where he relaxes. Sleeps. Brings back girls. My stomach churns at the latter. Him sleeping with other women is no crime, but it certainly feels like one.
I suppose he’s not the only one committing offenses. He’s just introduced himself to his own children without even knowing it. It’s my job to tell him the truth.
But as a mother, it’s my duty to keep my children safe no matter what. I do not want the father of my children to be a Russian mafia leader.
I guide Iris into the room, exhaling some tension out of my body. The plan is to stay here for a few nights until Nadir deals with Taro. Then we return home, and I focus on building a promising future for my kids.
“My concierge will help retrieve the rest of the luggage,” Nadir says.
“Great.”
I decide it’s best to keep my sentences short and to the point. Living here won’t change anything. I refuse to let Nadir see that I’m nervous. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing the role of employee or guest. I still keep my walls up.
“I’m gonna get the kids settled. It’s their bedtime soon.”
“My maid can sort that for you.” Nadir snaps his fingers, and a woman in her mid-to-late forties spawns out of nowhere.
“I was a kindergarten teacher for ten years,” says the woman.
I believe her, but that doesn’t change the fact that these are my kids. “Thanks,” I say to Nadir and the maid. “But I got it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” I say over my shoulder, gathering all three kids from the window.
“Let Maureen at least show you to their rooms.”
Rooms?
Was that word plural?
I stall, turning back around. “Um. Okay.”
Maureen takes the lead, guiding us through a golden furnished kitchen that looks more like a showroom, and into a corridor, which leads to three guest rooms.
Double beds?
They’ll drown.
Charlie and Willow both gasp.
“A room each?” Charlie says.
“Only the best for you three very well-behaved children,” says Maureen, gleaming down at my kids with kind eyes.
Even Iris appears to be warming up.
I swing into the other two guest rooms, seeing that they also have double beds.
Maureen senses my hesitation and appears behind me. “We can put up some bed rail guards for safety.”
“Yeah.” I spin around. “How long will they take to deliver?” I slip out my phone, but Maureen lowers the device before I even have time to search.
“Nadir can phone someone to fix them up in half an hour.”
My eyes flare wide. “Half an—?”
“Relax, dear.” Maureen places a hand on my arm. “Everything is taken care of.”
I frown. There has to be a catch. A hidden fee.
All I wanted was some extra cash to afford a nanny and a weekend off, and now it seems I have that.
Maureen seems kind and Nadir seems…weirdly okay with kids.
I can’t imagine him having much practice, unless there’s a secret wife and baby he’s not telling me about.
A lot can happen in six years. I’m living proof of that.
“Here,” Maureen says. “I’ll keep them entertained for thirty minutes while you unpack. The guy will be here shortly to fix the rails onto the beds.”
I search her face. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”