Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Genevieve
“What should I wear?” I looked at Anna, who was staring at my open wardrobe.
I had been so focused on work outfits I had completely forgotten to get anything for going out.
She walked past me like she knew something I didn’t, reaching into my wardrobe to pull out a dress I had long forgotten.
“When I say take the outfit, you take the outfit.”
I stared at the red bandage dress I had fought tooth and nail against purchasing at the mall and the person holding it with brand-new gratitude. “What would I do without you?”
She tossed the dress at me. “Fall into despair?”
I grabbed the dress and hurried into the bathroom.
A huge part of the reason I’d taken this house amidst other beautiful options was the ensuite bathrooms. Nothing felt better than having your own little sanctuary.
“So, will SSB be present at the party or what?" Anna’s voice called from my room.
I rolled my eyes at her refusal to stop using the title. “No. He’s currently on a trip, and even if he was, I doubt he’d be the type to attend a meet-and-greet with the staff.”
“So you haven’t seen him since he fucked your brains out in the office, then?”
Barely one week since my encounter with Kazimir and I was already beginning to regret saying a word to her. She brought it up every single day.
“He’s on a work trip,” I replied, and before she could get the chance to say how I should’ve gone with him as an assistant, I quickly added, “And I’m grateful for the space.”
“Hmmm. So you don’t walk around the place with a thrill in your bones and flashbacks?”
I popped my head out the door to find her laying out a pair of pumps. “I told you I only focus on work while in the office.”
“Yeah. Your sermon about separating work from pleasure and earning your place.” She looked at me. “Remind me how that turned out again?”
I groaned, returning to finish up my business in the bathroom.
“You fucked your boss,” she continued, “and you liked it. There’s no shame in that.”
“I’m not ashamed, Anna. I just don’t like recounting the details every time.”
I walked out of the bathroom and her lips split into a smile of approval.
“Pity he won’t get to see you in this.” As though an exciting thought entered her head, her eyes lit up almost immediately. “Does he follow you on Instagram? We can upload a few photos to bait him. Bet he’ll end whatever took him there and be home in a flash.”
I rolled my eyes at her delusion. Kazimir was hardly a man who would be found dead on social media, and even if he was, he wouldn’t be the type to stalk anyone, let alone hop on the next flight because they wore a short bodycon red dress.
“What?” Anna queried my reaction. “He ended a meeting once to fuck you, he can do it again.”
I winced at the crudeness of her words whilst clasping a necklace at my back. “Can you stop saying it like that?”
“It’s the facts, baby girl, your boss is pussy-whipped.”
I didn’t bother arguing; it only gave her the opening to say more.
A moment passed before she spoke again. “Heard from Leo?”
I drew in a deep breath. My brother had gone from being my most fond topic to being the most sensitive.
“He called, something about going straight and wanting to return to college.”
Anna nodded behind me, taking a brush from my vanity and proceeding to brush my hair. “And what did you say to him?”
“Told him I had to see the proof and I would only pay his school fees directly to the school.”
“That’s good. Hopefully, he doesn’t get into more trouble.”
“Yeah.” I stared at my reflection, wondering how our parents would feel if they saw how things unfolded between us. Would they be disappointed or proud?
I was finally doing good, got a new apartment in a nice neighbourhood, paid off my debt and began setting up a nice savings account.
Leo was one of the reasons I worked hard and now we barely spoke. It hurt to not be able to share my success with him completely.
“He’ll come around," Anna reassured, pinning my hair up and letting a few curls fall in front. “I think he has learned his lessons.”
“I hope so,” I muttered in response.
“Well, look at you,” Anna suddenly exclaimed. “You look like you belong on the front page of a magazine.”
I winked at my reflection. “I know, right?”
“That Russian dick doing you real good.”
“And here we go again.”
She let out a bark of laughter. I swear she was enjoying this a little too much.
“You think I’ll fit in?”
“Fit in?” she scoffed. “Girl, you'll hold everyone’s attention the whole night.”
I was grateful for her effort to make me feel good, but I couldn’t shake off the nerves.
I’ve been at the office for almost three months and was just finding out about a monthly get-together.
Despite Caroline and Rose’s kindness, it felt like I was only just becoming officially accepted into the flock, and this felt oddly like a debut.
I took a deep breath, giving myself a thorough perusal in the mirror before deciding it was now or never.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered, slipping into the shoes Anna laid out, grabbed my purse and made for the door.
The security lock came on the moment I touched it, taking a second before turning green and clicking open.
“You know you have to let them know about that.” Anna gestured at the lock. “If I were running from a stalker and trying to get into my house, the last thing I would need is a damn lock taking time to recognize my fingerprint.”
I nodded in agreement. I already made a note to call in the delay and how you need to pull in your face for the iris scan to work. It had to be instant.
“I’ll let Nikolai know about that.” I stepped out of the door, turning to Anna. “Be good.”
Her lips curled into a picture of mischief. “Yes, Mother.”
Shaking my head, I closed the door and headed to my Uber.
The lounge was nothing short of my expectations. Low lights, great music and expensive decor.
Rose's watchful eyes fell on me the moment I walked in. “OMG, Gen, you look gorgeous.”
“You look dashing yourself.”
She twirled, giving me a 360-degree view of her stylishly cut black dress. “It’s couture.”
“I expect no less.”
“Well, if it’s not the gorgeous newbie.” A woman I always saw during meetings but never had the pleasure of meeting walked up to us.
She stretched out her arm. “Abigail.”
“Genevieve,” I replied, taking her hand.
“Oh, I know who you are,” she cleared her throat, mimicking a familiar accent. “Miss Sinclair.”
I laughed at her failed impression of Kazimir. “Glad I could make an impression.”
She gave me a once-over. “You certainly do.”
My eyes swept over the lounge, noting how only staff were present. I turned to Rose, who nodded in affirmation.
“We rent the place for the night so we can talk smack about superiors without fear.”
Blonde hair caught my eyes as Sylvie emerged from a corner in a micro skirt and corset top. “The meeting is for all?”
“Yup,” Abigail replied. “It’s always been that way, but you were too stuck in your job to get an invite.”
I blushed at her response.
Rose linked her arm with mine. “Come on. We have to pry the details of Caroline’s sleepover from her.”
I gasped, waving at Abigail as I let Rose drag me away. “She spent the night with him?”
“Yup. Returned with hickeys and all as proof, but she won’t say a word about the details.”
We found Caroline in a corner with Collin, a silk scarf I would’ve thought chic had I not known the details wrapped around her neck.
“Hello, gorgeous,” Collin greeted when we approached the duo. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I replied, walking over to Caroline’s side and leaving his side empty for Rose.
I’d been avoiding him since the conference room.
Matter of fact, I’d avoided everyone after nearly screaming down the whole place before Rose said something about the building being soundproof because of the manner of information that flowed through it.
I felt myself relax for the first time after walking around with the feeling of every whisper being about me.
I made a mental note to give Kazimir a piece of my mind for his deception.
However, my decision to give Collin a wide berth stemmed more from Kazimir’s threat to chop him into pieces and feed him to the fishes; hence, even after I relaxed knowing my secret was safe, I still couldn’t relax around him.
There was also the question of our date. Even if I thought Kazimir wouldn’t make good on his threat—which I strongly doubted—I still didn’t want to deal with rejecting him.
“Can you excuse us for a moment, Col?” Rose batted her lashes at him. “We need to indulge in girl gossip.”
Caroline’s eyes doubled with panic. “Please don’t leave me with them.”
“I’m sorry, Caroline, but you know how your friend is. Can’t risk it,” Collin said.
He stood, said his goodbyes to the girls, and gave me a wink before sauntering off.
“He’s totally into you,” Rose said the moment he was out of earshot.
I groaned, slouching into the sofa.
“You don’t like him?” Caroline asked. “He’s quite a catch.”
“Yeah,” I nodded in agreement. “But Collin’s just not my type.”
“Pity,” Rose said, staring at his retreating figure. “He’ll get over it.”
“Back to you, missy.” Rose turned to Caroline. “Care to explain the reason you’re covering your neck in detail?”
Caroline shrunk into her seat, but when she found Rose had no intention of dropping it, she eventually opened up.
“We had sex.”
“We already know that bit,” Rose deadpanned, waving the waiter over. “What we want to know is how it happened.”
“A dirty martini for me,” she said when the server arrived, leaving us to place our orders.
“I’ll take the French 75,” I said.
“And I’ll have straight vodka.” Caroline groaned, pulling herself up. “And keep it coming, I’ll be needing it.”
I chuckled at her evident despair while Rose smiled widely. “Get on with it.”
“It started during dinner.”
As Caroline divulged the details of her night, I couldn’t stop the wave of guilt that washed over me.
Here they were, being completely honest and divulging private details of their lives to me, while I sat, lips tightly clamped with the heaviest secret.