Chapter 7 A Showing
A Showing
Mikko
The manila folder Dr. Layla supplied Mikko with after he called in the favor currently sat in front of him, minimal information on a certain Anika Simmons staring up at him.
Any normal person would feel guilty for prying, but Mikko considered himself to be above that.
And this wasn’t the first, or last, time he’d used his power to get information on someone.
It was a habit he’d grown used to, the access his last name granted him undeniable.
Besides, he only had ?ofia gather the readily available information about his mystery woman—nothing too scandalous.
Name, height and weight, date of birth. Address.
The last one tempted him beyond anything else, but he averted his eyes. For now. A small picture of her accompanied the information in the folder. It was clipped from one of the security cameras, but it still set Mikko’s heart racing. Almost as much as the real life visage of her did.
While he’d tried to keep himself and his thoughts far away from her, his brain couldn’t let her go—not without a little investigation. There’d been nights the folder he currently held had burned a hole in the locked desk drawer he’d left it in, in hopes the thought of her would go away.
But it was futile.
The more Mikko resisted looking into the folder—into her—the more his mind screamed at him.
When his fingers finally brushed along the edge of the papers a couple nights ago, the lamplight his only witness, he’d justified his actions. It’s for the safety of my business.
A lie. He didn’t care about his father’s business, if anything he wanted out.
Anika was steadily becoming an outlet, one he’d been using to escape the dull afternoons at work.
When she was in his thoughts, the day flew by.
When he contemplated stopping by her house to antagonize her, his life suddenly felt whole.
It was the same feeling he got when a beautiful painting captured his attention or a picture’s composition struck awe into him. His creative self was forever chasing captivating things.
The well-being of Romanov Real Estate only mattered to him partly, and that was because of Cristiano.
The business motivated his friend, kept him busy and doing things he enjoyed—minus the torturing, but even then he found the positives.
If Anika was plotting against the company, Mikko wanted to be the first to know.
After all, she’d come up to him, wants and desires unknown. In Mikko’s world, that was a dangerous place to be, but everyone could be bought and persuaded, he just needed to find out what Anika’s weaknesses were.
Despite these circumstances impacting Cristiano, Mikko kept this close to his chest, unwilling to admit to his…
What even is this?
Regardless of its name, Mikko wanted to keep Cristiano from prying, his friend always poking his nose where it didn’t belong. If he’d sensed Mikko’s curiosity, he never would’ve let him live it down.
But now he wasn’t even sure that was a truthful reasoning.
His inquisitiveness had grown, percolated into a bitter tonic Mikko was beginning to crave. He was addicted to the idea of her and what she stood for, grasping for something he couldn’t have—someone he couldn’t catch.
And now he didn’t want to stop. He didn’t even know how to. The fantasy was too delectable to give up.
In a few short days, his sanity had slipped through his fingertips. The control he usually prided himself on vanished when his thoughts strayed to her, which was more often than not these days. It was miraculous how a small interaction and his compulsive thinking had consumed his thoughts.
He’d been here before, with three other women and it ended in flames…
This time is different, he thought, damn near pleading insanity.
All those other times outside factors had squashed his chances, but this time he was in control of his fate.
Mikko wanted another chance with Anika—wanted her to touch him again.
It’d been so long since he’d felt a connection like that.
People steered clear of his looming form, knowing his presence meant trouble.
But not her. Maybe she was unwise approaching him, ignoring every red flag he usually displayed to others: his stern looks, his unbecoming small talk, and his blasted infamous last name.
As foolish as it sounded, there was no denying her intrigue.
And if anyone asked, it was for the welfare of the real estate business.
At least, that was what he’d been repeating internally until his laptop pinged.
A new notification in his email inbox indicated someone was interested in one of the properties he’d listed for lease. Clicking on it, his surprise was hardly masked.
First, the property was one he imagined wouldn’t get much traction, its location prime, but the work needing to be done to it scared most buyers off. Mikko knew there would be a bit of finagling to get it to sell, but now he was eating his words.
And the second part made his stomach drop.
The words entered into the name field of the contact form was one he’d seen before—one he’d recently learned and was currently daydreaming about.
Anika Simmons.
The world was becoming an increasingly small place, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or despised it. She had to be baiting him.
His thoughts raced for a different reason. Again, his name was an advertisement all on its own, but his picture never accompanied his listings. If he really wanted to paste a face up somewhere, Cristiano usually took on that role. The cocky bastard enjoyed the free attention.
Should I send him out to this property?
There was no way in hell Mikko was going himself.
While he may be constantly thinking about Anika, he couldn’t face her in person again.
Not yet. It was too soon, his mind convoluted.
The last thing he needed was to see her and say or do something stupid.
Once he had his logic watertight, he’d meet her. If the transaction even went that far.
She might see the property tomorrow and run the other direction.
She’d be smart to do that honestly. Quickly, he texted Levi who was one of his more trustworthy employees with the real estate firm.
The idea of even using Cristiano in this situation hit too close to home.
Levi could handle it and be far enough removed that Mikko wouldn’t chew his inner cheek tissue completely off in the time being.
Are you free tomorrow evening at 5:30? :Mikko
A few minutes later, his colleague responded.
Levi: Yeah, what’s up?
I need you to go to this showing :Mikko
Here’s the address :Mikko
Levi: Sure, I’ll put it into my calendar
Before he could lose his nerve, or even think about what he was doing, Mikko forwarded the email containing the rest of the listing’s information.