Chapter 19 Hopeful
Hopeful
Anika
Like a nasty case of toenail fungus, Levi wouldn’t go away.
She’d entered the lobby, a hopeful expression on her face when she didn’t see him at first. Maybe he’d gotten tired of waiting for her—it’d been almost an hour—and left.
But she could never be so lucky. Just as she was about to rejoice, his lean frame materialized.
He’d been sitting behind another group of employees in the lobby, but as he strode over to her, there was no denying his intent.
Levi was here for her, and he wouldn’t be deterred.
Despite her previous unsavory attempts at persuading him to give up, Levi still clung to her like she was his lifeline.
It didn’t matter if she was nice or mean or long winded with her answers or short.
She even divulged gross personal details she’d hoped would deter him, but if anything it made him sidle closer.
Men were tenacious, if anything.
“I was starting to worry about you,” he replied as soon as she was in earshot. A soft brush of his lips across her temple as he swept her into a hug made her spine stiffen.
“I…had more emails come in after you stepped out,” she replied, body short circuiting at the unwanted touch. “I should’ve texted you.”
“No need,” he pulled away, hands still gripping her shoulders. “I called and moved our reservation back.”
Great. “Thank you,” she said aloud instead.
“Anything for you.” She winced, but he didn’t notice, too busy offering her his elbow as if she needed to be chauffeured out of work on a Friday evening.
If anyone asked her about this slimy man next week, she’d set the building on fire.
“Although I’m sad to see you without the flowers in your hair. ”
“I’m sorry,” she wasn’t, “but I didn’t think they were formal enough for our dinner.”
He chuckled, holding the door open for her, “Anything you wear, Anika, would be appropriate for our dinner date.”
Ugh, there was that word again. “Of course, I should’ve known.”
“It’s okay, maybe just ask me next time.”
The gun strapped to her ankle currently pulsed with promise. It would be so easy to slip it free and push it into his ribs, anything to get him to shut up.
“While I appreciate your gestures, I’m not really the type of woman to ask for permission first,” she said.
It was blunt, but it was better than her former thoughts.
Levi didn’t answer her for a moment, guiding her to his telltale white BMW at the curb in front of her office building.
Opening the car door for her as well, she didn’t miss the way his eyes roved over her figure as she sat down into his awaiting passenger seat.
Thank goodness she wasn’t wearing a skirt.
She bit back a shiver as his azure eyes twinkled with mischief. “I can see why they gave you your own office.”
“What’s that—”
He closed her door, silencing the rest of her words.
“That was rude,” she muttered while watching him walk around the front of his car. He should count his lucky stars she couldn’t reach over and press the accelerator and run him over.
“Apologies,” Levi said immediately when he got back in. “I don’t want to be late for our reservation.”
She glared at his side profile, unafraid to make him uncomfortable with her gruffness. “For a dinner you never asked me if I wanted, mind you.”
He pulled away from the curb, soft jazz playing from the car speakers. “I did, and you agreed.”
“I’d call that harassment more like.” Anika’s arms were crossed.
“It’s more like persuasion,” he shook his head playfully before his free hand settled on her thigh. “Sometimes women need a little push, then they realize what you mean to them.” He squeezed her leg to punctuate his meaning.
Her mouth popped open. “That’s a telling detail.”
“What? I’m just being honest.” His voice was so at odds with the poison slipping from his mouth. His appearance was honeyed and innocent, his features schooled into the perfect look of placation. Anika was beginning to wonder if she was hallucinating.
“Honesty doesn’t suit you,” she said, “hence why you’re in real estate.”
Now it was his turn to glance over at her, mouth ajar. “Well, aren’t you just a little firecracker?” The nickname had her fingers twitching for her gun again. She longed to flash it at him and show him what a pathetic ass he was. But she refrained. “I like how unapologetic you are.”
“Men never apologize, so why should I?”
“A fair point.” He thankfully turned onto the street the restaurant was on.
She had to keep up this charade for a bit longer, then she could be free.
All the while, her plan solidified in her mind; Mikko had found her note and it was stoking an internal flame inside of him if her missing scarf was any indication.
It was a shame Alek was long gone, or else Anika might’ve found herself having fun toying with Mikko while trying to derank his father.
But alas, life had a different plan for them.
“Also, don’t expect that flowers and a dinner will get me into bed with you,” Anika said, the sign for The Stuffed Pepper appearing.
While appalled by his behavior, she wasn’t surprised.
He wasn’t the first man to act this way with her and wouldn’t be the last. She twisted the rings around her fingers in muscle memory.
A gesture he’d most likely read as anxiety.
Set the trap…
Levi’s eyes had flicked from her fingers and back to her eyes, like she wanted.
And catch the prey.
He feigned being wounded by her words as he pulled his car up to the valet. “I would never, but what kind of compliments or gifts would you like?”
“You’re playing with fire by asking a woman that.”
His grin had widened at her words, pure male arrogance sweeping across his countenance. “What can I say, I’m here to serve.”
Anika’s eyebrow raised. “I’m listening.”
“Name your price and consider it done.”
Oh, she had a price, one even he wasn’t ready for.
Let’s see how long it takes for jealousy and intrigue to draw my other suitor out from the shadows…
Procuring her deep crimson lipstick from her purse, she reapplied before answering. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”
“Oh, so mysterious.”
Stepping out of the car, he handed the valet attendant his keys before rounding the vehicle to get Anika.
Levi thought he was getting what he wanted: a woman he’d deemed unattainable.
Another notch in his bedpost was all she was, and that was fine.
Levi meant nothing to her either. He was another piece within her puzzle, his own lust and want making him the perfect bait.
He just didn’t know it.
* * *
SEATED IN A booth across from Levi, Anika pretended to scour the menu.
“Get anything you want,” Levi spoke, interrupting her thoughts as usual, “my treat.”
Fighting the instinct to roll her eyes, Anika nodded demurely. “Of course, it is a date after all.”
She met his eyes through her lashes, expressing something she knew looked flirtatious. In reality, heat threaded itself into her muscle fibers, her hands itching to smack the sly grin off the man’s face.
Pleased when he shut up, Anika’s eyes caught on the highest number on the menu. Perfect. If Levi thought she was someone he could parade around—bragging all the while about trying to fuck his client—then he had another thing coming.
“I thought the name of this restaurant sounded familiar,” Levi said, glancing around the lavish interior.
“Have you been here before?” She already knew the answer. Previously, she’d caught wind that Mikko frequented this establishment and hoped tonight would be one of those nights.
“Yes, a couple of my real estate buddies like to bring clients here.”
“What a small world,” she supplied, eyes back on the menu, “I remember when I found it about a year ago. A slew of good reviews finally made me cave and try it. Can’t go anywhere else now.” Lie.
Levi set his menu aside, “Ah, I love a woman who does her research.”
“Which is exactly why you should be thanking me for agreeing to this.”
“Why?” he grinned, “did you do your research on me too?”
“Maybe.”
“Like what?”
His annoying persistence had her deciding on the most expensive vegetarian entree as she set her menu aside.
“I can’t quite tell you that,” she said, eyes watching him and the mirror slightly above his left shoulder which reflected the entry door they’d come in through moments earlier.
“Oh, don’t be like that. I wanna know; what does the vast internet say about me?”
Licking her upper teeth in contemplation, Anika decided between playing dumb or intimidating Levi. The latter won.
“Well, you live alone,” she started and Levi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “preferring to explore the city instead of being holed up in your apartment. You’re well traveled, and judging on the timestamps of your last several years on social media you prefer flexing in front of a mirror more than showing up to work.
“You’ve only been working at Romanov Real Estate for about ten years from what I can find…
” Anika trailed off, yearning to unleash more, but trying to strike a balance between tormenting him and playing the game for a little longer.
“And yet you’ve been traveling before then which leads me to believe you have an inheritance or wealthy family.
Especially since you like to spend most nights at local clubs spending money and harassing bottle girls. ”
That erased his stupid grin.
“You sure know how to woo your dates,” he replied, sarcasm below the surface of his words.
“You asked.”
“True…” Levi flagged the waiter down, eager for a break in the conversation.
Anika barely managed to cover her smile as the man stopped to take their drink order.
While alcohol was something she tried not to divulge in frequently, tonight was an exception.
She needed something to power through this date.
After she’d picked a Malbec from the menu—also enjoying the market price next to it—she waited for Levi to lead the conversation. She wasn’t going to do all the talking, this date was his idea after all.
And I’m here for other reasons, she thought mischievously, eyes still straying to the mirror above Levi.
“Where were we?” he prompted once the waiter had left, his words indicating he knew but didn’t want to return to the topic of himself.
Well, that was a lie, all men liked to talk about themselves, but Levi wasn’t fond of the information she’d gleaned in the span of a week and some spare time.
No, he’d wanted to paint himself in a different light, a better one.
Sigh.
“I’m sorry if I came on too strong,” Anika supplied finally. “It’s a habit I’m trying to break.” The lie rolled off her tongue easily. If people thought her to be too much, then they could leave.
Levi chuckled, fiddling with his cuffed button down sleeves. The cerulean fabric made his eyes shine, and in the warm amber lighting of the restaurant, they almost looked like someone else’s.
Emerald pools holding secrets I want to rip free.
“No, no, it’s alright,” he continued, “that’s why I asked you out. You’re different from a lot of women I’ve met and tried to date.” Wow, I’ve never heard that before. “It’s what drew me to you in the first place.”
“Is that so?” Anika’s fingernail tapped rhythmically on the tabletop, her eyes pinning him to the spot. Levi was caught somewhere between enjoying her attention and also squirming under it. And that was just how she liked it. “Finally get tired of the bottle girls and dancers?”
“Yeah, it’s been, uh, it’s been hard to find women I connect with these days.”
“And you connect with me?”
There was an infinitesimal pause from him that Anika caught before, “Yes.”
Something was amiss. It was like a prickle in the back of her mind, incessant now that she discovered it, but the harder she tried to pinpoint it, the more it seemed to escape her. It was as if one minute he enjoyed her conversation, then the next he was in dire need of escaping.
Had Mikko put him up to spying?
It felt that way.
Too bad Mr. Romanov couldn’t do his own research by himself. Instead he had to resort to grunt workers.
“That’s interesting,” she started, waiting to continue since the waiter had returned with their drinks.
Levi took a sip of his whiskey and soda while she resumed her thoughts, “I’ve also had some…
difficulties in the dating department.” Not a lie, but it wasn’t for the reason she was about to divulge.
“Really?”
His surprise was on par with most people’s reactions.
“Yes, men have a hard time realizing my job is significant to me.”
“I could see that being an issue.”
Anika smiled as if this was her first time hearing his words.
“I always thought I hid it better, but as I grow into myself, I realize that I don’t.
But, in any case, work tends to come before my friends and family—a by-product of my independence, if you will—and it rubs potential suitors the wrong way. ”
“Sometimes men can’t handle independent, smart women,” Levi said before taking another swig of his drink. He was looking for something to take the edge off, to occupy his hands.
“Indeed. They want a pretty little trophy wife, but what they don’t know is that I’ll take the fucking trophy myself.” Taking a sip of her wine, Anika paused, eager to let him speak, curious as to what bullshit he would spew this time.
“I admire that about you”—she nearly choked on the crimson liquid settling over her taste buds—“it’s not often that you can find someone who cares for their job in that way. Dedication is a rare trait these days.”
A bold statement coming from him since he seemed lazy in every meaning of the word, but oh, if only he knew the lengths she’d go to.
“I’m glad to share this with you. Maybe this is exactly what we need. A fresh start, of sorts.” Anika knew her words were feeding into his fantasy, but she couldn’t help herself. A little indulgence never hurt anyone. Well, most of the time.
Levi smiled. “That’s what I’m hoping for.”
In the mirror she’d been watching, she caught sight of movement. The door to the restaurant had opened, revealing dark hair, a crisp suit, and green eyes she couldn’t get out of her head.
He really can’t stay away, can he?
Lifting her delicate glass, wine sloshing gently inside, she clinked it against Levi’s tumbler of whiskey. “Here’s to hoping.”
And she swore she saw Mikko’s grip on his helmet tighten in the reflection.