Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Lily
The whispers had started almost as soon as we stepped out of the elevator together. At first, I had been able to put it down to paranoia, but by lunch time, I knew someone had seen the way his hand had rested for a second on my back when we arrived in the office, and they had told people.
Had Daniil simply forgotten that he wanted us to be discreet? It seemed like a simple enough mistake to make, but at the same time, I very much doubted a man like Daniil made mistakes. Either way, that one small, almost innocent-looking gesture had set tongues wagging.
Now it was near finishing time, and I knew for certain that people were gossiping about me. There were too many sly looks and whispers that fell into silence when I approached for it to be anything other than that.
We hadn’t even made it a day, and the entire office was already talking about it. I didn’t even want to know what they thought about me, but honestly, it was probably no worse than what I thought about myself.
Slut.
I had a fiancé, and I had crept into my boss’s office, without underwear on, and sat on his knee while he—
My face turned scarlet, and my body trembled at the memories of last night. I hadn’t just been needy and a slut for letting him show me just how good with his hands he was. I also knew deep down that if he had ordered me onto my knees, I would have sucked his cock like my life depended on it.
I would have done anything and everything he asked me to because, in one way, Daniil was right. I had never been with a man like him before. Did that make me a slut? It sure as hell made me a cheater, even if Greg was the one who had put me in this situation to begin with.
Damn him. He was meant to love and cherish me.
“Lily?”
I jumped in shock, knocking off a stack of paperwork that I had balanced precariously on the edge of my desk. “Shit, sorry, you startled me.” Bending down to gather the papers, I looked up in time to see one of my colleagues from marketing grinning down at me.
“Daydreaming about anyone in particular?” she cooed innocently. But her eyes were wicked.
I blushed again. “No, of course not,” I said a little too quickly. “What’s up?”
“Are you coming for drinks tonight? I know you’re not in our department anymore, but—”
I couldn’t help it. I glanced towards the glass office. It was opaque again, so I couldn’t see inside, but there didn’t seem to be any movement at all.
Hadn’t Daniil come back from his meeting yet?
“I-uh,” I stuttered.
“Unless you have other, more pressing things to do?” Claire’s eyes raked over me. She had a very knowing look on her face that I didn’t like.
I glared at her. “I don’t. Of course, I want to come and have drinks with you. Claire. I just need to check if the boss doesn’t need me for anything before I leave.”
“I’m sure the boss needs you for plenty of things, but I’m also pretty sure he isn’t here,” she said snidely. Now there could be no mistake. Claire was one of the ones gossiping about me, and if I was reading her correctly, she was feeling all sorts of emotions, the clearest of which was jealousy.
Was my friend and colleague jealous of my weird relationship with Daniil? If she was, it made no sense. As far as I was aware, they had never been in contact with each other directly.
I pushed the thought aside. Sure, the boss is probably gone, but I still need to double-check. We never figured out how I’d get home tonight. I just assumed Daniil would drive me.
Knocking on the door, I waited a whole ten seconds before pushing it in a crack. “Daniil?”
As expected, the office was completely silent and empty. He wasn’t there. Sighing, I closed the door behind me.
“Looks like I’m free to go. Just let me grab my coat and purse and shut down the system, and I’ll meet you downstairs in five minutes, ok?” I forced myself to smile at her, but she didn’t return it. Instead, she stared at me.
“Or you could wait.” Why was she staring at me like that?
“Five minutes, otherwise, I’m going to come and look for you. I want all the gossip.” She sauntered away, giving me a reprieve from her knowing stares, and I sucked in a deep, settling breath.
Daniil wasn’t here. That was a good thing because what would I have done if he had ordered me back on his lap? My pussy gave a throb like it had a little heartbeat of its own.
Oh I knew what would happen, and it couldn’t. Not again. Last night had just been a blip. A mistake. It didn’t mean anything. Going out for drinks with my colleagues was exactly what I needed to do. It’s what I would always do.
“So,” Claire drawled from her place across the packed table from me. “What is going on with you, Lil?”
“It’s different working on the top floor,” I said quickly. “Lonelier, but the pressure isn’t as bad as it is with you guys. I miss the—”
Laughter bubbled up around the table. Every single person here was someone I had worked with over the last few months. They weren’t exactly friends, but we weren’t just colleagues either.
“Oh, I bet it’s different.” A man called Clive said with a laugh. “Being so close to the big, bad boss.” His eyes lingered on my chest. “What’s that like?”
“Daniil is—” I struggled to find the right words. “Intense. He likes things to be done a certain way.”
More laughter. “Oh, we just bet he does.”
“What’s that meant to mean?” I snapped.
Silence fell.
It was Clare who spoke finally. “No one’s judging you, Lily.” She said quickly. “Everyone is just jealous. Don’t let it get to you.”
I drank the last of my white wine spritzer in one swallow. “Jealous of what, that I got this position?” My voice was argumentative, but I couldn’t help it. “I’d happily swap and go back to my real job.”
“No one cares about your job or promotion,” Clive said again. “I think we can all agree about that. His PAs have a habit of getting hurt. But then again, I guess you aren’t just his PA now, are you? So maybe he will take better care of you than he did the others.”
I opened my mouth to speak, and not a sound came out.
“You can tell us, you know. How did it happen?” Claire leaned forward, her voice a whisper. She leaned forward like an eager child. “How did it happen?”
“Nothing is happening between Daniil and me,” I snapped back.
Well, nothing but orgasms on his lap and sending his dirty videos by mistake, I added silently.
“So you didn’t arrive in the office with him this morning?”
“We rode up on the elevator together, yes, but there’s nothing going on between us.” I lied smoothly. “He’s just my boss, our boss.”
Claire sat back, her eyes widening. “That’s good because,” she plastered her face with a wide smile. “Good evening, Mr. Popov. How are you today?”
I stiffened. He was behind me. Right behind me so closely that I could smell his expensive aftershave. Had he also heard what I had just said?
“Hey.” Daniil’s fingers brushed against my shoulder blades as he curled them around the back of my chair. “So this is where you all hang out, yes?”
I didn’t need to turn around to know he was looking around and sneering. Of course, this wasn’t the kind of place he was used to frequenting. It was little more than a sports bar, but the atmosphere was usually good, and the drinks were cheap.
No one answered him.
“Let me grab a round of drinks for your table, if I can join you, that is?”
Again, no one spoke. But Daniil wasn’t the kind of man who waited for permission anyway. Within seconds, trays of drinks were placed in the center of the table, and he had pulled up a chair and wedged himself between one of the other marketing girls and me.
“So, who is playing today?” he asked softly, but his eyes were hard. He kept glancing down at my leg, which was pressed against Clive’s. And every time he did, he scowled.
“We don’t really know, sir.”Claire kept looking at me as well, her eyebrows lifting higher and higher. “That would be a question for the boys. Us girls usually just chat and—”
“Is that right?” Again Daniil stared down at my leg before lifting his eyes and spearing Clive to the spot. “And what is the gossip in the office today, I wonder?”
No one spoke. Even the crowded bar seemed to go silent. It was an illusion, but that’s how it felt.
“How about you, Lily?” Daniil turned his attention to me. “Any riveting gossip? A new lover perhaps?” He stared pointedly down at where Clive’s leg brushed against mine.
Holy Christ, he was jealous. The great and powerful Daniil Popov was jealous because I was sitting next to another man.
“No, sir.” I reached for a drink and took an unhealthy swallow. “No gossip from me. My life is as boring and mundane as ever.”
“Is that so?”
Daniil’s hand came down on my knee and slid upwards.
Fuck.
I quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but everyone was purposely looking away, which meant, of course, that they were all aware of what was happening. Shit, shit, shit. There was nothing discreet about what he was doing, and now the office really would be full of gossip.
What was he thinking? The whole thing about riding up in the elevator together was easily explained away, but his seeking me out and inviting himself to drinks with us couldn’t be, especially with the way he was leaning in close to me.
Daniil seemed to have lost his damn mind, or maybe he just didn’t care about our discreet arrangement anymore.
“Am I going to find panties under this tight little skirt, Lily?” Daniil whispered in my ear. Wildly, I looked around, but everyone was too busy chatting amongst themselves to hear him. Everyone except Claire, who kept looking at us out of the corner of her eyes.
“Of course, I mean,” I blushed scarlet. “Why wouldn’t there be?”
Of course, I knew why he would think I wouldn’t be wearing any, but I didn’t want to have that particular conversation in front of my work friends.
“Oh, I don’t know.” His fingers crept up my thigh. But the tight material of my skirt stopped him from spreading my legs. “Because you’re here, and so am I. And my hands are on your body, and you are trying not to tremble.
Or maybe you are wearing this fucking skirt that shows off all of your curves for someone else. Maybe him.” He glared at Clive and lifted an eyebrow in a silent question, but didn’t say anything. “Maybe you snuck out of the office to be with him. Is that why you left without my permission?”
I balked. “Without your permission?” I hissed back. “My shift was over.”
“Out.” Daniil stood up so suddenly that his chair almost fell back. “Everyone out.”
“Wait, what?” Claire was the first one to speak. “You can’t be serious.”
“Deadly.” Daniil didn’t even look at her. “There’s a bar two blocks over that I own.” His voice rose. “Everyone can drink there, my treat.” He motioned with his hand, and three men appeared, moving from table to table and around the bar, they began to herd people out of the door.
And not one person argued with him. That was how powerful he was. Danill Popov wanted something, so he took it. It was a scary thought. Leaning down, I went to gather up my purse and follow my friends out.
“And where do you think you are going, Miss Ridgeway?” Daniil stepped into my path and blocked my escape.
“You wanted everyone out,” I whispered, keeping my eyes on my shoes and not looking at him directly.
“Yes, everyone but you,” he drawled. “You sit right there.” He pointed to my chair, and I fell into it with a sigh.
This was going to be bad. Really bad
“Lily?” Claire called out after me even as she was dragged away by one of Daniil’s suited goons. “I’ll be fine. “I said with a forced smile. “I will call you later.”
God, I hoped that was true. I really hoped that everything was fine, but I doubted it.
Daniil looked pissed. “Now.” He turned to me the moment the door was locked, and the last of the people had been escorted off the premises. “What do you have to say for yourself?”