Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Genevieve
Turns out I didn’t need a gun to my head and I was very capable of doing the convincing myself.
It was midnight when I was picking out the outfit for the next day, and my eyes landed on the black set idling at the back of my wardrobe.
I’d told myself I was only going to try it out since I never got to do so at the boutique and see how it fit, but one look at my reflection in the mirror and next I knew, I was standing in front of Caroline, a blazer draped over my shoulders, begging to take the work off her plate while she went on a hot date.
There was a huge difference between the level of morale needed to start a task and the one needed to see it to the end, especially when the focal point was removed.
Kazimir chose today of all the days in the weeks I’d been working for him to not turn up.
My effort was in vain; the time spent fixing my hair, everything felt like the build-up to a comic show. Even my outfit felt like a clown costume.
“Nice skirt, Gen.” Rose whistled upon entering Caroline’s office. “You must tell me where you got it.”
I masked my grimace with a smile. “It’s a boutique downtown, I’ll send you the address.”
“I told her she belonged on the front page of a magazine when she came in, but she insists on covering herself with that hideous blazer.”
“It’s not hideous, Caroline, it’s chic.”
“Maybe on a pregnant woman trying to conceal a bump, but on you, it’s taking the attention from the fit. Why wear it if you’re going to cover it up the whole day?”
“Because I’m more comfortable this way?”
“Then you should reassess your definition of comfortable. The blazer is hideous.”
Rose cut in before I could come up with the perfect bite back. “Why don’t you take it off and let me be the judge of that.”
“Go on,” Caroline persuaded. “Show her.”
“It’s nothing serious, she’s just looking for something to distract her from the fact that she’s nervous about her date.”
Rose’s lips stretched into the widest smile. “It appears I walked in at the perfect time. You hold the date, we’ll return to it when I’m done with the outfit.”
My shoulders slumped in defeat.
Caroline chuckled, her eyes twinkling with victory. “You thought you could use my date as a distraction? Off with the jacket.”
I subconsciously scanned the environment as though anyone could see through the thick walls shielding the space from the hallway before unbuttoning the blazer and dropping the shoulder.
“Oh my God, Gen, this is gorgeous.” Rose gasped, hurrying me out of the jacket.
Caroline’s voice came with a triumphant, “Told you.”
“Really, this is the best I’ve seen you look, and you attempt to cover it up?”
I knew the statement was meant as a compliment, but I couldn’t help the sudden wave of self-awareness.
Like I anticipated, my change of wardrobe did not go unnoticed.
“Can’t understand how anyone would snag a position like yours and insist on dressing like a receptionist,” Caroline pointed out. “If I were you, I would head straight to Valentino and snag every number on the latest release.”
“Don’t forget the shoes from Louboutin and Manolo’s,” Rose quipped.
“Won’t that be a bit too much?”
The two looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head.
Rose spoke first. “Honey, looks are everything in this world. Why do you think the wardrobe allowance is that fat? No one expects a billionaire's personal assistant to look anything short of awesome. Thank God you finally got the memo,” she breathed in relief. “I was beginning to think I’d have to drag you to the mall myself.”
Anna would’ve loved to be in this conversation.
To think that I’d spent the entire day at the mall selecting outfits I felt didn’t do much for my appearance to keep people from talking, while the people in question were wondering why I was intentionally dressing down. We’re really our biggest judge.
Rose finally decided to take a seat. “So what’s the news about this hot date?”
Relieved to finally have the spotlight out of my way, I decided to seize the opportunity to get what I came for.
“Why don’t you give me the flash drive and tell Rose all about your fine man?”
Caroline sighed. “You really don’t stop, do you?”
I grinned when I saw her reach into her purse. “I’m trying to do you a favour.”
“Here.” She handed me the drive. “But you’ll have to send everything to me before forwarding it to Nikolai.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rose shook her head. “Never seen anyone so excited about work in my life.”
I left the two to focus on the work I just secured. Caroline and Rose had been the absolute best since I began working on the executive floor.
They were always willing to help and walk me through things without making it a hassle. They invited me to lunch to give me the backstory on all the staff, who to trust and who to avoid.
It was quite refreshing to make friends in the office for a change.
Plugging the flash drive into my laptop, I dug into the long list of files and spreadsheets displayed on the screen.
While their comments on my outfit and encouragement to dress even better went a long way to make me more comfortable, there was a part of me that was still bruised by Kazimir’s absence.
I didn’t exactly have anything elaborate in mind, only to watch his reaction when he saw me and to torture him the way he had tortured me.
But he wasn’t here, and I wasn’t invested enough in Caroline’s love life to listen to her gush about the guy she was seeing for the rest of work hours without my brain finding a way to make me feel pathetic about dressing up for nothing.
I needed an actual distraction, and when she mentioned having a long line of work to attend to, I seized the opportunity. If there was one thing that had the power to drown out the noises in my head, it was work. A whole lot of it.
Long lines of paragraphs became tables, tables became calendars, calendars became spreadsheets, and when I lifted my head to stretch, the view outside had turned black.
“Fuck.” I glanced at my watch and it was ten minutes past seven. I still had about two files to go through and, by my estimate, that should take another hour.
I sent Anna a quick text letting her know I’ll be home as expected; her reply was immediate, insinuating Kazimir was the reason for my delay.
It was embarrassing how much I wanted her to be right even after vowing to never let the man have that much effect on me. I shook off the feeling of self-loathing creeping up on me, I refused to feel sorry for myself.
I dug back into work and as predicted, it took exactly an hour to round up the work and send it to Caroline for approval.
I stretched my cramped muscles, feeling the stiffness in my neck gradually loosen.
A rumbling sound alerted me to how badly I had neglected my stomach during my work marathon. Regardless, a part of me felt fulfilled. It was my first time doing actual work since I started working here and it felt good.
I gathered my stuff and let Anna know I’ll be home soon. My mood was positively lifted. I might not have achieved my initial goal, but it was a productive day and that equaled a good day in my book.
Exiting my office, I balanced my bag in one hand and proceeded to lock it with another when a figure idling in the corner caught me off guard.
“Christ!” I placed a palm over my thudding heart.
“We should stop meeting like this.”
“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t aware you would—”
My apology died on my tongue when I looked at him a second time.
The room was dark, but the lights from the window and the bar behind him were enough illumination.
Kazimir was resting casually on the same seat he had occupied during the meeting, but it wasn’t the sliver of skin peeking out from his shirt or the fact that he was wearing white for a change that stole my words.
It was the splashes of crimson staining his shirt and the gun he was casually twirling in one hand.
I stood motionless, scared shitless and wondering why I had to have the worst timing in the world.
I might not know much about him, but I knew enough to understand that if his shirt was blood-stained and there was a gun in his hand, it wasn’t some innocent accident.
Did someone else owe him and refuse to pay?
My stomach churned at the thought. I shouldn’t be here. I know I had desperately wanted to see him earlier, but not like this.
When I looked at him again, the gun had stopped moving in his hand, the playful smirk had vanished, and in its place was heat.
Only then did I remember my forgotten blazer. Kazimir’s eyes raked through every inch of me without discretion.
And me? I realized answered prayers didn’t always equal dreams coming true. I finally had the man’s attention and I would’ve gladly traded my life's savings to be rid of it.
“I should errr… I should get going, have a—”
“Step into the light, Genevieve.”
His voice washed over me like an ice bath, raising an army of goosebumps on my skin.
My voice trembled. “I really should—”
“I won’t ask twice. Step into the light.”
My feet began moving despite the sirens blaring in my head.
This would be the perfect time to resign and run till my heart gave up. He had a fucking gun in his hand, but the same voice that had encouraged me to kiss him in the elevator and to wear this outfit to work today was currently telling me a man who freed me from debt would not harm me.
I really needed to get my head and survival instincts checked.
I stopped a couple of inches away from him, painfully aware of his focus on me.
“Closer.”
I took another step.
His nostrils flared and his grip tightened on the glass of amber liquid I had just noticed in his other hand.
“I’ve had my cock inside you and you’re terrified of invading my personal space?”
Given the circumstance, my pussy had no business clenching the way she did, but she did, and now, moisture pooled in my panties.
I was such an idiot.
The smell of tobacco, sandalwood, and blood hit me the moment I entered his orbit.
My heart was a wild beast clawing at my chest for escape. Sweat collected in my palms and blood roared in my ears, spreading through me with a burning awareness as Kazimir continued his thorough perusal.
“I am absent from the office for one day and you decide to dress like that?” His voice was strained and rough at the edges. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or offended.
“It’s just a skirt and a shirt. I won’t wear it again if it’s inappropriate.”
His lips curled. “I never said it was inappropriate.”
My lips formed an ‘o’. I’d never been more confused and scared in my twenty-six years of life.
“Closer.”
I took one last step, completely sealing off the distance between us.
Kazimir took a long gulp from his glass before setting it down while I watched with my heart in my throat.
“Tell me, were you disappointed when you didn’t see me after donning your little outfit? Was that why you stayed back? You hoped to repeat your little elevator stunt?”
What the…?
I straightened a little. I might’ve been desperate, but he didn’t need to know that.
“It’s just a skirt and shirt,” I repeated in the most monotonous voice I could muster in the situation.
“So if you left without seeing me, you would be totally fine?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And if I…”
His hand suddenly brushing my thigh caused a breath to catch in my throat.
“…you would be unaffected?”
I swallowed thickly. “Yes.”
He pulled back and I was instantly grateful for the lack of his touch. I pulled in a lungful of air and regretted it when I found the atmosphere stained with him.
My relief was short-lived as the soft click of a gun reminded me of a danger I should’ve been aware of from the start but ignored.
I couldn’t move as he brought the weapon close to me, settling the cold muzzle on my inner thigh.
My lungs emptied of the oxygen I had just inhaled. My brain struggled to come up with a plan. I knew very little about guns, but prayed the safety was on. That did nothing to calm the hysterics unfolding inside me, though.
He was going to kill me for lying.
I shut my eyes, willing my brain to come up with something to save us before it was too late.
Instead of a hot bullet piercing my muscles, I felt the cold metal advance up my thigh till it was almost grazing my panties, then I heard a click.
My eyes jumped open and at the same time, the door behind us opened.
I’d never jumped away from something so fast in my life. Oxygen poured back into my lungs and my heart resumed beating all at once.
If it weren’t for the chair behind me, I would’ve fallen from the sensory overload.
“Genevieve, was it?”
If I had the energy, I would’ve given Nikolai the biggest hug, but I had neither time nor energy.
“Goodnight, gentlemen,” I breathed, and fled the room without a glance in Kazimir’s direction, even though I felt his eyes the entire way.
Thankfully, Anna had gone to sleep by the time I got back home. I couldn’t imagine having to talk after what happened.
A long bath was exactly what I needed to calm my nerves before I could relax and actually process everything.
It wasn’t what he had done that scared me; he was a part of the mob. Guns and knives were certainly part of his daily routine. It was my reaction that left a chill to my bone.
He pressed a gun into my skin and my response was pleasure, not fight. I was scared shitless and somehow unbelievably horny at the same time.
It was as though I had no control over my body when it came to him. I became whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, and that was the problem.
Because even after he had thumbed the safety off while the cold muzzle grazed my inner thigh, I found myself reaching down to quell the throbbing ache I’d been feeling the entire way home.
I was fucked.