Page 5 of Preferential Treatment

He shook his head. “Not precisely. Pain for pain’s sake is not my pleasure.”

“Then what is your pleasure?”

He had to fight a grin. He must’ve looked feral, but the wild risk of propositioning her this way—when Mikhail never took wild risks—had his adrenaline up. “That is a more detailed conversation that I would prefer not to have in my office. But speaking broadly, when I have the free time to indulge, I would like your company.”

Kate said nothing and her face revealed none of her thoughts.

“Within reason, of course. I have obligations and responsibilities that can’t be interfered with, and I’m sure you do as well. But aside from that…”

“How often?”

Mikhail shrugged. “My schedule is erratic, depending on the needs of the company. I might spend weeks out of the country, and then have ten days straight of availability. I know your work schedule, and I’m sure you’ve got obligations outside of work, but if you’re willing to be generous with your time for me, I will be generous with my wealth.”

He might have misstepped with that one. Kate’s eyes flashed ice cold. She wasn’t his usual sort of companion, he had to remind himself. She hadn’t come to him intending to make an arrangement. Her dominance wasn’t a performance, it was innate. If he insulted her, she’d walk.

He couldn’t let her go.

“Please,” he said gently, beseechingly. “Let me be generous to you.”

She regarded him stonily. Silence stretched between them again, heavy and tense. He heard the ticking of the antique clock on his bookshelf, the rush of wind around the building, the distant sounds of traffic, the rasp of his own breath…

Finally, Kate spoke. “Let’s assume I said yes. What happens next?”

“Before either of us commit to anything, it would be best to get safety precautions out of the way.”

Her brow furrowed. “What precautions?”

“Just a simple NDA and very routine STI testing. This afternoon, I’m flying out to Seoul. I will be out of the country for two weeks. In that time, I would appreciate it if you had an STI test done. I have not had a partner since my most recent test, but I will get another one done and I will have those results sent to you. I will also have the NDA sent to you. You’ll have the two weeks to consider it before signing.”

“You’re very pragmatic.” It did not sound like a compliment. It sounded a bit like she was mocking him.

He shrugged. “I try to be. Is any of that objectionable to you?”

She was slow to answer, searching his face. He knew she would find nothing to read in his expression. “I guess not,” she finally said.

“Use these two weeks to think about it. When I return to Chicago, you can meet me at my house where we will discuss the particulars.”

“Your house?” She seemed surprised.

“It’s private, accessible, and I know the staff are trustworthy.”

She had her elbow propped on her crossed knee, chin resting in her hand. She tapped contemplatively at her upper lip as she searched his face. “I really want to believe you’re not going to skin me and turn me into a lampshade.”

“If I wanted to turn women into furniture, I can assure you that I would be far more discreet than this.”

Kate actually smiled at him. “That was incredibly fucking creepy. Especially with the stoic Russian thing you’ve got going on.” She shook her head. “But, also… weirdly convincing. Alright. I’ll come to your house.”

Mikhail leaned back in his chair, smiling openly now. Every day he was more convinced—money could buy happiness.

CHAPTER THREE

“Alright, this one’s a cooperative game, so we’ll be playing together instead of against each other.” Kate’s best friend, Anna Teague, shot Kate and Theo—Anna’s brother—incriminating looks.

Lost in thought, Kate didn’t immediately react. It had been a week since Mikhail Volkov’s proposition. The NDA was still sitting on her coffee table, rumpled from multiple readings, but unsigned. In one more week, she would have to make her decision. Every moment that she wasn’t actively concentrating on something else, her mind was on him.

Since his proposition, she’d been obsessively searching his name. While there were a few inconsequential tabloid items, most of his coverage was about the groundbreaking innovations he’d made in computer hardware, the growth of his company, his elevation from behind-the-scenes computer engineer to billionaire tech magnate in the space of a decade, and a million iterations of the capitalist fairytale of how he, an impoverished and unconnected immigrant, made good on the “American dream.” There was nothing about scorned lovers, restraining orders, domestic assault allegations, or mysteriously vanished exes. In fact, there was nothing about any women at all.

When Kate realized Anna was looking at her, and that she had just been sitting there, blank-faced, she rewound the words that had just been spoken. Their meaning clicked, and Kate arrowed a wounded look back at her friend while Theo smirked shamelessly. Quite a few games had been stricken from their “friendly” game nights either because Kate ran the board through superior strategy, or Theo did through underhanded trickery.

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