Page 86 of Emerald Malice

“The whole damn office knows that he’s been trying to get in her pants since she started working there.”

“And what does Natalia do when he flirts?”

“Er…”

My eyes narrow. “Leonty.”

He slumps in defeat. “She always turns down the dates but, well… I mean, it’s not like she encourages him; it’s just that she doesn’t exactly discourage him, either. Especially not lately.”

“What does that mean?”

Leonty is looking downright miserable now. “It’s no secret that she’s kinda pissed at you.”

Of course that’s not a secret. She nearly brought down the whole house the other day when she stormed into my office.

And if I was in any doubt about just how pissed off she was, it was cleared up later that night when I went to the pool house and found the windows shut tight and the doors locked.

Impregnable Fort Pool House has stood strong the last three nights.

“Go on,” I encourage when Leonty pauses.

“Well, lately, she’s been a lot more accepting of Byron’s advances. Mind you, she hasn’t actually accepted a date with him?—”

“Nor will she,” I snarl, heading for the door.

He leaps up and dashes after me. “You’re not gonna do what I think you’re gonna do, right?”

I ignore him and pull out the keys to my Bentley. “You’re off-duty today, Leonty. Relax. Go have a swim in the pool.”

“Brother, do you really think this is a good idea? This is only gonna make her angrier.”

“I know. I’m counting on it.”

Sunshield doesn’t close for a few more hours, but everyone in the office is deep in their mid-afternoon slump.

There’s a bearded man playing Tetris on his computer. Another sleeping at his desk. Two women lean over their cubicle wall, heads bent together as they gossip about all the mundane fools around them.

“Mr. Kuznetsov!” a shrill voice calls, cutting through the afternoon lull.

I turn to find Natalia’s presumptuous, breast-forward coworker, whose name I’ve already forgotten and whose face I’d hoped never to see again.

“How wonderful to see you in the office again! Have you come to meet Mr. Ewes? Because he’s not here right now, but I can show you?—”

“Do you have an off button?” I spit.

That seems to take her down a couple of notches. She stares at me blankly.

“Thank God,” I sigh. “Point me to Natalia.”

There’s no mistaking the pout that turns down her red-smacked lips. “She’s over there, through those doors.” She aims a manicured finger towards the wall of glass where the senior staff resides. “In Byron’s office.”

My knuckles crack.

I stalk off in the direction she indicated, fully prepared to break bones if I have to. Thankfully, Abby seems to have gotten my less-than-subtle hint, because she doesn’t follow me. She may be an empty-headed moron, but at least she knows to stay out of the range of splashing blood.

Through the glass walls, I can see both Byron and Natalia. They have their backs to the door. Thanks to the carpeted floor, my entrance goes unnoticed.

“… you’re being ridiculous,” Natalia insists.

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