Page 14 of Escaping the Bratva

Sasha

V is back. That’s all I can think as I pull my car into my dedicated spot and head towards my building. I’ve been trying to push him out of my brain all weekend to no avail. I haven’t seen him since my freshman year of college, and now, all of sudden, he shows up at my apartment, claiming he took care of me the night before. I guess I can’t technically call him a liar because Alyssa confirmed his story. He did make sure we both got home safe last night, and he must have watched me all night to make sure I was okay. But I can’t let myself focus on that. V is a criminal, he’s a felon, and I’m running a billion-dollar business. This cannot happen. I step into the elevator and watch the numbers as it glides up to the top. I bought the building a few years ago. I rent out the lower level floors to other businesses, and my company has the entire top floor, where we have the best view. As the elevator dings, I make a promise to myself. I will not think about V until the day is over.

I walk up to Haley’s desk with a smile on my face. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she says as she pushes a Starbucks cup into my hand.

I laugh and take it. “How was your weekend?”

She shrugs. “It was okay. Hunter had a gig downtown on Saturday, so we hung out there. On Sunday, my mom talked me into going shopping with her, but I had a good time. How about you?”

“It was good. I just spent some time with Alyssa, like always. I need to go to Spokane one weekend and visit my grandma.”

“You two are wild. I know you won’t tell me what you really did this weekend.”

I’m pretty open with my employees. I take an interest in all of their lives. It's part of the good culture I try so hard to maintain, but I still like to keep part of my life private.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I joke.

She shakes her head and glances at the computer screen. “You have that Blue Realty meeting at one, but besides that, I don’t have anything on your calendar.”

“Perfect. Let me know if anything comes up.”

I walk to my office to set my coffee down on the desk before hanging my purse on the hook. As I do every morning, I look out the window at the city below me. I never take any of this for granted.

My office phone rings, and I sit down in my chair to pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, I have Georgia on line one.”

I smile. “Send her through.”

“You didn’t call me on Sunday,” my grandmother accuses as soon as she gets on the line.

“I did call you, twice, and you didn’t answer.”

We always talked on Sunday. She likes to tell me all the neighborhood and church gossip, and I update her on everything going on in my life.

“I was probably at church when you called.”

“I told you, you can always check your missed calls.”

She scoffed. “You know I hate this damn phone.”

I try to hold back my laughter. “So what’s going on, Nana?”

I lean back in my chair and listen as she goes on about the neighbors and her garden. She lives in Spokane, which is about a four-hour drive from Seattle. I’ve tried to talk her into moving down here, but she likes the small-town feel where she lives. I hired a nurse to come by the house a couple times a week to take care of some chores and make sure she’s taking her medicine. For being in her seventies, she’s doing well on her own. I bought her a nice house a couple years back with a big wraparound porch she’s always wanted. She likes to sit there in the summer and people watch. Nana took me in during my high school years after my mom's addiction got real bad. I owe her everything.

“What’s been going on in the big city?” she asks me. V pops into my head, but I quickly wipe the thought away, remembering the promise I made to myself.

“Nothing new, really. Same old, same old.”

“You say that every time I talk to you. When are you going to get a life?”

“I have a life,” I argue.

“You have a job.”

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