Page 15 of Innocent Bratva Virgin

“Mother, I’m not having this conversation with you again. I’m not interested in dating. I’m too busy. But I’ll do my best to attend the party and support you. Congrats on the promotion, by the way.”

An exaggerated sigh left her, and then there was the sound of heels clicking against the floor. I had a feeling she’d walked away, and after a brief shuffling sound, the volume of my father’s voice got much louder, and I knew he’d picked up the phone.

“Be at your mother’s party, Emory, and please consider what you’re doing to her because you’re so stubborn. We have a family name to carry on…traditions. It’s not every day that two doctors who are tops in their field and come from long lines of successful ancestors create a family. You have an obligation.”

Yes, I’m aware. You never let me forget.

But I wasn’t about to say that, now was I? Standing up to them had never been something I ever believed I’d actually do. So, I just structured my life to make dealing with them as stress-free as possible.

Coping mechanisms, thy name is Emory.

“I’ll do my best, Dad. I promise.”

“Of course, you will. We expect nothing less.”

Damn, that was the truth. “Talk later.”

I hung up—finally—before the conversation could get any worse. When I looked at the clock, it was just after twelve, and I decided that an early lunch sounded like a great fucking idea.

Getting up from my desk, I grabbed my purse. I left my office, being sure to lock up behind me, before heading down to the reception desk to tell Antoinette I was going to lunch.

The stillness of the hallway felt so different compared to the nonsense swirling through my brain about the phone call with my parents. It was always the same with them, though. I did my best to stand up to them, to speak for what I wanted or was capable of, and they just steamrolled all over me.

And I let them.

Antoinette was at the desk as I walked up, clicking away on her computer to make sure the scheduling was in order.

“Hey, I’m going to lunch. I’ll be back in an hour, okay?”

She looked up with a smile. “Oh, sure thing, Emory. Oh, before you go…”

Digging through a little stack of notes next to her phone, Antoinette took a moment to find the one she was searching for. I’d told her to just type into the computer while she was on the phone, but this was how her brain worked, and it would just cause more trouble now if she tried to change her routine.

“Ah, here we go.” Antoinette read over the quick scribbles she’d left for herself. “Mr. Kirby is scheduled for next week at the same time. Dr. Rogers signed off on the prescription recommendation for Ms. Brown. And Mr. Ustinov scheduled his next session for next week on Wednesday.”

The half-hearted listening I was doing slammed to an abrupt halt as I realized she’d said Vlad’s name.

“I’m sorry. Mr. Ustinov scheduled?”

Antoinette read over her notes again like she was worried she’d misspoken. “Umm, yes. He called and scheduled for Wednesday. Why? Is that not going to work?”

I shook my head. “No, no. That’s fine. I just…I’ll be honest, I didn’t think he was going to. He had that one-and-done vibe, you know?”

Nodding, the receptionist offered me a gentle smile. “Well, maybe you’re just that good. He obviously enjoyed speaking with you, and now he wants to come back.”

Laughing, I hiked my purse strap up my shoulder again and patted the desk. “Let’s hope that’s what it is. See you in a bit.”

“See you when you get back, Emory.”

As I left the building, my steps were lighter. If my parents were still going to be their usual selves, it was nice to see that the universe was being nicer with Vlad.

Maybe I really got to him. Huh. Go, Emory.

Chapter 8 - Vlad

The car was dead silent, and I was about this close to punching Ivan in his stupid fucking face. I would have if I hadn’t gotten the short stick and been forced to sit in the back with our gear.

“Look, it was for you. You need to get…all that out of your ass. You’ve been less and less fun to deal with, and I don’t want to think about what could happen in an emergency if you aren’t going to talk to anyone.”

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