Page 23 of Blood Mosaic

“Zara said her father had set up the company for her,” Tatyana said. “And I thought it was… I mean, there’s no way that Mr. Sokolov…?”

“What exactly are you asking?”

Yes, what are you asking, little human?Oleg paused in the doorway and leaned against the wall, waiting to hear how his newest employee would explain her prying. This was interesting. He hadn’t considered what Zara might have told her bookkeeper. The woman might know more about the vampire world than she realized.

“I’m not being intrusive.” Tatyana’s voice was defensive. “If I am to understand the financial structure of ZOL and start searching for the money Mr. Sokolov is owed, I need to know where the initial funding came from and if there is another person who might have been working with her. If someone else had access to those funds?—”

“I will have to speak to Mr. Sokolov about this,” Elene said. “There are some matters that are?—”

“Personal,” he said in a raised voice.

Tatyana and Elene both swung their heads toward him. Tatyana’s mouth gaped in surprise. Elene’s expression was blank. She had probably known he was there the entire time. For a human, she had incredible instincts.

Oleg stepped into Elene’s waiting room. “I believe you were asking personal questions about my relationship with Zara, Miss Vorona.”

Elene opened the office door wider and looked at Oleg with a lifted brow. “Oleg.”

“Zara said her father’s name was Oleg.” Tatyana’s arms were crossed over her chest. “That her father set up the company for her. I am not trying to invade your privacy, but I had to ask because I need to know?—”

“It’s a perfectly understandable question,” Oleg said. “Have you eaten tonight, Miss Vorona?”

The little wolf blinked again. “I have not.”

“Neither have I.” He’d fed the night before and he was old. Very old. He only needed to feed on human blood every week or so.

But Oleg had other appetites.

“I’ll take you to dinner. After we’ve eaten, you may ask your questions.”

Elene’s voice was sharp. “That’s not necessary.”

Oleg kept his eyes on Tatyana. “Consider it your welcome dinner to SMO. If you’re curious about me, you can ask whatever you like. Directly.”

Tatyana glanced at Elene, then back at Oleg. “I would be happy to join you and Ms. Beridze for dinner.”

“Elene has a family.” The corner of his mouth inched up, and he had the urge to bare his fangs. “And she’s already stayed long past office hours. I don’t want to keep her.” He held out his arm and hitched his fingers at Tatyana. “Come. My car will take us to a restaurant I know near your hotel. How does that sound?”

She didn’t want to agree; Oleg could see it in her eyes. She wanted to get away. She wanted someone else to answer the questions she had about him. But then again…

Tatyana Vorona was a curious little thing.

“Thank you, Mr. Sokolov.” She forced a smile. “Give me one moment to get my papers together and I’ll join you out front.”

“I’ll wait.” He glanced at Elene. “I can be patient when I need to be.”

Elene’s expression was asking what her mouth refused to say.What are you doing, Oleg?

He shrugged. He would do as he wanted, and that night he wanted to dine with Tatyana Vorona.

Tatyana rushed to put the stack of contracts in her worn satchel along with her precious computer.

As curious as he was about what she kept on her cherished machine, Oleg would have to remember to keep his distance. Valuable information was locked in that electronic device, and his elemental energy would fry it.

The bookkeeper finished and closed the clasp on her bag. “Thank you for explaining everything so clearly, Ms. Beridze. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Now that you’ve signed a nondisclosure agreement, our first order of business will be to get you copies of all the accounts Zara forwarded to us from ZOL so you can compare them against your books.”

Back on surer footing, Tatyana relaxed. “Of course. As long as she was using the same software, I can compare them very quickly.”

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