Page 14 of Slipping into the Dark Side

Yakov shifted. She constantly managed to make him feel uncomfortable. No one typically questioned him. Women weremore interested in bedding him than berating him. But it’s like this one had no sexual drive whatsoever. Could she be lesbian? He didn’t know many, but the ones he did were more butch-like. Even so, it would make more sense.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her the reason, but the words came out regardless: “I would come to your rescue. You would fall terribly in love with me, and your fiancée would be so indebted that he would have no choice but to give you over to me.”

Tatianna blinked with an open mouth. And then she burst out laughing.

The laugh went on for a considerable long time. Every time she thought she was done, another round of laughter would take hold of her. Her side hurt. She could barely breathe, and she slapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to suppress it, but it kept coming.

Yakov got up, poured them two glasses of whiskey, and sat down, waiting patiently until her laughter got a hold of itself. He took a sip, eyeing her, adoring and loathing her for making him feel like a fool.

“Truly,” she finally coughed out. “Why?” She dabbed her wet eyes with a handkerchief, blowing out air to calm herself. When he was silent, she looked at him. His gaze hopped around the room, drinking before he set his glass in his lap. “Oh,” she whispered, sobering quickly. In order to pierce this embarrassing situation, Tatianna cleared her throat. “Do you know where you went wrong?”

Yakov wasn’t able to reply before she answered her own question.

“You didn’t vet your men well enough. You cannot hire random people to do your bidding properly. You must interview them and build that loyalty. Success isn’t one person pulling the weight of an entire ship. It is everybody doing their part.”

“Why do you speak like this?”

Tatianna paused and then asked, “Like what? Educated?”

“If you want to put it that way. My sisters are educated, but they only talk about flowers and food and babies and other senseless stuff–”

“What makes that senseless? Because it doesn’t pertain to you? I can talk about food and babies and have wonderful conversations. There’s a lot to be said about food–”

“You,” Yakov chuckled, leaning forward. “You are two different people.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Just an observation.”

“I feel we are all two people. The person you have in front of your men will not be the same that makes love to a woman. Is it?”

“I guess not.”

Tatianna shifted in uneasiness. She wanted to know if he was a virgin and now that question was answered. Which made him more intimidating because chances were, he knew what he was doing in bed and the thought made her antsy. “I don’t know how to be in front of you. I don’t know if you want me to be pleasant or honest.”

“Honest,” he answered quickly. “Always honest.”

“I will be unapologetic.”

“That’s fine.”

“You make me very nervous,” Tatianna admitted and then bowed her head. She hadn’t wanted to reveal that, but now honesty was the only thing on her lips.

Yakov sat back and wondered, “Why?”

She barked, “Why? Because you are the boss, aren’t you? You rule over my father, my household, and everyone I know. You can kill so effortlessly and burn buildings to the ground without care. You can have anything you want with a wave of your hand.So what happens if I upset you? What happens if I deny your advancement? Who will receive punishment if I don’t comply with your demands?”

Yakov rested a finger against his temple. He watched as she twittered, taking up her drink, sipping and hissing in disgust before she set it on the side table. She held her purse tight as if it kept her safe. “You have already upset me,” he admitted. Her eyes widened. “You have already denied my advances and I highly doubt you would comply with any demand. Have I retaliated against you?”

Tatianna struggled with a response.

Yakov rested his drink on the table behind him before he scooted forward on the couch till their knees nearly touched. An arm still stretched across the back, invading her space, and Tatainna’s breath caught as she stiffened. “I asked for honesty, and you lied to me.”

“I haven’t lied. You do make me nervous.”

“But not for the reasons you claim.”

Every muscle stiffened as she stared at him wide-eyed. There was a secret she was keeping, even to herself, and to know that he had already found it frightened her. How could he read her so well?

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