Page 52 of Beautiful Deception

“I don’t think Viktor will.”

“Mr. Smirnov,” she corrects.

“I really need this job, Mrs. Green. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize it.”

“I know.” Her eyes turn soft for a moment, showing that she does indeed care for me. Then they turn hard as she nods at the laundry basket. “Finish those soon.”

Some things never change.

Viktor

Mrs. Green knocks on my open office door. “Can I come in, sir?”

“Of course.” I lean back in my seat as she shuffles in, a worried expression on her face. “Are you all right?”

“I am, sir. But there’s something I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Yes?”

“You and Inessa.”

At the mention of Inessa’s name, I feel my body tense. I can’t get the memory of her half naked body out of my mind. She’s a beautiful woman and it’s incredibly distracting. But she can’t be mine. I was taught by my parents to marry a Bratva woman of good standing. To marry for connections. To marry for power.

If I pursue Inessa, I won’t gain any of that.

That’s why I need to find a way to make it work with Natasha, even if she does fucking annoy me sometimes.

“What about Inessa?”

Mrs. Green sighs. “I think you know.”

“You’re being bold.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just… she’s an innocent, young woman. I don’t want to see her abused.”

“I would never hurt her.”

“I don’t mean abused in that way. I mean an abuse of power. You have the power to hurt her, sir. And I don’t want to see that happen. So, I know it’s not my place, but I am asking you to leave her alone.” When she unclasps her hands, I can see how red and white they are from how hard she was holding on.

My instinct is to snap at Mrs. Green and tell her it’s none of her business but she’s right. If I were to go after Inessa, the only person who would get hurt is her.

I wouldn’t get hurt since I’ve closed off my heart a long time ago.

But I feel it cracking now… for Inessa. And that’s a problem. But it’s also a problem that she’s so close to me and yet I can’t touch her. I fucking want her so bad.

“I hear you, Mrs. Green,” I manage to say. “Now, you may leave.”

“Yes, sir.” She scurries out of the room. She was just doing her job, I remind myself. Mrs. Green obviously cares for Inessa and I can’t fault her for that.

I care for Inessa too.

I need to find a way to get her out of my system but all I want is to be around her.

My eyes land on the tickets to the botanical garden I had bought for me and Natasha. They’re expired by now, never used, because Natasha didn’t want to go in.

But I have a feeling that Inessa would love the gardens.

I want to do something nice for her, which is out of character for me. I never do nice things for people unless it’s my sister and even then, I don’t do as much as I should for Julia.

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