Page 80 of His Forced Bride
"With Viktoria directly. Neutral location. Today, if possible."
I'm not fucking around with this bitch.
If she's coming for me through Inessa, I need to know.
And if she's just coming to destroy Inessa's business simply so she can have the money, I need to know that too.
Ian nods, already reaching for his phone. "What are you offering?"
"Nothing. I want to see what she thinks she can take."
For the next twenty minutes Ian works his magic, calling and organizing things to get the meeting set up, and Viktoria arrives precisely on time, her honey-blonde hair artfully styled.
She's aged well.
She's fifty-nine years old but carries them with grace.
If I didn’t know the viper under the mask, I might be smitten.
Her green eyes—so similar to Inessa's—study every detail of my appearance like she's measuring me.
"Yuri…"
She extends a gloved hand.
"How civilized of you to agree to this meeting."
I don't take her hand.
I wouldn't touch that woman with a ten-foot pole.
"What do you want, Viktoria?"
"Such directness. I see why my daughter finds you… compelling."
She settles into her chair just as pretentiously as she walked into the room, removing her gloves finger by finger.
Everything about her movements is for show, designed to project control and sophistication.
"You've seen my legal filings."
"Your threats, you mean?"
"Legal challenges aren't threats. They're remedies. My late husband committed fraud when he stripped me of my rightful claims to the business. I'm simply seeking justice."
The gloves get draped across her knee and her hands clasp together in a pose.
"Justice twenty years after the fact…" I scoff.
"Better late than never."
Her smile could cut glass.
"Though I understand this creates complications for your… arrangement."
The word carries layers of meaning.
Of course it's an arrangement.
