Page 46 of The Dancer and the Grumpy Billionaire

I am not prepared, and though I work hard to at least look calm on the outside, on the inside, I am scared to death. I do not want to be this man’s toy. I do not want to be maimed or tortured. I mean, who would want that? Still, I am scared andthe worst of it is – I do not think my father will come for me. For any cost.

CHAPTER 20

Vasily

“Have you seen a doctor?” Katharine asks on the other end of the line. Her concerned tone has me feeling all kinds of guilt for lying. “You sound terrible.”

I won’t tell her that I sound terrible only because I have not slept in days, now. I have not been to my own apartment in days. I have not changed out of these clothes in days. I have barely eaten. My anxiety regarding Gigi’s whereabouts is through the roof. Yes, I would imagine I would sound like shit, considering the circumstances.

“I haven’t,” I say. At least I am not lying about something. “I will go in a couple of days if it doesn’t get better.”

“Well,” she says, “I think you should go sooner rather than later but you’re a grown-ass man, so you do you. I hope you feel better soon and thank you for not bringing your germs to the office. The last thing I need is a sick kid at home because you spread some nonsense through our space.”

This tone of utter normalcy twists my gut all over again. I am so ashamed of myself for lying to her. I am so stupid for getting myself into this mess in the first place.

We hang up, after which Roman offers to escort me to my apartment to shower and change while Roman searches my apartment, just to appease Vera’s suspicion that I am somehow involved in Gigi’s abduction.

I unlock the door and he looks around skeptically.

“I don’t claim to know what you’re looking for,” I say. “But poke around as you please.”

He clomps over and sits on the couch with a loud sigh, laying his head back and throwing an arm over his eyes.

“I do not think you are responsible for this,” he says. “I will tell Vera I looked, but I am not going to look.”

“Oh,” I say, awkwardly moving from one foot to the other. “Well, I am going to shower and change. Help yourself to a beer from the fridge if you want.”

At this, he lifts his head and raises an eyebrow. “I might just.”

I nod and head down the hallway to my room, heading first for the shower. After, I pack a small bag of clothes and toiletries. Who knows how long I will be required to camp out at Gigi’s place, at this point.

We return to Gigi’s apartment within the hour, just in time for Vera’s phone to ring with a call from Sasha. She puts him on speaker.

“Privet, lyubov’ moya,” she says.

“Hello, my love.”

He does not return the sentiment. Instead, Sasha Gusev launches into a series of expletives in both English and Russian. Most of it is related to the myriad ways he plans to maim and punish Alexei, who set up a deal with Ilya Baranov.

I look to Roman for an explanation, mouthingWho is Ilya Baranov? He holds up a finger, telling me to wait, as Sasha continues his tirade.

When he finally calms, Roman asks, “What does Baranov want?”

“Money, what else,” Sasha says with a humorless laugh. “He is fucking delusional.”

“How much is he asking for?” Roman responds.

“A hundred million,” he says with another laugh. “Fucking delusional; I am telling you.”

“Pay it,” I blurt. Both Vera and Roman look up sharply, the latter putting a finger over his mouth to tell me to shut up.

“I am sorry,” Sasha says through the line, “but who the fuck are you?”

Roman throws his head back and lets out a breath. “This is Gigi’s boyfriend,” he says.

If there is a sound that accompanies someone’s blood pressure skyrocketing, I think I now know what it is. There is a brief moment of quiet before a rush of questions and threats erupts, both in English and Russian. He wants to know why no one informed him that Gigi had a boyfriend, and do I work for Baranov, and will someone put a bullet through this fucker’s brain right fucking now.

“He’s good,” Roman says quickly, once Sasha takes a breath. “He’s clean. He’s just a guy who happens to live in the building. It’s okay.”

---