“I want a different suit!” Giselle called.
Shouts went up around the room, almost as if she’d started a natural disaster with her declaration. “Get in the next suit, Augustine! Girls, I want someone to move the lights more toward the right side of the stairs! I’m getting too much glare!”
A flurry of activity erupted as I rushed down the steps and two women were immediately on me helping to remove the clothes I was wearing. Someone took my suit jacket, and another woman undid my tie as I worked on the buttons of my shirt. There were so many assistants I hadn’t learned anyone’s name yet. There was just never a free second. Time was money on set, and Giselle’s people didn’t mess around. I sucked in a breath as the tie was removed and that girl went after my belt, but she left me to get my own pants, thank goodness.
In two seconds flat I was standing in my boxer briefs while Ruslan’s dark eyebrows marched up his forehead as he stepped toward me. His bright blue eyes didn’t seem to be seeing anything but me. I was handed a different pair of pants, these ones were turquoise, and I stepped into them. The fit was perfect. The entire wardrobe had been tailored for me.
Something fluttered in my chest and my cheeks heated as Ruslan ate me up with a hot gaze, but I was so exhausted I didn’t really give a damn if Ruslan saw me changing. It wasn’t like my dick was hanging out. I couldn’t stop the flush that spread down my chest and took over my entire body. Okay, maybe if I wasn’t three steps from passing out I would care a lot more because he was attractive and he’d flirted with me. And his arms looked hard. Were they as defined as I was imagining them in my head?
“How are you?” he asked, voice pleasantly warm. “Sorry, my work took me into the city yesterday. This is the first chance I’ve had to get back here. It was unexpected. Did you get a tour of the house?”
I laughed but it almost came out as a whimper. “I don’t know if I’ve seen it all, but I’ve seen a lot of it. Your home is beautiful, Ruslan. Just amazing. You’re so lucky to live here.”
He grinned. “Thank you. I would like to have someone to stay in it with me eventually, though. It’s a lot for one man.”
I stumbled trying to slip on shoes and put my shirt on at the same time, and the girls took over buttoning while I tucked the fabric into the pants. I zipped and buttoned my fly, then held my arms out as someone else slipped the suit jacket over my shoulders. The girl who’d taken care of my shirt bent and started tying the shoes. The most dressed-down woman here came at me in cargo pants and a T-shirt. She had her hair back in a simple ponytail and smirked at me, shooting a long look at Ruslan as she applied a base coat of powder on my face. It had been a while since she’d touched me up, and Ruslan watched with interest. I puckered my lips when she held up a light gloss and stood still while she smoothed it on.
“You look wonderful but seem exhausted.” He reached toward me as if he wanted to touch my cheek.
“Do not ruin my work.” The makeup artist smiled, but she wagged a finger at him, and Ruslan snickered.
I shrugged and laughed. “Yeah, that’s about right. It’s been a long two days.”
He scowled and scanned the room with a hard gaze. There were people dragging lights around while Giselle gestured at them. Nearby someone else brought in a huge arrangement of lilies and handed them to me. They were in white paper and reminded me of something someone would take to prom. I took the bouquet and gave them a sniff out of habit, and Ruslan’s lips twitched into a smile, but then he frowned again. “Are they pushing you too hard?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Ruslan hummed and glared at Giselle, but she was busy talking to her assistants.
“Ms. Giselle?” he said, loud enough that everyone in the room turned toward his deep, authoritative voice. “Augustine is done for the day.”
Giselle stomped toward us in her bare feet. She’d kicked off her six-inch spikes a couple of hours ago, but she was still dressed to kill in a tight black skirt and a matching black tank top that cut all the way down to her bra in the center. She held up her camera as if to remind Ruslan what she was doing in his house. “I leave for Portugal in two weeks, Mr. Kozlova. There’s a lot of ground to cover between now and then. We have not a minute to waste. You have an extensive campaign.”
“He’s tired and I say he’s done. You’ve made a lot of headway since you started early.” Ruslan’s tone was no nonsense, and he didn’t look the slightest bit intimidated by Giselle. I would’ve withered on the spot.
She shrugged and glared at him, and I was relieved that her irritation didn’t seem to include me. “Fine. We’ll pick up here tomorrow. I want the black-and-white floral shirt with this suit,” she said, and one of the women who’d helped me dress nodded. I was glad no one expected me to remember that particular detail because my brain was so fuzzy from exhaustion, I was sure it would’ve been lost.
Ruslan stepped closer, and the women drifted off in the direction of the racks of clothes that were lined up near the front doors, watching us and whispering to each other. He exuded power, even while smiling, and people instinctively wanted to give him space and follow his orders. I’d noticed that with one long look he could affect everyone from waitstaff to his own employees.
I really was tired, and my thoughts were starting to get loopy, but as I watched the activity around me wind down, irritation took over. “Why did you do that?” I was thankful for the break, but it couldn’t be good to have the day end before the photographer was ready to throw in the towel.
“You needed help,” he said softly, pitching his voice low so it wouldn’t carry. He took the flowers from me and held them while a small grin spread across his lips.
“This is my job. I gotta be able to cut it. I’m in New York City doing something a million people would love to do. I don’t deserve breaks. I need to push through. I’ve got to be better. I gotta handle this!”
He shrugged. “I disagree. It doesn’t help to burn yourself out. This is my company, so it’s my job, too. These people work for me, not the other way around. I don’t like to see you stressed, therefore I stepped in. That’s the way it will be.” He narrowed his eyes slightly, and this was the first time I’d gotten any attitude from him.
I wanted to snap back with something really sizzling, but he was being totally reasonable, and that made me even more irked. Nothing he was saying was wrong, I just wasn’t sure it was wise to rile up the photographer. Look at the way Courtney Ryan had acted.
I groaned and allowed myself the pleasure of rubbing my hands across my face. I hadn’t been able to touch my cheeks all day because of the makeup.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to go into the city tonight, but maybe we should stay here.” He shifted the flowers to his other arm and rested his hand lightly on his hip while he flitted his gaze down my body and back up to my face.
Again, that sounded reasonable. His intense gaze snagged my attention, and I stared directly at him. Yeah, I wanted to give him a chance because he seemed like he wanted to date me, not just fuck me, but the more I thought about it, I hated that he’d thrown his weight around. Maybe this was an even worse idea than I’d already realized it could be.
“What would you say ifIsaid that perhaps we maybe shouldn’t do this?” I asked, tugging on the sleeves of my suit jacket.
“You barely know me.” He frowned. “How could you decide not to go out with me already?”
