She was weird, this girl. Got nothing to say, only to do, moving around my bedroom as if she’d been here for a decade. I sensed…entitlement in the way she carried herself, as if the world was her resource and her fearlessness came across as submission. It made me feel like I could do anything I wanted with her. I could do anything I wanted with any girl I wanted, but the trouble was, I never wanted. Did I want this one? Hmm.
She handed me a towel.
I gripped her wrist, held it. “You like syrup with pancakes?”
“Yes, Boss.”
I laughed. “That’s all I ever want to hear.”
She nodded and headed out. I followed her, then remembered I was naked. The girl slipped out, and I stared at the door. Should’ve locked it and tied her to my bedpost.
In the walk-in closet, I grabbed the first pair of black sweats I got my hands on, grinding my teeth against the urge to initiate the lockdown protocol and keep the girl here for however long my urges lasted. Dressed, I ran out of my bedroom and slid down the railing, hopped onto the floor, and ran into Neven, who was coming out of the kitchen. We collided.
A pan flew out of his hand, a carafe of orange juice slipped too, and we tried to catch the two things before they fell, our hands flying around and making us look like a drunk octopus. I caught the pan. He got the juice.
Silence as we stared at each other. Or rather, he stared at me, stunned. I hated rushing and definitely didn’t run around my house shirtless and barefoot. I walked or prowled, so my rushing took him by surprise. This morning, I felt a bit out of sorts.
“Dobro jutro.” He bid me a good morning. “Something going on?” His eyes scanned past my shoulder, then outside, everywhere around me, quickly, assessing any dangers. Finding none, he stared at me.
Six girls at the bar stared at me too, awaiting an answer.
I shook my head and flipped the pan, then headed for the cupboards. I didn’t answer to any of them, and even if I did, I’d lie. The girl was in my house, sipping coffee, a clean plate in front of her. She was waiting for pancakes. I had to feed my puppy. Inwardly, I smiled and got the pancake mix.
4
Dad would have to wait for Ivana to wake up and make him crepes with Nutella. Done serving pancakes, I sat at the table, away from people, and ate breakfast, sipping orange juice while the girls chatted at the kitchen bar. I made a few calls and checked in on my businesses, keeping an ear out for the girl. She was only quiet with me. With her friends, she chatted just fine. One of them leaned in toward her and whispered, “So how was he?”
I read lips. Something that came in handy in my line of work.
My girl’s gaze briefly locked with mine. I hung up the phone, put it on the table, and drummed my fingers.
“He was private,” she said.
Her friend groaned. “Oh, come on.”
My girl smiled and took a drink of her juice. I bet there was vodka in there. When I was their age, every day rolled into the next with a drink in hand. Occasionally, I studied and passed exams so when I inherited dad’s position in the family, I’d know how to run the numbers, and people, all the things that needed running.
I tapped my phone’s screen. Ludi hadn’t answered his. Ivana was still sleeping, and I wanted a quick brief about the Russian last night. I flipped my phone, again and again thinking about calling Sokol in New York. I wanted to get the latest on the Italians, but if I called Sokol, we’d ended up spending hours mining the data he’d collected. Come Monday, I wanted all the details ironed out, and had planned to work over the weekend. But now, I was reconsidering.
“Stay the weekend,” I said.
The room went silent, and I waited.
She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear, gaze on the floor. I licked my lips.
At the prospect of a weekend in the mansion with food and booze and likely my men, her friends squealed, and I winced. I placed the com units in my ears and tapped them for noise cancellation. Ah, much better. Mouths opened and closed, but I heard nothing as I finished my breakfast in silence while reading business review articles on my phone.
One particular article talked about life and work balance. Normally, I skipped right over those, but not today. Today, I read it and got really into it, soaking up as much information as possible so that I didn’t notice when the girls left the kitchen for the pool.
I glanced their way and noticed piles of clothes on one lawn chair. They didn’t worry about bathing suits anymore. I shook my head. Neven sat beside me, and I took out my com unit.
Eyes glued on the naked women, he said, “Some of the guys in the front wanna come.”
“For as long as the women want to have fun. Ivana is here. Remember that.”
“I got it, Boss.” He kept sitting there.
“What?” I asked.
