With a small chuckle, I left the room.
It shouldn’t have any effect on me that someone indirectly paid me a compliment while calling my bluff. But it did.
Thank goodness I don’t have to confess that to anyone.
Worse, beyond the elation I felt, I was turned on—and that was my second reason for leaving. If I didn’t leave, I might have been forced to notice how her lower lip was slightly fuller than her upper lip and how the cream dress melded smoothly with her skin. My eyes might have mistakenly lingered on the front of her dress and the warmth in her eyes.
I was just about to enter my office when I heard Alexei call, “Konstantin, the latest groom.”
I opened the door, and he followed me in.
“She’s beautiful, though,” he remarked, taking a seat on the couch by the left side of my desk. “When you said she was a nurse, I expected an uptight woman.”
“Yeah, you said that already, Alexei,” I pointed out as I shed my suit jacket and sat in my leather chair behind my desk.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did,” I argued. “She was right beside me as we walked to the chapel.”
“I didn’t say she was beautiful then,” he clarified. “I said she was a looker.”
“And that has a different meaning?”
“I’m not even going to try explaining it to you. You definitely won’t get it,” he concluded. “So, has any move been made so far?”
“Nothing new. Although I expect that to change in the next few days.”
“Viktor and the others still have no idea?”
“Nope. I’ll tell them when we get there.”
“As long as you don’t mention my presence here. I’d rather deal with anything but Viktor’s anger or Mikhail’s blame. Not even Roman’s annoyance,” he mentioned.
“Well, it can’t be kept a secret,” I uttered, chuckling.
“Right. I’d better brace myself for the trouble Konstantin has dragged me into.”
“Shut up. I didn’t drag you here, did I?”
“I had to stand by my brother for such a big moment,” he defended jokingly.
“How’s your business going?” I inquired.
“Fine, actually. With the government going lax on regulations lately, it’s been okay. How’s it going with you?” he uttered, sitting up.
“Hmm. It’s been okay,” I answered. “We’re sighting a potential problem with one of the routes. Traffickers are beginning to frequent the road.”
“Eh, that makes it a target if their cover is blown,” he pointed out.
“Precisely,” I confirmed. “So, we’re looking at stopping them. Blow the trucks open. Free the victims and send them a message. Threaten them with media attention and force them to reroute.”
“Okay. But, if these people are connected to the higher-ups, it might blow up, you know? They might want to stake a claim on the route, especially if it gives them any kind of advantage in their business.”
“The plan is to lead them to believe we’re private guys. A detective bureau or a humanitarian society. Something like that.”
“Well, that’s smart. That gives them a reason to hold their horses.”
“That’s the idea. So, you think it’s a good strategy?”
