“Another round of drinks, thank you,” a female voice says.
I tilt my head, then almost startle in surprise. Katrina Antonov snakes her way around the server and takes a seat in the chair Mr. Li just vacated.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap, both from shock and anger.
“Hello to you too, Asher.”
“I didn’t say hello. I asked what you’re doing in Singapore, at my table in a restaurant.”
“I’m here in Singapore on business, like yourself. And I’m here in this restaurant on behalf of my family. My father informed me he sent his offer to your board just moments ago.”
I check my watch. It’s almost seven a.m. in New York.
“And we have been assured that every member of the board outside of your brothers and your father are going to vote to sell Greenspan.”
“What a coincidence that this is going to be put to a vote when I’m halfway across the world.”
She smirks. “You don’t believe in coincidences, and neither do I.”
“And how would you know what I believe in?”
“Our time as a couple may have been short, but it was intense. I learned a lot about you, Asher.”
I scoff. “That was what, twelve years ago?”
“You’re as stubborn as a mule, I doubt you’ve changed much.”
“Regardless, your family’s tactics won’t work. The sale won’t go through. My family and I are not budging on this.”
She takes a sip of the brown liquor the server sets down in front of her, eyeing me over the rim of the glass. “I assume you’ve received the little gifts from my family.”
“I’m glad to hear that putting a man in the hospital and paralyzing him is considered a gift,” I practically snarl at her.
She shrugs. “It’s better than a sudden disappearance and no trace of a body.”
“So, you’re finally ready to admit to your mafia ties, then?”
“I’m not admitting to anything.”
I take out my phone and text the group chat I have with my brothers, reminding them to do what they must to block the sale and to make sure my father does the same.
“I’m assuming your father sent you to try to convince me because of our history together. It won’t work.”
She leans on the table, giving me a sultry look. “I told you many times that we could have been great together, you and me. With our families and our names, the world would have been ours.”
“The world already is mine. I don’t need you.”
She quirks a brow and brushes her finger over the back of my hand. I flinch and pull it out of her reach.
“And what about your new little fling? What does she bring to the table? I can’t imagine it’s much.”
I pause, waiting for the desire to throttle Katrina to calmbefore I answer. “She brings herself. Nothing more is needed. Just her presence is worth more than all the money and clout you think you bring to a table.”
Katrina flinches slightly but tries to hide it with a derisive laugh. “How sentimental. But I wonder. You received your gifts, so you know TDC’s position when it comes to your new little fling. It would be such a shame if anything happened to her.”
Red flashes across my vision as I try to ascertain what Katrina knows. Her father obviously has an inside with someone on my board if he has intel on how they’re all planning to vote. The board thinks that my relationship with Ella is nothing but a farce, but have any of them divulged that to Sergei or Katrina? Or does Katrina think our relationship is real?
Either way, it’s best if she thinks Ella is just a fling. However, I can’t stop the anger that burns inside me, demanding that I let Katrina know that Ella is not to be touched and what I’ll do if she is.
