“I will.” She waves her empty champagne flute in the air, and Marco rushes over to refill it. Keke takes a sip. “Not that I care much either way.” Her eyes narrow when I don’t give her a reaction.
A few blessed minutes of silence pass before she starts up again. “I don’t blame you, by the way. I want to fuck him, too.”
I inhale a deep breath through my nose and bite my tongue hard.
Keke shifts, crossing one leg over the other. The movement is slow and deliberate, causing her silk robe to slide apart and up her thigh. “I’ll fuck you, too. If you’re interested.”
I raise my face to look her in the eye, keeping a bored expression on my face. “No thanks.”
“Didn’t think so. You don’t look like you’re much fun.”
I glare at the closed door. What is Liev doing in there? Why am I having to suffer this bitch alone?
“You ladies get it,” the model says, including the other two women in the conversation. “The Russian’s got that big-dick daddy energy. Like he’d bend you over the nearest surface and fuck you into oblivion without even breathing hard.”
The hairstylist coughs. Dani bites her lip.
My heart is racing. I’m not sure if it’s anger at what Keke is saying, or the idea of Liev doing just that… with me.
Keke angles her head and looks at her reflection when the hairstylist holds up a hand mirror, before giving the woman a nod. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to distract Keke. “I think I will,” she muses. “Fuck him, I mean.”
I lift my gaze then and meet hers with a hard stare. “Unfortunately, that’s against company policy.”
“Only if someone finds out.” Her smile sharpens. “You wouldn’t tattle on us, would you?”
My stomach twists. “It’s my brother’s company,” I say flatly.
For a moment, something like calculation flickers across her face. Then she sighs and slumps back with theatrical disappointment. “You really are no fun.”
I don’t respond.
“Well,” she continues, brightening immediately, “I guess I’ll just have to torture him instead.”
I stiffen.
“I need something to keep me entertained.” She smiles sweetly at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “You’re not interested. But he is a man.” She glances toward the bedroom door. “And from what I’ve seen,verymale. They’realwaysinterested.”
The door opens behind her, and Liev steps out, jacket off now, sleeves rolled. He pauses just inside the room, eyes taking everything in. “Everything good out here?”
Did he hear everything she said? He had to have. The doors aren’t that thick, and Keke definitely wasn’t keeping her voice down.
And he left me to deal with it.
“Perfect. Do you have the room?” I give him a brittle smile. “I need to freshen up before we leave.”
Liev’s eyes hold mine for a beat, and he nods slowly. Without another word, I snap the laptop closed and get to my feet. But instead of grabbing my toiletry bag and heading for one of the bedrooms, I open the exterior door and let it slam behind me.
16
LIEV
The traffic is thick as we make our way through Manhattan. Sera sits beside me, tablet angled toward her, eyes scanning traffic and police feeds. She’s swapped the green sweater for a purple satin blouse with her black blazer and pants and has her hair pinned half back, so as not to interfere with her earpiece.
I wish I could tell her how beautiful she looks, but I’m pretty sure the silent treatment I’m getting means it would just piss her off more.
Her finger scrolls down the tablet. “No accidents and no reports of protestors. We’re clear for arrival.” She closes the window on the screen and lifts her head.
When she came back to the suite earlier, she’d looked fine. Wherever she’d gone had given her the space to get her temper back under control. For professional reasons, it was good, but I hated that she’d locked herself away from me as well.
