“What worked?” I blink at him, wondering what the hell he’s talking about.
“Crashing my wedding to get me back, making me jealous. Don’t feel bad—it was a good strategy.”
“I don’t feel bad,” I snap. “I wasn’t there to try and win you back, and I sure as hell don’t miss you. I don’t miss the lies, I don’t miss the narcissism, and I sure as fuck don’t miss the way you always put me down.”
“I never touched you.” Samson says it as if the fact that he wasn’t physically abusive makes him entirely innocent.
“No, you were just an asshole in every other way. Abuse involves more than physical aggression. Genevieve is welcome to you. I hope you’re both happy together.”
I realize I’m gripping my pen so tightly I’m afraid it might snap. I want to stab him with it. “You should really get out of here.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Big brother’s never going to find out I was here. I came in the back to avoid his attack dog, so he never has to know. Matvei’s not nearly as powerful as he thinks he is.”
Something about that phrase raises the hair on the back of my neck. It came out of Samson’s mouth with a sneer mixed with hatred and triumph.
“You’re sitting here a month after your wedding, a ring on your left hand. I watched you exchange vows with another woman after dumping me.”
“All optics, Sonya. I thought you’d understand. Genevieve Mancini is a good girl, and we’re going places. You know I’ve always been ambitious, and she can help me get there. And I would really like you to come and join me when I do. We can start where we left off. You won’t have to work. You can live in an expensive apartment, have your own car, all the clothes you want. You’ll live a life women dream about.”
“And your new wife is okay with this plan of yours?” I emphasize the word wife.
“It’s a great deal, Sonya,” Samson murmurs, again ignoring my question, his voice dropping to a sexy timbre. Except now, it makes me feel queasy.
I stare at him. “I cannot believe you. Who the hell do you think you are? If you believe I would be your little side piece, you’ve seriously lost your damn mind. Get out of my face and don’t come back.”
Samson’s mask drops. The anger in his blue eyes is a reflection of my own. “Are you really attaching yourself to my brother? I told you he’s dangerous. Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”
“This isn’t about Matvei. This is about me and my life. I don’t want you in it anymore, regardless of who I’m with.”
I knock on the window. Evgeny is immediately alert and moving toward the door.
“You stupid bitch,” Samson snarls. “You could have had everything. Now you’ll have nothing. I’m going to destroy my brother, and you’re going down with him.”
Samson stands up and begins backing away toward the back door just as Evgeny enters the coffee shop.
“You’re going to regret this, Sonya,” he hisses, and then he’s gone.
16
SONYA
“Sonya?”
My boss is looking at me. My brain is so foggy today, and I have a hard time pulling the words together.
“It’s possible,” I say, looking down at the brief on the table in front of me. “But we have to be really careful with this one.”
“We have a few resources,” my coworker adds. “Maybe I can call in a few favors with some judges. There’s no guarantee, though.”
“We have to do something,” another coworker insists, as if we all don’t know that already.
“We all agree on that,” I sigh, staring at the paper I’ve notated on within an inch of its life as though that will somehow make it give me all the answers.
Annoyed, I absently take another bite of my sandwich. I usually like these team meetings, working with others who have different ideas or see things from an angle I haven’t considered. But today, I’m not feeling it. I just want to be holed up in my office, get my work done, and go home.
For several days, I’ve felt like I’m coming down with something. Maybe it’s just the change in weather. Whatever it is, it’s making me miserable.
On top of that, Matvei has been gone for a couple of weeks, and I’ve been feeling his absence. He told me he was going away on business, his message vague and short. Since then, I’ve heard nothing. Evgeny won’t tell me anything more than that, either.
