He chuckled lightly. “You don’t need to remind me that I have many enemies. Go on.”
“It might be easier to show you,” I said, already tapping the keys to get where I needed to on this device.
“Fine.”
Accessing the banking information and financial tracking software, I slid the laptop to show him. But then it wasn’t facing me. I leaned forward to try to type backward while not hiding the screen.
“Elena.”
“Hmm?” I lifted my gaze to meet his smoldering stare. A stare that was zeroed in on my cleavage. This blouse was a little snugger than the other brands, but it was so soft, I couldn’t resist trying it out. The top button hadn’t lasted more than five seconds, though, the sewn stitches fraying. As a result, I was unintentionally giving him a very up close view I wouldn’t normally consider as a mostly modest woman.
“Oh. Sorry.” Heat flamed up my cheeks as I stood.
He let out a ragged exhale that could’ve sounded like a groan of disappointment too. But it couldn’t be. He’d kissed me and walked away like it was nothing. He couldn’t be attracted to me. “No need for an apology,” he stated wryly, leaning over to get the laptop and bring it closer to himself. “Pull a chair around.”
And sitnextto you?I had been getting used to the buffer of his desk between us.
“Okay.” Like I’d tell him no.
I dragged a chair over and resumed opening what I wanted to. For a long time, so many minutes that I lost track of them, I pointed out the accounts of shell companies that I thought could be investigated more closely. Then I took even longer to show how certain transactions seemed connected.
He was in business mode, listening attentively and paying attention. And while he was a receptive and engaging audience of one, a sense of appreciation filled me. I was glad that he could do the bare minimum of respecting that I had an opinion. That my opinion and observation weren’t stupid comments, but something worthy of a further and deeper look.
All those years I’d worked for my father, I’d been dismissed and taken for granted.
No thanks.
No nods of approval when I suggested a shortcut for a task or a new idea that would organize files better.
I’d been his tool. His slave to demand more and more from, like a robot programmed to go, no need for any affection or relationship.
But in less than a month, I could experience the new and uncharted territory of being appreciated. Respected. Being treated like a human with a brain that was worth recognizing was tripping me up.
And of all people, it was a ruthless Mafia boss to make me realize what I’d been missing out on?
Adrik was likely a murderer, a hunch I struggled to bypass when he’d come home with blood on his hands one time.
He was probably experienced with torture, harsh trends of violence to keep his power at the top.
And he was the only one who’d rewarded me with the gift of his attention. Of listening to me and actively hearing me out without a trace of dismissal.
I got sucked into looking into the shell company profiles. Like I was wont to do, I got pulled in, deep in the zone, typing faster and faster and not even doing the routine mental checks of how crappy my posture was.
Adrik came and went, letting me stay where I was. He didn’t question my working on the laptop in here. Having the peace and quiet in this office was even better than the office room he’d given me downstairs. More people came in and out of that area since it had two doors, more like a passageway than a specific room.
It wasn’t until he returned with two plates of dinner that I realized I’d missed lunch.
My stomach gave a growl.
“Didn’t you see my texts?” he scolded.
I gave him a sheepish look. “Will you be mad if I say no?”
“I will be mad if you dare to lie to me.”
“No,” I replied immediately. I never wanted to be a liar. “No, I didn’t get your texts. I think my phone is still downstairs.”
He rolled his eyes. “So you didn’t get my reminder to order lunch from the chef?”
