I shook my head.
He sat and closed my laptop lid with the same gesture of putting a plate on it. “Then eat.”
He cares.I bit back a smile, though. He’d see it as an insult to call him out on caring about me. Or pressuring him to own up to it. But I knew he did. He never scolded any other Volkov employees about when they ate.
In a weird silence, we ate the noodle dish with chicken, and I swore it was the best meal I’d ever had.
“Now.” He gestured for me to hand over my empty plate, likely to stack it on his right while I sat in the chair to his left. I really hadn’t moved much all day. Lev had dropped off a water bottle earlier, though. “What have you found?”
“I think I’m onto some things,” I said. I reached for the laptop at the same time he tried to take my plate. Somehow, we ended up fumbling with him brushing his hand against the side of my breast.
I tensed as the streak of desire jolted me.
He went still too, giving another one of those husky sounds that could’ve been a grunt or a moan.
I’d disappointed him again.
I fell right back into the rabbit hole of wondering how long he might try to deny that this tension between us was building into undeniable chemistry.
“Things?” he said, moving past the moment. “That’s vague.”
I licked my lips, acknowledging his restraint.
He was holding back, perhaps too aware of the boundaries between us with him being my boss. Or buyer. Whatever.
All I had to try to do was follow his lead and do the same.
Show some restraint, El.
Nothing is going to happen with him.
You know that.
So quit dreaming and start working.
“Things like where these shell companies might be located and what common denominator among them might lead me to the owner’s identity.”
“Good.” He glanced at me, smiling.
Oh, heaven help me.
I’d been trying my hardest to get over how badly I wanted him to kiss me again.
But it turned out that I could relish the warm glow of a reward from him when he praised me too.
I’d always been a people pleaser, but damn, did it thrill me to think I could be a good girl forhimand no one else.
13
ADRIK
Keeping my distance from Elena seemed impossible. My idea of forcing things to stay strictly professional between us backfired.
Once I gave her the greenlight to investigate those unknown shell companies that seemed connected to transfers linked to the Bratva accounts, I realized that I had unleashed a new side of her. A side that intrigued me even more than I already was.
Finding someone who was dedicated to their work was always a benefit. Witnessing how much of a hard worker she was only made her more admirable. A sexy woman who was smart and liked to have something to work on? She checked every box. Why would I want to keep myself from someone so perfect?
However, even if I wanted to spend all my time with her, I couldn’t allow myself the luxury of all these late nights in the office, smelling her, watching her, and yearning to reach out to her while the tension thickened between us. She didn’t act on it. Of course, she didn’t. I denied myself too. Other duties pulled me away.
