Page 28 of Reclaimed By My Ex’s Bratva Brother

The atmosphere shifted. The excitement about money and looks mixed with real wariness now.

"You mean... mob?"

My fingers stopped on my water bottle. Winnie had been watching the other girls, but now her gaze landed on my face.

This wasn't the first time I'd heard what Varlam was. But hearing the word "bratva" from my colleague's mouth made it split away from Makar's vague stories and become something real.

"Keep your voice down." The girl who'd dropped the bomb lowered hers. "These aren't people we can gossip about."

Winnie kept staring. I deliberately avoided her eyes and kept organizing my desk.

Makar once said that if Varlam wanted, a debtor could disappear from New York's streets without a trace. And people who betrayed the family—Varlam tortured them half to death in interrogation rooms.

Once when Makar was drunk, he told me Varlam broke traitors' fingers one by one during interrogations. It scared me then.

But thinking back now, Makar never told me why those people got punished. Never explained why he described his brother that way.

He only said what Varlam did, never how it started. Just like when he talked about our relationship, he'd probably only tell people I betrayed him before the wedding, never mention he'd been sleeping with Chloe the whole time.

That thought dulled my fear a bit.

"So our new boss might actually be a mob boss?" The redhead's fear lasted seconds. "Rich, gorgeous, dangerous, and he bought the whole building in one go. This is more dramatic than TV."

"What's more dramatic is Briony." Someone turned to me. "He moved her to the top floor as his assistant. That can't be coincidence."

They'd obviously adapted well to Varlam's new identity. And I had no idea how much of my conversation with him they'd heard.

"Definitely not. When he held her, he looked ready to bury the supervisor who touched her alive. You're telling me nothing happened between them?"

Several pairs of eyes swiveled to me in unison. That synchronized movement made me want to crawl into my desk drawer.

"Briony, what's your relationship with Mr. Petrov really?"

"Boss and unlucky employee," I answered too fast.

"Unlucky?" Lily joined in now, her voice dripping acid. "Barely promoted and the new boss personally moves you to the top floor with five times the salary. How come that kind of unlucky never happens to anyone else? Who knows what methods she used."

The jealousy practically spilled out of her. Winnie's chair whipped toward her.

"If jealousy counted as job performance, you'd have been promoted ages ago." Winnie's smile was sugar-sweet. "Too bad Mr. Petrov was here all that time and didn't even ask your name."

Someone nearby couldn't hold back a laugh.

"I was just making conversation." Lily bit her lip.

"Then you should make less of it." Winnie turned back slowly. "Before everyone figures out that besides touching up lipstick, you really don't have anything worth the new boss's attention."

Lily pounded her keyboard and shut up. The others realized pressing me further wasn't appropriate and gradually returned to work.

"Don't ask." I glanced at Winnie, who clearly wanted more intel, and said wearily, "We spent one night together. What I know about him mostly comes from Makar. And this man has appeared in my life exactly twice and completely upended it both times. That's not a good sign for me."

Winnie shot me a confused look.

"But at least right now, he's basically perfect, right?" She helped me pack files into my box. "I think this might be good for you. Maybe it's the beginning of your romantic story."

"Romantic story?" I couldn't help laughing. "Him and me? Don't be ridiculous. Last night and what just happened were only—"

An accident? Coincidence? I didn't know how to describe it.