Page 70 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

“Are you drunk?”

A soft chuckle alerted me to Nikolai’s presence.

Unlike Lev who sat stone-faced, Nikolai’s face was buried behind a magazine I was sure he was not reading.

“You said this meeting was supposed to improve my skills, then you leave first with the excuse of making a detour and claiming the car would return to me, and I was left here for four hours.”

Her chest was heaving and she was barely making an attempt to hide her contempt.

Nikolai had also given up on pretending to be reading and was now watching the exchange with complete amazement.

“I take my job very seriously,” Genevieve continued. “And when I’m given a position, I expect the respect that comes with it and a chance to do my job.”

“You’re here, you did your job,” I replied coolly.

“My job is not to follow you around and be tucked away when it is convenient. I am not your backpack.”

“You’d make one hell of a backpack, though,” Nikolai interjected, earning him a glare from me.

I returned my attention to Genevieve who was still fuming in front of me. “You’ve made your point, Miss Sinclair. I’ll be sure to involve you in further meetings.”

“Thank you,” she replied stiffly before marching to the sofa she’d been lounging on while I tried my best to keep my eyes from her legs.

“She’s feisty,” Nikolai commented when she was out of earshot. “Wouldn’t have thought the shy receptionist had it in her to stand up to her boss.”

“Change the position, change the girl.” Lev eventually spoke. “People tend to unravel with power.”

“And access," Nico chipped in.

Something warm curled in my chest as I listened to them argue about Genevieve, the revelation of her true colours, and my lack of reaction to her outburst.

Under different circumstances, I would’ve laid their suspicions to rest with facts. I hated to discuss women, but in this case, I enjoyed the satisfaction that came from knowing I knew her in a way others didn’t.

While they saw a shy, sweet girl turning into a feisty woman as a result of a new office, I knew the fire had always been there.

I knew the same woman had moaned my name in the conference room and walked out like nothing happened, and she had kissed me in the elevator way before I knew her first name and didn’t give a fuck if I would fire her.

Genevieve was a lot of things, but spineless was hardly one of them, and I loved knowing that, in some sick way, I was the one who brought out the fire in her.

When I glanced in her direction, she was already staring.

Her face was still flushed from the residual outburst, but her eyes burned with a different flame.

My lips tilted in recognition, and she tore her eyes away with speed.

Chapter Seventeen

Genevieve

“You should really check out our latest collection,” Maya, the sales representative Rose introduced me to, said. “I have a few things you’ll love.”

I smiled at her, browsing through the rack she put together for me. “Next time, Maya. This is not very serious shopping.”

She returned my smile, although disappointment was evident in her eyes. “Will you at least tell Miss Rose to come check them out?”

“Of course. I bet she’ll be eager.”

The way her features brightened reminded me so much of my younger self.