Page 18 of The Pakhans’ Curvy Prize

The mention of my sister's name changes the atmosphere in the room immediately.

Arina is the oldest, I'm in the middle, and Mark is the youngest of us siblings.

As the oldest, Arina was supposed to inherit, but the family didn't trust her and chose me instead.

That's been a huge thorn in her side, and she's been plotting ways to make me look bad so that she can take over. Mark, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with the family business and is content to just live his life unaware.

Alex's expression hardens, and Russ shifts uncomfortably in his seat. They both know what Arina is, what she's capable of. They've dealt with her before.

"Your sister is a problem," Alex says bluntly. "She's ambitious and smart, and she resents you for being pakhan instead of her. That makes her dangerous, especially now."

I don't disagree. "She's been quiet lately," I say, though even as I say it, I know that's not necessarily a good thing. "Too quiet."

"That's what worries me," Alex replies. "Arina doesn't do quiet unless she's planning something. And with the merger negotiations happening, she has every reason to want to destabilize things. If the consolidation fails, it makes you look weak. It gives her an opening to challenge your leadership."

Russ nods, his expression grim. "She's fucking ruthless when she wants something. And she's good at manipulating people, finding their weaknesses, and exploiting them."

"She won't move openly," I say, thinking through the possibilities. "She's too smart for that. She'll work behind the scenes, try to turn captains against the merger, maybe even against me directly."

"Can you control her?" Alex asks.

It's a fair question, but I don't have a good answer. Arina is family, which means I can't just eliminate her the way I would any other threat.

But she's also proven time and again that family loyalty means nothing to her when it conflicts with her ambitions.

"I'm working on it," I say finally, which is a diplomatic way of saying I have no fucking idea how to handle my sister.

Before anyone can respond, my phone buzzes on the desk. I glance at the screen and see a message from one of my captains.

The preview is enough to make me suspicious. I pick up the phone and read the full message, my jaw tightening with each word.

"What is it?" Russ asks, clearly reading something in my expression.

I look up at them, and I know my face must be showing the anger I'm feeling. "Arina had dinner tonight with a rival pakhan."

7

MARLA

I wake up Saturday morning with my face buried in my pillow, and the first thought that hits me is a wave of pure mortification so intense I want to disappear into the mattress and never emerge.

Last night. Oh God, last night.

I saw them together. Alex and Russ, standing outside Nick's building like they'd been waiting. Like they knew.

And the way they looked at each other, that silent communication that passed between them in the span of a heartbeat, told me everything I needed to know. They'd figured it out. They knew I'd slept with all three of them.

Just my frickin' luck!

I groan into my pillow, my entire body heating with embarrassment. This was supposed to be simple.

Anonymous hookups for research purposes.

No strings, no complications, and no awkward morning-after conversations.

Just experience I could use for my romance writing, then move on with my life.

Instead, I've somehow managed to sleep with three men who apparently know each other well enough to have late-night business meetings in luxury penthouses.