“Is there any truth to the accusations?”
“It’s hard to say. She was let go last month for poor performance which she claims is retaliation for ending a sexual relationship that she felt pressured into to keep her job. She has no proof. Right now it’s her word against his.”
“Will it go to court?”
“No.” He shook his head. “We’ll pay whether it’s true or not.”
“Well that kinda sucks.”
“I’m not really concerned about the money. What’s more troubling to me is if it’s true.”
“What would you do if it was?”
“Fire him.”
“Obviously you don’t want to do that if he’s innocent.”
“Exactly,” Viktor agreed.
“You could hire a PI or someone to go undercover and work for you. See if this guy does it again and have her document it so you have proof of his behavior, if it turns out he’s like that.”
Viktor gave her a wide smile. “You are a shrewd businesswoman.”
“What? You like that idea?”
“I love that idea. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He leaned back in his chair as he thought more about it. “I’ll have my personal lawyer draw up the contract. It will have to be someone willing to work for real, though. And possibly for a long time.” He looked at Amanda and grinned. “You want a job?”
She laughed. “I’m not doing that. I’d be terrible undercover. I can’t hide anything.”
“That’s true,” he laughed. “Okay, nevermind.” He glanced at his watch. “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat.”
“You want to go out?”
“That might be nice,” she agreed.
“How about I take you to my favorite restaurant?”
“Do I have to wear an evening gown?” she teased.
He laughed. “Stop it. No. You’re perfect as you are.”
“Well then, sure,” she said with a smile.
He shook his head. “You’re trouble.”
“But I’m your trouble.”
He grinned. “That you are.”
Chapter 26
Viktor led Amanda to the garage where there was a pearl Porsche Cayenne Turbo with tinted windows and a silver and blue Bugatti Chiron. She had seen the Bugatti but not the Porsche because he had taken it to work.
“Do you have a preference?” he asked her.
“That looks like a death trap,” she said, pointing to the Bugatti.
He laughed. “Depends who’s driving it. We can take the Cayenne. That’s what I normally drive anyway.”
“I feel like I’m in a spaceship,” Amanda declared as she looked at the complicated dashboard, lights, dials and buttons.
“Oh stop. It’s not that bad.”
She laughed and buckled herself as he started driving out of the garage. Her phone received a text and she read it and then murmured to herself.
“What is it?” he asked.
“That was my boss. He’s asking if I feel better, could I work the weekend to help them with the backlog of service calls.” She exhaled loudly.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
“How soon do you think I could get a flight back?”
“Whenever you want. I’m not going to bother booking you a flight. I’m just going to take you in my jet.”
“You have a jet?” She made a face like she was silly for not expecting that. “While we’re at it, do you own any islands or small countries that you’d like to disclose.”
He chuckled. “No, I haven’t purchased any islands. Although I admit the thought crossed my mind once or twice.”
“And countries?” she asked, noting that he hadn’t directly answered.
“Don’t be silly. No. I don’t own any countries.”
“Fair enough. So when do you think I could be home?”
“We could go tonight. I’ll have to leave you and come back. I’ll be tied up tomorrow and Friday anyway with more meetings with the lawyers to prepare our strategy for negotiating a settlement.”
“But then won’t you be flying all night?”
“I can sleep on the plane. Done it plenty of times.”
“You don’t mind doing that?”
“I’d rather you didn’t go at all but I already know what your answer is to that, so I won’t ask.”
“I should get back,” she groaned, not particularly wishing to leave but feeling she had to.
“I’ll arrange it,” he assured her.
They arrived at the restaurant which Amanda thought looked surprisingly normal. They served a variety of Mediterranean dishes with only fresh ingredients that were normally delivered each morning. They were seated on the patio where they were able to enjoy the beautiful California weather.
“You know winters are cold in Boston,” Amanda warned as they enjoyed the sun from under an umbrella. “You sure you can handle it?”
He looked greatly amused by her remark. “You do know I grew up in Moscow?”
“Oh, yeah.” She blushed, feeling embarrassed that she forgot that. “What was it like for you growing up? I bet you had the girls falling all over you.”
“They fell over my money, that’s for sure.”
“Oh there’s more to you to like than just that.”
He scrunched his face and shook his head. “Not then. You would not have liked me when I was younger.”
She leaned forward, intrigued. “Why’s that?”
“I grew up with money. My father owned a large construction company. We never lacked for anything and I took it for granted. I was spoiled, selfish, arrogant … entitled.”
“Sounds lovely,” she remarked sarcastically.
He laughed. “Yeah. I was not a nice person. I spent my younger years partying, getting drunk, doing drugs. I don’t even remember half the things I did. I crashed a Ferrari when I was 19. Totaled it. I’m really surprised I didn’t get hurt. I was out of control and my parents couldn’t do anything about it. My dad could have cut me off but he didn’t.”
“What changed?”
“My dad died. My mom was sick and there was no one to run the company but me. I was suddenly the man of the house and reality came crashing down on me. I didn’t know anything about the business and I had to learn fast. I soon learned that my dad had been bribing many many government officials to win construction contracts and get permits. I went along with it at first but it bothered me. I felt it was wrong. But I didn’t want to rock the
