Sasha raised a brow at his brother. What's wrong?
Dmitry's teeth gnashed. The fuck did Sasha think he was doing, saying such things to Tahey? Didn't he know that Tahey was—-
Fuck.
A muscle began ticking in his jaw as Dmitry realized what he had almost allowed himself to think. He was supposed to find ways to kill his desire for Tahey, dammit, not feed it.
Tahey was just about to greet her boss a good morning when he suddenly stalked past her. A moment later, she heard the door to the office slam shut, and she couldn't help glancing at Sasha rather glumly. "Did I do something again?"
"You did."
Tahey, who hadn't really been serious with her question, felt her jaw drop at Sasha's answer. "I did?" She racked her brains for something she could've done that would've angered Dmitry. "Is it...my clothes?" Maybe she had accidentally dressed herself in a style that reminded Dmitry of his ex?
"In a way."
Drat. That meant she was right, didn't it?
Sasha, seeing the girl was about to start worrying herself to death, was torn between amusement and amazement. Dmitry had been an asshole to this girl from the very start, and yet somehow...
Lucky bastard, Sasha thought. If it had been any other guy, he'd probably have long tried stealing the girl away, just to teach the other man a lesson. But since Dmitry wasn't any other guy, and Sasha happened to be on his brother's side...
Sasha's voice turned deceptively sober as he addressed the girl. "If you want my advice..."
"I do," Tahey said without hesitation.
"I think it's best to give my brother some space for now. Obviously, he's not the type to ask for that out loud, which is why I'm asking it on his behalf. He's got certain things on his mind that he would have an easier time resolving if..."
A light bulb seemed to click inside Tahey's head as Sasha gave her a rather apologetic glance. "I should keep my distance...is that what you're saying?"
"It won't work if he knows you're keeping your distance," Sasha lied. "You need to be more subtle about it, maybe focus more on working with me or the other guys."
Tahey tried her hardest to understand how this was so. Mm. She had unwittingly reminded Dmitry of his ex with her choice of clothes, and this - according to Sasha - had made Dmitry realize he needed to make a decision on things. Things that required Tahey to keep her distance...
Oh!
Tahey felt herself pale.
What if Dmitry was so tired of having her frequently remind him of his ex that he had started wondering whether it was worth keeping Tahey around? After all, she also happened to be in love with him, and as far as her boss was concerned, her feelings were probably nothing but an added complication.
If she stuck to him like glue in the mood he was in, he might be more liable to fire her. But if he knew that she was deliberately keeping her distance, then Dmitry could think she was being too calculating, and that would still get her fired.
So in the end, Sasha was right. She had to be really subtle about keeping her distance, and just like Sasha suggested as well, she should focus on her job and remind Dmitry - from a safe distance - what a tremendous asset she was to Strakh Inc.
Maybe after that, he would finally stop seeing his ex in her and realize Tahey was her own woman.
And maybe...
Just maybe...
He could finally start being that with her.
WITH THE JET HAVING already landed and immigration clearing them to disembark, Dmitry reluctantly left the safe harbor of his office to rejoin Sasha and Tahey. Truth was, the sight of her had knocked him sidewise, and the billionaire had found her so fucking lovely and hot he had ended up fighting off the urge to lock her in a room with him and have his way with her body.
He could never tell her that, of course. But what he could and intended to do was to apologize. He might not be able to give her a reason for cursing at the sight of her, but he could at least say sorry.
And that was the plan...
But it was a plan that appeared impossible to execute, with the way Tahey suddenly seemed too busy to even meet his gaze.
The fuck?
Tahey forced herself to keep typing on her smartphone even as Dmitry's brooding gaze never wavered from her. Every once in a while, she'd feel the strongest urge to look up and plead for his forgiveness. I'm sorry. I don't want to act like I'm ignoring you, but I have no choice.
She had to be strong. She must remember that this was only temporary, and that concentrating on her job was the best way to remind Dmitry of the reason he and the other guys had her headhunted in the first place.
So stay the course, T.G.!
Stay the course!
Tahey could only repeat the words desperately in her mind as she continued to ignore Dmitry's brooding gaze.
Once out of the airport, a limousine had come to whisk them off to the hotel, where the rest of Strakh Inc. was already waiting.
A breakfast meeting was the first thing on today's agenda, and while the five men closeted themselves in a private conference room, it was Tahey's first time to meet the two other people working for the company. Sixty-year-old Ada used to work for the IRS and was now Stelios' executive assistant while "Panda", a Chinese-American in his thirties, worked under Drake and introduced himself as "someone who used to be real bad."
Sasha and Bastien hadn't any assistants, Ada shared complacently, but it should only be a matter of time until they did.
It was already half-past ten when the meeting ended, and Dmitry came out half-expecting Tahey to pop up with a ready smile on her face and a cup of his favorite coffee in hand.
Instead, he found her
