“Did you do all of this for us?” She looked around in amazement.
“No, I did all of this for you,” he whispered in her ear, as he pulled a seat out for her.
Dmitry had flirted with Royal many times but ultimately kept his sexual ambitions at bay after their date. Royal thought it was because he felt that she was too inexperienced for him, but Dmitry was a business man. He had left her alone to ensure that she would focus on his shop first. He knew that there would plenty of time for his other plans.
However, they still continued to spend many days and evenings together planning for the grand opening, which Dmitry enjoyed immensely. It gave him an opportunity to get to know her on many levels, something that he found quite refreshing in a woman after manyyears of dealing with empty vessels.
Every day, she would always reveal something newer, something brighter to him. He found himself impatient to get to the boutique, to hear her voice and see her face. Royal was fascinating to him in every way that a woman could be fascinating to a man. A hard worker. Honest. Loyal. Pure. He could never have asked for more in whatever she had grown to be to him.
Royal had also been enslaved by Dmitry. He was not only beautiful but incredibly wise. He gave her so much advice on how to run the business and how to be savvy about all her negotiations with vendors. He explained the market to her and how to stay on top of it. She was his ever-faithful pupil.
“Could I have your attention, please?” he asked, stand-ing at the head of the long, decorated wooden table. He clinked the gold knife on the crystal glass and cleared his throat.
As he raised his glass, the room quieted to a dead si-lence. All the chatter stopped, and the band put down their instruments. Royal looked around, astonished at how people snapped to his command. All eyes were gluedto him and his eyes were glued to her. The attention made Royal incredibly self-conscience. She fidgeted a little as she tried to look at him and not at all the people who were now focused on the two of them.
His voice reverberated throughout the large restaurant like a microphone had been placed below him. Eyes sparkling under the romantic lighting, he turned to Royal. If she had believed in Prince Charming, she would have sworn that he was him.
“I would like to make toast to Royal Stone and the hard work that she and her team have put into making my newest shop a great success. I am very proud of her and my own decision to keep her so very close. She hastruly become…asset,” he paused and smiled at Royal. “So, tonight we celebrate a new part of my vision and welcome Royal to the family. She has my blessings, and I’m sure all of yours. Budem everyone!”
“Budem!” everyone replied at once, toasting Royal and her staff.
Instantly, the music began again and the ginger chatter resumed. Royal was happy in that fact. Now all eyes were not on her, but she could still feel a few burning through her back. She turned slightly to observe. Around them sat several men that she had never met before but who were most definitely Russian and wealthy. All of them were adorned in expensive suits, shoes and polished accessories. With them were women of the finest breed – beautiful, exotic beneficiaries of fine living.
Near the end of the table were Renée and Cory eating and laughing, both enjoying each other’s company and their new found success. Royal observed everyone while she sipped on her wine, feeling a small buzz as she neared the bottom of the glass. She smiled to herself feeling more apart of something than she had ever felt before. Suddenly, a warm hand crept across hers, and she looked over to find Dmitry. His bright eyes were fixed on her.
“Are you alright?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m wonderful,” she said, holding back tears. She clinched his hand tightly. “Thanks for all of this. It’s beautiful. I’ve never had anything like this done for me before.” Her voice was nearly a whisper.
“Get used to it.” He waved over the waiter for more wine. He could see her wide brown eyes start to relax. Her long lashes flopped lazily and the tension had started to come out of her erect posture.
“You feel relaxed yet?” He ran his large hand over her shoulder and massaged her back.
“Umm, yes,” she said empting her glass. She wiped her lips gently with her finger tips. The wine perfumed her breath and hazed her thoughts.
Dmitry watched her, still smitten by her small perfect movements. He looked away for a moment and smiled to himself.
Royal looked over and caught his smirk. She raised her brow and set down her glass. Used to his idiosyncrasies, she knew sex was on his mind.
“Can you manage to keep that mind of yours out of the gutter, Dmitry?” she asked slurring her words a little but still in control of her thoughts.
“You’ve now gone from shop girl to mind reader?” Dmitry laid his long arm around her chair and her exposed back like a boa constrictor and let his thumb rub against the bare skin of her back.
“It doesn’t take much to read your mind.” His move-ments aroused her.
“If that were true, I’d be out of business.” He smirked again showing his long dimples.
“It’s not that. I’ve just had more time to know how to read you.”
She met his eyes and swallowed hard as he leaned in.
“What am I thinking right now? Tell me exactly. Each and every word.”
“You’re thinking you want to give me a raise,” she said smiling.
He grinned. Her humor continuously renewed him. “You have proven yourself to be quite
