Page 7 of Echoes of Sin

“Excellent! Let’s go meet the rest of the team.”

I nodded and catalogued the names of the other employees of Montrose Accounting because I made it a point to know who was close to my finances. But the faces were a blur. We finally stopped in front of a tiny square office that was tidy and well organized. Brooke sat behind her desk with a serious expression on her face as she stared at the computer screen.

“There you are.” Ruben’s loud voice bounced off the walls, his smile wide and excited.

She looked up, her bland gaze bounced on Ruben and then me before she flashed a phony smile. “Sorry about that, Ruben, I had a client who made a significant purchase and forgot to log it. What did I miss?”

It was a smooth lie, but a lie, nonetheless. I wondered why she felt the need to avoid me, but I suppose to her, I took her virginity and then ran. I couldn’t blame her for being disturbed by my presence.

Ruben, however, was happy to buy it. “No worries, that’s why you’re the best. But I need you to finish off that problem and hand the account over to Roger because your focus will be on Mr. K and his businesses. It’s a big job and you’re the only one who can handle it.”

Her pale skin turned ashen, which told me everything I needed to know about her feelings about dealing with me again after eight years. “Of course, Ruben. I’ll catch up on the work and then hand it off.”

“Good, good. That’s what I like to hear!” he said, then shuffled off down the hall.

I stayed behind and kept my gaze on Brooke, who stared back at me for the longest time. I couldn’t read her expression, which was odd because I was great at reading people, and I’d been able to read her incredibly well back at college. “Brooke.”

“Ilya,” she replied in a cold voice I hardly recognized.

A smile curved at my mouth. “See you soon.”

She winced, but I didn’t let it bother me. I was nothing if not determined, and after seeing her, I was more determined than ever to get to know her again. To see if we had the same spark from eight years ago. I noted the distinct lack of family photos on her desk, which meant she was single.

Available.

To me, that meant that soon she would be the one thing she always was.

Mine.

Chapter Four

Brooke

“Ilya is back in town.” I spat the words out as soon as Lara rushed in after work. I turned to her with wide, crazed eyes before I resumed pacing around my kitchen. “And worse? He’s hired Montrose Accounting to handle his businesses.” This couldn’t be happening. I just couldn’t let myself believe that the universe would be so cruel as to bring him back into my town. My life.

“Ilya?” she asked, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Your Ilya is back in town?”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s not my Ilya and he never was.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved a dismissive hand at me, “you know what I mean. Is he still hot?”

Warmth suffused my body at her question, and I tried hard to shut that response down. “It doesn’t matter how hot he is, Lara!”

She laughed. “Wow, he must be really gorgeous.”

“It should be illegal how gorgeous he is,” I admitted reluctantly as I thought of him—crisp suit, perfectly styled blond hair, clean shaven jaw, and overall demeanor of power. “I don’t care how good he looks, Lara. I care that he’s now my client. My sole client, I might add, which means I’ll have to see him at least monthly. If not more.” Just saying it out loud was enough to make me want to pass out. “This can’t be happening.”

When Karina was first born, I thought about what I would say to Ilya if that occasion ever arose, but the first year went by and then the second and I knew that I would never see him again and I stopped worrying about it. Of all the anxiety brought on by single motherhood, running into my one-time lover didn’t even make the list anymore.

And now it was right at the very top.

“Okay, Brooke, have a seat because you’re making me dizzy and I’m not quick enough to catch you when you eventually pass out from panicking.”

I stopped pacing. “Fine.” I sat down at the kitchen table and faced my oldest and dearest friend in the world with a heavy sigh. Immediately, my leg began to bounce under the table.

Lara’s lips twitched. “Brooke, I love you like a sister. Hell, you are a sister to me, so when I say this, know that it comes from a place of love.” She gave me a chance to consider her words and I nodded for her to continue. “Maybe you should just tell him about Karina.”

“No. Absolutely not. I can’t tell him about her. He’s rich now, or maybe he’s even richer since he was rich back then too, so he’s in a prime position to take her if he wants to.” My heart rate increased as I thought about that. “I don’t have money for a lengthy custody battle, Lara.”

---