Page 93 of Vengeful Vows

Val was quick to snatch up records I am no longer privy to see, but she wasn’t fast enough for me to miss Veronika’s name back on the guest register of Ark’s apartment.

Since I am no longer a part of that team, I’m clueless as to whether her room is still the one on the opposite side of Ark’s apartment, or if she shifted her things into the main room.

Just contemplating them being cozy has me reconsidering my intent to work in this building. It hurt reading a headline. I wouldn’t survive witnessing it in person.

I’m so worked up that I tear my jacket while stuffing my arms into the openings. My coat is old and from several seasons ago, but I’m on the verge of crying while taking in the unrepairable tear, and the probability worsens when the hairs on my nape suddenly stand to attention.

A shadowed figure is blocking the entryway of the only room not taken up by cleaning staff. Although my body shouldn’t know who the figure is, it identifies him two seconds before a light flicking on reveals a face I’ve missed ogling the past three days.

Ark enters the conference room from the entrance I used to serve him coffee. He isn’t alone. Veronika is at his side, wearing a dress similar to the one I saw her pictured in earlier today.It clings to her curves, and with its coloring pairing with Ark’s swanky tie, they represent the perfect powerhouse couple Ark wants the media to believe they are.

My molars grind when Veronika cozies into Ark’s side like she’s afraid of entering a room without a big, strong man at her side.

Her damsel-in-distress routine is cut short when Ark thanks her for her assistance before freeing himself from her clutch. “I’ll have Rafael organize a car for you.”

She pouts at him. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Her voice is irritating, and I’m glad I don’t need to hide my grimace like Ark. The two-way mirror I’m camped behind hides it on my behalf.

I hear Ark’s frustration in his tone, but the velvety rasp of his voice still scalds my skin like UVs on a hot summer’s day when he says, “I’m sure. This should only take a minute. Then we can…”

A current zaps through me when his eyes suddenly snap to the two-way mirror. The sparks his stare instigate are electric, sending heat roaring through me.

I’m burning at the stake, but since Ark would rather his incineration occur without an audience member who could potentially ruin his campaign for office, he guides Veronika back toward the exit.

Fury burns hotter than the lust scorching my veins when Veronika swoops in for a quick peck when Ark holds open the door for her. Her puckered lips display their desperateness to touch him in any way, not to mention the lusty gleam in her eyes.

I fight like hell to keep my feet rooted to the floor when a door closing harshly draws my eyes back to Ark. We’re alone, as the magnetizing pull trying to draw us together announces, and although there is a two-way mirror separating us, Ark stares straight at me as if there isn’t.

I return his watch, confused, angry, and incredibly aroused.

There’s still so much tension, so much energy. I feel seconds from combusting, and the flames aren’t solely from my half of the room.

Ark shoves his hands in his pockets, striving to convey unity between his head and his heart.

He can’t fool me.

Mutual attraction drew us together, but something much more profound pulled us under.

I’m dangerously close to forcing Ark to admit that with me, but I lose the chance when the door opposite him pops open and Rafael enters with an equally attractive brunette.

She races to Ark’s side with her hand held out in offering, her footing almost a stumble. “Mr. Orlov, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I am aware your time is extremely stretched, so I won’t keep you long.”

Ark accepts her hand before he steals her focus with a smile. It is so breathtaking she misses the head nudge he issues Rafael, oblivious that he wouldn’t have accepted her handshake if it didn’t service his needs.

He wants me removed from a meeting that seems more important to him than I ever was, and I have enough self-respect not to pretend otherwise.

I’m halfway out the door before Rafael can acknowledge Ark’s silent demand to remove me from the premises, and heartbroken enough to make a pledge to never return.

40

ARKADIY

The instant Rafael walks through the door concealing Mara from me, I yank my hand out of Detective Pascall’s grasp and stuff it into my pocket. I didn’t accept her offer of a handshake to facilitate the suspicious groove between her brows. I did it so I could announce to Rafael that the interview I organized was being witnessed by the last person I want to know about my crimes.

Rafael must be able to read minds. I barely nudged my head to the two-way mirror I was seconds from squashing Mara up against and kissing her silly when his arrival broke the spell Mara’s presence forever places on me. But he understood the urgency on my face within a second and implemented immediate actions to ratify the injustice.

He’s done the same multiple times over the past three days.

I would have folded by now if he hadn’t.

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