Page 5 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

Luka, you bastard. I know he hired this woman with a grin on his face. He could have gotten me some middle-aged guy who knew the books inside and out, but instead, he found me… Ella.

There’s no way I could have seen this coming, and for a moment, I’m speechless. On one hand, it feels like a gift has been dropped in my lap, but I also have to wonder if she really has the credentials to handle this place, especially since she doesn’t lookany older in the light of day. In fact, her office-chic style only emphasizes the youthfulness of her face, from her full cheeks to those sparkling doe eyes.

Not that I’m complaining. I don’t care if she’s utterly useless at the job she was hired for; I’m keeping her. If she can't take on the role I originally anticipated, I’m happy to have her around just as my secretary. Even if all she ever does is tell me when I’ve got a phone call, it’s worth it.

But the surprise I feel at finding my mysterious one-night stand here in my office doesn’t seem to be mirrored on her face. She’s scanning my office as if she’s getting acquainted with the space, almost deliberately ignoring me. What’s her game?

“I know who you are, Ella,” I say, rising to my feet. “I’m just surprised to see you here after the night you had.”

She rewards me with a flare of pink across the tops of her cheekbones, but the rest of her face remains stoic. Heels clicking on the hardwood, she crosses the space between us and sets a folder down on my desk.

“I went ahead and pulled everything I could find on the nearest competitors,” she says, tapping her manicured nails on the desk to draw my attention to the papers she's assembled and off of her still-swollen lips.

Is she really going to act like we’ve never met before? Like this is actually the first time she's seen me and not last night, when she was practically tearing my clothes off? Fine. I’ll play along for a minute. I give her my full attention, leaning in toward her as she opens the folder and pulls out a sheet comparing our revenue to the competition’s.

This close, I can see the scatter of freckles across her cheeks. I know there’s a matching constellation of them alongher back as well. I traced them with my tongue. Working this close to her is going to be distracting in the best sort of way.

It takes me a beat to realize she’s finished talking, to pull my mind away from where it can’t help but go around this woman, and absorb everything she’s just said. Maybe she’s more cut out for the job than I realized because her work is thorough, well-researched, and organized, and judging by the stack of papers beneath it, there’s more to come. So she’s not just gorgeous, she’s smart, too, and capable. She’s perfect.

“Nice work,” I say, truthfully. I lean back against the desk and she straightens, pulling slightly away from me, putting space between us. “And a good start. Did Luka ask you to put this together?”

She shakes her head, a self-satisfied smile on her face. “No, I did it myself when I got the job. I like to know what I’m getting into before I’m already in it. Being prepared is what has gotten me this far.”

So I guess she’s not spending all of her time out at the clubs partying, drinking, and dancing. Images of her dancing with other men, their hands on her body, flash through my mind and make my fingers clench into fists. Like that man who approached her last night, thinking he was good enough for her. He wasn’t. None of them were.

I much prefer the thought of her home alone—where does she live? Is it a nice apartment in a safe area, or do I have to worry about her in a wreck of a place? I make a mental note to look for her address in Luka’s files—working hard on her laptop or curled up with a notebook on her couch.

“This isn’t your first job, then?” She’s too confident for it to be her first corporate job, or she’s an amazing faker. Last night wasn’t her first time, either, and the stab of envy I feel for theman who got to take her virginity makes me see red. There’s no way in hell he treated her the way she deserved to be treated.

She stays on her feet, ignoring the two chairs on this side of the desk, and I do the same. “No. I worked in the office of a manufacturing company just out of college, and I left that job for this one. So, I don’t have a ton of experience, but I was there for two years before you guys poached me. Is that a problem?”

Her little chin comes up, defiant, daring me to say that it is. I love that spark in her, so at odds with her otherwise innocent demeanor. It flared last night, too, when she wouldn’t give me her name. Intriguing.

“Only if it affects your performance.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare down at her. Even half-reclined against the desk, I’m still much taller than she is. “How old are you, Ella?”

I’m dying to know everything there is to know about her. Where she lives, who she’s friends with, and who she’s dated, and as her employer, she can't dodge my questions like she did at the club last night. Not without putting her job at risk.

“Twenty-two,” she replies, with a hint of reservation now, like I’m going to fire her for it. So damn young. A full decade younger than I am. “I graduated early.”

The innocent thing definitely isn’t an act. She’s that young, that inexperienced. Barely old enough to have been drinking in that club last night.

“That must’ve taken a lot of work. You obviously want to be here, Ella, so I’m willing to give you a chance at this. Luka hired you, and he generally knows what he’s doing.”Even if he was trying to fuck with me with this particular applicant.“But consider this a trial period.”

I walk around the desk and take my seat again, nodding for her to take one of the ones across from me. So she wants to pretend that we’ve never met before. That I’m nothing but her boss. Fine. But I’m not going to make it easy on her. For all that she affects me, drives me absolutely mad with wanting her, I know I’ve got the same effect on her. It was clear as day last night, even if she’s hiding it now.

Her eyes track me as she sits, perching herself on the edge of the seat like she doesn’t want to get too comfortable. Keeping up the professional act. But I’ll make her crack, and I’ll take my time with it. There’s no rush now that she’s here, now that she's at my beck and call. I’ll tear down every one of her defenses and make her a puddle in my hands again, make her beg for me to take her.

“A trial period?” Her eyebrows pinch together and I wonder again at her living situation. Is she comfortable? Safe? “For how long? Your cousin didn’t mention that. He made it sound like this was a sure thing, or I wouldn’t have left my job for this one.”

She’s worried. Unsettled. But she doesn’t shift gears and try batting her eyelashes at me. If anything, her face shutters even further, locking me out. Dammit. I have to be careful how I push here. She has to need me, not fear me.

“Three months.” I lean forward on my elbows. “You’ve got the job. I’m not taking it away from you. But I will test how much responsibility you can handle, and that will determine whether you work as my secretary or as my right-hand man, someone capable of making deals in my name.”

Ella’s teeth catch her bottom lip, and I can’t peel my eyes away from the sight. I want to be the one with my mouth on that decadent lower lip.

“Deals? What kind of deals does a casino make?” She pulls her folder closer and flips through the pages, looking for the answer in its contents. “Like with the liquor companies or…?”

That makes me sit back in my seat. “Among other things.” I pause and wait for her to get the hint.

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