Page 51 of Bratva's Intern

“As my PA, you shouldn’t be fraternizing with subordinates, and that’s a direct order.”

He picked up the drink and took a tentative sip. A flicker of surprise crossed his face. He stared at the bottle, then took another, longer sip. Slower. Thoughtful.

I grinned. “It’s good, isn’t it?”

He didn’t respond, so I filled the silence. “I took a sip earlier to make sure it was decent. Thought you’d like it.”

He went still. His eyes lifted slowly to mine.

“You took a sip? Ofthisdrink?”

Something about his voice made my heart beat a little faster—too sharp for indifference, too low for anger.

I tilted my head and raised a brow, feeling a bit cheeky despite the murderous look in his eyes.

“What, now you object to drinking my backwash? You already drank coffee I’d had, remember?”

For a second, his lips twitched into almost a smile. Then it vanished just as quickly. He scowled, the moment buried.

“I’ll be in a video conference for the next two hours. Do not let anyone disturb me.”

“Yes, sir,” I said quietly, stepping back toward the door. He was already tired of me.

“Wren.”

I stopped with my hand on the knob. “Yes?”

“Bring me the same drink tomorrow.”

I turned, caught off guard by how warm those words made me feel. Stupid, really, how something so small could mean so much. But there it was. That flutter in my chest. He approved.

I smiled. “Yes, sir.”

Floating a little from that unexpected win, I returned to my desk.“Bring me the same drink tomorrow.”That wasn’t nothing. Not in his language. From anyone else, it would be lukewarm praise. From Maxim Morozov, it was basically a love letter. One I didn’t realize I’d been craving.

“Bradley!” I was surprised to find him still at my desk, his usual smile in place. “Is something wrong?”

He’d taken the liberty of spinning my chair around and was flipping through one of the files I’d left open. “No, just helping you out with the file you were having a problem with. It should all be fixed now.”

“Oh, okay, thank you, but I should be figuring out things on my own.” I gently nudged him out of my seat, glancing at Maxim’s closed door. He would be angry with me again if he came out and found Bradley still here.

He gave me a look that was more pout than offense. “Fine, fine. I’ll let you play secretary in peace. If you want to do something after work, message me.”

“Okay.”

Damn. Why had I given him my number that first day? As he walked away, I turned to my computer, my mind alreadyon the work I’d been doing before a grumpy Maxim returned from his doctor’s appointment.

I’d just pulled up a new file when the office phone rang. The first day it’d done that, I’d been so terrified that I’d messed up my intro. Thankfully, Archie had been patient with me. Now the words flew off my tongue without a thought.

“Mr. Morozov’s office. Wren Holloway speaking.”

“Wren, how are things going over there?”

“Archie!” I straightened instinctively. “Things are… good. Busy, but good.”

Archie chuckled. “I must say, I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long. Maybe Maxim was right about you.”

Maxim had spoken to him about me? What had he said? I itched to ask Archie, but I didn’t want to sound desperate for my boss’s approval.

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