Page 113 of Bratva's Vow
Shit.
They were all waiting for some kind of response.
“So what do you think, Maxim? About the?—”
“I’ll need some time to think about it.”
He frowned. “What’s there to think about? It’s a solid plan.”
I pushed back my chair. “We’ll pick up on it tomorrow, Archie.” Whatever the hell “it” was. “Good job, everyone.”
Not that I knew. I’d zoned out for most of the discussion. I escaped from the room before Archie could give me that knowing look. I glanced over my shoulder. Yup, there it was. He knew I was distracted because of Wren. A part of me felt a bit guilty, but I pushed it down. I was forty-two years old and had never been in love. I’d worked hard for the past sixteen years to get where I was. I deserved to slack off some to focus on my love life for a change.
Down the hall, Sergei stood outside my office door. He pushed it open and allowed me to enter ahead of him.
Everything was perfect.
The office had been cleared of paperwork and reshuffled into something soft, with warm lighting and fresh-cut flowers in a slim vase. A linen-draped table had been positioned rightnext to the glass wall so the city below would serve as a backdrop while Wren ate his overpriced lunch and smiled at me like I’d invented the world.
“Everything up to standard?” Sergei asked.
“Yes. It’s perfect. Did you pick up that present I asked you to?”
“Shit. Almost forgot.” He took out a velvet box from his jacket and handed it to me. I flipped it open and smiled. I was spoiling him rotten today. First the housekeeper and the car. Now the beautiful piece of jewelry that was a part of a set.
“You sure you want to go through with that?” Sergei asked.
“Yes.” I closed the box and nailed him with a stare. “Don’t tell me you still have doubts about Wren.”
“Let’s just say I don’t think he poses a threat to you anymore.”
Of course that was as much as he would budge on the matter. “You’re full of shit. He’s perfect for me, and you know it.”
His lips twitched, but Sergei being Sergei, he didn’t succumb to the smile. “It’s been just two months, Maxim. But he’s definitely made you happy.”
“What about you?”
Sergei scowled and backed up toward the door, almost walking into Archie, who entered behind him. “I have things to do.”
“Are any of those things getting laid?” I called after him, chuckling, but he flipped me off and didn’t look back.
I turned to Archie. The same frown from the conference room deepened as he surveyed the setup for my date with Wren.
“What’s this?” he asked. “You have a business lunch I don’t know of?”
“Wren’s almost here.” I checked my phone. He’d texted me five minutes ago that they were pulling into the parking lot.
Archie scowled. “This is why you had me cancel your afternoon appointments?” He closed the door behind him. “Maxim, one of those appointments was meeting the new brigadier.”
“It can wait. He’s not going anywhere, is he?”
“For god’s sake, Maxim, did you forget what happened, why he had to leave his internship? Why would you bring him back here? You hardly need an afternoon date at the office when you live together.”
“Technically, we never discussed the living arrangements. He just kind of stayed over permanently.” I frowned, scratching my nape. “I should probably bring it up, ensure we’re on the same page.”
“You’re not even listening to me.”
“I am. I just don’t care.” Shrugging, I walked over to the table and adjusted a tulip that was leaning slightly askew in the vase. “How’s the hunt going for a new PA?”
