Page 111 of The Billionaire's Baby
"We went to school together," Niko replies.
"No. You didn’t."
Arpad’s grin widens, "Oh, it’s not the kind of school that you’re thinking."
"Oh, yeah?" I firm my lips. What the hell is this man up to now? Just when I think I have things under control, he pulls the rug out from under my feet.
Niko nods. "We met, shall we say, in the kind of academy to which only a certain few have access."
"The Seven included," Arpad drawls.
"And what kinds of things were you taught there?"
"Do you want to know?" Arpad’s eyes gleam. He leans forward on the balls of his feet, and his gaze bores into mine. Damn him, he knows how curious I am, that I’ll do anything to find out how he knows my family.
"No," I snap my lips closed.
"No?" He blinks.
"What do I care?" I lean back in my chair and pretend to yawn. "Clearly, you’re in cahoots with them. Perhaps you’ve been planning this all along. If you think you’ve surprised me, forget it, buster. I’ve known worse."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," I draw in a breath, then turn toward my father, "I am not sure what game is being played here, but you know how I feel about my involvement in matters of the Bratva. Suffice to say, I want no part of it." I rise to my feet.
My father’s gaze grows stormy. The tips of his ears grow red. Shit, never a good sign. Now you know where I get my temper. My stomach twists. I think I am going to throw up now. That’s all I need to embarrass myself. I swallow down the bile that rises to my throat.
"You okay, Sparks?" Arpad asks.
"Water," I croak.
He reaches over, grabs a bottle of water from the table, twists off the cap, and offers it to me.
I snatch it from him, tilt it to my lips and chug down a few mouthfuls. My stomach seems to settle. Thank god. I place the bottle down on the table, sit back in my seat.
"I’m sorry I surprised you like this." He squats down, takes my hand in his. His palms, wide and warm, make me aware of just how cold and clammy I’ve gone. Shit, it’s okay. No big deal. Just my family pulling a fast one on me… As they’ve been prone to do in the past. Which is why I’d decided to go my own way. Then, of course, I had to meet Arpad and fall for him and screw it all up. I yank my fingers from him.
"I’m not sorry for anything," I snap.
His jaw tightens. He rises to his feet, then turns to my father, "Gregory, let’s get to the business at hand, shall we?"
My father glances between us, then nods. "Why don’t you sit down?" he asks Arpad, who slips into the chair next to me. The warmth of his body calls to me, and damn it, but I want to lean toward him. I grip the side of my chair, and turn toward my father.
"I have nothing to do with what’s happening in this room."
"On the contrary, Karishcka, you are at the center of the discussion that’s about to take place."
"I am?" The blood drains from my face. I lean back in my chair, twist my fingers together. "Don’t tell me. Let me guess," my voice breaks and I clear my throat, "you're going to tell me that I need to marry this man for real because it’s the only way for you to get power on this side of the pond, something you’ve been wanting for a long time."
My father gazes at me steadily, "You always were a clever girl. If only you had agreed to join us."
"And you know my answer to that. I don’t want anything to do with the family business."
"And yet, you had no qualms taking on the security agency and growing it." Nikolai leans forward in his seat.
"That was…legal."
"That was..." Niko puts his fingertips together, "naïve of you."
