Page 97 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

“About time you showed up,” a familiar voice says.

I jolt away from the door and see my boss sitting at the head of the conference room table.

He’s wearing a ridiculous floral button-down and a vicious sunburn. “Roger?” I gasp, rubbing my eyes just in case I’m hallucinating. “Where did you—why—what are you doing here?”

“I came to surprise you.” He holds out his arms and waggles his fingers like tentacles. “Surprise!”

“Surprise,” I mumble back, too stunned to say anything else. Then I shake my head. “Did Nikolai call you?”

Roger’s face twists in confusion. “Mr. Zhukova? No, he didn’t call me. Never met the guy, actually. After our call the other night, though, I decided you needed my company.”

“You left Aruba to come help me?”

He smiles like a hero coming to claim his reward. “I kind of threw you to the sharks having you handle this one alone. Plus, Aruba was making me wish I had some company of my own.”

Aaand, there it is: he wished he had someone to fuck. It doesn’t take a genius to puzzle that one out.

Still, Roger being here is some level of protection, right? When drowning, you don’t refuse a piece of driftwood in hopes of finding a dinghy. You take whatever help you can get.

Roger, for better or worse, is help.

“Wow,” I say, trying to paint a smile on my face. “That’s great. It will be really nice to have your expertise. I’m… Well, I’m in over my head here.”

Roger steps closer and lays a hand on my shoulder. His thumb circles lightly over my collarbone. “I knew you’d be happy to see me.”

I’m about to pull away when I see a shadow near the door. Without looking, I know it’s Nikolai. And without thinking, I step forward and throw my arms around Roger’s neck.

He smells like sweat and mildew, like he left his shirt in the washer too long before drying it. But I hold the hug, even as he wraps his arms around me, his hands inching dangerously low on my back.

But just before he reaches the waistband of my pants, I back away. “Okay. We should probably get to work.”

Roger turns towards the table. I turn towards the door just in time to see Nikolai walking briskly down the hallway.

22

BELLE

“Wow, you really were in over your head,” Roger says for at least the fifth time. “You’re lucky I came to help. You would have been here forever.”

“It already feels like I’ve been here forever,” I mumble.

The week has dragged on, but I’m talking specifically about today. It’s well past eight and the rest of the office is empty. But Roger doesn’t show any signs of wanting to call it a day.

“We have a lot of ground to make up.” He points to the hamburger sitting in front of me. “You should eat. This could be a while.”

I bite back a groan. I already texted Elise to warn her I’d be late again. I did not mention Roger was here. Her mind would jump to the worst possible conclusion if I told her I was working late with Roger.

I’m having a hard enough time not letting my mind wander there myself. But thankfully, he’s been hands-off all day since our hug.

“I’m sorry I got so far behind,” I say. “I just wasn’t sure what to do with all of the discrepancies.”

I’ve mentioned all of the errors in Zhukova Incorporated’s books several times today, and each time, Roger has had the same response.

“Not many companies handle their charity this way, so it’s complicated. I should have warned you.”

I truly can’t tell if Roger believes what he’s saying or if he’s trying to cover for Nikolai. At this point, I don’t want to ask—I know far too much as it is. As much as I dislike Roger, I don’t want to bring him into this tangled web. Innocence is bliss, right?

“I should have come with you, actually,” he says, turning to face me.

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