Page 98 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

I shrug. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.” Roger wheels his rolling chair closer to me. His knee brushes against mine, and I pull back. But he follows, maintaining contact. “I told you that you could handle this account on your own, but I knew it wasn’t true. The truth is, I didn’t think I’d be able to handle sitting in this small room with you day after day.”

Oh no. Danger. Red flag. Every alarm system in my body is going off, but I try to quiet the noise.

I take a deep breath and laugh. “Hey, no worries. If you don’t have an annoying coworker then that coworker is probably you, right?”

Roger licks his dry lips and shakes his head. “It’s not because you’re annoying, Belle.”

I grab my hamburger and take a large, disgusting bite. Ketchup drips down my chin as I chew, but Roger is undeterred. He reaches out and swipes the drippage away with his finger.

Then helicks his finger.

I struggle not to look as disgusted as I feel.

“It’s because you are absolutely delicious.” He’s clearly pleased with his sweet talk, but I feel like I’m going to barf.

“We should work,” I say while chewing. “There’s a lot to do.”

“I’d say we both deserve a break, wouldn’t you?”

Why did I wear a skirt today? I should have worn pants. A parka. A space suit. I want at least five more layers of material between my skin and Roger’s fingers.

“We’ll switch!” I offer, standing up to walk around the table. “You take a break, and I’ll input the data for a while. Take a load off and—”

Roger grabs my hand, holding my wrist tightly so I can’t walk away. “Belle, you don’t have to deny yourself any longer.”

“I need this job,” I whisper.

I’m saying it for my own benefit as much as Roger’s. Trying to remind myself why I’m still here, why I put up with this shit.

Elise’s torn shoes. Our too-expensive apartment. Fuckinggroceries.

I have bills to pay, and I need this job.

Roger nods and pats my arm with his other hand. “I know. Which is why this can stay between us. Nothing will change.”

His hand slides up my forearm and then higher. He brushes across the sleeve of my shirt and then hooks his fingers around my shoulder to pull me closer to him. I try to resist, but underneath his ill-fitting clothes, Roger is surprisingly strong.

“Everything will change,” I protest. “We can’t. We shouldn’t.”

Also,I don’t want to.I’d rather chew off my own arm.

“We’re both adults,” Roger whispers, leaning close. I can smell the onion on his breath. “Workplace romances happen all the time, Belle. And I traveled a long way to be here.”

“For the company.”

He shakes his head. “Foryou. I left Aruba to be here withyou.”

Then Roger is leaning towards me, eyes closing, dry lips puckering. And for a horrifying moment, I don’t know what to do.

I can’t afford to lose this job. Maybe one kiss will pacify him. Maybe if I hold still, he’ll get bored and move on to tormenting someone else. Resisting only makes him want me more.

But I hear Nikolai’s voice in the back of my head.Stand up for yourself, Belle. Don’t let him walk all over you. Fight back.

Quickly, I slam my palm against Roger’s chest. Air whooshes out of his lungs, and he stumbles back a half step. His face creases in a frown.

“Don’t worry,” he croons again like he’s placating a wild animal. “No one will know. We’re alone.”

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