Page 76 of Wrapped in Perfection

"I'm sorry. I lied."

"Why?"

I sigh. "I couldn't lose anything. The weight just stayed where it was."

"Because you don't need to. Your body is perfect the way it is."

"Well, it won't be after I eat a week's worth of Dmitri's calories."

She takes a sip of water. "What does he say about your body?"

My face burns.

"Thought so." She points at me. "You need to stop this crazy obsession you have over food. You didn't have a problem with your body image until Mitch. And we've already established the fact he's a complete asshat, so you should realize how utterly ridiculous any notion of your body not being beautiful is."

"I'm trying. It's not easy to turn his voice off," I admit.

Harper puts her hand on my arm. "Please tell me you aren't still talking to him."

"I'm not. But he won't stop calling and texting me. I keep my phone off, but when I turn it on, it's insane." I've only looked at my phone a few times since I've been with Dmitri nonstop. But whenever I do, I cringe and my stomach flips. Mitch's text messages are getting worse, and I haven't listened to any of his voice mails. I'm too scared to know what's in the messages, and I don't want to have anything to do with him anymore.

"Why aren't you blocking him?"

"I want my stuff."

"You can get new stuff." She puts a forkful of salmon in her mouth.

"It's not that simple. I have things on my laptop for work. I was stupid and didn't put everything in the cloud. I barely survived Dmitri's project without it."

"But you did. Over time, it will work itself out, and you won't miss it."

I drink some water, trying to control my anger. I'm so tired of everyone telling me to forget about my computer. The programs and information I have on it aren't replaceable. I worked hard for those things, and they'll make my business run smoother.

"Don't get mad at me," Harper gently says.

"You don't understand."

She puts her hand on mine. "I'm sorry. But I don't want you anywhere near Mitch."

"He texted he's coming to Chicago if I don't go back," I blurt out.

Harper's eyes turn to slits. "He's got some massive balls if he does that. Your brother will kill him."

"I think Dmitri would first." My conversation with Dmitri earlier in the car and the vision of his knife come to my mind.

She nods. "Yeah. I can see that. He's got that bad boy danger flair about him."

I stay quiet.Guess this is a good time to tell her.

"So, ummm..."

She takes another bite and raises her eyebrows.

I glance behind me. Viktor is sitting by the door where people usually sit to wait. His ever-present scowl is on his face. People are standing around, keeping their distance from him.

He does look like he just got out of a long stint at the federal penitentiary.

"See the scary looking guy over there? Near the hostess stand?"

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