I didn’t want to tell him to take that fork and shove it up his ass. But at the continued silence, I realized a response was necessary. “I understand.”
Sasha smiled then, and I got a glimpse of how handsome he was. “I’m glad. Welcome to the team.”
He and Lev looked similar, only Lev was slightly taller, but Sasha was more muscular. Both had dark brown hair, styled neatly. Both had hard eyes the color of cognac. Both had generous lips, and both wore a suit rather well.
Sasha ignored me from then out. He did, however, speak to Lev. “I need you today. Can you spare some time after lunch?”
Lev ate another grape and my mouth watered. “Yes. Have you given any more thought to the first aid course I put forward?”
I hadn’t eaten fresh fruit in a long while. I wanted to sample the sweet juice to see if it tasted as I remembered.
Sasha responded, “Yeah. We’ll go ahead with it. All the security and bar staff will take it. As the roster rotates, they can pick a day off of their choosing to attend, and they’ll be reimbursed for their time.” He paused. “And Lev? Feed your fucking pet before she expires.”
Glaring at Sasha, I ran to Lev’s defense. “I’m not even hungry.”
Just as I finished saying this, my stomach gave an excruciatingly whale-like growl. And it went on for what seemed like days.
I turned to Lev, cheeks heating in embarrassment. “I’m okay, really.”
But he was frowning down at me, looking mildly ashamed of himself. He leaned toward me and spoke for my ears only. “I’m sorry.”
I whispered back, “Don’t apologize. You’ve been so generous, Lev.” I reached over to squeeze his arm. “I can’t thank you enough.”
His brow low, he muttered quietly, “I wish you would’ve told me you were hungry. I’m not very good at reading people, Mina.”
How had the situation reversed so quickly? Why was I the one left feeling like I’d done something wrong?
At the sorry state of him, I apologized. He was obviously embarrassed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you’ve been so nice to me and I didn’t want to seem like I was being ungrateful. The next time I’m hungry, I’ll tell you. I promise.”
He nodded as a plump, grey-haired older woman with glasses dressed all in black walked into the room holding a plate of eggs and bacon with sautéed mushrooms. It smelled incredible. She set it down in front of Sasha then smiled up at Lev. “Morning, Mr. Leokov. What’s this morning’s fare?”
Lev’s lip tilted up at one side. “Good morning, Ada. I’ll have oatmeal, please. And Mina will have…” All three of them looked at me. Lev waited patiently while Ada smiled encouragingly. Sasha watched me with a hawk’s eye.
“Oh,” I started, uncomfortable with the attention. “I’m not fussy. Anything will do, really.”
Ada clucked. “Anything is not a food, honey.” She smiled. “I can do eggs and bacon, pancakes, toast, waffles, oatmeal or cereal, or I have some freshly baked blueberry muffins. What’s your poison?”
I smiled at the kind woman. “Eggs and bacon sounds great.” I was already salivating at the look of Sasha’s plate.
“Scrambled?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
She winked. “Be back in a jiffy.”
I was not shocked easily, but what happened next stunned the speech out of me. Sasha stood with his plate, walked around the table, and placed it in front of me. He walked back to his seat, sat back down, and he did this all without a spoken word.
I blinked down at the plate for a moment before I looked up at him. He stared, his gaze cutting, and I wondered if this man was as hard as he wanted people to believe he was.
“Thank you,” I said softly, sincerely.
He broke eye contact, lifted his paper high enough to block me from his view, and continued reading. “You’re welcome.”
I ate slowly, savoring every bite of the fluffy scrambled eggs, the tender, garlic-garnished mushrooms, and crispy bacon. It was perfect, and I secretly wanted to leave my seat, walk into the kitchen, and hug Ada half to death.
Lev watched me eat. He did it so obviously that without even turning my head to catch him in the act, I felt it.
I lifted another forkful of eggs to my mouth before I heard a door open. A woman called out, “I’m home!”
The food suddenly felt heavy in my stomach. Women did not like me. They found whatever issue they could with me, and I never really understood it. I always