tendency to isolate himself from others worse. No matter what he claims, it must have hurt him deeply.
“I’ve got to get up and get to work,” he says. “I need to call Margaret, and Bohdan will be arriving soon.”
Ah yes, the scary woman who’s his right hand in the business, Margaret terrifies me.
He climbs out of the bed, and I watch him dress with fascination.
First, he pulls on his underwear and trousers, but he doesn’t fasten them. Instead, he rifles through the huge built-in wardrobe and selects a crisp shirt. Pulling it over his wide, strong shoulders, he clasps the buttons then tucks it into his trousers, fastening them closed. He pulls a belt out of his drawer and winds that through the loops. He snaps on cufflinks and chooses a tie. He must be planning on possibly going into the office, I think, because he’s dressing smart. Once he has his cufflinks on and his tie fastened, he picks out a jacket, but he doesn’t put that on. He slings it over the back of his chair, grabs some socks, and then takes a pair of expensive looking brown shoes from his wardrobe and ties the laces.
He’s gorgeous. I can’t decide which version of him I like best. The suited and booted one in front of me, or the more casual one. Both styles show off his amazing body.
His phone buzzes, and he grabs it, looks at it with a frown, then turns to me. “Do you have a passport?”
“Yes, why?”
“Fancy a trip to Paris?”
“What?”
“Would you like to come with me to Paris?”
I nearly answer does a bear shit in the woods, but I simply nod. Paris, with Konstantin? Wow.
“I’ll be in a few unofficial meetings. Damen, one of the Greek crew, is going to meet me there.”
“Where at, a hotel?”
“No, at my house there.”
Of course, his house—in Paris! Because we all have little bolt holes in Paris, right?
“My passport is at my flat.”
“I’ll take you to get it tonight, okay? And since you’ve said you don’t like the clothes Derek purchased for you, you can pick some clothes up too.”
“Can I speak to Mr. Clarke while I’m there?”
“Who?”
“My neighbor. The man I go dancing with? I’m worried about him, and I want to make sure he’s okay.”
“You shouldn’t. Anything you do that lets people see where you’ve been is a risk. It’s also a bit of a risk for Mr. Clarke. I doubt the Armenians will care about hurting him to get info on you and me, if they find out his connection to you.” Crap, he’s not going to let me see my friend. I nibble at my lip, and watch him, He sighs and rubs across his jaw. “Those big eyes are hard to resist, Cassie; you don’t play fair.”
Ha, who is he to talk about playing fair?
“Five minutes,” he says. “You can speak to him for five minutes, and only if I’m sure we haven’t been followed, okay? No mention that you’re staying with me, and no mention at all of Paris. Simply tell him you’re in a hotel working on a project and I’m your boss, alright?”
“Of course,” I agree quickly. I don’t want to put Mr. Clarke in any danger, but I do want to check on him and reassure him that I’m okay.
Konstantin kisses me briefly, and then he’s gone, leaving only a cloud of the woodsy aftershave he’s slapped on his cheeks. How old fashioned. Most men spray their cologne on, but not Konstantin. Maybe he does sometimes, though. I get off the bed and head over to his dresser, picking up the bottles and looking at them. Yep, some have spray nozzles on them. He’s got six different scents, four more than me. Knowing I shouldn’t, I open the drawers and casually rummage through them.
The second one has my eyes staring in disbelief. There are so many boxes, some with cuff links, others with watches, and a few more with silk squares. The names are ones I recognize. Hermes, Prada, Dior. They all cost a fortune. The watches, I don’t recognize, except for Rolex.
The third drawer down is simply socks. Mostly black, gray, or caramel. All feel like cashmere. I bet his sock drawer is worth more than my entire wardrobe. Feeling inadequate suddenly, I go and look in the full-length mirror in the wardrobe.
Staring at my reflection, I try to be objective. I’m pretty. I can see I’m pretty. Nice hair, good skin. I bare my teeth in a