damn paranoid.
Surely, I’m projecting. Over the last few weeks, there have been multiple incidents. How Aleksy would lean over my desk, and our shoulders touched. How my hair would fall across his hand as we worked on the books. When our hands touched reaching for the same pen.
It has to be in my mind. If Aleksy feels something, he would've spoken up by now.
He is one of the most dominating and powerful men I had ever met. He got to his current position by grabbing what he wanted and taking it, pushing all others out of the way. Ruthless. Unstoppable.
If he is interested in me, he would say so. I press my lips together and prepare to dismiss my feelings, at least for now.
After blinking a few times, I finally look up at him. His tongue crept to the corner of his mouth, and it was as if I could feel it trace a thin line down my belly. I clear my throat and try to remember what we had been discussing.
“So, can you do it, Whitney?”
I shake my head slightly. I was lost. I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Can you take the kids up to the summer cabin? I’ll be following within a few days, so you won’t have to entertain them by yourself for long. I’ll pay you time-and-a-half, of course.”
I let that sink in for a second. Days, not hours of overtime. How many days? I wasn’t sure. It looked pretty good to me. Caring for someone else’s children helped to soothe that place inside me that longed for love and family but believed I couldn’t have what I dreamed.
“Yes, Mr. Dragos. Of course, I can handle that. No problem.”
“I’ll be giving you some devices to take with you and a little bit of paperwork. Don’t neglect the kids, by any means. But take a few moments each day to check the messages and emails. The lists will constantly update as stock moves in and out of the warehouse. All you have to do is track the piece, so it gets to where it's supposed to go, and handle questions from the buyer. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yes, of course!” I was thrilled to still be working, at least. I might not be able to touch the artifacts themselves, but I would see pictures, know where they had come from, and which company or private buyer was interested in which piece.
“Okay, Whitney. I’ll get some more details together for you soon. I’ll be leaving for the docks in a day or so, and I’ll make sure you have anything you need for the kids. I’ll stick a black credit card in there too, so you can buy anything you want.”
I had trouble maintaining my seat. The room swirled around me, and I planted my feet firmly to stop myself from hitting the floor. The company’s black card! Buy anything I want! Hell. Dangerous instructions, all right.
“Do you have any questions, Whitney?”
“No, sir. Not at the moment, anyway.”
“You can text my cell anytime, okay? It doesn’t matter what the time is. Just contact me, and I’ll help you sort it out. Those kids can be absolute monsters, you know. Egan is eight, and he’s already acting like a teenager. Adara is only four, but she can be a nightmare. Put them together, and they bicker, and play off each other. You’re going to need a lot of patience.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “That’s a great way to convince me to do this.”
He grinned back. “I’m just striving for honesty.”
“And I appreciate it.” When I looked up at him, the gentle humor of our banter created a sense of intimacy. I felt that sensation again, like something connected us.
I told myself not to be so stupid. Aleksy probably dated models and movie stars. I overslept today, and my hair was a tumble of unbrushed curls barely tamed by a hairband. My slacks were old, comfortable, not sexy, and my oversized sweater looked like I stole it from someone’s grandma. He couldn’t like someone like me. He was probably only giving me this assignment because he knew I was a pushover.
He grinned again, and I refused to read anything into it.
I stood suddenly. “Well, I'd best get ready to go. Thank you, sir.”
He nodded as I rose and strode to the door. The second I moved, he took his devices off silent, and they all screamed. I heard him sigh as he picked up his phone.
“Dragos.