Once the elevator doors closed, Adrik laughed at my red cheeks. “I’m never going to be able to look them in the eye again,” I said, hiding my face in my hands. He just pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me.
Viktor, Ivan, Armando, and Giana walked into Adrik’s office soon after we did. I was sitting on Adrik’s desk while he was seated at his desk, a permanent grin on my face after the proper fu cking Id just had. As soon as I saw Viktor and Ivan walked in, I jumped off the desk and ran to them. “Viktor! My favorite track and field star!” I jumped into his arms as I heard Adrik and Ivan both laugh. He picked me up in a giant bear hug. When he set me down, I ran to Ivan. “Squishy! I missed you!” I jumped into his arms as well. He picked me up, spinning me around once, before walking further into the office before he set me down. He was smiling when he finally put me down.
“Your hip must feel much better, princess.” Ivan said as he bent down and kissed my cheek.
“You’re a genius, Ivan. Like seriously. It’s so much better now.”
Still smiling, he said, “that makes me very happy to hear, princess.”
“Me too,” Viktor said, bumping me gently with his shoulder as he walked past and sat down. Adrik stood and walked to Armando. I followed behind him, happy to see Armando again. “Armando. Thank you for coming so quickly,” Adrik said, extending his hand.
“Of course, Boss. I had no idea the situation was so dire. Your men were filling me in on the plane.” He shook Adrik’s hand. He glanced to me, a small smile on his lips. “Miss Sephie, you look absolutely radiant, my dear.” He opened his arms for a hug. 1 happily obliged, catching Giana’s look of surprise. Oh boy. Here we go again
Sephie
“Thank you for coming. Armando. You’re my favorite. Don’t tell the others.” I said, winking at him. Both Viktor and Ivan said. “hey!” behind us.
Adrik’s arm pulled me to him. I tucked myself into his side, where I fit perfectly. He motioned for both of them to sit as he pulled me back toward his desk. I jumped on the cabinet behind his desk while he sat in his chair. I caught Ivan’s eye and gave him a devilish grin. I knew Misha was going to be so excited he was back. He knew there was something more to my grin. He raised an eyebrow, squinting his eyes at me.
Armando laughed, saying, “I hear Sephie did a good job of putting Dario and Massimo in their place.” Adrik chuckled, nodding his head. I glared at Viktor and Ivan, not knowing which one of them told him. It made Armando laugh more. “They deserved it, Sephie. They’ve always been a little too misogynistic for their own good.” I crossed my arms across my chest.
“That’s much nicer than how I would’ve phrased it.”
“Were you able to find anything out about your office building?” Adrik asked.
Armando exhaled loudly, running his hands through his dark hair. Not much. We have security footage from the days before. the explosion. My people didn’t find anything from the day before the explosion, but they’re continuing to look. It’s possible they avoided the cameras somehow.”
Ivan said, “given the new information about Dario and Massimo, I would say this was more a direct attack on Armando than on you, Boss. If he’s the only one that’s loyal to you, it would benefit them to get rid of him.”
Adrik nodded, then looked to Armando. “Would you like to stay here where we can keep a closer eye on you? We can have apartments arranged for both of you.”
“I was hoping to go to my house, but my security is not up to your standards.” Armando said. He thought for a moment. “If it really is just us against the rest of them, is it a good idea to both be in the same place?”
Viktor, trying not to be offended, said, “no one is getting in or out of this building without us knowing. We have round the clock security and can increase that at a moment’s notice.”
I caught Viktor’s eye and winked at him. He was cute when he was all Russian security master.
Adrik said, “I think you would both be safer here, but it’s your choice, Mando.”
Armando looked at Giana, who hadn’t said a word and frankly, looked terrified. I could see his face soften when he looked at her. She looked up at him, her cheeks flushing slightly as he looked at her thoughtfully. “We’ll stay here. Thank you, Boss. I need to keep her safe.” Her eyes went wide for a split second before she dropped her gaze. Her cheeks turning another shade of red darker. I smiled at the exchange. Armando was a good man.
Adrik made a quick call to have two apartments readied for them. Giana timidly touched Armando’s arm and whispered something in his ear. He looked to Viktor and Ivan, “restroom?” I hopped off the cabinet, walking to the office door. “I can show her,” I offered. Arinando indicated for Giana to follow me. I walked out of the office, leaving the door open. I knew either Viktor or Ivan would get up to keep an eye out until we returned. Might as well make it easy for them.
I stole a glance at Glana as we were walking. Poor thing still looked terrified. “How long have you been working for Armando?” I asked, trying to help her feel more comfortable.
“Not even a year yet,” she said quietly, “I thought it was going to be a regular assistant job.”
I tried not to laugh. “Remind me to tell you how Ghost and I met,” said, smiling at her. “There isn’t much that’s regular around here, but you get used to it. Armando Is a good man. He’ll take care of you.” I pointed to the bathroom. “I’ll wait here.”
“Thank you,” she said, looking somewhat relieved.
After she walked into the bathroom, I turned to look back at the office door. Yep, there’s Ivan. I smiled big at him, motioning for him to come to me quickly. He walked to me without hesitation, somewhat confused. “You have to find Misha as soon as you can. He has an epic story for you. I’m dying for you to hear it. Now, quickly, go away. Poor girl is already scared to death.” I said pushing him back toward the office. He laughed, shaking his head at my nonsense.
Giana came out of the bathroom, looking slightly more relaxed. “How long have you, uh, been with… um…”
“Ghost?” I asked, smiling. “Unusual, I know. You’ll get used to it,” said, smiling at her. “Um, it’s been a few months now. Like 4-5? I actually don’t know the real answer to that question. I’m a terrible girlfriend.” “He doesn’t think so. You can tell you love each other. I expected you to have been together for much longer. And his bodyguards? They’re scary when you’re not around. I like them much better when you’re in the same room.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.