Page 29 of Auctioned to My Bratva Boss

"Sure."

Before I finished speaking, he'd already pressed the capsule into my hand. Caramel latte. Sounded sweet. I liked sweet.

Adrian and I headed into the break room. No one else was there. No waiting.

"This one tastes really good, I think you'll like it." He poured the coffee into a steaming mug. "I've been wanting you to try it, but you've seemed busy lately."

By the time he finished talking, my coffee was ready too.

"Smells good." I lifted my cup and clinked it against his. "Kate's been on my ass for weeks, but it's over now. She got fired."

I took a careful sip. Rich, bittersweet caramel flooded my mouth. My wound-up nerves unwound halfway.

"Now that's exciting news." He smiled and downed half his cup, foam clinging to his upper lip. "Even people in our office knew about Kate."

"I couldn't stand how nasty she was. She had something mean to say to everyone."

"Tell me about it." We exchanged a look and laughed.

This was the first time we'd talked like this. Usually, we just exchanged pleasantries.

"I don't recall my company having positions idle enough for people to chat and laugh in the break room." A familiar voice cut through, cold as ice.

I turned to see Matvey standing in the doorway, his expression frozen. He'd removed his plain tie, his collar hanging open to reveal part of his black ink. Relaxed but dangerous.

"Get back to work."

"So sorry, Mr. Bykov." The second Matvey spoke, Adrian shrank back.

He bowed to Matvey and hurried out.

"I'm so sor—" I started to apologize too, ready to head back to my desk.

"What are you doing?" He cut me off, moving toward me like a wall. "Don't tell me just because I didn't let you come earlier, you're out here looking for comfort from some junior employee."

My shoulders tensed. The cup in my hand grew heavy.

What was I doing? Wasn't it obvious? And where the hell did that conclusion come from?

"Making coffee." I held up my cup. "The company doesn't have rules against employees drinking coffee, does it?"

He stopped in front of me, his massive frame swallowing me whole. The low pressure radiating off him felt suffocating.

"This garbage?" He sneered.

Next second, my cup was in the trash. The aroma drifted up.

"What the hell?" I looked up at him, could only see his sharp jaw.

I was actually getting pissed. What was his problem? What did the coffee ever do to him?

"Flirting with other men in my company's break room? You seem to have forgotten your place."

Flirting? Who? Me? With Adrian? Maybe Matvey had a sense of humor after all.

"We're just coworkers. We had coffee together. That's it." I spread my hands. "I don't understand why you think we were flirting."

He didn't answer. After a few seconds of silence, he pressed forward. I backed up until my ass hit the counter. His arms caged me in on both sides.