Page 10 of Bedazzled
Something flickered in his pretty blue eyes, but Yuri nodded and kissed me one last time. “Thank you, Tania. You are quite unforgettable.”
“I know.” I blew him a kiss and sauntered out, even though a good 83% of me wanted to turn around and take him up on that date offer.
You suck at boyfriends,I reminded myself with a sigh.
“Hey, Timur, my address is-”
The driver’s voice sounded like he was gargling with gravel. “I know, Miss.”
I shake my head. Of course, he does. He was driving at the correct speed, hands at two and ten on the steering wheel. “Timur.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Those X tattoos on your hand, what do they mean?” I asked, “There’s like forty of them.”
“They’re for…” the poor man hesitated, his hands loosening and tightening on the steering wheel.
Light dawns. “Oh, they’re for kills, right?” There was a strangled sound from the front seat. I am freaking out by this revelation because I’m sitting in a car with a guy who immortalized his kills via tattoo and that is so fucked up. As always when I’m trying to not completely lose my shit, I chatter. Mindlessly.
“Well, it does seem like a high number, given how young you are. But in your line of work, maybe that’s not so unusual. Is there a quota you need to meet, or something?”
He stares at me bleakly in the rearview mirror, like I’m draining him of his will to live.
Two weeks later…
That damn bedazzled dick and the gorgeous man attached to it have ruined me. I have tried everything to get off without him. I have worn out the batteries in my favorite vibrator and… nothing. I’m still turned on, day and night and this sucks.
Maybe if Yuri would stop doing annoying shit like sending me flowers every day, it would help me forget him. And all those orgasms. And the laughing. And the talking. And the pretty dress and shoes.
“Tania, what’s your thought on the Jensen-Smith merger?”
Oh, shit.
I blink and try to form a serious, interested expression so that my boss on the Zoom call doesn’t realize that only my physical body has been present for this meeting.
“According to the federal tax report, they’re claiming less than half their value on their tax returns, which puts them in an unsuitable category for risk.”
He scowls, which usually makes everyone else quake in terror but I already know that Ezio Papachristodoulopoulos is a pussycat with the longest last name on the planet. “Take another look at their energy holdings and double-check if anything’s been put under another LLC.”
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed absently, even though this deal screamed of galactic stupidity and poor life choices on the part of everyone involved.
“We’re done here,” Ezio ordered, “Tania, hang on for a moment.”
I stifled a groan. I appreciated him for hiring me immediately while the Feds were confiscating everything at my old company for insider trading, but he never stopped asking me out. When I reminded him that this could be considered inappropriate workplace behavior, he protested that he was Greek and that he would lose his manhood and cultural identity if he didn’t ask out a beautiful woman like me.
Blah, blah, blah.
“Tania, we have an important corporate event this Friday,” he said, shuffling some papers to attempt to look like his mind was totally focused on business. “I’ll need you to join me.”
Sighing inwardly, I asked, “Is this corporate even an after-hours party?”
“Yes,” he blustered, “and there will be key players from the Vladelets Real Estate group there. I’ll need you on board.”
“Just as work associates, Ezio,” I warned.
“Of course!” He had the nerve to look insulted.
“What are you doing tonight?”
