by Marian Tee
And if she knew what was good for her, Vassi thought, she would drop it then and there.
But Daniela being Daniela, she didn’t.
“All I’m saying,” she said in an unusually serious voice, “is that I caught you looking at her the way I used to look—-” Her lips curled in an unusually self-mocking smile. “Who am I kidding? It’s the way I still look at my stepbrother. But because I held myself back, he’s married another girl, and now every stupid holiday I have to play the doting aunt when what I really wanted to do is to play house with him.”
When he didn’t speak, she made a face, saying wryly, “Why am I not even surprised you’re not saying anything?”
“Because there’s nothing to say,” he said simply. “You’ve misread—-”
“Yeah right.”
He said mildly, “You’re bordering on slander.”
She pretended to shudder. “So scary.” Daniela shook her head. “But hey, it’s your life.”
“It is.”
“But if I can only say one last thing—-”
Vassi let out an exasperated sound.
“I’m serious. Just one last thing, and it’s...” She was blinking furiously all of a sudden, and her voice had a scratchy note to it as she muttered under her breath, “If I could do it all over again—-” Her voice turned fierce. “I wouldn’t have held back.”
Daniela’s head lowered, and he watched her take a deep breath.
When she looked up, it was the old Daniela again, with the same carefree smile. “Now, about that favor.” Her tone turned wheedling. “It’s my first time to do something like this, so I’m nervous as hell.”
“It’s my first time to do voice acting as well,” he reminded her.
“You’re too beautiful for people to ever hate, Grachyov,” she dismissed. “Your voice acting can be absolutely shitty, but the fangirls will still love you.”
His lips twitched. Daniela had been the only girl he had worked with who had insisted on calling him by his last name, and in return he had taken to calling her—-
“Your jealousy is showing, D.”
She stuck her tongue out. “Shut up. I’m simply telling the truth, however unfair it is.”
He shook his head at her in feigned disappointment. “It’s not my fault I will always turn more heads than you ever can.”
“Oh my God,” she groaned. “You’re so full of it.”
“I’m simply telling the truth,” he said piously, “however unfair it is.”
Red-faced with irritation, she slapped his shoulder with the script. “It’s guys like you I hate the most.”
“You’ve been telling me that for six years now.” Snatching the script from her hands, he unrolled it, asking, “What’s the favor, then?”
Squirming, she said, “I think I’m just going to ask her myself—-” Her voice trailed off as Vassi glanced up.
“Are you implying anything?” he asked pleasantly.
“Nope, and will you stop looking at me like that? It’s seriously terrifying.” Taking a deep breath, she admitted reluctantly, “I was hoping you could ask your sister to give me pointers.”
He nodded. “That won’t be a problem.”
She brightened. “Really?”
He pressed the up button for the elevator. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” The doors slid open and he stepped inside. “Are you heading back up?”
Daniela shook her head. “I’m done for today. Thanks again.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“Tomorrow.” Daniela’s fingers curled into a fist.
Grinning, he bumped his fist with her. “You really haven’t changed at all.”
The doors slid close, and now that he was alone, Vassi’s face turned grim.
He took his phone out and sent a message to the guy heading the family corporation’s security department.
Full report: Daniela Martin.
While he didn’t think Daniela was the type to tattle on him and Seri, it didn’t mean he was willing to take any chances.
The security officer replied immediately.
Understood, sir.
****
Outside the lobby, a limousine remained temporarily parked by the front doors. Inside of it, Seri only managed to tear her gaze away from the scene when Vassi stepped inside the elevator and their co-actress headed to the bar.
Seeing that it was all over, Max told his driver, “We can go now.”
When Max faced her again, she said guiltily, “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
“Isn’t there?”
He said calmly, “If you feel guilty because you’re still thinking about him while you’re with me—-” He shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way. Forcing yourself to forget him will only make you think of him more and—-” His lips formed a crooked smile. “That’s definitely something I don’t want.”
Max slowly reached for her hand across the wide space that separated them, giving her all the time in the world to move away.
But she didn’t.
His fingers found hers.
“You can cry if you want, Seri.”
Silence.
And then she looked at him, whispering brokenly, “That’s the thing, Max. I want to. But I can’t. I want to cry so it can be over, but I just can’t.”
Chapter Three
Entering the recording studio thirty minutes before call time, Seri was about to take a sip of her latte when she saw that she wasn’t the first one to arrive. Seated on the solitary couch was—-
“Hello, little sister,” Vassi drawled.
Seri almost spewed her coffee out. What was he doing here? And was it just her imagination, or did his Russian accent seem thicker and sexier than usual?
Vassi watched Seri slowly come through the doorway, looking everywhere but him. Which was a good thing, he thought grimly, since it allowed him to stare his fill of her.
Her hair was slightly wet, and his jaw clenched at the thought of her taking a bath in Maximilian Rockford’s home.
As Seri nervously took her place behind the first of a long line of microphone stands, she suddenly sensed someone coming to stand beside her—-
D’err mo.
How could she stop loving him when he kept getting close to her?
“Nothing to say, Seri?”
She tensed. It’s a trap, Seri, she warned herself. So don’t talk, don’t even look at him.
But with Vassi just standing there silently, the solid, throbbing heat of his body seducing her, tempting her, breaking her—-
Oh God, those two months in Tokyo clearly did nothing, Seri realized in despair.
She still loved him.
So much.
Too much than what was right or safe.
And now, she couldn’t help herself, raising her head to meet his gaze—-
B’lyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.
Those silver eyes that could still make her do anything—-
That beautiful face which she so loved to stare at—-
Seri finally managed to tear her gaze away from him. “What do you want, Vassi?” This time, to play it safe she fixed her gaze on his chest, its sculpted form accentuated by his knitted gray V-necked shirt—-
Wrong move.
She hastily lowered her gaze past his chest and ended up staring at the way his tight – really tight – denims mold to the shape of his dick—-
Worst move.
And oh God, was she imagining things again or did Vassi’s dick seem enormously, rigidly—-
Her gaze flew to him in shock.
“What can I say?” he asked blandly. “Even though I already know you’re a mercenary bitch—-”
She paled.
“I still want to—-”
The sound of the door opening cut him off, but both of them knew she didn’t have to hear him finish his sentence to understand his meaning.
Welcoming the distraction as their co-actors joined them inside th
e studio, Seri scowled hard at the floor.
Vassi had called her a bitch.
That should make her angry.
But—-
He also wanted to fuck her. Still.
Why was she concentrating on that fact? And why did it make her want to grin so badly—-
The door opened again, and this time she heard a familiar but unwelcome voice call out to the entire cast.
“Morning, everyone.”
Daniela Martin came sailing in, looking the epitome of street chic with her gel-styled hair, loose floral top, and ripped jeans. She came to stand beside Vassi and fist-bumped with Seri’s stepbrother.
If Seri had wanted to grin a second earlier, right now she just wanted to puke.
“I’m nervous, Grachyov,” she heard Daniela confess.
“Man up, D.”
How so very cute, Seri thought, teeth gnashing. They had nicknames for each other. Not one of his girlfriends had ever gotten Vassi to call them by a nickname, but this girl had succeeded where others had failed.
Daniela suddenly looked at her, and Seri quickly rearranged her teeth gnashing into a teeth-baring smile.
Vassi’s gaze narrowed. That to be the ugliest-looking smile he had ever seen on Seri’s face.
“Hi.” Daniela flashed her a friendly smile and offered her hand, saying, “We weren’t properly introduced before.”
“Hi back.” She forced herself to shake the other girl’s hand.
“Are you nervous, too?” Daniela asked just before making a cute face right after, saying, “Stupid question, right? You must be so used to this.”
“Oh, no, it’s not like that,” Seri protested. “I’m always nervous—-”
“It’s so sweet of you to lie for my sake,” Daniela interrupted her with a laugh.
But I wasn’t lying, you little bi—-
Seri quickly cut the thought off and tried not to turn red in shame. Holy Mother of Russia, but this girl was bad for her.
“I just hope I don’t mess up,” Daniela was saying.
“I’ll be happy to let you know when you do,” Vassi answered easily.
“You are seriously not helping, dude.”
“Excuse me,” Seri mumbled. “I have to go to the washroom.”
Seeing the uneasy look on Seri’s face, Vassi’s first instinct was to follow Seri out and ask what was wrong. But he managed to resist the effort, reminding himself that the two of them were only stepsiblings by name.
As far as Fyodor Grachyov was concerned, Seri Devereux no longer existed.
And for as long as he loved and respected the man who had raised him despite not being his biological father, it had to be the same for him.
“You’re looking at her again that way,” Daniela murmured under her breath.
His face became expressionless. “You keep telling me things that make no sense.”
Ignoring that, Daniela continued, “I think you’re going about it the wrong way. If you want her attention, you should stop running after her and make her jealous instead.”
He didn’t answer.
As Seri came back inside, Daniela tiptoed and whispered into his ear, “You do it like this.”
He stiffened.
Across the room, he saw Seri stiffen as well.
Daniela pulled away and winked at him, mouthing, “Told ya.”
“You okay?” Vassi asked when Seri returned to her spot beside him.
“Never better.” She smiled up at him. “I just had to take a call from Max.”
Ah.
His jaw clenched. If this was how she wanted to play it—-
Then by all means, he thought grimly. Turning to Daniela, he gave her his most charming smile, saying gallantly, “If you’ve got any questions, just ask me.”
Daniela snorted. “You’re a newbie like I am.”
“In that case—-” He placed an arm around Seri’s shoulders. “My little sister will be glad to help you out.” He looked down at Seri. “Right, solnishka moya?”
Before Seri could answer, Daniela gushed, “Those words sound so pretty. What does it mean?”
When she saw Vassi start to answer, she didn’t even think. She just slapped her hand over his mouth. Two pairs of eyes settled on hers, and she stammered, “It’s embarrassing, so let’s just keep that a secret?” She knew it was a lame excuse. Anyone could Google the words for a translation. But she didn’t care. She just didn’t want to share those words with her.
Daniela looked at her sympathetically. “That bad, huh?”
“Yes, it’s that—-aaah—-” Vassi’s tongue had darted out to lick her palm, and fire spread all over her body. “It’s t-that bad.” She tried not to be so obvious as she retracted her hand from his face.
D’err mo.
What did he think was he doing?
And why was her body feel like it was about to melt any second—-against him?
Unable to help it, she stole a look at Vassi, wanting to see if he was similarly affected.
He wasn’t.
Instead, his attention had switched back to Daniela, and hurt made Seri’s heart twinge as she listened to Vassi talk in the kindest tone she had ever heard from him. Even when they were kids, he had always been tough with her. Why was he being the opposite with Daniela?
And then she heard Daniela ask, “What about Mr. Roberts? Is he going to oversee rehearsals?”
Seri’s teeth started gnashing again.
Classic, she thought. That was pure classic right there, the play-dumb-act to make a man feel more important, and now she was starting to realize why her gut reaction to Daniela was to hate her.
Everybody knew that art directors like Mr. Roberts had nothing to do with rehearsals. Instead, this was the sound director’s domain—-
Almost on cue, she heard Marshall, the sound director, say through the speakers, “Ready in five, please. And we’ll be starting with page 20, everyone.”
Seri forced her mind back on her job and mentally enumerated the things she needed to remember about her character. Shy was number one, she thought. Aya, her character, was very shy, but she was also exceedingly smart, and that was her character’s second most important trait.
Papers rustled as some readied their scripts while others tapped on their microphones for a sound check. Marshall had chosen a scene involving the main cast, even if it was one of the middle episodes. It wasn’t a usual thing to do, but Seri had gone through it several times in the past, so it was no surprise for her.
It was, however, for that girl.
As soon as Daniela spoke her line, Marshall said through the speakers, “Cut. Let’s start with the top.”
Unfortunately, it happened two more times, forcing the sound director to call for a timeout.
Vassi looked at Daniela in amazement. “You are seriously bad at this.”
“Shut up,” Daniela snapped.
“I’m not kidding. You are crazy bad at this. How you even got this job is beyond me.”
While I’m just plain crazy, Seri thought. She knew she should be happy that Vassi was insulting the other girl, but she wasn’t. If it had been Misha, she would have understood. It would have been normal. But this Vassi, and the Vassi she knew was the type to always wear a mask with other people.
That Vassi was charming to everyone and only annoying as hell to her and the other boys.
But this Vassi?
Either Vassi was different, or it was Daniela Martin who was different from all the other girls in his life.
It’s working, Daniela mouthed at him.
Even as he ignored Daniela, he couldn’t stop himself from slightly turning his gaze towards Seri.
She had a glassy look in her eyes, the kind she usually did whenever she wanted to cry.
His fists clenched.
Two months ago, nothing would have stopped him from taking her to his arms upon seeing that look.
But now—
Now, he could no longer trust himself when it came to her.
/> Rehearsals resumed, and Vassi made himself concentrate on the job. Daniela had somewhat improved, but her voice was still so damn bad Vassi had to wonder if she was faking it.
But for what purpose, he wondered.
It was a question worth considering, but not now. As soon as rehearsals ended, Seri mumbled an excuse before rushing out of the studio, leaving everyone to stare at him in askance.
He said without hesitation, “It’s her boyfriend. They’re having problems.”
“Maximilian Rockford, right?” one of the minor role actresses asked.
About to leave the room himself, he stopped and turned at the question. “You know him?”
Sandy rolled her eyes. “You mean, who in the world doesn’t know him? Someone secretly took a photo of him when he picked Seri up yesterday, and it just went viral. People refer to him as the hottest aspiring scientist on the globe.”
“Is that so?” Vassi managed to keep his tone casual even as he wanted to smash his fist into the face of the hottest aspiring scientist on the globe.
“Your little sister has good taste,” Daniela said slyly.
Smiling down at her, he said pleasantly, “Shut up.”
Daniela’s laughter trailed after him as he went out. After asking a guard about the direction Seri took, he went straight to her dressing room, knowing that it was the only place she could be.
He knocked on the door. “I’m coming in.”
Panicking at the sound of Vassi’s voice, she hissed at Davey on the phone, “Just play along, okay?”
“Play with what?” Davey asked blankly.
Vassi came in, and Seri laughed. “Oh, Max, you’re so funny.”
Vassi slammed the door shut, a look of indescribable rage on his handsome face.
Good, she thought even as her heart thundered against her chest in a mixture of fear and not a little excitement.
“Yes,” she told Davey in a sugary sweet voice. “I promise, I’m coming straight home. I miss you—-what?” She pretended to blush.
Over the phone, Davey said, “You’re scaring me.”
“See you soon, babylicious.”
Davey sighed. “Visit a doctor first, please.”
She managed to end the call just as Vassi reached her. He snatched her phone from her hand—-
“Vassi!”
Oh my God, if he saw the most recent name on her call list, it was all over.
