by Bella Rose
“Maxim,” she began quietly. He reached out for her and she put up her hands to stop him. “I’m flattered. I am. But I don’t know you and you don’t know me. That’s no way to start a marriage. Is it? You have to know that’s not how it works.”
“Actually, that is exactly how it starts in many places. In fact, many lasting marriages are built on far less. We know that we are compatible. The rest is compromise and communication.”
She gaped at him. “You throw around compromise and communication as if they’re just tiny things! They’re a huge deal! Do you know how many marriages between people who have a lot more shared history and common ground than we do fail because of those two things? It’s huge!”
“Success in a relationship is all based on a couple’s determination to make it work.” Maxim’s tone was almost dismissive.
“That’s it? That’s your reassurance that this would be a good decision?” Landry felt a sense of panic nearly overwhelming her. She couldn’t do this. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t even reasonable! He was a great guy, sure, but marriage? Her brain kept going back to that word. That was insane. The whole thing was insane. Maybe Maxim was insane! How would she know?
“Landry, come on.” He made a move to reach for her and she backed out of reach. “You know this is a good idea. We are a good idea. It would be great between us!”
“I have to go.” She turned around and fled his office, trying not to actually run.
She kept her pace hurried but reasonable until she hit the elevator. Standing still was impossible. She paced until the doors opened and then once she was inside she continued to pace back and forth. The word kept running through her head. Marriage. Marriage. Marriage. He wanted to marry her? Why? He didn’t even know her!
Just because a man can name your favorite color and your favorite flavor of ice cream does not mean he would make a better husband.
Ugh! Now her own heart was starting to work against her. What the hell? It was like her body was about to jump into a civil war. Her brain knew this was stupid, but her freaking hormones were coercing her heart and her body!
Stumbling out of the elevator, she began to run. It didn’t matter that she felt like a total freak. People were turning to stare, but it wasn’t like they really knew her or cared or anything. What did it matter if they thought she was the crazy one?
She kept going. Out the front doors of the building and all the way down the block until she had passed her usual train station. That didn’t matter. Sitting still on a train just wasn’t going to happen. A good long walk was what she needed anyway. Down the street and around the corner until she finally stopped running. Her lungs were burning from want of air. She was chugging air like a marathon runner, yet she’d barely gone three hundred yards. Obviously she needed to get back in shape.
The thought made her laugh. Stopping, she put her hands on top of her head and breathed deeply. It was a relief to think that she could have such normal thoughts after such an abnormal discussion with Maxim about that M word.
Landry pulled out her phone and sent off a text to Thayla. She needed some piece of her regular life to make her feel grounded. When Thayla immediately responded, Landry felt better. It wasn’t just her. Her friend thought it was insane for a guy to propose marriage so quickly too. Of course Thayla hadn’t actually met Maxim. If she had, she might understand why the guy would just make assumptions. Maxim was just like that.
Ugh! Was she making excuses for him?
Landry began walking toward her apartment with energetic strides. That was totally her thing. She would make excuses for people all day long. She would try to understand them and then forgive them for stuff just because she could see why they would do the bad things that they did. It was why she’d put up with David for seemingly forever, and why she could help someone like Taylor. Was that a personality flaw or just something that awful people like Taylor and David exploited?
“Hello, Landry.”
She spun around at the sound of David’s voice. Great. Just thinking about the bastard had conjured him up. Was that possible?
“What do you want?” she snapped. She was so far past being nice to him right now. In fact, she was even now eyeing some of the people passing them on the street and wondering if she could get someone to help her.
“I just want to talk,” David said, holding up his hands. “Don’t you owe me at least that?”
“I don’t owe you shit,” she told him bitterly. “You abused me for months. That means you owe me. So give me the space I deserve and get the hell out of my life.”
David drew back. The surprise on his face quickly disappeared, but the remaining wary expression gave her a sick feeling in her gut. He cocked his head to one side. “That’s quite a backbone you’re developing. Has your big bad Russian boyfriend been helping you with that?”
“Boyfriend?” she scoffed. “It’s none of your business either way. Just get out of my face and go bother someone who cares.”
“No.” David’s firm voice sent a tremor of fear down her spine. “I think I’m going to stay here and bother you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Maxim was feeling good—confident—as he walked through the front doors of Boris and Pyotr’s hotel. The concierge snapped to immediate attention. They were used to seeing Maxim in and out of here and they knew who he was. There weren’t a lot of people in the city who did not. It did wonders for his ego, but this time he wasn’t here for a conference, meeting, or to get a room. He was here to confront two men who were trying their best to screw him over.
“Mr. Sokolov, welcome back.” The concierge dipped his head. “Can I help you with anything?”
“Is my brother in the lounge?” Maxim raised an eyebrow as though he were daring the concierge to challenge him.
Maxim saw the other man’s throat move as he swallowed. “Yes sir. Your brother and Boris are both in the lounge.”
“Thank you.” Maxim slipped the man a hundred-dollar bill and walked away without another word.
So they were in the lounge probably drinking and talking about how they were going to pull one over on poor Maxim. It was going to be so very satisfying to turn the tables on them. He nearly smiled at the thought, but instead of rushing in he stopped for a moment to run over a few facts and figures in his head. There was no doubt in his mind that he had made all of the necessary adjustments to his business and personal holdings in order to force Boris into submission. However, it always paid to be doubly sure when dealing with a couple of snakes.
Gathering his authority and confidence like a mantle, Maxim strode into the lounge as though he owned the place. In fact, he could have purchased the hotel had he wanted to. He simply had zero interest in the hospitality business.
It was not difficult to spot Pyotr and Boris. They looked much the same as they had when he had left them at the club in Moscow earlier that week. There were several bottles of liquor on their table and a few women hanging all over them. The nearly empty lounge rang with their overconfident conversation and inappropriate howls of laughter.
Maxim did not waste time. He strode right up to the table and pulled out a chair. Then he sat down and enjoyed the twin looks of shock on their faces. “Hello, gentlemen, imagine meeting the two of you here. After all, we are nearly an ocean away from where you were when I left you earlier this week.”
“Business,” Boris managed to mutter.
Maxim cocked his head. That was what Boris could come up with? No wonder he’d concocted that scheme involving Taylor. Landry was right. The man possessed not a hint of imagination. “How odd that business brought you here when you were so adamant that our business would not.”
“I just rode along because he offered his plane,” Pyotr said quickly.
Maxim glared his younger brother into silence. “I’m not speaking to you. Not yet.”
Pyotr fumbled for his shot glass, tossing back the vodka as if he were using it to bolster his courage.
“You know,�
�� Maxim aimed his conversational words at Boris, “I very nearly showed up tonight like some Vor v Zakone from the old mafiya days with a .45 in my pocket.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Boris spat.
Maxim narrowed his gaze. “Why? Because you believe I don’t have the balls to challenge you in that way?”
“You don’t,” Boris spat. “Your family left the Bratva generations ago. The cowards.”
“Perhaps,” Maxim allowed. “Or perhaps I simply realize that there are worse things than being shot.”
Now Boris looked nervous. The man actually fidgeted in his seat. “This is a public place. And we are in America. You cannot expect to murder two men in plain public view without consequences.”
“No.” Maxim finally allowed himself to smile. Damn it felt good! “But I can eviscerate your business empire without even leaving my office. And there are no laws against what I did. See, that’s what I was getting at before. There are worse things than being shot.”
“You wouldn’t!” Boris stammered. “You could not. You do not have that power.”
“Actually, I can manipulate the market fairly well. And since you blatantly violated our agreement…”
“How?” Boris burst out.
“You sent Taylor Pearson into my company as your personal spy. You encouraged her to make my life difficult in order to gain something for yourself. I’ve got her confession and all I need to invoke a certain number of clauses in our business arrangement.”
“What?” Boris looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
“See, this is what happens when you think like a thug and not a businessman,” Maxim chided. “You signed an agreement with me that you would not actively attempt to interfere in my business practices. And that if you acted dishonestly in your dealings with me, then our agreements were null and void. Without the contracts that your company has with Maximov, you’re worthless. You have no other prospects. So I went ahead and arranged to pick up your company for a rock-bottom price. You can check.” Maxim gestured to Boris’s phone. “Have you bothered to even check your e-mails while you were sitting here laughing and drinking with my idiot brother?”
Boris scrambled for his phone. He pulled up an e-mail and immediately started babbling and cursing in barely discernible Russian.
Maxim glanced at Pyotr. “And you? You should know better. Yet I find I’m not surprised. When you’ve decided to grow up and be real man who stands on his own two feet and doesn’t attempt to stab his friends and family in the back, look me up.”
Maxim got up and turned around.
“Maxim,” Pyotr said in a low, pleading voice. “You can’t cut me off. I’m your only family.”
“Perhaps that is why,” Maxim said as he left the lounge.
***
Landry was praying that this was actually just a bad dream. One of those things where she dreamed she was in a really awful B movie with a bad script and crappy actors. Except she was very much awake. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind about that.
David had taken her back to his apartment. The old warehouse had been converted to loft space, but the gentrification of the neighborhood hadn’t gone so well and most of them were empty. David’s place was not much better. He had a penchant for expensive things and had packed the space full of opulent furniture and the trappings of a much larger apartment. That meant the dingy loft was filled with Persian rugs, the latest in electronic gadgets, and furniture that was probably made from real calf leather.
“David,” she said in what she hoped was a reasonable tone of voice. “Could you please explain to me what’s going on? What do you hope to gain from this?”
He was standing in his kitchen with his hip resting against the granite countertop. Gnawing on his fingernails, he kept glancing at the clock for what seemed like no reason. He let his gaze drift briefly to Landry. “It doesn’t matter. She’ll be here soon and then you’ll know.”
“I’ll know what?” Landry tried not to panic. “And who are you talking about?”
It made no sense, but then none of this did. There was absolutely nothing to gain by holding her hostage. David had made no moves as though he intended to rape or attack her. That had always been his thing before. The threat of physical violence had seemed to satisfy a need inside him. Now he seemed weirdly calm and it was creeping her out even worse than the other stuff had.
Then the door of the loft squeaked open. Tied to a chair with her back to the door, Landry couldn’t see who had come calling. This made her even more nervous. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm. It would do no good to freak out. That much she was sure of. The rest she could handle. She just had a difficult time believing that someone like David could possibly have a partner.
“You brought her here?” The newcomer hissed.
The voice was weirdly familiar. Landry shut her eyes, trying to place it. Then, suddenly, her eyes flew open and she gasped out loud. “Morgan?”
It took a few moments, but Morgan finally appeared in Landry’s field of vision. Her friend had a twisted expression of hatred and triumph on her face. “Hello, Landry. How are you?”
“Why?” It was the only word Landry could find.
“I hate you.” Morgan’s tone was flat. “You’re such a fucking goody two-shoes. Everything with you is all sunshine and roses. People are always calling you charming and cute even though you’re nothing but an ugly fat slob who doesn’t take care of herself.” Morgan’s lip curled with disdain. “I mean a career in software? Seriously? What self-respecting woman does that? It’s like you didn’t even want to be a woman.”
Morgan’s words hit Landry like tiny poison darts. “I thought we were friends,” Landry whispered. “I knew that there was always a little bit of tension, but that’s normal with women sometimes, you know? Why wouldn’t you just talk to me about this?”
“Talk to you?” Morgan threw back her head and laughed. “Why would I do that? This isn’t some therapy session, you stupid bitch.”
“And why would you team up with David?” Landry wanted to know. “You hate him!”
“No.” Morgan shook her head. “David was always too good for you. Besides, I was fucking him the whole time the two of you were together.” Her triumph was obvious.
“That’s sad,” Landry whispered. “I’m sorry for you. In fact, I pity you.”
“Don’t!” Morgan shrieked. She darted forward and smacked Landry across the face. “Don’t you ever say that about me!”
The right side of Landry’s face throbbed. Her eye felt as though it might explode. Still, she did her best not to react. Obviously anything she did just enraged Morgan more. For now she needed to stay quiet and try to figure out how to turn these two idiots against each other or something.
“Morgan,” Landry said softly, “I won’t tell anyone if you let me go. You and David can be together and I’ll stay out of the way. I promise.”
Morgan only laughed. “No way. I can’t live in a world where you’re happy. And since you’re always so damn happy, you can probably guess what that means.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maxim sat on his couch and flipped his phone end over end in his right hand. He could not get Landry to answer a phone call or a text. He had been trying for hours. Ever since he had left the hotel and the only person he could think of sharing his triumph with was Landry. He had called her and it had rung off before going to voice mail. Now his calls went straight to voice mail as though she had either shut off her phone or blocked his calls. It was Friday night. What if she was back out with her friends having a good time and finding someone else?
No. He could not start thinking that way. Landry was not like that. It was the reason why he was so in love with her to begin with.
Love.
Had he really thought of their relationship in those terms before? Maxim could not remember letting that word into his vocabulary until now, until he was afraid that he had lost her for good. Perhaps if he had been
a little less of a coward, he would not have screwed things up so badly.
“I’m such an ass!” he burst out.
Flinging himself to his feet, he paced to the kitchen. Then he paced right back out and into the living room because he could not imagine feeling hungry at the moment. In fact, until he knew that Landry was safe and sound and just angry with him, he couldn’t imagine doing anything in his ordinary schedule. What was going on? Why did he have this bad feeling in his gut?
About that time the doorbell rang. The gong noise shattered the silence of the house. Maxim couldn’t help it. He bolted for the door. Fumbling with the locks, he managed to rip it open to find two women who were not Landry standing on his doorstep. It took a moment for recognition to sink in for at least one of them.
“Dinah?” he asked incredulously.
“Yeah.” Dinah shifted uncomfortably. “This is Thayla. Could we come in? We really need to talk to you. It’s about Landry.”
“Yes.” He hoped he wasn’t scaring them with his eagerness. He gestured them inside. “Please come in.”
The one named Thayla gawked at his home. He supposed it did look dramatic to anyone not aware of how lucrative his business was at Maximov. Dinah didn’t seem surprised, although she was eyeing everything with interest. No doubt she’d be telling tales to the other employees come Monday. But that didn’t matter now. Only Landry mattered.
“So?” Maxim took a seat in the living room and gestured that the women do the same. “How can I help you? Have you talked to Landry? Is she angry? What can I do to make it right?”
“That’s the thing,” Dinah said slowly. She was wringing her hands. “We can’t find her either.” Then Dinah gestured to Thayla. “This is one of Landry’s oldest friends from college. In fact, they had dinner last night.”
