“Uh,” he mutters, blinking rapidly, his shoulders tensing.
I bite my lip, turning my face towards the floor so that I’m not caught like a deer in his gaze.
“You did an excellent job,” he says again, stepping away.
“Um. Is everything sorted out with the emergency?” I ask, changing the subject because my entire body is alive with desire and I’m about to do something stupid if I don’t get it together.
“Don’t worry about it,” he smiles tightly.
There are some meetings that I am not privy to, classified in some way. It’s just part of my job to know to mind my own business when it comes to those. I assume they're with clients who would prefer to be silent partners in some way.
I nod. “I’ll pack up here, you can get back to your things.”
“Alright. I’ll talk to you later about how we’re going to get started on the Swan project.”
Watching him walk away, my heart tugs, tied to an invisible string, the other end attached to him. How silly of me to be such a cliche—a girl with a crush on her boss.
Nico disappears from sight, and I sigh loudly.
Somehow, I need to rein in these emotions. They will get me nowhere.
Nowhere good, anyway.
I’m here to build a career for myself, not to fall for a guy I can never have. Talk about making things complicated for no reason.
I shake my head and finish up in the boardroom, packing everything away and returning to my office.
Chapter 5 - Nico
Yilian, Arkady, and Luka are staring at me with narrowed eyes and questioning expressions.
We’re standing in the middle of the main warehouse, waiting.
My brothers glance at each other and then back towards me.
Luka gestures with his chin, lifting his face in my direction. “What’s gotten into you today?” he asks, smirking.
“What do you mean?” I snap, getting annoyed that this is taking so long, not enjoying them dragging it out further with pointless questions. I don’t like being away from the office like this.
Well. Not lately.
“You’re never impatient. In fact, you’re the most patient person I’ve ever met. Why are you fidgeting and annoyed? Do you have somewhere you need to be?” Yilian asks. “I’m sure we can deal with this—"
“I’m not being impatient,” I argue, but I am. I just wasn’t aware that they’d picked up on it. Iwantto get back to the office—toSerafina.
I can’t stop thinking about her, wondering what she’s doing.
Not a fucking chance in hell I’ll be telling any of themthat,though.
“You’ve looked at your watch fifty times in the last five minutes,” Arkady muses.
“Bullshit,” I snap at Ark. “Why are we so focused on me, anyway? Focus on the problem that needs solving.”
He laughs, shrugs, and lifts his hands in a defensive gesture.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, man,” he teases.
Rolling my eyes, I turn my back on them and pull my phone out of my pocket to see if she’s messaged me.
