Mia tensed and swung her gaze to me. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Emma.” She draped the seatbelt across her and clicked it in place. “I completely forgot about what happened to you.”
I gave her a tight smile. “It’s all right.”
I pulled out of the parking spot and headed toward the café Dimitri liked. My head swam from his scent. My mind wandered to him and everything that had happened between us. As much as he scared me, I still felt safe around him. Even driving his car comforted me, like he sat here with me, ensuring nothing horrible happened.
His warning about Mia echoed in my mind again, and I felt a smidge bad that I disobeyed him. I shouldn’t have felt bad about it because I was my own person and could do whatever I wanted, but I liked the idea of being submissive to him. Dimitri gave off dom energy. Maybe I’d been reading too many romance books and saw Dimitri as a book boyfriend.
I parked the car outside the coffee shop and climbed out of the vehicle and into the snow. Little flakes floated down and kissed the exposed skin on my face. Some landed in my eyelashes, but I didn’t bother to wipe them away.
“So, how long have you worked at the law firm?” Mia asked, breaking the silence.
I softly thanked her as she held the door open for me and went inside the warm café. The smell of roasted coffee and sweet beignets greeted me, instantly relaxing me. I waited for Mia to join me.
“Well, let’s see.” I nibbled my bottom lip as I thought, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember. It felt like I’d been there forever. “It’s been a while,” I said after giving up on remembering the exact number.
She laughed and shrugged while saying, “That’s good enough.”
We went to the counter and ordered our coffees. I covered the cost, and when Mia objected, I explained that I asked her to join me, therefore I was paying. While we waited for our coffees, we stood to the side on the other end of the counter.
“Well, how long have you been working for Mr. Volkov?” Mia asked.
“For a few months, but I can’t remember most of it.” I peeked at her from the corner of my eye, my cheeks warming. “He said I’d been working for him since summer.”
Her eyes softened, and she shifted until she was in my sight. She looked at me with sympathy, which made me recoil. I didn’t want her or anyone else’s sympathy. I told no one about what happened because I didn’t want them to feel the need to tell me how sorry they were. Every person in the law firm knew what had happened. Maybe it was because I was Dimitri’s personal assistant and he was the company’s boss. Gossip spreads like wildfire, and when it involved the head of the company, it didn’t take long before everyone knew.
“Do you remember anything about the accident?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. I could ask Mr. Volkov, but I’m sure it was a traumatic event for him and would pain him to tell me.” I’d been tempted to ask him recently, but being the people pleaser I was, I didn’t want to bring it up and hurt him. God, I was such a sucker for him. I knew right then that I didn’t care he was a demon. I only cared abouthim.
“Oh,” Mia whispered. “Well, maybe it’s for the best that you don’t remember. Sometimes the human brain suppresses memories because it knows it’ll hurt your psyche. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”
“Here you go, ladies,” the barista called from behind the counter.
We grabbed our drinks and bags of food before returning outside and climbing into Dimitri’s car. I took it slowly as we rode back to the law firm and chatted about our favorite music, which turned into favorite TV shows.
We walked inside the building, giggling about the showThe Witcher.
“I’m telling you, I watch it for the plot,” Mia said with giggles.
“Sure. If you count the scenes of Geralt naked and in a bathtub being the plot,” I said with a laugh.
She threw back her head and laughed. That earned us a few looks from people lingering in the lobby. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and I really,reallydidn’t want to leave. I followed Mia to the help desk to say my goodbyes. She sat in the chair and placed the phone back in its spot next to her computer.
“Well, I better go before my boss wonders why I’m taking so long,” I said. “It was nice talking with you.”
She waved. “I’ll see you later?”
“Of course,” I said with a wave of my own.
We parted ways and I went to the fourth floor. When I got into Dimitri’s office, he was already there at his desk. He turned his cold eyes to me, and immediately they softened.
“Took you a while, Ms. Hayes,” he said in greeting.
I crossed the room and handed his coffee to him. “I’m so sorry, sir.”
His eyebrows lowered, and a crease formed between them. Our fingers brushed as he took his coffee, sending tingles and warmth through my body. Our gazes collided, and I stopped breathing while he held my stare prisoner. I didn’t know what he was thinking but whatever it was, his eyes held intensity. Then he looked away and withdrew his hand before he sipped his hot drink. He turned back to his laptop and read whatever was on the screen.
I set the bag of beignets on his desk and retreated to the leather sofa. With a sigh, I placed my coffee on the ground by my feet and pulled out my laptop. My eyes kept wandering and landing on Dimitri as he typed. A few times, he sipped his drink and went back to work. I drank up every inch of him and couldn’t stop looking at his white hair falling past his shoulders and chest.
