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“I assume s-so.”
Rafael twists his lips as if he isn’t convinced. “I highly doubt that.”
“Why?”
Don’t worry. I am as shocked as you that I didn’t stutter. The shortness of my reply helps, but it is still surprising. I guess I shouldn’t be shocked. Rafael isn’t Ark, but who you surround yourself with is as important as how you present yourself. I trusted Ark enough to fall asleep in his presenceandkiss him. That means Rafael’s name will most likely soon be scribbled at the bottom of a very short list of people I trust.
Interest blooms in my chest when Rafael says, “Because he has a far more important task he needs your help with.”
“He d-does?” I sound daft. Rightfully so. I am.
And desperate.
Verydesperate.
I breathe a little easier when Rafael nods before he returns to the central part of the primary suite. I follow him, my nerves instantly dispelling since there are two exits and only one person capable of blocking them.
The odds are back in my favor.
Rafael moves for a desk at the corner of the ample space while saying, “Val said she’d give you this at the same time she gave you the map.”
I’m lost in his meaning until I recall my interaction with Ark last Friday night. He said he would have his security team draw up the entry and exit points of the underground parking lot for me. I’ve seen him since then, but when a sick child is demanding your attention, you don’t have time for anything else.
“I haven’t se-seen Val this morning. She wasn’t in her office when I arrived.”
“Probably because she’s doing this instead.” Rafael gives me a hand-drawn map of the foyer. “The meetings have already started, but you still have plenty of time.”
“For?” I ask when he fails to elaborate on his reply.
“For… whatever it is that you do.”
“C-clean?”
This shames me to admit, but that is the only thing I am skilled at. When I was fired from my last job, I tried to find something different. Nothing came up. I only stumbled onto this position when I returned the check Maksim Ivanov hand-delivered to me for helping his wife.
The amount cited on the check would have had Tillie and me living comfortably for years, but I genuinely don’t believe in spending money I haven’t earned.
Again, my life isn’t close to glamourous, but it is ethical.
Rafael waits a beat before lifting his chin. “Yeah.”
“When does the me-meeting end?” I move to the cleaning cart to remove my schedule, hopeful I can squeeze in Ark’s request without too much reshuffling. A disruptive routine is as dangerous as no routine. “I could probably clean the me-meeting room?—”
“Ark doesn’t want you to clean upafterthe meeting. He wants you to…” He strays his eyes around the room, his lips twisting when he takes in the portable coffee station at the side of an inbuilt bar. “He wants you to serve refreshments. These meetings are a snoozefest. Without coffee, he’ll never make it out alive.”
The dramatics of his reply twitches my lips, but it doesn’t alter the facts. “I don’t do catering. There is a bakery n-nearby that?—”
When Rafael interrupts, I stop searching for a brochure I tucked away with the hope of future use. “Arkspecificallyasked for you. He needsyouthere, Mara.” The sheer honesty in his last sentence weakens my hesitation. It sounds gospel.
“Val—”
“Has already given her approval.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “I can call her again to check if you don’t believe me.”
He only dials two numbers before I end his campaign. “I-I believe you.”Ludicrously.
He looks at me as if all his Christmases have come at once before he says, “Great.” His eyes drop to my uniform. “We should probably get you something more appropriate to wear. First impressions count.” Before I can object, he adds, “The people attending these meetings areextremelyimportant to Arkadiy. We don’t want to give them the wrong idea.”
I’m about to say they’re not here to judge me, but something stops me. I want to blame the woman in the living room, rummaging through designer clothes on a wheelable clothes rack. However, it feels like more than that.