Page 52 of Five

“The mega busy boss? Your PA told me your next free slot is in two months!” I snark at him.

“She did what?” His jaw ticks slightly. Didn't Medusa tell him about my calls?The daft cow.

“How about your phone? It goes straight to voicemail!”

“It fell in one of Rague’s acid barrels. I bought a new one two days ago,” he explains.

Okay, Ollie didn’t tell me that.

“Why did you send Ollie those texts? Why not me?”

“I wasn’t sure you wanted to be contacted by me.” He pauses while his eyes study mine. “You never hid your dislike toward me. What we did while you were under the influence of the drug, I thought you needed time to process it.”

I’m paralyzed by the most suffocating brain fart I’ve ever had. Have to physically shake my head to come back to the present moment. This is a total new side of Gabe I’m discovering. The caring, sympathetic man. Where is the dismissive jerk I learned to loathe?

“Why did you fire him? And not me? Is it because of Rague and Ollie and the fact that I know about the evil-dispatching family business? I’ll never tell anybody.”

I never noticed how his silvery eyes can turn so dark. “I’m the only one who can chastise you.” The rumble of his words washes over me, the crystalline sincerity in his voice at odds with the chaos starting to swirl inside me.

So many possibilities, so many unanswered questions. And for once, it is my business—not that that’s ever stopped me.

“Is that why you fired his brother? And what’s with the document that covered my arse?” I’m studying his face, but I don’t see any change in his expression. What happened to the bloke who told me about how his dick’s imprint was inside of me?

“I did it because he put his hands on you.” He pauses, looking tense again. “On more employees, as I discovered.”

I have no doubt the older Skid Mark groped more workers. People like him don’t stop, because they don’t want to. They don’t care about hurting others. Gabe surely didn’t like one ofhis associates playing nonconsensual tag right under his nose, putting his firm in jeopardy.

“The document he signed keeps him from filing a lawsuit against youandthe firm. I need to work now.” The last statement is filled with finality. And the disregarding jerk is back.

Just when I think I’ve found some kind of humanity in him, a mutual understanding, he has the ability to turn everything to shite. And I shite you not, I want to strangle him. “You’re an arse.”

“And your boss,” he uselessly reminds me in his haughtiest voice yet.

“No, you’re my boss’s boss’s boss.” I push on my tiptoes, getting dangerously close to him. “And we need to talk.”

“About?” He lowers his head, leaving an inch or two between us. Damn, his cologne mixed with his scent is so bloody amazing.

“Let’s see. The time I went to my dentist and he ended up losing a tooth. The drug they gave us, of course! Do you have any symptoms…left?”

Those pearly eyes zero in on me in under a second. “Like?”

“Mm, strong concupiscent dreams.” I clear my throat.

His nostrils flare, and this close, I can clearly see how hard he’s trying to control himself. Does it mean he has the same issue?

“Did you talk to Sari about it?” His eyes fall on my lips and linger there.

“H-he said that it’s normal.” My tongue, all of a sudden, feels heavy inside my mouth. “But I want to know if…you also?—”

I’m interrupted by Medusa entering the room.

“Always knock.” Gabe lifts his eyes from mine to address his PA with a cold stare. Then he rounds the desk and goes to sit in his chair.

While he does that, Medusa glares my way before clearing her expression and letting Gabe know that she couldn’t find any available date for him for the Kravinsky charity dinner tomorrow. Another event to raise money for a good cause. The brothers are quite the philanthropists.

Sari asked me to go with Uri since he won’t be able to attend, and in a moment of weakness, I accepted. Free booze, and the perfect occasion to wear my latest thrift store find. Spending it with Uri is the only downside of the evening. Gabe is the second.

“Did you try to increase the payment?” Gabe asks, without taking his eyes off some files on his desk.