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Boston winter snow falls thick on the ground outside the office building.

I step around an old man sprinkling salt over the stairs that lead up to the entrance.

We clear the ice with heating built into the stone beneath the steps, but Tony has been the caretaker of this building for three decades, and this has been his job every winter.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That’s what they say, anyway.

“Morning, Tony,” I say, tugging the door open.

“Good morning, Mr. Andreev. A beautiful one it is,” he says, his old face cracking into the usual friendly smile that he wears daily.

“Did Clara bring you coffee yet?” I ask, standing in the doorway.

“Not yet, sir, I told her I wanted to finish the salt first.”

I nod, then turn into the building, heat caressing me as I close the door.

Clara, who works in the lobby as our receptionist, jumps out of her seat to greet me. Her red hair is pulled back in a slick bun, and the big round glasses she wears and fogged up for some reason.

“Good morning. Can I get you anything, sir?” she sing-songs happily.

“No, thanks. I’m expecting a delivery around midday, though.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as it arrives,” she nods.

The elevator carries me silently up to the top floor of our high-rise office building. I go over the day's tasks in my mind, ready to dig into the work I need to finish.

It’s been busier these last few months. Ever since my sister, Jade, married that Kuznetsov, business has been flooding in—a good thing, too, because we need to focus on creating a foundation of strength and wealth for the future.

It’s better than getting lost in ideas of revenge against the Enzos for taking Grigoriy’s life.

They're a powerful, wealthy family with resources that would be impossible to fight against.

We will have revenge. But we all know it’s a dish best served cold. And I’d rather plan it down to the last detail than rush in and lose anyone else I love through stupid, rash decision-making.

The Enzos will pay. I’ll make sure of it. But I won’t risk my family to make that happen. We’ll build our strength first.

I still miss my little brother like crazy.

Not a day goes by when he’s not in my thoughts; whether the memory makes me smile or fills my heart with a dark, aching pain, Grigoriy remains a constant in my mind.

His life ended far too soon and much too young.

But dwelling on the loss and the burning hatred I have towards the Enzos does not make life better for the rest of my family.

At thirty-six, I’m the oldest of my siblings, and it is my responsibility to guide them towards something that can heal their pain instead of tearing their lives apart.

Jade already proved that focusing entirely on revenge is pointless.

Silver doors slide open with a soft ping, and I step out of the elevator onto the top floor.

The receptionist on this floor is dressed in a dark grey suit. Her brown hair is pulled back so tightly it’s tugging at the skin of her face. Every single hair is smoothed down to perfection, and her lips are pursed and stiff.

She stands dead straight and greets me with a sour expression.

“Mr. Andreev, I’ll have your coffee with you in a minute, sir.

Your messages are on your desk. Your first meeting is at ten in the boardroom three.

You will be meeting Miss Brown at exactly three this afternoon.

I have sternly reminded her not to be late. ”

“Thanks, Nicole,” I smile. She’s only around twenty-five, but with the demeanor of someone in their sixties. “Did you have a good weekend?” I ask, realizing that I’ve never thought of Nicole as having any kind of life other than work. What the hell does she do for fun?

“Yes, sir. It was sufficient.”

Sufficient? What does that even mean?

She’s the stiffest, most boring person I think I’ve ever met. I’m serious about my work, but Nicole is rigid and structured to a point I sometimes wonder whether she’s human or an android.

A slight smirk of amusement brushes over my lips, and I turn away from her before she can see it.

If she relaxed a little, she’d probably get on with a lot more people in the office.

In fact, if it wasn’t for her severe personality, I would have promoted her to be my executive assistant.

She’s capable and qualified, but for fuck's sake, I don’t need that kind of tension.

HR has been interviewing new employees for the second office space I’ve opened up in town to handle the overflow of our rapidly expanding business.

I requested they find me an executive assistant at the same time, for the main office, to help me manage my day-to-day schedule and keep my life organized.

My only requirement was that the person has to have a good academic background with good results, showing dedication and the ability to handle the work they’ll be doing. Thinking about it now, I should have told them the person needed to have a bit of a personality, too.

I’ll find out later today who they’ve hired for me.

On paper, and from the HR reports, Miss Brown looks brilliant.

Competent, young, energetic, eager to do well, and ready to work.

She’s going to need a fuckton of energy to handle the workload I am about to hand over to her.

I hope she’s a quick learner. I don’t have time to be babying anyone, and it’s not like I can ask Nicole to help me train her in our internal processes—she’ll probably scare the girl away.

Another smirk flashes over my face. Poor Nicole.

She’s probably doomed to live alone for the rest of her life.

No one in their right mind would volunteer to marry someone so sour.

Unless she’s secretly a dominatrix.

I squeeze my eyes shut, pushing away the horrific image that flashes through my mind. What the fuck, Nico? Those are not things I ever want to imagine.

Damned intrusive thoughts.

Heading into my office at the corner of the building, two massive glass windows stretching over most of the space, I shrug off my trench coat and hang it on the hook by the door.

I set my laptop down on the desk and stretch my neck, rolling it in a slow circle and feeling the flex of muscles before I sit down.

Hopefully, I’ll have time to get to the gym today.

The work I did in the warehouse this weekend was pretty strenuous, but nothing beats a good session with the weights.

Sunlight streams in despite the ice-cold winter air outside. If I don’t look down at the snow-covered streets below and only focus on the sky, I can pretend it was a summer’s day.

I can’t believe it has almost been a year since we lost Grigoriy.

Andrei is still missing. I was never close to Andrei Volo. I met him a handful of times and hardly paid him any attention, but he meant a lot to Grigoriy. He was his best friend, and I know he supported my brother through a lot. His disappearance is my responsibility. I owe that to my brother.

Even with our heavy workload, I've sent search parties out, and every now and then tendrils of information filter in about Andrei, but nothing substantial. Nothing that has led to him being found, dead or alive.

My sister’s husband, Radmir Kuznetsov—his entire family, in fact—is allied with the Dubrovs. And that’s why our business has been booming.

We aren’t particularly close with either family, but the marriage opened doorways and partnerships that have been beneficial.

My family scrapes the surface of the bratva world and how dark it can get. We don’t get involved with that shit as much as possible. The stories I’ve heard about how they do business, and what they do to people who piss them off … It’s pretty fucked up.

I prefer a more diplomatic approach.

Of course, one day, when it comes to avenging my brother’s murder, that will be a different story.

The day both drags and flies by in a busy, crazy, chaotic blur of responsibilities.

The electricity failed in the new office building because of weather issues. The computers we ordered didn’t arrive. On top of that, I’ve been managing the existing office and trying to rally everyone to take on a little more work until we can get the new employees up and running.

It’s fucking chaos.

Glancing at my watch, desperate to take a break and eat something to ease my growing hunger before I turn into a savage—skipping meals never looks good on me—I groan when I note it’s already three.

Miss Brown will be here any second.

Lunch will have to wait.

Coffee will have to fill the void for now.

I stick my head out of the office and call out to Nicole. “Coffee, please. And send Miss Brown in as soon as she arrives.”

I duck back into my office. Shit. I forgot to send the email to Luka. My brother has been asking for that breakdown for days now.

Hurrying to my laptop, I sit down and race against time to get it done.

***

I smell the sweet, warm scent of jasmine washing over me, and it makes me look up.

The woman standing there smiles nervously, looking down at me with her big green eyes glittering and bright.

“I’m sorry, the lady outside told me I should just come in—I should have knocked,” she says, shifting from one foot to the other.

I swear my mouth is hanging open as my eyes graze over her from head to toe.

The baby blue dress she’s wearing is professional, but gorgeous and feminine, hugging her body and complementing every curve—curves I should not be noticing, but it’s impossible to deny how perfectly they are.

Her light brown hair, gold in the light, is hanging loose over her shoulders in glossed waves. She reaches up and tucks a curl behind her hair.

“If you are busy, I can wait outside?” she asks, her anxiety growing visibly. I realize I’m just staring at her and haven’t said a damned word.

I stand up, knocking my knee on the desk and swearing under my breath.

She bites her lower lip, and the gesture distracts me even more.

I glance down at my desk and grab a folder, shuffling papers around without purpose, just to pull myself together.

“Miss Brown. Sorry, I was just finishing up something important. Do you want to take a seat? I’ll be right with you.” I gesture towards the sofas in the far corner of my office.

She nods politely and makes her way there, sitting down and crossing one shapely leg over the other. I watch her, every little move seductive, feminine, and beautiful.

Fuck.

This isn’t good.

Pull yourself together, Nico.

After taking a full minute at my desk, I eventually make my way over to the sofas and sit down opposite her.

“Miss. Brown, it’s good to finally meet you.”

“Serafina,” she smiles.

I glance at her folder. Words on paper. Nothing could have prepared me for the magnificent beauty sitting opposite me right now.

“Serafina.” I smile. “I’m Nico.”

Leaning forward, I take her outreached hand and shake it. “Welcome to the office. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“Me too,” she says, and my eyes are on her lips, perfectly sensual, light pink, plump and soft….

“Um. Where will my desk be?” she asks, and I realize I’m staring again.

Dammit.

“That’s your desk in the corner there. It’s temporary, just until the end of the week. You’ll be sharing my office for the time being because the workload is ridiculous, and your office isn’t set up. I’m sorry about this. It will be finished by Friday at the latest.”

“That’s perfect. All I need is my laptop and a space to work. I’m excited to get started. HR warned me it was extremely busy at the moment and that I needed to hit the ground running.”

She’s gorgeous, magnetic, radiant—and I can’t stop staring. I need to stop staring. I don’t think I’ve ever been this unprofessional in my life. She’s caught me off guard, and it takes a lot to knock me into this kind of stunned silence.

I need to end this meeting—make some excuse and pull myself back together.

“Well, let’s start by getting you situated at your desk.

Your profiles have been set up on your laptop.

HR tells me you are familiar with the programs we use, so you can log in and settle down, and then we can go through our tasks for tomorrow.

Ease into it this afternoon and kick off properly in the morning. ”

“That sounds perfect.” She stands up before I do. My eyes are devouring her body as she turns her back to me and bends down to pick up her purse. Her ass forms a perfect heart shape.

Those blue stilettos match her dress.

I clear my throat and stand up as well. She turns and bumps into me. I reach out and grab her waist to steady her as her body brushes against mine, and sparks fly between us.

Her cheeks glow red. “Sorry,” she murmurs, smiling shyly.

“No problem,” I mutter, not wanting to step away from her, but forcing myself to do so.

Serafina makes her way to her temporary desk and gets to work without needing my guidance or assistance. She sits down and busies herself. She definitely isn’t someone who needs to be babied or fussed over. But I realize I’m disappointed. I want her to need me. What the hell is wrong with me?

Sitting down at my desk, I pretend to be busy with an email, but my eyes are constantly drifting in her direction.

My reaction to her is confusing, unexpected, and worrying. She’s fucking incredible. But how can I know that after meeting her for the first time ever right now?

She’s nothing like I expected. My professional walls practically collapsed at the sight of her, and I need to put them back up immediately.

I better tell them to hurry the fuck up and get her office ready.