Page 11

“I hope it matches your taste, Elena. I wanted only the classiest and best to fit your standards, and couldn’t get better recommendations.”

“ My standards?” I laughed, looking around the place, fully aware of his heated stare on my face.

The restaurant was warmer than I’d expected, the soft glow from the overhead lights making the wine glasses sparkle like tiny chandeliers. The interior was eye-catching, the air smelled like good food, and the chatter was minimal.

“Robert, Tsar’s Steakhouse surpasses my standards. The rumors are true; this is the finest restaurant in LA, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. You’ve outdone yourself, and for that, I’m grateful.”

“Mm.” Robert chuckled and lifted a piece of steak on his silver fork to his mouth. He chewed moderately, paying attention to his food.

“You’ve really stood out these last few months,” he said.

His tone was casual, but there was something beneath it that made me sit up a little straighter.

“The Jensen pitch? You held that room. I still can’t believe you convinced them to invest in one hundred fucking units of smart home properties. ”

He glanced up, cheeks red, catching himself. “My language… This is supposed to be a semi-official dinner. I’m sorry, I’m just so excited.”

“Please, feel comfortable. I don’t mind.” I smiled, careful not to seem too eager. “Thank you for the compliment. I…I wasn’t sure how that pitch landed, honestly.”

He chuckled, swirling his wine. “That’s what I like about you, Elena. You don’t assume. You’re detailed, and you observe .”

My cheeks warmed at that, but I glanced down at the menu, pretending to study the dessert section again. My lobster ravioli dish lay half-eaten in front of me, but I was nervous, fiddling with my glass of water.

Compliments from someone like Robert felt like small treasures that were earned but unexpected.

As the waiter brought an extra bottle of wine, Robert leaned in slightly, not so close that it felt forward, but enough to lower his voice.

“There’s a role opening up in strategy. More visibility. More leadership. I’ve been thinking…it might be time you stepped into something bigger.”

I blinked, trying not to spill my water. “That’s…really kind of you to say. I didn’t know that was even a possibility.”

“Well, it wasn’t. Not until you made it one.” He smiled, gently dropping his wine glass beside his plate. “I’m thinking Senior Marketing Officer or—wait, I’ve got it: Luxe Nest Head of Marketing”

Head of Marketing for all Luxe Nest branches?

I almost dropped my glass. That was a position I could only dream of occupying in the years to come. My brain hyperventilated at the possibility of such an opportunity being within reach.

My focus stayed on Robert, seated across from me, grinning from ear to ear.

He was still speaking, and he’d just finished explaining the opportunity, something about a lateral move, technically, but with more visibility, more responsibility, and, more importantly, a better paycheck.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak right away. It sounded good—almost too good. And maybe it was. I didn’t want to seem overeager or ungrateful for the role I already had, even if it barely kept me afloat.

Still, I couldn’t deny the pull in my chest when he mentioned the salary range. Just enough to cover the extra treatments my current meager salary and mother’s insurance wouldn’t.

“This is…a lot to think about,” I said finally, dropping the menu and knitting my fingers together. “I mean, I’m honored you’d even consider me for something like this.”

Robert smiled kindly, not the charming grin he used during presentations, but something softer. “You’ve earned it, Elena. I’m not offering you anything you didn’t work for.”

I looked down at my plate, mostly picked over now, and took a quiet breath before lifting the fork again. Something to busy my hands with while I pondered.

It wasn’t that I doubted my abilities—I’d worked hard, stayed late, said yes when others hesitated. But there was a difference between being capable, being ready, and being certain. I wasn’t sure which one I was yet.

“I really appreciate this, Robert,” I said. “I just…I want to make sure I’ll be the right fit. For the team. For the expectations—”

I paused when my eyes caught something—rather, someone familiar —across the other end, sitting with that overly confident posture on one of the long tables near the glass window.

My lungs hitched, and my breath faltered when I recognized him.

What are the odds?

Damien looked sharp, his suit jacket just barely shifting as he leaned in to speak with the older man beside him. There were four of them, maybe five, all with that clipped, tight air of a business dinner.

I froze for just a second, fork in mid-air. Not that I was expecting him to notice me, of course not. But a small, traitorous part of me wondered if he might. A glance, maybe. Just enough to show I plagued his mind as frequently as he did mine.

Just enough to show that five nights ago had burned in his memory.

But his gaze never lifted from his table. If anything, he looked completely immersed in the conversation, nodding slightly as someone across from him gestured with a wine glass.

It shouldn’t have bothered me. I wasn’t even sure why it did. Still, a sharp pang bloomed somewhere behind my ribs. I shook it off with a small smile, the kind I gave myself when I was being silly.

He probably didn’t even see me , I thought. And maybe he hadn’t. I mean, why would he? There was no reason he’d notice someone like me in the crowd.

“Earth to Elena? Hello?”

I blinked, feeling flustered that Damien’s presence was enough to make me forget the man seated across from me.

“I apologize, I blanked out there for a second.”

“This offer got to you that hard, didn’t it?” Robert nodded thoughtfully. “I respect that you want to think about it. Take your time. But don’t sell yourself short, okay? I believe in you.”

I gave a small smile, touched by the sincerity in his voice. “Thank y—”

“I’ve believed in you from the moment you got this job,” he continued, and I noticed the red on his cheeks brighten. “Your dedication and devotion to your responsibilities are one of the many things I admire about you, Elena.”

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and nodded along as Robert spoke, trying not to let my nerves show. I observed that his voice had gotten softer, and he looked at me, really looked at me, with a knowing in his brown eyes.

I wasn’t a child; I understood subtle signs when I saw them.

“Robert, I—”

Reaching across the table, he covered one of my hands with his, smiling.

“I meant what I said about you deserving this opportunity, but don’t get it mixed up; my interest in you has no ties to the offer I presented.

You know me; I’m a professional to the very core.

If I didn’t think you should get the position, I wouldn’t talk about it. ”

I gulped down the water left in my glass, feeling a sweat break out on my face. There it was in the open: his interest in me.

I chuckled nervously, fanning my cheeks. My boss liked me. Could my life be any more complicated?

“Robert, I….” I needed an immediate escape, some time to breathe and clear my head, and, once again, no other option seemed more convenient than the restroom. “I—please, excuse me for a moment. I’ll be back.”

“Sure.”

Adjusting the hem of my skirt and snatching my purse, I hightailed out of there to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and trying to catch my breath.

My court heels clicked on the tiles as I walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet, feeling calmer as cool water rushed through my fingers. I splashed a handful on my face and stared at my reflection while the water dripped down my chin.

Thank goodness I wore light makeup; the water didn’t have any effect on my waterproof eyeliner and mascara. I straightened up, rearranged my hair over my shoulders, and pulled out the red lipstick from my purse to retouch my lips.

As silly as it was, I tried to picture a world with Robert and me in it, as a couple.

A world where we got ready for work together in the morning, moving over each other in the bathroom while picking things out from the cabinet. A world where Robert watched me over my shoulder through the mirror, calling me beautiful every ten seconds.

A world where Robert kissed me.

The lipstick dropped into the sink, clattering loudly enough to make me jump back to my senses, and I snatched up the tube, catching my breath.

I admired him too. He wasn’t bluffing about being a professional. His work ethic was formed through years of consistency, hard work, and discipline.

He possessed that effortless charm that some people naturally had, yet he still carried himself as if he never truly stopped working.

He also had the kind of handsomeness that didn’t need much help. Clean lines to his jaw, a steady kind of assurance in his eyes. He wasn’t movie-star perfect, but there was something about him that made you notice him before he even spoke.

I allowed my mind to drift back to the image of him smiling at me seconds before I practically ran into the bathroom.

His baby-blue dress shirt looked freshly pressed, the color soft against his skin, and the sleeves were rolled just enough to show his forearms, which were subtly toned in that “I-don’t-have-time-for-the-gym-but-I-somehow-stay-fit” way.

The black slacks were tailored but not flashy, and his tie—navy with a faint diagonal stripe—had loosened just slightly by the time we’d sat down, like he was making room to relax.

There was a natural crease between his eyebrows, one that probably deepened from years of frowning at strategy reports or maybe overthinking proposals.

It gave his otherwise polished face a small, human imperfection—and oddly, I liked that most of all.

He was thirty-eight, successful, and not bad looking. If I were being honest, the idea of being with Robert wasn’t that bad, if I was willing to put the age difference behind us, amongst other things.

But how could I even consider another man when the one who left me hanging was sitting right across?

“Your life is not a movie, Elena.”

I groaned, rolling my eyes at a crinkle on my silk shirt, before I tucked my purse between my arm and sashayed back into the brightly lit hallway.

The clink of silverware and the low hum of conversation grew louder as I walked further down. But just as I rounded the corner, nearly colliding with a waiter carrying a tray of crème br?lée, he appeared in front of me, giving me a jump scare.

My hand flew to my chest. “ Sweet Jesus . You almost gave me a heart attack.”

For the mysterious Russian stranger to be here meant he had seen me after all. And I wasn’t sure how to feel about that revelation.

I tried to steady my breath while he just stood there, composed and tall, in an all-black suit, perfectly tailored to heighten his attraction from a ten to otherworldly.

He didn’t respond immediately. Neither did I. There was only a quiet stretch of air between us, humming with unexplored tension that I didn’t know how to ignore.

Then, slowly, he started to walk toward me, and I swallowed, unsure if the flutter in my chest was warning or hope. Maybe both. Maybe neither.

He stood near enough to charge the air between us. Electric.

Eyes narrowed, Damien motioned over his shoulder. “That man…is he your boyfriend?”

I blinked, caught off guard, then narrowed my eyes at him.

I didn’t really think I’d see him up close or hear his voice again, but—the nerve of him! What did he care? Who did he think he was to pry?

“It’s none of your business,” I said before I could think better of it. My voice came out colder than I meant, but he just had to deal with it.

Tit for tat. Was that how they said it?

I turned, fully intending to walk away.

“Are you stalking me?”

My feet didn’t quite move, and my neck whipped around so fast, it might have snapped. “What the hell did you just say to me?”

“You heard me.” He shrugged casually. “It won’t be the first time a woman’s done it.”

I wanted to smack the poker expression off his face with the back of my hand. “Well, I don’t know what women you’ve been around, but I am very big on self-respect. I don’t go around stalking men.”

“Well, you keep showing up like this,” he murmured, stepping in close enough that I could smell the faint trace of cedar and something darker I couldn’t place. “I might just have to snatch you up for myself.”

My breath caught, traitorously, and my heart thudded hard, once.

I didn’t want to assume anything, certainly not with someone who boldly and arrogantly declared he was not the right one for me.

Someone I don’t really know!

He could be an assassin or an unemployed fraud pretending to be in the corporate sector, and I wouldn’t know.

I mean, for Christ’s sake, all we did was suck faces and exchange saliva in heated passion. I should gag in disgust and be ashamed of myself for being so warped in a risky fantasy with a stranger.

But the invisible pull between us was not something I could ignore.

The awareness of our connection and how unreasonably I craved him started like a spark, a flicker, and spread like a wave of heat around my body, licking up every sensitive inch.

And I knew I had to be careful. Because whatever this was, whatever it still could be, it was already starting to burn ferociously.

Damien leaned closer until his warm breath, a blend of red wine, tickled my earlobe. My chest fluttered, and, for a few seconds, I struggled to breathe normally. But I held my ground, refusing to let him see how much his nearness affected me.

“Stay away from me, Elena,” he whispered and pulled back, his blue eyes holding mine captive. “I mean it. It’s for your own good.”

The sooner I got away from the man, the better for my sanity. I summoned the courage and started to walk away from him. “With pleasure.”