Page 33 of The Bratva’s Innocent Sold Bride (Fokin Bratva #9)
After the sting of being so unceremoniously fired for no apparent reason subsided, I started to think. Pushing my feelings aside, it became clear to me that Terrence Hendricks had to be more than just a business rival.
Scrolling through my contacts, I tried to think of someone who would know anything about him, other than the superficial stuff going around on the social pages.
I remembered that our secret local celebrity blogger, Dana Emerrich, had been chatting him up pretty furiously at the gala. Maybe she had something on him.
It was worth a try, and even though it was past midnight, I texted her.
Not expecting a reply until morning, I got a quick shower and took Artem outside, since once he realized I was home and awake, he wasn’t going to be ignored.
The back area, which we’d designated as the dog run, was fairly well lit by the lights from the house and the pool, and I could see Mat’s guards wandering out by the treeline as faint, strangely comforting shadows.
Mat’s house was on such a big piece of property, it sometimes felt very isolated. Peaceful, most of the time, but at night like this, it could be creepy all alone except for a jumpy pup who I was sure would try to defend me from any intruders after he was done cowering behind my legs.
My phone dinged, and I jumped, laughing when I made Artem jump as well. “It’s fine,” I said.
Dana must have been an insomniac, or this was when she found the time to update her website without her husband knowing about it because she already answered my question about what she knew about Terrence Hendricks.
Ugh, not much, except that he’s single! Not that it matters to us (winky face). But he’s rich and is spending money like water to get that company off the ground. Just wish anyone knew what he was doing. If they do, they’re not talking.
I sighed and shook my head at the winky face emoji she included. A dead end. There was no one else I could ask without a whole bunch of questions in return, except… No. I wouldn’t go there.
Calling for Artem to get inside, I got in bed, letting him sleep at the foot instead of closing him in his room.
If Mat didn’t like it, too bad. It wasn’t like he was here to protest. I couldn’t sleep, and I finally grabbed my phone again, reluctantly placing a call to the one other person who might know something.
My father kept crazy hours, often working through the night, so it was no surprise when he answered right away.
“CJ,” he said breathlessly, launching into another round of his hollow apologies.
I waited for him and then asked him coldly if he knew anything about Terrence Hendricks.
“Nothing that you probably don’t,” he said regretfully.
“He’s supposedly blazing a trail, but with what?
You know I tried to bring him on board, but he declined the offer. ”
“I think he might have criminal ties,” I said. “Do you know anything about that?”
“Why would I?” he asked, having the gall to sound offended.
“Why wouldn’t you?” I countered.
“I know what I did was wrong, but you don’t understand how desperate I was. I was trying to save the company. Our company.”
I repressed a snort. “Mat’s company now. And yes, I understand that you were routinely in the practice of setting up those scam opportunities and finally just ripped someone off who wouldn’t slink away because of who you were.”
He sucked in a shuddering breath, and I didn’t want to hear it. I was on the verge of ending the call when he gasped, “I’m working on getting you out of there. Just hang on, CJ.”
“What?” I hissed, slapping the phone back to my ear.
“I’m planning a rescue.”
“Are you crazy? That’s the worst idea you’ve ever had. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” I was horrified. Even with all the anger I still held for him, I didn’t want to see him dead because of further stupidity. “Don’t. Stop whatever you’re planning. I mean it.”
I hung up, and it was a miracle I fell asleep with this new burden added to the pack. In the morning, Mat’s side of the bed was occupied by Artem, sprawled out and making sure to leave as many of his golden hairs as possible on the crisp white sheets.
The day loomed before me like a barren dirt road that led nowhere.
Over the last few days, I had been jumping out of bed, eager to get to my office and start work.
I got dressed and went downstairs to feed the dog, warring with a terrible idea.
Hadn’t I just told my father not to mess with Mat?
So why was I considering going back to the office after he told me, very firmly, that I was done?
It didn’t seem right to leave loose ends.
I should at least close down my programs and forward all the necessary passwords and instructions for my specialized software to Delta.
And those were dream computers. I wasn’t going to let them rot there.
The bodyguards could turn off their game shows and help me pack them up to bring here.
Maybe, just maybe, Mat would be in a mood to compromise when he got home.
My driver clinched the decision for me. It seemed that Mat had rushed out of the house so fast last night that he hadn’t given him the news that I wasn’t supposed to return to the office.
“Ready whenever you are, Mrs. Fokin,” he said, same as he always did the last few mornings I was gainfully employed.
I stuttered, paused for a split second, worried he’d get in trouble if I pretended nothing was different.
Ultimately, I just told him I was ready to go immediately.
Why wait around and tempt fate? I silently promised the unwitting driver I’d take the fall if Mat blew a gasket over this, which he most certainly would unless I could get everything home before he returned.
The guards were already there, and unlike the driver, they’d been told I wasn’t supposed to be there. Mat also knew me well enough by then to know I would show up, so they were waiting.
“Sorry, ma’am.”
He did genuinely look sorry. This was probably the cushiest job he ever had, and he and his buddy had been working their way through all the Lord of the Rings movies when their game shows ended. The driver gave me a look of betrayal.
“Let’s just say I was getting a whitening treatment,” I said. There was a dentist in one of the other buildings in the office park.
“Let’s just go home before I end up in pain,” he said.
I put my hands on my hips and pointed to the thousands of dollars of equipment in the back. “We should at least pack this stuff up. I’m going to be working from home from now on.”
I could see the pity in their eyes and ignored it, acting like that was what I wanted all along.
Who needed freedom and independence? They begrudgingly agreed, and I told them I just needed half an hour to get everything backed up and sent to Delta, leading them to believe the very act of unplugging the computers might threaten the data they held.
One of them must have snitched because before my time ran out, Mat came barreling in.
There was a low, menacing conversation before he walked back to find me not so innocently tapping at a keyboard.
Artem jumped up when he saw him, then immediately noticed the vibe and hurried to his bed, nose under his paws.
“Look,” I said. “Look how safe I am. There are three armed men out there if you count Bardil.” Which I did, since the driver was ripped and always carried a gun. There was no way he wasn’t as highly trained as the guards.
He shook his head at me, and I wilted. “I’m sorry, CJ.”
“You’re here now,” I said. “How much safer can I be?”
“I can’t be here all the time. I wish I could, but then how much work would either of us get done?”
I forced myself not to smile at his flirtatious tone. We’d been so close to falling into bed last night, so close to bliss. I still didn’t understand what changed.
“At least let me show you what I’ve done.”
He sat beside me, and I pointed out the specialty programs I’d written and the app I’d used to capture Terrence’s phone number. He looked impressed, but with no sign of budging on his decision.
“This is terrifying,” he said.
I laughed. “You can certainly do a lot of damage to people without even touching them if you want.”
He cracked his knuckles and grinned at me. “But where’s the fun in that?” Leaning close, he nudged my cheek with his nose. “I have an idea.”
“What’s that?” I asked, turning so our mouths were almost touching.
“Let’s put all this on the back burner for now. How about a little vacation?”
“After four days on the job?”
“Am I the best boss ever, or what?”
“I’m not sure you’re my boss anymore,” I told him, leaning back.
“I’m always going to be your boss,” he said, laughing when I swatted his arm. Grabbing the arms of my wheelie chair, he pulled me close again, kissing me until I would have agreed to anything. “Let’s get out of here,” he said when I was dazed. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
He stood, reaching for my hand to pull me up, dragging me into his arms and holding on like he hadn’t seen me in days when we’d just had our lips locked together for a solid two minutes.
“What about all this?”
“It’s not important right now. The information you found was a dead end, so don’t worry about it. We can start a new project—after the surprise.”
I wasn’t against a surprise, especially when it seemed like I’d still have a job to come back to. And I wasn’t against more of his kisses, either.