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“Watch it.” Nik halfheartedly throws a paperweight at him, but Dmitri easily dodges it with a laugh.
I roll my eyes and pull Dmitri out of Nik’s office.
Dmitri and I drive mostly in silence. He hums to himself through most of the ride, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of my playlist. For his benefit, I picked the most bubblegum pop soundtrack I could find, hoping to annoy him as payback for not taking my side with Nik earlier. Of course, it didn’t work. Much to my chagrin, Dmitri took my girly music in stride.
While he dutifully and gleefully takes me from one designer shop to another, I cheer up. A content sigh escapes me as we enter one of my favorite high-end boutiques downtown. The crisp air-conditioned air blissfully welcomes us.
“See, this isn’t so bad, is it?” Dmitri asks, with a teasing glint in his eyes. He smiles at me.
“I suppose not,” I say with a slight shrug.
“I’ll tell you something, Kat. If I had a multibillionaire man handing me his credit card and telling me to do my worst, I wouldn’t waste my time pouting about it. Not a second, I tell you.”
“Pouting, huh?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him as we look around the store.
“Well, don’t worry. It’s a good look on you. You pull it off beautifully,” he says diplomatically. “Which is why Nikolai Stefanovich, of all men, handed you his credit card in the first place.”
“Are you saying I’m all beauty and no brains?”
Dmitri emphatically shakes his head. “Of course not. I know better than to underestimate you, believe me. Besides, you obviously have more brains than all of us together, if the way you have him wrapped around your little finger is any indication.”
“Dmitri…”
He shrugs. “Well, it’s true. You’ve managed what no one else has before. Congratulations, milaya.”
“You’re going to get yourself into trouble.”
Dmitri scoffs. “Just like you, Kat, I’m very rarely actually in trouble. Especially when women are involved.”
“Oh, I see. Silly me. All this time, I assumed you were clueless about your good looks. But clearly, I was wrong if you’re bragging about exploiting the power of your boyish charms.”
With a heart-stopping smile, he dramatically winces, clutching his chest. “Ouch. Boyish charms, huh? You wound me, Kat,”
I roll my eyes at him. “I really doubt that. Besides, as you know very well, I meant it as a compliment.”
“All I know is that you’re ignoring the fact that I’m obviously all man. I won’t hear any of that boyish charm talk. I’m not that much younger than you.”
“Oh, yeah, right. Refresh my memory… How do you know that, exactly? You mean from when you spied on me for Nik, right?” I playfully punch his arm.
Dmitri shrugs, smirking. “Hey, it’s not much, but it’s honest work.”
I scoff. “Not even close.”
“Well, maybe not. But the way I see it, I was doing God’s work in a way.”
“Is that how you refer to Nik now? Laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?”
It’s Dmitri’s turn to roll his eyes. With a grin, he playfully messes my hair. “No, smart-ass. I mean it was all part of the process of bringing the two of you together. If you think about it, I was basically playing Cupid.”
“I don’t think you realize how ridiculous that sounds.”
“Well, what can I say? I’m a romantic, milaya.”
“Watch it, Dmitri. I happen to know Nik has broken men’s hands for less than that.”
Dmitri sighs. “I still can’t believe he did that. I was half sure you two were fucking with me until I saw Vladmir with his hand in a cast with my own eyes.”
“All I’m saying is I wouldn’t push Nik if I were you. He’s under a lot of pressure right now.”
