Page 21 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

Between the sound of my name rolling out from his lips and the way his eyes burned into mine, I wasn’t sure which was responsible for the sudden heat in my body.

“Leave and never return.”

I should be grateful, my boss just saved me and proclaimed me debt-free. I should sing for joy and thank him, but the Genevieve who believed in cozy stories of how the knight saved the damsel was long gone, and this one knew there were no knights. Especially in places like this.

I straightened a little. “What’s the catch?”

His brows lifted by a fraction and I could almost hear his disbelief.

The question might be silly, but I wasn’t going to leave and risk Alexei and Eyepatch at my door ten years later demanding a payment for a favour.

“There’s no catch.” His voice was monotonous. “Would you prefer me to bend you over the table and fuck the belief into you? Would that be a good enough exchange?”

I hated the way my stomach flipped at the vivid picture he’d painted for me. Through my problems, I’ve barely had the time to reminisce about our time together, but I’ve thought of him in the little breaks in between and the dead of the night when sleep eluded me.

He gave me a moment to come up with a response before speaking again.

“You’re welcome to your previous job if you still want it.”

"What previous job?" My jaw dropped in shock.

"Working for me. Unless you'd rather continue working as an exotic dancer?" he sneered.

“There’s... really no catch?”

He leveled me with a gaze. “Yes.”

“Why?”

I should leave but I wanted answers. $50,000 was a lot of money, and I don’t care how rich he was, men like him never let anyone get away.

“I hate bad dancers. Now leave before I change my mind.”

Chapter Six

Genevieve

Anna materialized at my door, two steaming mugs in hand. “Let me get this straight, you’re his personal assistant?” she asked, stepping into the room. “How did that happen?”

I plucked a mug from her and took a long-needed sip. “Remember I told you he said I was welcome to my previous job?”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded, making herself comfortable on the heaps of clothes covering my bed.

“Well, by the time I got back, there was a new receptionist.” I shifted the dress draped over my side table to place my mug. My entire wardrobe was on trial. “I was going to leave quietly, I mean, the man already cleared my debt, that was more than enough, but I ran into him on my way out and he said he was in need of an assistant.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” I affirmed.

Her lips curled into the habitual I-don’t-trust-this curve I was accustomed to. “No interviews, qualifications…?”

“Nope.” I reached for another sip. Anna was right to be suspicious. Hell, I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t myself, given everything that unfolded in the past weeks.

If it weren’t for the new keycard with the bold executive stamp staring back at me, I’d be convinced my mind was playing tricks on me.

“You definitely got him,” she finally concluded.

“Got who?”