Page 29 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

But I’ve come to discover salary was just a segment of compensation. There were things like wardrobe allowance, vacation allowance, fuel allowance and if I looked closely, possibly oxygen allowance. All of which were individually larger than my previous salary. I just wasn’t in the tax bracket to be privy to such information and privilege.

The first time my payment hit the bank, I’d thought there was a mistake somewhere and reported it to Caroline. She gave me the most incredulous look and asked how I took up a job without knowing the specifics of my pay.

It was safe to say my first month in the office was a humiliation ritual of some sort.

“How about this one?”

I eyed the red bandage dress with a scooping neckline Anna held out to me.

“What part of ‘work-outfit’ did you not understand?”

She squinted at the dress. “What do you mean? This is totally work-coded. You could wear a blazer over it. It’ll be chic.”

“But my boobs will be practically spilling out.”

“They can’t punish you for being blessed.” She dumped the dress on the stack I was holding, but I took it off.

“I told you a couple of people are already talking, and the last thing I need is to walk into the office looking different than I used to in the worst way possible.”

“I don’t know if this is lost on you, but you’ve always had really great tits and they always had a way of showing through those stupid shirts of yours. Bet the entire office probably described you as the girl with great tits.”

I refused to let my thoughts linger on her last comment. “At least you could tell it was unavoidable.” I glanced at the red dress she had over her arm. “This would look like I came to work with the sole aim of showing my tits.”

“And you don’t want them to think you earned your spot by fucking the boss, I get it.”

She returned the dress to the rack, pausing briefly to check out the next one and deciding against it. “But you have to admit it, Gen, you did get the part by fucking him.”

My eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

She held up a hand. “Before you go crazy on my ass, I’m not saying those were your reasons for fucking him, but somewhere in that head of yours, you must know he didn’t clear your debt and offer you a position that was nonexistent before you because you have…” she gave me a thorough perusal, “…a great personality?”

Her words defeated any defense I could think of. I knew she was right. While my intention to have sex with Kazimir was fueled by the thought of a looming demise, his benevolence was definitely not from a place of sheer kindness.

The man used a private elevator to avoid mixing with people. Women trembled in his presence and grown men struggled to look him in the eye. Kind was hardly the word for him.

But I had the job, and I didn’t care how it sounded; I wasn’t going to reject a life-changing opportunity because the offer came from a man who had been inside me.

Besides, I already made the decision to not sleep with him again, so we were good.

I ignored the voice reminding me of the last time I was in the same space with him.

“I know, Anna, but I want to earn my place. I have no say in how I got the job, but I should have a say on how I get to do it and how I get to keep it. I don’t want to be the girl who climbed the ladder by fucking her boss.”

Her eyes softened. “Believe me, I totally understand and it’s important that you believe you deserve the position and you do a great job to prove it to yourself, but the bit of what people would say? I hate to break it to you, but if you gained a promotion that big prior to sleeping with him, the rumors would come regardless. People believe pretty girls never have to use their brains and they only get by just by smiling and batting their lashes at men.”

My shoulders slumped in defeat. No one had said anything to me and I was yet to hear anything, but I didn’t miss Richter’s eyes on me during the security drill and the new receptionist's glare.

“You can’t let tiny whispers from people who would beg to be in your place take over your mind,” Anna continued. “You can’t subject yourself to unflattering shirts and reduce yourself to a work mule to prove you belong in a space you already occupy. You walk in there, you own every minute of it, and you look good while at it.”

The corners of my lips twitched as her pep talk sank in. “And if they say it to my face?”

She winked. “Then you tell them to take it up with Mr. SSB.”

“Mr. SSB?”

“Sexy Scary Boss.”

I couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Why do I even bother with you?”