Page 32 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

“Yeah, but—”

“Do I have to manufacture another fake diagnosis to give you a confidence boost or what?”

A deep laugh erupted from the depths of my belly at the mention of my journal and long-forgotten to-do list.

“I swear I’m almost convinced you require tragedy as a form of motivation.”

“It’s a cute fit, I just don’t think it’s for the office.”

“So where will you wear it then? The grocery store? Because we both know you’re very committed to your triangle of movement.”

“See? That’s exactly why I can’t take it. Most of my legs and some of my tits would—”

“These or the red dress. Choose.”

My laughter sobered up the moment I beheld the seriousness on her face.

“You can’t be serious.”

“The black fit it is.”

“Anna—”

She added the clothes to the selection, pinning me with a challenging look.

My lips clamped shut. I’d known the woman long enough to know she was a force of nature and didn't budge when her mind was made up.

I might’ve indulged the conversation about giving Kazimir a second chance, but I was yet to make up my mind, and even if I did, I wasn’t about to start prancing around the office in fits like that.

Regardless, I let her take the fit to the counter. It was one thing to buy the outfit, it was another to wear it and, like the idiom said, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.

As long as she doesn't hold me at gunpoint and demand that I wear the outfit, I was certain I would be fine with the elevated version of my previous wardrobe staple.

Chapter Nine

Genevieve

Turns out I didn’t need a gun to my head and I was very capable of doing the convincing myself.

It was midnight when I was picking out the outfit for the next day, and my eyes landed on the black set idling at the back of my wardrobe.

I’d told myself I was only going to try it out since I never got to do so at the boutique and see how it fit, but one look at my reflection in the mirror and next I knew, I was standing in front of Caroline, a blazer draped over my shoulders, begging to take the work off her plate while she went on a hot date.

There was a huge difference between the level of morale needed to start a task and the one needed to see it to the end, especially when the focal point was removed.

Kazimir chose today of all the days in the weeks I’d been working for him to not turn up.

My effort was in vain; the time spent fixing my hair, everything felt like the build-up to a comic show. Even my outfit felt like a clown costume.

“Nice skirt, Gen.” Rose whistled upon entering Caroline’s office. “You must tell me where you got it.”

I masked my grimace with a smile. “It’s a boutique downtown, I’ll send you the address.”

“I told her she belonged on the front page of a magazine when she came in, but she insists on covering herself with that hideous blazer.”

“It’s not hideous, Caroline, it’s chic.”

“Maybe on a pregnant woman trying to conceal a bump, but on you, it’s taking the attention from the fit. Why wear it if you’re going to cover it up the whole day?”