Page 6 of Savage Little Lies

“Oh, I do more than fetch Mr. Ivanov’s coffee. Whatever he needs, I do for him,” Cara replies in a cool, even voice, her polite smile never wavering.

Was that innuendo?

Annika wrinkles her nose at Cara before pursing her lips and jutting her hip out more. “Just like a good little bitch.” This time she says the insult in English rather than trying to disguise it in Russian.

“Dostatochno. Enough,” I say as I motion for Annika to stop tormenting my assistant. If I couldn’t hear the jealousy in her voice, I would’ve seen it written all over her damn face. “Cara, can you go run those errands now?”

I expect Cara to be enraged for being spoken to like that, but she gives me an eager look and a nod, as if Annika’s words didn’t affect her and the other woman no longer exists. “Yes, sir. I’ll bring you back something tasty for lunch.”

Now I’m almost certain that was an insinuation.

The woman has no idea who she’s dealing with, though, or she’d keep her mouth shut.

Annika steps toward Cara like she’s ready to tear her hair out, but I grab her wrist firmly, preventing her from budging more than an inch. If we’re going to be stuck together in an arranged marriage, she can’t jump down the throat of every woman who talks to me or looks at me for more than a second.

This is just business, and already she’s playing the part of a jealous fiancée way too well.

Once Cara walks out of the room with a natural sway of her curvy hips, a sharp contrast to Annika’s emaciated body, I turn to her with a stern look on my face. “I’d rather you not scare off my new assistant. This one is actually competent.”

Annika scoffs and sits on the edge of my desk, crossing her legs as she rests her palms on the sleek wood. “I can see right through that little whore. She just wants into your pants,” she remarks in Russian.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. I don’t have time to deal with this. With her.

All I need her to do is show up on the wedding day and sign the paperwork.

“Why are you here?” I ask her.

Annika shrugs as she peers up at me, her icy eyes making her skin look that much paler. “I wanted to see you. We’re about to be married. We should spend more time together.”

I tense up as she runs a hand up my chest. We’re not even officially engaged yet, and she’s acting like she owns me.

“I’m busy today,” I tell her as I brush her hand away, not feeling even a glimpse of desire for her.

The alliance will be worth it. It has to be.

Annika pouts as she tries to reach for my belt. “You can’t spare just a little bit of time for me?”

I step away from her, an annoyed sigh breaking from me. “I told you that I have work to do.”

Annika drops her hands in her lap with a bitter look on her face. “How long are you going to deny me, Dmitri? This is going to happen. We might as well start making the best of it.”

My jaw tenses as I move around my desk, putting distance between us before she tries to undo my belt again. She’s made similar advances before that I’ve shut down. I’d rather just focus on the business part of this whole arrangement.

If we get married, the only reason we’ll have a wedding ceremony is to make the marriage look more legit to those on the outside. It’s better if people think that we want to be together. Everything is about appearances.

I guess I need to start doing a better job of that if we get engaged, before I start pissing off the wrong people. I might be running the show for now, but it’s not official until the council votes to make it happen. And those old bastards could always change their minds.

“Our engagement is still in the negotiation phase. It’s nothing more as of right now,” I remind her before gesturing to the double doors. “No more dropping in unannounced. I have two empires to run.”

Annika huffs as she stands from my desk and smooths down her dress, making a show of pulling the material over her nonexistent hips and ass. In Russian, as if to remind me of the stakes, she says, “Remember who can make your empire even bigger. My father.”

I grind my teeth as she walks past me to leave my office. Despite having so much power and money, I still have to bend to the will of other people. I’m willing to temporarily if I get to stand taller than all the rest at the end.

I just have to keep everything under control.

And control is the one thing I don’t ever lose.

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