Page 69 of Tell Me What you Think

"I see." Marina makes a face; she's been so tired lately that the last thing she wants is to get up any earlier than necessary.

"I'm sorry, the next one left too late."

Marina turns toward her and smiles, then leans in and kisses her cheek.

"It's not your fault, it's me," she sighs. "I can't wait to close this deal and take those days we're owed."

"Me neither," Olga admits, "and I was thinking…"

The vice president turns when Olga trails off, and her lips stretch into a smile when she sees the blush creeping up her neck.

"What were you thinking?" Marina encourages her.

"Well, since we have to be up so early, maybe, you know…" She gestures between the two of them, and by now her face is completely red.

Marina wipes her mouth, amused.

"I honestly don't know," she says, raising an eyebrow.

She does actually have a pretty good idea what Olga is getting at, but she loves watching her like this—hesitant, flustered, and completely adorable.

"Um, well, I was thinking that maybe we could sleep together Tuesday night too. That way we leave from the same place, we don't have to send the taxi all over town…"

"That works for me."

"Yeah?" Olga's eyes go wide.

"Of course." Marina pops a piece of sushi into her mouth and winks at her, and Olga gets such a sharp tug in her stomach that she startles and drops the piece she was holding—which lands straight in her wine glass and splashes everywhere.

"Oh my God," she says, horrified, unable to believe her own clumsiness.

Marina bursts out laughing so hard she has to spit her food into her napkin to keep from choking, and Olga finds this so unexpected that her embarrassment evaporates and she ends up laughing out loud too.

"God." Marina fans herself with her hand, flushed. "You're impossibly clumsy, but I love it."

Marina wraps an arm around her shoulders, draws her close, and presses a loud kiss to her temple, and Olga wants nothing more than to melt right into her arms.

They finish dinner and carry the dishes to the kitchen. There's a conversation Marina has been meaning to have, and she'd like to get it out of the way soon—but when Olga yawns and can't quite stop herself, Marina decides it can wait until tomorrow.

"Should we just go to bed?" she suggests, finishing up wiping down the counter.

Olga closes the dishwasher and presses the button to start it.

"You don't mind? I'm really tired."

"Not at all, I'm dying to lie down too."

A few minutes later, Olga is in the bathroom brushing her teeth with her pajamas on and the door open.

"Can I come in for a second? I forgot my moisturizer," Marina calls from the hallway.

"Sure, come in."

The vice president slips behind Olga, who's wearing an oversized T-shirt as pajama top and nothing on her legs. Marina stops without meaning to and presses against her back to kiss her neck while Olga dries her mouth with a towel.

The soft gasp that escapes the assistant's lips lights something up inside Marina that she thought had gone out when the doorbell interrupted them, and when she raises her eyes and Olga sees her in the mirror, everything in her goes still.

"Are you very tired?" she asks, her pupils wide.