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He didn’t look happy at all to see her, and I didn’t blame him, considering what we’d just discussed. I didn’t understand what this woman was doing here in the first place, interrupting our special evening.
Fact was, she didn’t budge. She was on my fucking seat and my tolerance was sinking to an all-time low. The only thing that kept me from punching her in the face was I didn’t want to spoil this evening. And also, I didn’t want to damage Sebastian’s business.
A waiter came over with an extra chair. It seemed she was staying after all.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I lied. “The lady will take the chair.” I stood my ground, still waiting for that bitch to move.
“Oh, of course. I didn’t realize Sebastian had company. My bad, darling,” she said sweetly, and quickly situated herself one the chair next to us. This was awkward, but clearly, the intent was to make us uncomfortable.
“I’m Sebastian’s wife. My name is—”
“Marinka, yes, I have heard about you. It’s very nice to meet you and your secret is safe with me, darling,” she said, waving her hand.
Secret? So she knew about Russina. Did come here to blackmail Sebastian? This was the only reasonable explanation. I could think of. My husband was scowling in earnest now. Sofia had ambushed our dinner, blindsiding him. And me.
I couldn’t not hate her.
“I’m not concerned about that, so what do you want? We were kind of busy with each other before you showed up,” I said bluntly. We were all done with politeness. She needed to leave.
Sophia let loose a gaudy laugh, then started playing with the gold and diamond bracelets on her wrist.
“We can discuss business another time, Sofi. You’re interrupted in our special date, so fucking piss off before I lose my shit,” Sebastian ground out, and a snort rushed out of me at his honesty.
Sofia didn’t even flinch at his threatening tone. Confidence and elegance oozed out of her. She was the kind of woman who could have any man, any time. I now had no doubt Sebastian had held some information back, because the way she was staring at him indicated that she wanted him.
Had something gone on between them in the past and that was why she showed up? I couldn’t tell, but at the same time I didn’t want to create a scene.
“Calm down, darling. I won’t take too much of your precious time,” she sighed in an exaggerated way. “But I’m surprised, Sebastian. I always thought you’d go for someone quiet and reserved, the complete opposite of me. And yet, here you are, married to Marinka who isn’t so reserved after all.”
“We were never a good match, Sofia, and as you can see, I’m happy and very much in love. Marinka is the woman of my dreams. You could never replace her.”
I glanced at him in shock. So my suspicions were on point!
But most importantly, did he really just admit he was in love with me?
My chest swelled with elation, but that didn’t change the fact he hadn’t told me he used to be with this insufferable woman.
She stared at him, chewing on her bottom lip, probably because she wasn’t expecting that answer. The fact she’d decided to come here tonight told me what she had on her mind had nothing to do with the business. This was personal.
“I’m hurt, Sebastian. I thought we made an excellent team a long time ago and figured now that I’m running things, we could go back to that. In a sense, my cousin’s death united us again … such a shame he’s gone,” she said, then grabbed Sebastian’s flute and tasted the champagne.
The audacity of this woman was beyond astonishing.
Sebastian leaned over the table, and I could sense his temper rising. “Sofia, stop this right this moment. Marcus owed me a shipment, which you didn’t send. Why in the world would I want to work with you?”
I didn’t know much about this woman, but she did want to be with my husband. She didn’t care about his business. From my seat in the alcove, I had a view of a window where I spotted a few men hanging out. Bodyguards.
“The last shipment didn’t pass our strict quality checks. Lately, you have become a little sloppy, Sebastian. Our standards are very high, and I want to expand to the east,” she stated, her gaze traveling to me. “I want Marinka’s Daddy to give up his territory or at least provide us with the name of his supplier. He’s done his due and he should retire. I think such a sweet girl could ask her daddy to do that for her?”
“Over my dead body, Sofia. Stop fucking pushing me and dragging in Marinka or I swear to God, you’ll regret it,” Sebastian said through gritted teeth. He stood from his chair, breathing hard, so I grabbed his wrist, trying to calm him down. Sofia was trying to goad him. She knew what she was doing.
“You’re such a beast, Sebastian. Remember that one time you fucked me in the ass with that black—”
“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, sweetheart,” I finally snapped, grabbing her arm and squeezing tightly. Her eyes popped out because she clearly didn’t expect me to do anything. “Your little show is over and I’m just about to call management here to remove you, and no matter how much money you have, you’ll never be able to set foot here again. Sebastian knows a lot of people … remember that?”
I cocked my head to the side and squeezed harder, relishing how she flinched. “He’s still got lots of friends in this business”—as I spoke, I prayed that was true—“so stop acting like you’ve just stepped out of The Godfather screaming, ‘I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse’!”
I got in her face then, letting her see I’d reached that point of no return, then continued, keeping my voice even and controlled, “If you don’t want your butt kicked to the sidewalk in front of all these people, leave now and next time, if you want to talk business with my husband or me, schedule an appointment. Just make sure you don’t mention the time Sebastian shoved anything in your scrawny, wrinkled, used-and-abused little ass. That story is tired.”
