It was a far cry from hearing that she loved me. “And no one else could replace you. Listen, Clem, we wouldn’t even know about this game system if it weren’t for you.”
“I’m going to need a raise,” she said.
“That’s my girl, shrewd as ever. How about free room and board for now, and we’ll discuss salary when the contract has been signed.”
“You want me to move in with you right now? Before the Koboyashis are in town again?”
Of course I did. Every moment away from her dragged endlessly. Nothing could distract me, not my favorite books, not the fights with my family’s latest problem, not even the prospect of adding all those new zeros to my bank account. Everything came back to Clem.
“You’ll need to know the place like it’s your own,” I said reasonably. “How will it look if you walk into the library thinking it’s the dining room?”
“You have a library?” she asked, actually licking her lips.
“Wait until you see it,” I said. “In fact, why not grab your things and get settled in right now. The company will take care of your rent while you’re with me.”
Making a sour face, she finally spilled everything I already knew about the mix-up with her apartment and where she’d been staying.
“Clem, you should have said something. I need you on top of your game, not stressed out and living in a hotel. You’re definitely not spending another night there.”
Her relief was palpable, but her agreement was still begrudging. She was only going along with everything I so carefully planned because she believed it was solely to secure the Koboyashi Corp. It would have been so much sweeter if she had said she loved me instead of her job, if she had been in my arms, letting me kiss her senseless, both of us excited about our future together.
And not just for the next few weeks.
But she was mine now, and that was all that mattered. “Better clear my schedule for this afternoon,” I told her, finallygetting out of her old car and guiding her to my own. “I’m taking you home.”
Chapter 15 - Clem
Shocked into compliance, all I could do was follow Rurik to his car and get in.
I didn’t remember saying yes. When was there even a question?
The next thing I knew, I was buckled into the passenger seat, watching the city rush past the tinted windows like someone had dragged a wet brush across a watercolor. My hands stayed folded too tightly in my lap, nails digging into my damp palms. The engine of his Ferrari hummed so quietly it felt as if we were gliding on air, not tires. Everything about that moment was too smooth, too fast, too unreal.
Half an hour earlier, I’d been sitting in my dead car, staring at a brick wall, calculating how many nights I could stay in that hotel before my money ran out and I had to admit I’d failed spectacularly. It wasn’t like I could use Rurik as a reference, so I was back to square one.
But I didn’t really fail at anything, did I? I was great at my job, so why… how?
My apartment had vanished due to someone else’s bad behavior. My poor car succeeded valiantly in getting me here before wheezing its last breath. I found a company with a product worth millions and helped woo them. But I was still on the brink of losing everything.
And then Rurik appeared at the window like some dark prince from one of the novels I used to devour in high school. Tapping the glass, sliding in beside me, his voice low and certain.
I wasn’t out of a job, but Iwasmarried to him. Legally. Officially. Irrevocably. No, certainly not that. He wasn’t somesort of king who could take whatever he wanted. Except, he did, didn’t he?
I kept waiting for the panic to crest, for the scream that should have come the second I saw those bold black letters spelling out our names, side by side in official ink. Instead, there was only this strange, fluttering hush inside my chest, like a bird trapped in a cage that had suddenly grown too big.
I was not trapped. Not again.
Shock. I was in shock.
After a few minutes of steadily making our way out of downtown and toward the hills, I stole a glance at him. One hand rested on the wheel, the other on the gearshift, fingers long and steady, his brows furrowed as he randomly checked the rearview mirror. He looked way too calm. As if secretly marrying his executive assistant and then whisking her off to his mansion was just another Tuesday.
My heart tripped over itself. Again. So many questions flapped around in my head, trying to get out past my lips, which I kept sealed shut, not certain if I was still in a frying pan situation or tipped over into fire territory.
I guess I could understand why he did this. The Koboyashi deal was that important, that huge. If it could improve someone like Rurik’s life, who was already at the top of the heap, it was poised to completely change mine for the better. I couldn’t argue that. But why the secrecy, why the tricks?
And another thought nagged at me and refused to shut up. Didn’t he give me that giant stack of papers before I sprung the news on him about the Koboyashis only dealing with married business owners? Before Mr. Bocharov refused to stand in as the face of the deal? Oh, God, he was Gavril now, wasn’t he? He was now my in-law for the foreseeable future.
Everything was in a jumble, and I could hardly string a coherent thought together, so I gave up and stared out the window.