Page 43 of Auctioned to My Bratva Boss

Honestly, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

Red hair. Black miniskirt. High heels. Slender figure with long, pale, straight legs. Brown eyes set in sculpted sockets, a nose like a perfect peak. Those full red lips could go straight into a lipstick commercial.

"Veronica?" Matvey reacted before I did. "What are you doing here?"

"Darling, did you see the message I sent you?" She parted those red lips, waving her phone, then sat on the couch like it was the most natural thing.

Matvey immediately pulled out his phone. When he saw the message, his face darkened.

I didn't know what it said, but I had a bad feeling.

"Darling, I think we need to talk. Alone." The woman glanced at me, emphasizing "alone."

Who was she? Matvey's bed partner? Why did she seem so intimate with him? My eyes started stinging.

Matvey looked at Veronica, then at me.

"Riley, get her some coffee." He kept his eyes on Veronica as he spoke.

I almost charged up and demanded answers. But I knew I didn't have that right. After all, Matvey had never actually said he liked me, had he? We were essentially still a transaction.

"Yes, Mr. Bykov." I bowed to them and left the office.

Before I closed the door, Matvey had already moved to the other side of the couch. His back was to me—I couldn't see his expression. But that woman's smile was crystal clear, bright enough to hurt my eyes.

I stood in the hallway stunned for a while before remembering I was supposed to get coffee. I carried the carafe into the break room, but the machine seemed broken. Nothing I did made it work. I had to go down one floor. Several girls stood in that break room. Beyond the coffee machine's hum came their whispers.

"...really? She's back?"

"I swear! I just saw her outside. That face is gorgeous, and what a body."

I silently walked to the water dispenser, pretending to be an invisible person just getting water.

"Who is she?" one girl asked.

"You haven't been here long, no wonder you don't know." Another girl lowered her voice. "She's Mr. Bykov's ex-wife, Veronica Gadz. From Moscow. I heard her dad's an energy oligarch, filthy rich."

Ex-wife. My grip on the carafe handle faltered.

"Ex-wife? Then why's she back?"

"What do you think?" Another voice hummed meaningfully. "I'm telling you, they never fell out of love. They separated for other reasons. Mr. Bykov was head over heels for her back then. Totally devoted."

"Really? Our boss is a devoted billionaire?"

"Shh—keep it down! There's more." That voice dropped even lower. "I heard she came back wanting to remarry Mr. Bykov... and get this, she's supposedly carrying his baby."

Hot water overflowed from the carafe, pouring straight onto the back of my hand.

"Ah—" Scalding pain shot through me. I snapped back, frantically shutting off the water.

"You okay?" The girls finally noticed me.

"I'm fine." I shook my head, forcing a smile. "The water's hot. It splashed."

They stopped talking, exchanged glances, and hurried out.

The break room finally went quiet.