Page 91 of Scarred Ruin

I glanced at Julie, anger furrowing deep inside while she was smiling as if this was all a game. The pressure was on.

And my hackles were raised.

“Mr. Aristov. He’s now pushing me to provide him with the drawings for the first set of buildings in two weeks. Why could you guess?”

“Because I’m brilliant and the most observant person in the world. You’ve basically got the sketches he’s talking about done. Girl, you are like some dynamo with this project. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard or so fast.”

That’s because I had no life any longer, which was fine by me.

“That’s beside the point.” I balled up the piece of paper, tossing it into the trash.

“What is going on with you? No, with the two of you?” She’d finally cornered me in the breakroom.

I’d tried to avoid human contact as much as possible over the last thirteen days, using the excuse of burying myself in work, which I’d done.

But that wasn’t the reason I had no desire to talk to anyone. “What do you mean the two of us?”

“You and that hot Russian.”

I stirred my coffee maybe with a little more aggression than I should, given the scalding drops that landed on my hand. “Are you talking about Maxsim Aristov?” I tried to skirt around her. The last thing I needed was to be tormented by my assistant.

I’d done enough of that to myself to last a lifetime.

She purposely blocked my exit. “Don’t even bother trying to deny you two have a thing.”

“A thing? I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, and I’m pretty certain one hot Santa Claus is going to pop down my chimney wearing a red Speedo and carrying a bag full of jewels just for me.”

“Very funny.”

“No, it’s not. You’ve been moping around the office for almost two weeks. Every time Mr. Aristov visits, it’s as if you have the plague when you two are supposed to be working very closely together. Like this.” She crossed her index and middle finger while offering a salacious smile. “But the electricity you two share could light up the entire city.”

“We are not and never were that close. Now, let me pass.” I took a step to the right; she took one to the left. I moved to the opposite side, so did she. Now I glared, offering as much venom as I could muster since she was dead right.

“Pu-lease. Your secret isn’t so secret. Okay? First of all, the way he looks at you as if a predator hunting and locating his prey every time he walks through that door. Do you honestly believe I’m the only one in the office who’s noticed? In addition, are you going to continue lying to yourself that someone on the streets of Charleston would capture your deliciously seductive evening on Halloween? I mean come on. You are not that naïve. The she-devil costume was a chef’s kiss.”

“What are you talking about?” Oh, God, this entire situation was infuriating.

Julie acted as if I was a moron, roughly smashing her finger across her phone that she’d conveniently brought with her. “Take a peek. One of several.”

I glanced at the screen while she scrolled and by the fourth picture, I was cringing deep inside. Even worse, one photograph on Instagram caught my attention and I snatched the phone from her hand. One of the pictures must have been taken by Hope.

How could I be angry with her when I’d purposely avoided her along with everyone else?

Not that Maxsim had tried to engage in anything but an electronic relationship via a few emails. He’d been very… pointed in directing my workload. I didn’t work for him. Well, technically I did, for this project anyway.

How could I blame him for being all about business and nothing else? I’d all but told him we were finished that night. Maybe I was fooling myself into thinking he wouldn’t try to contact me personally.

At some point we’d need to be in the same room together going over the plans since I’d need his approval within a few days to continue. I had sent him emails of two drawings, which were so small there was no way he could make out what they were.

But they were something special. I’d worked long hours to ensure they were. At least Bob and his team were handling the other necessary infrastructure including drainage and storm water management drawings. It would seem Maxsim was placing all his energy into the project. With any luck, by the first of the year we’d be ready for a site plan approval.

Who was I kidding? I’d work myself to death. Maybe that would keep me from thinking about him.

I couldn’t imagine being able to handle seeing him in person right now. Thankfully, he’d mostly ignored me. A question needed answering? A quick email and a short, professional answer.

Mostly. I’d seen his face when he’d been in the building talking with John. I’d noticed he’d glanced into my office and yes, a tiny part of me had wanted to talk to him, but I’d purposely looked away. Hoping to give him another hint.