The Cost Of The Forbidden. Carol Marinelli

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СКАЧАТЬ haired, pale skinned, he had very long legs and despite the immaculate suit he looked as if he should be wandering out of a club or casino at 5:00 a.m. he was so rumpled and unshaven.

      His tie was loosened, his grey-black eyes were a touch heavy lidded and he gave her not a smile as such, just a nod in the direction of his office and a vague, unrelated memory had popped into her head—she had remembered the time she’d gone to see her lovely familiar female doctor for a pap and a sexy-as-hell locum doctor had come out.

      Naomi had flunked it and had asked the sexy doctor for a flu injection instead. And she’d flunked it again as Sevastyan had come out of his office and greeted her. As she’d stood, she had got all flustered and knocked over her drink. When he’d enquired, in a deep, Russian-accented voice, about her day, she’d been so entranced that she hadn’t really heard what he’d said and he’d had to repeat himself twice.

      With every question he’d grown sexier.

      With every vowel he uttered she wondered if the chair she was sitting on might be battery operated. Somehow even her list of hobbies had led them to bed and so now all Naomi wanted to do was stand up and get the hell out of there.

      I’m an engaged woman, she wanted to say. How dare you make me feel like that?

      No, she didn’t want the role.

      ‘You don’t speak a second language,’ Sev checked.

      ‘No.’ Naomi shook her head. ‘I don’t.’

      ‘At all?’

      ‘Non,’ Naomi said, and then laughed at her own feeble joke.

      He didn’t laugh, just stared back at her.

      ‘You know,’ Sev finally said, ‘the English are lazy.’

      ‘Excuse me?’

      ‘I mean the English-language-speaking world.’

      ‘Oh.’

      ‘They rely on others speaking their language.’

      ‘How many languages do you speak?’ Naomi asked him.

      ‘Five.’

      Good, Naomi thought. She didn’t have the job.

      ‘Still, given that most everyone speaks English,’ Sev said, ‘I’m sure that we can work around it.’

      Help.

      ‘I just want to clarify that I’m only going to be in New York for a year,’ Naomi said, giving him an out now and rather hoping that would be it, but he merely shrugged.

      ‘You’d burn out long before then. I don’t think I’ve ever had a PA last longer than six months. Three months...’ He gauged. ‘Yes, I think you would last about three months, though I’d hope for more.’

      ‘Look...’ Naomi flashed him a smile. ‘I don’t want to waste your time. Though your assistant was very clear that the hours were demanding I didn’t realise that it would be quite so full on. I like my weekends...’ She gave him another smile, which he didn’t return. ‘I’m actually here to get to know my father a little better and so—’

      ‘You’d get weekends off.’ Sev dismissed that obstacle. ‘Unless we were overseas.’

      ‘And also,’ Naomi added, just to make certain that he didn’t hire her, ‘I don’t really have experience in your field.’

      ‘Experience in my field?’ Sevastyan frowned and he knew exactly what she meant but he was enjoying watching her get flustered. ‘I’m not a farmer.’

      ‘I meant that I don’t know much about cyber security.’

      ‘If you did then you’d be my rival.’

      She stood and held out her hand.

      ‘I’m sorry, I—’

      ‘Part of the package is an apartment overlooking Central Park. Well, once Felicity moves out. It’s nice...’ he mused. ‘Well, I like living there.’

      ‘We’d be in the same apartment block?’

      It got worse and worse!

      ‘It’s huge. Don’t worry, I shan’t be knocking on your door to borrow a cup of sugar. It’s convenient if there’s an early morning or late-night meeting. And it saves time when we’re travelling, which there’s a lot of. Being in the same building shaves off ten minutes if I don’t have to pick you up from another address and there’s a helipad.’ And then he told her what her wardrobe allowance would be, which should have had her cheering.

      ‘No, really...’

      Naomi wanted her life back.

      She wanted a world where she had never seen this man. But Sev now wanted her.

      She was as plump as forbidden fruit and, God, but he loved the word ‘no’. He considered it a pesky firewall to get around or disable.

      It really was a great motivator.

      ‘Thank you for your time,’ Naomi said, still holding out her hand, but he didn’t offer his.

      ‘Sorry,’ she said again, only this time it didn’t irk him. He simply sat in silence and watched her leave.

      He picked up the next résumé and read through it.

      Yawn, yawn, Sev thought, his mind still on the girl with the sad brown eyes.

      Spaniel brown.

      Like some puppy expecting to be kicked but hoping for love.

      And a stray he did not need.

      He headed out to call Emmanuel in.

      The waiting room was empty.

      ‘Felicity...’ he called out to his PA, but her seat was empty too.

      And her bag was gone.

      There was her farewell message to him on the computer screen.

      I FAKED IT!!!!

      ‘No, you didn’t.’ Sev grinned but his smile faded as the lift opened and Emmanuel, presumably, dashed down the corridor.

      ‘I’m so sorry that I’m late, Mr Derzhavin...’

      Sev frowned. He recognised him. That’s right, he had interviewed Emmanuel a couple of years before and now he was back for another go.

      And he was five minutes late.

      ‘Not the best first impression,’ Sev said.

      ‘I know but—’

      ‘Let’s not waste each other’s time.’

      ‘But...!’

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