by Alexa Davis
"We're definitely moving up, Anna," I said to the small kitten. She had been silent the whole walk over and remained so as the elevator climbed to the top of the building. "Don't be afraid, little one, it's all going to be okay. I promise." Anna let loose with a tiny chirp as the doors to the elevator opened and we stepped out into the most expensive-looking living room I'd ever seen. Everything was white or off-white and all the furniture was square and modern. The windows in the living room stretched floor to ceiling and allowed for a nearly unobstructed view of the entire south side of the city. It was breathtaking, to say the least.
I looked down at Anna and said, "What do you think, little one?" She butted her head against my chin and purred, but made no attempt to get down. "Yeah, me, too." I said as I walked further into the living room toward an open door at the end of a long hallway. I peeked inside and found Max puttering around an island in a kitchen that was larger than the whole apartment I'd just left.
"Lexi, I'm so glad you made it," he smiled as he handed me a glass of red wine and offered me a seat at the counter. "Who's your guest and what can I serve her?"
"This is Anna Karenina," I said. "Anna, Max. Max, Anna. She's going to need her dinner, but I've got it in the bag."
"Well, I've prepared a welcome meal for the humans, so you're welcome to sit at the counter and watch me finish it up or you can wander around and take a look a the place," he offered.
"I think I'll just hang out with you and wait for the official tour," I told him. "I'm kind of afraid that if I wander off in this place, I'll get lost and not be able to find my way back."
"I understand," he nodded. "I felt the same way the first few nights I lived here. I wandered out into the hall looking for a bathroom, wound up in the gym, and didn't know how to get back to my room."
"Why did you buy such a huge place?" I asked. "I mean, it seems like an awful lot of space for someone living alone."
"Yeah, well, it's an investment," he said. "I needed to put some money in property and this was the only place I actually liked. The rest were so stuffy and over done. They reminded me of my grandmother's apartment, and while I love visiting her, I do not want to live in her place."
"I totally understand," I nodded. "I grew up in a house that was warm and wonderful, but I never ever want to own shag carpeting or plaid furniture." Max burst out laughing and Anna chirped at him loudly until he stopped and patted her on the head. Satisfied that she'd been paid her due, she patted my face in an attempt to get me to put her down.
"It's okay, she can wander wherever she likes," Max said as he smiled at the tiny, gray puff on the floor. "But she might want to stick close to the kitchen if she's hungry!" Anna chirped and rubbed against Max's leg as he finished putting the final touches on plates of spaghetti Bolognese and set one down in front of me. I looked around for the bathroom and he pointed toward the back of the kitchen.
"There's one over there in the corner off of the dining area," he said. "I'll put the plates on the table and feed the wee one if you tell me where her food is."
"In this bag," I said as I pulled the pack off of my shoulders and set it on the counter. "I'm sure you'll figure out which dishes belong to the princess."
By the time I emerged from the bathroom, he had set the table and moved the wine and Anna was eating her dinner out of her bowl, which had been placed on top of a special placemat right next to my chair at the table. I smiled at Max and reached down to pat Anna. She didn't even look up at me.
We spent the next hour settling in and getting to know each other in a way that would allow us to live in the same space. As we talked, I realized that Max was even more handsome out of his suits and away from work. He had a wicked sense of humor and an easy laugh, and by the time dinner was over, we were telling childhood stories like old friends. It was comfortable, but I felt the tingle of his presence as we washed and dried the dinner dishes. He was tall and broad, and I could smell a trace of his cologne still lingering on his sweatshirt. Our fingers touched as he passed me the silverware and I felt a shock of electricity slice through my body, leaving in its wake a yearning for his touch.
I looked up at him, but he hadn't seemed to notice the powerful current that had run between us, so I asked, "Is it time for the tour yet?"
"It is," he agreed as his eyes lit up making him look like a little kid on Christmas morning. "Come see the place!"
"Anna, are you coming with us?" I called. Anna chirped and returned to her dinner. "Okay, but don't blame me if you get lost in here!"
With that, I turned and followed Max back down the hallway into the enormous living room, where he began the tour of my new home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Max
I led Lexi through my home, pointing out all of the features in each room and patiently showing her how to operate the lights and the thermostat so she could always be comfortable. I took her through the gym, where I'd installed all the latest fitness machines and weights. There was even an infinity pool tucked in one corner of the room waiting for someone to flip the switch and get in to swim. Lexi's eyes got wider with every new thing I showed her, and I took great pleasure in opening up my home to this beautiful woman.
She'd changed out of her work clothes and was wearing a light summer sundress in a shade of peach that brought out her sun-kissed skin tone. She'd pulled her hair back into a loose braid that for the thousandth time since I'd met her, made me want to reach around and undo it so I could run my fingers through her auburn tresses. I distracted myself by mentioning the benefits of tanning on the outdoor deck as I opened the door off of the gym and showed her the garden I'd started on the roof. It was a magnificent place to sit and sunbathe, read, or just enjoy dinner and a drink. I'd done that often, but it always felt rather lonely unless Natalia was with me, and even then, there was a solitude that penetrated the space between us.
Showing Lexi these things felt like I was throwing open the door to something new and fresh. She oohed and ahhed over every new feature and stopped to admire my herb garden as she took in the view.
"This is incredible, Max," she said as she looked out over the city, marveling at the way the lights were blinking on all over town as the sun set just beyond the outer edges of the city limits. "What a glorious place to live."
"I'm pretty happy here," I agreed. "But it's nice to have a guest to share it with, if I'm honest."
As Lexi turned and smiled at me, my heart jumped. She was so incredibly beautiful. Everything about her was light and free. Lexi Wallace was everything that I was not, and as I thought about this, I felt sad. I wondered how I could drag such a beautiful woman into such a terrible situation with my father. For a moment, I felt a deep sense of guilt and I came close to blurting out the truth, but then I looked west over the city and remembered what I was striving to leave and I pressed my lips together and continued showing her the place.
We walked back inside down a long hallway lined with modern paintings and prints. Lexi commented on several of them until I pushed open the door to what was to be her room. She stood in the doorway with her mouth open, staring at the room. I told her I'd have the movers unpack the things she decided to bring with her and that my housekeeper would arrange everything so that it looked like a home, rather than a hotel room where she would just pass the time.
To the left of the door was a long dresser with so many drawers that it had been impossible to actually fill them. Along the far wall was a window that reached floor to ceiling and overlooked the four-post bed that sat on the far side of the room, covered in a thick duvet and many plush pillows. There was a sitting area where she could enjoy coffee in the morning or read a book, and on the other side of the sitting area was a large walk-in closet with a dressing table and more space than she'd had in her entire bedroom in the old place.
I watched her closely as she took in all the details, and once she'd processed it all, she walked over to me, rested a hand on my chest, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. I foug
ht hard not to wrap and arm around her waist and pull her against me. I had no idea if she felt anything towards me the way I felt about her, but I wasn't going to risk screwing up this deal to find out.
"Max, this is the most beautiful room I've ever seen in my entire life," she whispered as she reached out and took my hand and squeezed it tightly. "I love it. Thank you."
"I'm glad you like it," I said as I gently squeezed her hand, hoping she could read the message I was sending. She turned and looked up at me just as Anna came running down the hallway and jumped on the bed with as ferocious a meow as someone of her size could muster. Lexi dropped my hand and walked over the to the kamikaze kitten and picked her up.
"I think Anna will like it here, too," she pronounced as the tiny puffball head batted her chin and purred until she drooled. I laughed at the open display of happiness and told Lexi to follow me. I wanted to show her one more room.
At the end of the hall were two French doors leading into the master bedroom. It ran the entire width of the penthouse and was twice as large as the kitchen on the other end of the place. There was a sitting area with a couch and several chairs positioned around a large fireplace on one end of the room and a king-size, four-post bed covered in a large cranberry-colored duvet on the other. It was the only splash of color in the otherwise gray room. Lexi nodded as she looked around and noticed my desk in one corner near the soaring window.
"You must love working here," she observed.
"Indeed, I do," I agreed as I watched her take it all in. The room was an architectural masterpiece with the windows starting at the floor level and then curving upward so that one continuous piece of glass softly bent across the roof and made the room feel as if it were completely open to the elements. There was a door off of the side of the bed that led to the private balcony and the Jacuzzi. I'd spent many nights sitting out in the bubbling hot water, looking up at the heavens, trying to figure out the mysteries of the universe.
"That must be a great place to stargaze," Lexi said gesturing at the hot tub. "I'm envious."
"You're welcome to come out and use it anytime you like," I said.
"I just might," she smiled. The smile was followed by a wide yawn, and I realized the tour had taken several hours.
"You must be really tired," I said as I walked back toward her room. "Do you need anything? Do you want anything?
"I'm good, Max." She smiled as she reached out and took my hand again. I could feel the soft tips of her fingers gently resting against the palm of my hand and the sensation sent the blood flowing away from my brain toward my groin. I pulled my hand away quickly as I cleared my throat and ducked my head, trying to hide the erection growing in my shorts.
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?" I said.
"I will, I promise." She walked into her room followed closely by the tiny kitten. Once inside, they both turned and looked at me before Lexi quietly closed her door.
I let out a sigh of relief and hoped that she hadn't noticed anything, then I went back to my room and fired up the computer so that I could purchase more stock as soon as the markets in Moscow opened.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Lexi
After the tour, I went back to my room and thought about how much my life had changed in just one week. One week ago, I had been sobbing as Josh dumped me on his way to Hollywood. Today, I was employed by a nice man who was paying me wages beyond my wildest dreams, and I was sitting my own, luxurious room in one of the most expensive penthouse apartments in the city. Granted, the reason I was here was because I had agreed to a sham marriage in order to help his business, but still, this was a pretty great gig.
"We're doing well, aren't we, Anna?" I said to the kitten who was checking out every inch of the room from ground level. Once she was finished, she jumped up next to me on the sofa and chirped her approval. I patted my leg until I realized that I'd left her litter box and toys in the kitchen. I quickly hopped up and opened the door. I looked around and then remembered that the kitchen was to my left. I followed the hall back toward the living room, but must have made a wrong turn because I found myself standing in front of a dining room table that had to have been fifteen feet long. I cursed my poor memory and then turned back to retrace my steps. Ten minutes later, I was back in my room with Anna's bag in my hand. I set up her things so that she could easily find them and then called her name, but no fuzz ball came running.
"Anna? Anna, where are you, kitty?" I called quietly. "Little one, don't go hiding on me now!" Still, there was no Anna. I wasn't terribly worried, since there was no way for her to get out of the penthouse without one of us opening a door. But I was worried that she would get lost in the twisting turning rooms and not be able to find her way back to our room. And she was still a baby, so I knew that messes were a distinct possibility. I called her name a few more times, and then retraced my steps back to the kitchen. No luck. "Anna, you are a little stinker!" I whispered into the dark apartment as I tiptoed back to my room. I left the door cracked, hoping that she would simply find her way back. I got ready for bed and crawled under the soft duvet. I called Anna's name one more time before I fell into a deep sleep that sucked me under until the alarm went off.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Max
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of purring as a small gray kitten mushed my chest and drooled.
"Uh, excuse me," I said as I picked her up and moved her onto the duvet. "You're supposed to be sleeping in the other room, small creature."
Anna looked up at me with her big blue eyes and chirped once before she hopped down off of the bed and headed toward the door. I watched as she slipped out and then grabbed the remote and turned on the morning news.
"We have breaking news this morning; there's been yet another shooting on the west side of the city and we go live to our Action Team reporter Mia Rogers on site. Mia, what are they saying about this shooting?" the anchor said as she turned and looked at the screen where the reporter held a microphone waiting to inform viewers.
"Dana, the Wicker Park Chief of Police, Randall Washington, says that the shootings took place early this morning and involved members of at least one known Russian gang involved in a long-running feud here on the city's west side. Police are not releasing the identities of the two men who were shot, but they say it has all the markings of an execution and that the two men may have known their attackers. This is Mia Rogers reporting for Action News on the scene in Wicker Park. Back to you, Dana."
I shut the television off and sat down on the edge of the bed as I tried process what had happened and how I was going to respond. The violence was getting worse. Papa and Kristov were right: We needed to rein in the younger bratán or we were going to wind up with an all-out war on our hands. I bent over and rested my elbows on my knees as I held my head in my hands. The last thing I wanted was to be pulled into this war while I was trying to make a deal with Sergei Petrov. If he smelled the mafia anywhere near me, he'd turn and take his money elsewhere. I was between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to go.
"Max, do you want a cup of coffee?" Lexi called as she tapped lightly on the door. I got up, walked over, and opened it.
"Sure, I'd-" I stopped mid-sentence as I looked at Lexi with her nightshirt slipping off one shoulder, her hair pulled into a ponytail, and holding out a steaming cup of coffee with a smile. I felt the rush of blood leaving my brain.
"I'm sorry Anna woke you up," she said as she held the coffee cup out toward me. "I didn't mean for her to get out of my room. I'll be more careful in the future."
"It's okay." I took the cup wishing it was something much bigger so I could use it to cover my growing erection. "She didn't do any damage, just a little drool on the pillow."
"I'll wash those for you, if you want me to," she offered. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Dressed for business and wearing makeup, Lexi was striking, but without all of the fuss and paint, she was simply beautiful.
"Don't be silly," I said. "I've got a staff who does all of that for me, and they'll be doing it for you, too."
"Oh, right," she said as her smile dimmed. "I know it's weird, but I keep forgetting you have money. Why don't you act like you're rich?"
"It's a long story," I said, sipping from the cup. It tasted awful. I tried to maintain a casual tone as I asked, "How did you make the coffee?"
"I just scooped it out of the jar on the counter and made it the usual way," she said looking at me quizzically. "Why, is there something wrong with it?"
"Well…" I hesitated.
"You hate it," she said reaching for the cup. "Here, let me take that. I'll go make a fresh pot. Maybe that'll be better."
"No, no, no." I gripped the cup of coffee as I moved toward the hallway. "Let me make us a fresh pot."
She followed me into the kitchen were I quickly realized that she'd put the espresso grounds from the ceramic recycling pot into the coffeemaker.
"Oh, I see, well, you used the old grounds from yesterday's coffee to make this pot," I laughed as I dumped the second-time-around grounds back into the recycling container, and then opened the cabinet and took out a tin of beans. "The fresh stuff is here."
"Oh no!" she said. "No wonder it tasted so awful! And you drank it anyway!"
We both dissolved into laughter as I ground the fresh beans and put the pot on to brew before I began making breakfast. Normally I skipped breakfast or ate a protein bar on the way to the store, but this morning, I played the good host and scrambled eggs and browned sausages while Lexi made the toast. We each performed our breakfast duties in silence.