On my way to the office, I was swarmed with memories of him playing with me on the balcony, then in the shower, and then on various surfaces in the kitchen, but this time I didn’t feel any shame about what happened between us. He was right. There was nothing wrong about it. I wanted more of domineering Stone, and I couldn’t wait to experience more.
My head was in the clouds when I arrived at work, and at first, I thought Stone was going to call me to his office and seduce me, but he didn’t, and a strange feeling of disappointment settled in me, which was ridiculous. I was well aware of the nature of our “relationship”, if I could actually call it that, so I was supposed to know better. This was just sex, nothing else, and at work we had to keep up the pretense. He was my boss. I was just an IT technician. Nothing more, nothing less.
I almost convinced myself of that when his message arrived saying he wanted to go to lunch with me, and it was almost pathetic at how giddy I felt upon seeing those words. Without even thinking twice, I accepted it, almost counting hours until lunchtime.
A permanent smile etched to my face, and I felt like melting from the inside out when I thought about Stone and how he made me feel. I woke up in his arms tightly wrapped around me, feeling safe, like he cared about me, and I could feel myself falling for him even more.
In fact, I was head over heels for him, unable to get him out of my head. I was sure I was in for a serious heartbreak if I didn’t put a stop to these rising feelings and hope. However, that was easier said than done.
My phone rang, and I grinned like a lunatic, thinking it was Stone that was calling me, but then I looked at the screen and saw it was Kaelyn. This reminded me that I still hadn’t told her anything about Stone. What would I say, anyway?
“Hey, Kaelyn. What’s up?”
“Hi, Saylor. Look, I don’t want to worry you or anything, but I was at the grocery store an hour ago, and I think someone was following me.” Her distressed voice along with the meaning of her words scared the hell out of me.
“What? Are you sure?”
“Yes. I thought I was imagining things when I noticed him walk behind me on the street, but then I entered the grocery store and he was right there. He didn’t even buy anything. It was unnerving, to say the least.”
Oh my God. “Where are you now? Are you okay?”
She let out a chuckle, but it was as clear as day that she was disturbed and downplaying this. “Calm down, sis. I’m at home now, and everything is fine. I managed to shake him off.”
“How can you tell me to calm down when you’re clearly upset? And someone following you isn’t something unimportant. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m okay. I was just weirded out by him.”
“Have you called the police?”
She scoffed. “Come on, Saylor. What could I tell them? ‘Hello, I think one man was following me.’ I don’t even have any proof.”
“I’m sure there were cameras in that store. You could use the video footage—”
“He didn’t even come close to me. The police would say he acted strange at best, but it’s not enough to actually do something about him.” She let out a sigh. “I probably imagined it all anyway,” she reassured me, but it wasn’t reassuring in the least.
“Either way, I don’t feel good with you staying at your place all alone with Amelia. I can stay with you if you want. Or better yet, you and Amelia can come stay with me.”
“No. There is no need for that. Amelia and I will be fine.”
I groaned. “Ugh, you’re so stubborn.”
“Someone has to be, sis.”
I wasn’t satisfied. I wasn’t satisfied at all, adamant on helping her. As soon as we ended the call, I headed up to Stone’s office to ask for a few days off. I was going to show up at my sister’s place and surprise her anyway. She could throw a fit all she wanted, but I wasn’t going to stand aside and do nothing while she faced danger. Maybe I was overreacting, but better safe than sorry.
I hadn’t even realized my hands were shaking, scared for my sister and niece. This was one of the moments when I hated that she was all by herself at her place, and I wished she wouldn’t be so stubborn and let me help her for a change. What was wrong about helping your sister? She would do the same for me.
I entered the elevator and was about to press the button for Stone’s floor when a tall, bulky guy dressed in a black jacket and black jeans got inside in the last possible moment before the doors closed in.
“Phew! I’ve almost missed it,” he said and stopped too close to me to be considered normal.
I shifted on my feet, growing uncomfortable. There was something about this guy that I didn’t like, and now that I heard someone was following Kaelyn, I was even more anxious about this than I would usually have been.
My fear hit an all-time high when the guy moved and stopped the elevator, turning to face me with a serious expression, and my heart was sent into overdrive.
“What are you doing?” I asked in a high-pitched voice, backing away from him until I was pressed against the wall.
“I’m special agent Edvard Snell,” he said and showed me his FBI badge. “I’m working on a case trying to catch all members of the bratva, and my current mission is to catch Stone Testova.”
I frowned at him, taken aback with this huge bomb he’d just dropped on me.
I raised my hands in the air in the stop-motion. “Wait, wait, wait. What?”
Something indescribable that didn’t sit well with me flashed through his eyes, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. “Stone Testova is a part of the bratva. If you don’t know, bratva is the Russian mafia. We’ve been trying to deal with them for years now, but only recently we’ve found out that Stone Testova is a member of their organization as well.”
A sinking feeling settled in my stomach, and I had to hold myself against the wall, suddenly too weak to stand. I couldn’t believe this. Stone was a part of the mafia? He was a criminal? Oh my God. It was impossible. It couldn’t be.
“Why… Why are you telling me all of this?”
“We need your help to help us bring him to justice. We want to recruit you since you’re close to him.” What?!
Alarms activated in my head, my pulse racing even faster. “How do you know I’m close to him?”
“We’ve been following Stone Testova for some time.”
Jesus. I tried to comprehend this whole mess, but this was way over my head. My cheeks reddened because there was a possibility that they were on that exotic island, and just imagining them hiding in the shadows while Stone and I… Oh God. Were they there?
My fear rapidly turned into panic, and I knew I had to get away from here right away. His expression was menacing, his body too close to mine, and I couldn’t stay here even a second longer.
“I can’t deal with this now. I’m out of here,” I muttered and pressed the button to activate the elevator, but then he gripped my arm and pulled me toward him.
“We need you to cooperate,” he hissed through his clenched teeth, and I couldn’t think straight anymore. Dread clouding my mind, I kicked him in the stomach and darted out of the elevator, returning to my desk instead of going to Stone’s office.
I kept looking behind my shoulder, terrified that he might be following me, but there was no one after me. I glanced at the cameras around the office and hallways, doubting he would do anything to me with people and cameras all around.
I was still shaking when I sat down at my desk and buried my head into my hands. I didn’t want to believe what he said, but it stuck to the back of my mind. The truth was that Stone’s money could come from anywhere. He was a successful businessman, yes, but who knew what the real or main source of his money was.
Stone was tender and he never did anything to hurt me, but he had an air around him that gave a “Don’t mess with me” vibe. I felt that he could be dangerous if provoked, which was why I was now doubting everything I thought I knew about him.
Actually, no. I didn
’t know anything about him. He was just a billionaire who literally bought me for a few weeks of pleasure, and the more I thought about the possibility that he was a criminal… Besides, he had his security team around him all the time. He’d even done a background check on me. All of this was more than suspicious.
My insides churned with revulsion. If Stone was a part of the bratva… I covered my mouth with my hand, my heart hurting as if someone was breaking it piece by piece. What if I really fell for a criminal?
Desperate for answers, I opened my browser and googled bratva to see what it was. Just as Edvard Snell said, bratva was the Russian mafia, and it was its most powerful group. My hands started sweating when I put in Stone’s name. I was sickened by the possibility that I could find something about him.
However, nothing came up about him, but there were some mentions of a guy called Alexei, who had Stone’s last name. Alexei Testova, 33 years old. The man in the picture looked similar to Stone, and chills broke out on my skin. It couldn’t be his relative or something now, could it?
A mix of confusion and fear settled in me, and I really didn’t know what to think anymore. If Stone wasn’t a part of the mafia, but this man was his family member, that would mean Stone was involved as well. There was no way he could be innocent if that was the case.
I whimpered, feeling like I could start crying. I needed to go home and think all this through. I had to make some excuse to avoid lunch with Stone.
With cold hands, I picked up my phone and sent a short message to Stone, telling him I couldn’t go to lunch with him because I had a lot of work to do. Not waiting for his answer, I picked up my things and scurried out of my office, going back to my apartment.
Chapter 10
Stone
I reclined against my chair, giving up on my work because I couldn’t concentrate at all. Saylor cancelled our lunch thirty minutes ago, and I was concerned.
Did she have second thoughts? Everything was fine during the weekend, but now that we were back home, maybe she was questioning herself and me.
I tapped my fingers against my desk, growing more nervous. If this had been any other woman, I would give up on her, but for reasons I was struggling to understand, I couldn’t let Saylor go. After the weekend at that private resort, I wanted her more than ever, and what we’d had so far wasn’t even nearly enough.
Giving up on work, I decided to search for her in her office. I hoped I could get her to change her mind, but when I knocked at her door and entered, she was nowhere to be found. What was going on? Frowning, I went to one of her colleagues.
“Do you know where Saylor Owens is?”
“She left the office several minutes ago.”
I raised my eyebrows. “She left?”
She nodded, looking uncomfortable. “Yes.”
“Thanks,” I answered, annoyed that she went out without waiting for me or giving me any notice, for that matter. There was definitely something wrong if she left work early .
I went to my office, not knowing what to do. This was out of character for me because nothing ever came before my work. I had an important meeting today, and I had to stay in the office and prepare as much as I could for it, but I was restless and couldn’t stay in one place.
I began pacing around my office, weighting pros and cons of going to Saylor’s place and seeing what the hell was going on, but then the worry that she was sick won, and I headed to her apartment, to hell with work.
She opened the door with an expression that created some unpleasant feeling in my gut. She was staring at me like I was some stranger and not a person that fucked her brains out these last several days.
“Saylor, baby.” I took a step toward her, raising my hand to cup her cheek, but she turned rigid, eyeing me as if I was going to hurt her any moment.
I froze with my hand in the air, astounded by her reaction. “Saylor? Is everything alright?”
She glanced away. “Yeah. Everything is absolutely fine.”
Her body language said quite the opposite, which made me wonder what she was hiding. Besides, she didn’t leave work just because.
“Can I come in?”
She scratched her neck, still not looking at me. “Actually, I don’t feel so well. I was just about to go to sleep.”
She didn’t look sick to me, and I leaned in closer to inspect her face. She flinched, taking a step back. She was skittish.
“Did I do something wrong? If this is about this weekend—”
“No. It’s not. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She was barely looking me in the eyes. “As I told you, I really don’t feel well, so I had to come home and have some rest.”
I didn’t answer her, observing her closely. Maybe she was going through the same crisis I was—realizing she cared more than she meant to—which was why she was trying to put some distance between us. I could understand that. So I would give her some space.
“I think you’re lying to me.” She whipped her eyes over at me, paling. “I think you’re second-guessing yourself because of last weekend.”
She let out a few chuckles. “Yeah. That is… That’s it.”
“We really didn’t do anything wrong, but I understand it’s a big change, so it’s not easy to accept it. I’ll give you some time to think about it before coming to me.”
She nodded, her lips pursed. “Sure.”
I wanted to kiss her, but I knew that wouldn’t be a good idea, so I just bid her goodbye and walked away. Damn, I wanted to touch her badly.
I left her building knowing I wouldn’t let her go without a fight. I could be magnanimous and let her conclude she wanted me, because let’s face it—I was irresistible. She would come around, I was sure of it. Maybe that sounded arrogant, but that was a fact, and when she was ready to dive in to her inner desires without letting the doubt get the best of her, I would be there to give her the time of her life.
Chapter 11
Saylor
I spent the whole day locked in my place, ruminating about what that FBI agent told me over and over again. When Stone appeared at my place that afternoon, I couldn’t hide how scared I felt at suddenly seeing him in a totally new light. I wanted to dismiss what Edvard said, but there was a part of me that doubted Stone.
He paid to have you in his bed, for Christ’s sake, that accusing voice said. Yes, I was guilty for accepting the arrangement, but what kind of person made such an arrangement in the first place? He was obviously a man who always got what he wanted, and he got me too so easily. Now, it could turn out he was a part of the mafia, and it was sickening.
I called Kaelyn, ready to go to her place, but she told me she went to her friend’s place and would stay there for the day, which put me at ease. After the encounter with the FBI agent in the elevator and hearing that someone had been following her, I was all panicky.
The next morning, I rushed down the street, on my way to work, unsure about what I could say to Stone if I saw him. The more I thought about this, the more the agreement seemed like a mistake, but my heart was stubborn. It didn’t want to accept the possibility that Stone was a bad guy. Despite everything, I wanted to see him.
I had just crossed the street and entered a small alley, when someone pressed their hand against my mouth and yanked me backward.
“Mhm!” I screamed against the hand, beside myself with terror, and began kicking, but they were stronger than me. In an instant, I was shoved into a white van, and that was when the horror really struck me.
I was screaming from the bottom of my lungs, mortified when I saw an unknown guy in a black leather jacket sitting on the bench across from me.
“Relax, we won’t hurt you,” he said, raising his hands in the air, and showed me his FBI badge. “I’m a special agent Gordon Tran. I work with Edvard Snell on the Stone Testova case.” I went quiet, watching Edvard close the van doors and sit on the bench next to me, which gave rise to more fear in me. I was pushed into a van aggressively and was so close to these two guys that did
n’t inspire trust in me at all. In fact, they looked like they were a part of the mafia as well.
“How can you tell me to relax when you forced me into some goddamn van for who knows what reason?” I bit back, my voice shaking.
“This is a surveillance van,” Edvard clarified. “And we brought you here because we need your help, as I told you yesterday.”
“You forced me inside,” I said through clenched teeth, not willing to let this fact slide.
They exchanged looks, and I didn’t like what I saw. “Sorry,” Edvard said, not sounding remorseful at all. “It’s just that you wouldn’t go inside if I just approached you and asked you to come with me.”
“We are really depending on you, Saylor,” Gordon said. “We’ve been trying to catch Mr. Testova for a few months now, but that son of a bitch is tough and keeps eluding us.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“It means that we still don’t have enough concrete proof against him,” Edvard replied. “Which is why we need someone who will help us get proof and bring him down.”
“And what makes you think I would believe what any of you two say? How do I know you aren’t lying about Stone?”
Gordon raised his eyebrow. “Why would we lie? You have no clue who that son of a bitch really is. All the misdeeds he’s done… We won’t stop until we get him into jail.”
Gordon reached for a folder that was on the bench next to him and opened it. “Here are some of the facts of his crimes.”
He flipped through a few pages and stopped at the paper with a photo of some guy lying on the ground with a completely pulverized face. My eyes widened, my pulse doubling at the gruesome scene before my eyes.
“What is that?” I asked, my voice shaking. My limbs turned cold, the whole world narrowing to this place and these people who were telling me something I absolutely did not want to accept.
“That is one of Stone Testova’s past subordinates, who Testova beat to a pulp. Testova has a reputation of being a ruthless boss who is ready to punish the people who work for him in the worst way possible if they dare to betray him. We suspect this was an act of punishment.”
Love Affair with the Billionaire Page 6