"Not today," Nikolai said as his eyes fastened on mine. His hard, unyielding eyes. My first instinct was to make a scene and walk away because I couldn't let him win, but something had me holding my tongue. I needed to remember to work smarter, not harder. Let Nikolai think he'd won this one.
When I stepped toward the car, I tugged my arm free. Nikolai released his hold on me. The zaps of electricity that his touch had elicited eased only slightly. Nerves continued to bounce throughout my belly as I approached the vehicle. I always used my walk to and from work to settle my mind, but surely I could do the same in the back of the car. That was my thinking, anyway, because I'd been under the impression that Nikolai would ride up front with the driver.
The asshole proved me wrong yet again.
Instead of having seats in the back that faced forward, the SUV was laid out more like a limo with the seats facing one another. So when Nikolai climbed into the vehicle behind me, he sat on the opposite bench putting him face to face with me.
So much for ignoring the man.
"It's on loan from Mr. Hayes," Nikolai said as he patted the back of his seat.
I didn't respond but that didn’t stop Nikolai from continuing on his own.
"So you get some good work done today, Jude?" he asked.
To any normal person, my silence would've been a clear sign that I wasn’t interested in conversation. But Nikolai seemed unfazed because he continued with, "Sounds like you're working on something big. Some kind of development deal? It's worth millions, right?"
I looked at him as if he'd grown another head. Millions? Really? Did he think I'd be running myself into the ground for a deal that was only worth millions?
"Billions," I corrected. "Tens of billions."
Nikolai’s smirk was proof that I'd been had. He probably knew exactly what kind of deal I was working on. I clenched my teeth together and turned my attention back to my phone.
"They say if you close this deal you’re a shoo-in for a VP role."
I wondered how he even knew all that. I doubted Cliff would've told him anything about business. The man was notoriously stingy when it came to providing any kind of details on a deal that was still in the closing phase.
"Uh-huh," I said in response. I wasn't even sure why I was responding. I was supposed to be reading the news on my damn phone.
"So I guess that answers my question," Nikolai murmured.
I told myself to ignore him, but I just couldn't. My curiosity got the better of me and I said, "What question?”
Nikolai's features were tight as he said, "Why the shit on your computer screen seems to be more valuable than your life. I guess tens of billions of dollars and a primo job promotion are more important than living long enough to see either of them."
"That's not why—" I began to say before catching myself. Nikolai, of course, latched on to my misstep.
"That's not why what?" he asked.
I shook my head and looked back down at my phone. I expected him to continue with a different line of conversation, but he remained steadfastly silent. There was no way he could've known how the knowledge that he was still mulling over the idea that I would put money above my own life would bother me.
"It's not about the money," I said lamely as I continued to look at my phone. I wasn't really seeing any of the words, though. And it had nothing to do with my inability to actually string them together in the correct order. This time it was all about my focus on the man across from me. Why did I even care what he thought?
I didn't.
Liar.
Nikolai didn't say anything to my statement. After several long beats, I found myself looking at him. I foolishly hoped maybe he was asleep and hadn’t heard my comment but no, he was watching me with penetrating eyes that had me fighting the urge to squirm in my seat.
Actually, his gorgeous dark eyes made me want to leave my seat altogether and join him on his… okay, not on his seat but on his lap.
The image of me straddling him as Nikolai settled his large hands on my backside while his mouth took ownership of mine had me muttering a soft curse beneath my breath. The rest of the short trip to my apartment building was made in silence.
I felt a little more in control once we were out of the car. Nikolai was walking slightly ahead of me as we neared the entrance of the building. His eyes continuously scanned the area around us. Not just to the left and right but above as well. I admired his focus but that didn't mean I wanted that attention on me.