Her smile faltered, and she blinked in surprise at his blatant refusal. Sevastyan’s jaw ticked with more than just irritation. Fury slowly built and if Indigo wasn’t careful, she’d find herself looking for another job.
“What I mean to say is someone should be with her at all times, being new and all.” This time all the sweetness from her voice had faded. That gave him pause.
Sevastyan considered his secretary for a moment. “Odd choice of words, Indigo. Don’t you think? Ms. Carmichael has worked here for the past several weeks. Knows some of the ropes. I don’t like word games, so what are you not saying?” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked pointedly at her.
She crossed her arms over her chest and donned a pensive look. “I’ve heard rumblings through the members. Bjorn. The man I’m dating, which I don’t think is any secret.
He nodded and motioned for her to continue.
“He’s heard some of them talking about her, too. The biggest question? How much it would take to convince you to let them have a taste. Especially the Colombian mafia. You know how big an appetite they have for the exotic.”
At the mention of one of Haven’s most frequent members he stiffened. The only reason he allowed the cold-blooded murderers in their territory was for information. That would change after tonight.
Sevastyan cursed viciously, his fingers curling into a fist at his side.
“We’re not a whore house where anyone can walk in and buy a few hours with whoever they like. Employees of this establishment are off-limits to the members. Period. You would do good to remember that rule, Indigo. Don’t think I’ll tolerate the shit you have with Bjorn for too long. I’ve let it slip out of respect for my brother and the year or so you had to work with him. Besides the Colombians, tell me the names of the other members who you’ve heard whisperings from.”
His secretary’s expression couldn’t settle on whether it wanted to show her obvious irritation with him or pretend interest. She batted her lashes with an air of innocence but her mouth twisted with a grimace. “I don’t know.”
He knew her answer before she opened her mouth. A low vibration of energy crawled up his arms, making the hairs rise.
Sevastyan swore again, his fury mounting. He stepped back. And worked at regaining his composure, but it took every last ounce of his self-control not to grab her by the arms and shake the names from her lips. He’d personally see to it that their status be revoked and they lost all access to Haven and any other establishment he owned in this town.
Indigo shrugged and made her way to the office door before she turned back. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but you should have thought twice about taking her out onto the main floor. I think my time with your brother affords me the luxury of saying as much. Now whisperings are making their rounds among the members. That’s dangerous, Mr. Volkov. You’ve broken your own rule tonight and now how long before someone else does?”
Damn her.
He didn’t want to admit it but there was truth to what she said. Her gaze moved from his desk to the rows of books behind him to land directly on him as she spoke.
From the beginning, he always considered her confident and trustworthy to complete the mundane tasks required of her work. The little Irish beauty caught the eye of many in the club, and with her flaming red hair pinned back to reveal a lovely heart-shaped face and big eyes, she was hard to miss. Unlike Rhia, she fit in here. Flirty, loved the attention of anyone willing to give it, and comfortable around half-naked people hitting on her. But she did nothing for him and their relationship had stayed purely professional since the day he walked through Haven’s doors and took over.
“What I do is none of your concern. If you’ve forgotten I own this establishment and will do what I please.” He didn’t appreciate the reminder he’d stepped over an invisible line he’d drawn between them and everyone else. Stepping away was the best bet, but he didn’t have that luxury. He wasn’t in the habit of lying to himself and had no intentions of starting now.
Lucian and Matteo rapped on the opened door and eased by Indigo, who excused herself quietly.
“We have a problem.” Lucian strode in first, laptop in hand, and cocked his head toward the door mouthing, “Incoming.”
“Problem is a matter of perspective,” Matteo countered and opened his office door wider to reveal a woman, gun on her hip, and the only other person in the world he’d ever seen rival his pissed-off look down to the grim flat line of her mouth.
Lucian guided her deeper into Sevastyan’s office with a gesture of his hand. “Sevastyan, Detective Vicente would like to see us.”