Authors: Kirsten DeMuzio
Kat nodded but didn’t look convinced. For someone who liked to keep herself so closed off, she obviously had the ability to care deeply.
“She can recover here, and stay as long as she likes. This floor is exclusively for employees of the hotel. Luke has a room here, as does Janice, though she rarely stays here.”
Kat looked at the doors lining the hallway, wondering if one of them was his.
“You may also stay here, of course,” he said, watching for her reaction.
Immediately Kat shook her head. “I might work for you, but I’m not going to live here. I have my
apartment, and Blade…” Her eyebrows drew down and she frowned.
“Would you like to go pick him up? I will allow an exception to the No Pets Allowed rule…for you.”
Kat considered the offer. She didn’t want Larissa to be alone tonight, but she didn’t want Alexander to think she was getting comfortable here. In the end, her compassion for her friend won out.
“Okay, let me just go in and tell Larissa that I’ll be right back.”
One small victory, thought Alexander. And more time to spend with the beautiful Katya Rossi.
A cold wet nose against her cheek woke Kat up. She rubbed her eyes and saw there was sunlight streaming through the crack in the heavy drapes. Her neck was stiff and her lower back was sore from sleeping in the chair. But that wasn’t anything new. The last time she had slept in a bed was when she had been tied to it.
Blade blinked his dark brown eyes, and his tongue snaked out leaving a trail of slobber up the side of Kat’s face.
She wiped her cheek on her shoulder and ruffled the fur on his big head. Stretching out her limbs and sitting up, Kat saw that Larissa was still asleep in the big plush bed. She might sleep half the day due to the pain medication the doctor had shot her up with the night before. At least she hadn’t needed to go to the hospital.
Blade picked up his leash in his mouth and came back to sit in front of Kat.
“Okay, I can take a hint,” Kat laughed. “Wanna go for a walk?”
Blade’s answer was to stand up and trot to the door and back. Kat clipped on his leash even though she didn’t really need to. It was more for other people than for Blade. The guests of the Onyx might not like a hundred pound Rottweiler trotting freely through the lobby. Kat pulled on her boots and shut the door to Larissa’s room behind her quietly.
There didn’t seem to be a button to the service entrance, and Kat guessed it required some sort of code. So she ended up walking Blade through the main lobby after all. After walking Blade for twenty minutes, Kat returned to the elevator bank only to find the elevator buttons stopped on the floor below where Larissa was staying. Again with the secret codes.
With a frustrated roll of her eyes, Kat pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and called Alexander. She was surprised when it was Luke who answered.
“Kat. What do you need?”
Definitely not the usual greeting she got when she called that number.
“Hello to you too, Luke. I need the code to get back to the employee floor.”
“It’s 8988.”
“Okay, thanks.” Kat ended the call and punched in the code.
Not that she was one for unnecessary pleasantries, but she got the feeling that Luke was not her biggest fan.
Kat slipped back into Larissa’s room where her friend was still out cold. Gathering up the bag she had packed the night before when she returned home to pick up Blade, Kat went into the massive bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. When she finally emerged from the hot shower, Kat heard voices in the bedroom - Larissa’s and…Luke’s?
Hoping he was minding his manners with Larissa, Kat quickly got dressed in her usual uniform of skinny jeans and a long sleeve black shirt.
She braided her damp hair and threw on the bare minimum of makeup. When she left the bathroom with her bag over her shoulder, she found Larissa sitting up in bed with a tray of food next to her. Luke was sitting on the edge of the chair where Kat had slept. And Blade was sitting next to him on the floor getting an ear scratch.
Kat glanced at Luke briefly before setting down her back and sitting on the foot of the bed. “How are you feeling?” she asked Larissa.
Larissa self-consciously ran her hand over her bruised face and tangled hair. “I could use a shower, but I don’t feel too bad considering...” She didn’t need to finish that sentence.
Luke cleared his throat and stood up. “I just stopped by to see how she was feeling.
And to let her know that this room is hers for as long as she likes. Alexander has let HR know that Larissa will start work as soon as she is up to it.”
Larissa pulled the covers up higher around her waist. “I really appreciate all of this. I don’t think I can go back there.”
Luke nodded once. “You won’t have to. We’ll handle having your things brought over and the lease on your apartment wrapped up.”
He started toward the door, and Kat narrowed her eyes. She smiled at Larissa before following Luke out into the hallway.
“That’s pretty generous of your boss,” Kat commented.
Luke paused for a moment before turning around to face her. “Yes it is.
But she is
your
friend.” His tone suggested he didn’t agree with Alexander’s generosity or his association with Kat.
Never one to back down or play nice, Kat said, “What’s your problem with me, Luke?”
Luke frowned as he regarded her. “I have doubts about where your loyalties lie,” he said bluntly.
Kat crossed her arms over her chest. “What’
s that supposed to mean?”
“I know about your relationship with Agent Lewis. You can’t blame me for not trusting you around Alexander when you have a long standing
friendship
with the FBI agent assigned to bring him down.” Luke shrugged casually, though Kat got the distinct impression there was nothing casual about this man. In that way he was very similar to Alexander.
“My loyalties lie with myself,” Kat replied. “Alexander and I have a deal, and my friendship with Colin has nothing to do with that. I would never go back on my word. And it’s not like the authorities have exactly been helpful in my experience.”
Luke studied her with sharp eyes. “Turning him isn’t the only way you could hurt him.”
Kat cocked an eyebrow.
Luke shook his head. “You hold all the power, Kat. Don’t use it against him,” he said as if he knew exactly what that felt like.
After Luke walked away, Kat stood in the hallway for a while, mulling over the strange conversation. She wasn’t offended, because she could see that Luke was only protecting his friend. But she didn’t even pretend to understand what he had meant when he said she held all the power. It was almost unfathomable that Alexander
Petrovsky would not be in total control of every situation.
“I have the contracts ready for your signature, Mr. Petrovsky,” Janice said as she laid the thick stack of documents on Alexander’s desk.
“Thank you, Janice,” Alexander murmured as he flipped to the marked pages and scrawled his name in black ink. “Were there any issues on the floor last night?”
“No, sir. In fact, Vivienne brought in two new accounts yesterday.”
“Excellent. It’s good to know she’s earning that hefty salary we’re paying her. Let her know I’ll be glad to come down on the floor and meet them tonight.”
“Very well, sir. Will there be anything else right now?” Janice asked as she gathered up the thick stack of freshly signed documents.
Alexander
steepled his fingers underneath his chin. “Hmmm. Reserve my table in the steakhouse for eight o’clock.”
“For how many?”
“Two.”
“Of course, sir.”
Alexander leaned back in his leather chair as Janice left his office. Now all he had to do was figure out how to convince Miss Rossi to join him for dinner. While he was pondering how to approach her, his direct line to Gil Westin rang.
“Hello, Gil. What do you have for me?” Alexander asked because Gil never just called to chat.
“There’s a party tonight. I think it’s our best shot at getting a name.”
“What kind of party?” Alexander asked and frowned as he listened to what Gil said.
“Do you want me to send someone?” Gil asked.
“No. I’ll go myself,” Alexander replied.
“Are you sure? You don’t exactly keep a low profile, Mr. Petrovsky. I’m not sure you want to be associated with this type of thing.”
Alexander’s voice was low and no nonsense when he spoke. “You let me worry about my reputation, Gil. Just send me the contact and the address.”
“Yes, sir.”
Alexander hung up the phone, his hand lingering over the receiver after he set it down. He could have let Gil send one of his men in undercover. That’s probably what he should have done and would have in any other situation. But this had become personal for him.
He wanted to see this through, and not just because he had given Kat his word. Alexander wanted revenge for what had been done to her as well.
Picking up the phone he had just set down, Alexander pushed a button and waited. Kat answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hello,
Katya.”
Before he had a chance to explain the reason for his call, she said, “Thank you for helping Larissa. What you’ve done is way beyond what I expected.”
Alexander was stunned silent for a moment by the genuine emotion in her voice, and he wished they were having this conversation face to face.
“You’re welcome. Contrary to popular belief, my heart is not actually frozen in my chest.”
Kat laughed softly, and the sound was beautiful to him.
“I have received a call from Mr. Westin. He has a lead that I believe is worth checking out.”
“What is it?” Kat asked, all softness gone from her voice, replaced by the steely resolve he was more familiar with.
“There is an event being held tonight at a private estate. Gil believes some of the guests in attendance will know the name of the man you are seeking.”
“What time do we go?”
“
I
will be going at ten o’clock.”
“
You’re fucking crazy if you think I’m not going with you,” Kat nearly shouted into the phone.
Alexander smiled to himself at the fire in her voice
, even though the thought of her near the kind of people at this party made his blood run cold.
“This event may bring up some bad memories for you. You may see some things that will remind you of what you have been through,” Alexander warned.
Kat was silent and he could imagine the wheels turning in her head.
“I’m going,” she said firmly as if she were trying to convince herself as much as him.
Alexander pursed his lips but knew any argument on his part was futile.
“As you wish.
We will depart from the hotel at nine thirty. I would love if you would accompany me for dinner beforehand. We can discuss our strategy.”
“Fine.”
“And one more thing, Katya. You will need to dress appropriately for this party.”
“What’s appropriate?”
Alexander sighed. “You will need to appear as though you are a high class hooker.”
Again there was a moment of silence as Kat considered the implications of this.
“I think I know just the person to help me with that,” she said. Alexander didn’t have to guess who that was.
“Very well.
I will pick you up at Larissa’s room at precisely eight o’clock.”
“Great,” Kat said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
The line went dead and Alexander immediately dialed the number Gil had sent over to him. As a man who always toed the line of legality, Alexander wasn’t offended by much. But the call he was making now turned his stomach. Normally he had Janice make any social arrangements for him. However, this was one call he had to make himself.
“Hello?” answered a gravelly voice.
“I am interested in securing admission to the event this evening at 414 Barron Drive.”
“How you’d get this number?” the voice said suspiciously.
“I don’t reveal my sources,” Alexander replied smoothly.
“What’s your name?”
“Alexander Petrovsky.”
There was a moment of hesitation and then, “Seriously?”
“Dead serious.”
“Yeah, sure.
I’ll put your name on the list. Make sure you bring ID.”
“I’ll do that,” Alexander said and promptly hung up.
Glancing at the time, Alexander saw he had four hours before his dinner with Kat. Pushing down his intercom button he spoke to Janice. “Janice, please call Vivienne and have her come up here.”
He would be otherwise engaged this evening, so
he would have to speak with The Onyx’s Director of New Accounts now. Though his mind always seemed to be on Miss Rossi lately, Alexander still had a business to run.