Chapter 10
“What has you in such a great mood?” Arianna asked as she walked into the garden center the following morning.
Hayden laughed and did a small jig, too excited by the day to care if anyone saw her happiness. She felt like the world was wonderful again. Viktor loved her! She knew he did. No, he hadn’t said the words, but she knew it. And…he’d listened. He’d made love to her again. And then he’d kissed her goodbye. Granted, she hadn’t been sleeping, so there was no way for him to sneak away from her, but still…the sentiment had been there.
“Viktor came to talk last night and it was…sweet!” she told Arianna.
Before she could say anything more, a steady stream of vehicles pulled into the parking lot. Hayden knew that these weren’t customers, primarily because she wasn’t open yet, but also, the pickup trucks had ladders stacked on top and the other cars were too expensive.
“Uh oh,” she muttered.
Arianna glanced at her sharply, realizing that something was wrong. “Want me to handle them?” she asked.
Hayden shook her head, feeling a sense of calm sweep over her instead of the anger and frustration she’d felt the last time all of these people had descended on her house.
“Ms. Ferrant, we really need to…” the interior decorator began, stumbling over the gravel in his haste.
“No, I need you first. Mr. Chenko has set the date for your wedding, but you still haven’t chosen a wedding dress. You must choose one and start your fittings! It is imperative!”
The electrician held back, more than slightly intimidated by those two vampire ladies. But he held up his clipboard, indicating that he wanted to get started on the re-wiring tasks.
There was also the plumber and the guy with a large roll of paper that Hayden correctly discerned were the plans for the renovation of her house.
Adding to the chaos, her regular hourly workers were parking behind the house, but walking around to her, ready for their tasks for the day. But in addition, there was a van pulling into the driveway. A moment later, six more workers climbed out, clad in jeans and long sleeved shirts with work gloves ready. She knew that they were here to help move the plants and get things organized.
Too many people demanding her attention.
For a moment, she thought about getting rid of everyone. She was in too good a mood to deal with all of this petty stuff, no way was she going to handle the pushy women who thought the world began and ended with their issues! But instead of putting things off, she turned to each of them one by one.
To the electrician, “We’re not taking out a wall. If a new furnace needs to be installed or water heater removed, then the guy needs to figure out how to do it without taking down walls. Work with him and figure it out.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but she held up her hand and turned to the construction man. “As I said, I’m not tearing out walls unless absolutely necessary. And those plans in your hand,” they both looked down at the roll of plans, “they’re not going to work. Nothing is going to change until I can afford it.”
“Mr. Chenko…”
“No. Mr. Chenko is not going to pay for the renovations to my house. Period. Since I still don’t have adequate cash flow,” she had to pause because a wave of panic started to hit her, but she turned to look at Arianna and that panic subsided. Turning back to the man, she nodded. “I have your business card. I’m sorry that Mr. Chenko brought you out here. Bill his company for whatever time you’ve spent to date, but I’ll contact you when,” she was proud that she hadn’t said ‘if’, “my business is back on track.”
The man hesitated, but at the determined look in his eyes, he smiled and tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Understood, ma’am,” and he touched the brim of his hat before turning around to leave.
To the workers, she smiled at each of them. “I’ll need you to speak with Arianna over there,” she directed, pointing to the woman who was standing off to the side, a proud smile on her lovely features as she listened to Hayden with glowing approval. “She’ll have you fill out the appropriate employment forms.”
“We were hired by Mr. Chenko,” one of the stated.
“If you work for Mr. Chenko, then report to his office. If you work for me, then go speak to Arianna.” She stood there and each of the men looked as if they wanted to argue with her. But she glared right back at them, determined that each of them see her as the woman in charge. Viktor was an intimidating figure, but she wasn’t backing down. This was her business. Her turf!
One by one, the men looked at each other and shrugged. “Whatever you say, ma’am.” Apparently, they didn’t care who employed them as long as they got paid. As a group, they moved off to speak with Arianna.
“Arianna, once the forms are all filled out, I’ll work out a plan. You said that we needed to capture the street traffic. I have an idea for that and these guys can help with that this afternoon.”
Arianna nodded, then led all of them into the garden center where she would get them set up to work.
Turning back to the two obnoxious women that were left, she lifted a hand when both of them stepped forward, ready to take over her day.
“No, ladies,” she told them firmly. “I’m not choosing a wedding dress,” she told them. “And I’m not redecorating my home or figuring out which flowers I want for the wedding ceremony. Not at this point.”
“But Mr. Chenko…!”
Once again, she lifted her hands to stop their flow of words. “Mr. Chenko is not in control of my life or my schedule. As I said to the other men, if you have concerns, speak with him. If you’d like to buy a plant, or if you’re here to discuss my landscaping services, then we can talk. Otherwise, you need to leave. I’m about to open for business and your cars are parked in the parking lot.”
The women both opened their mouths to argue, but Hayden’s eyebrows went up, daring them to argue. “I’m not setting a date. End of conversation.” She could tell that she’d offended them, but Hayden didn’t care. “Furthermore, both of you approached me with condescension and demands since the moment you appeared. So, even after I set a date for my wedding, I will not be working with either of you.” She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath before continuing. “I require someone who is willing to work with me in a polite and respectful manner.” She turned to the decorator, who was smirking behind the horrible women. “And you insulted my home. A place where I grew up. So, get off of my property before I call the police and charge you with trespassing!”
The man gaped for a long moment, his face dead white. But with a huff of indignation, he turned on his heel and walked away, following behind the dress and floral women.
Hayden suspected that both of them would be calling Viktor’s office, trying to get their stories in before Hayden. She didn’t care, not even a little. She wasn’t going to be pushed around by anyone. Not even Viktor!
Thinking about Viktor, her heart softened. This morning, he’d been so…wonderful. Gentle. Amazing! The only thing that could have made this morning better was if he’d said that he loved her.
Patience, she told herself. He’d taken the first step, she could be patient while he worked things out in his mind. Until then, she needed to just believe that there really were strong feelings inside of him.
Once she was alone, she took a deep breath, centering herself. When she looked around, she realized that she should be proud of what she’d accomplished. A couple of weeks ago, she’d been on the brink of disaster, ready to sell her house and land to Viktor.
But now…because of him, she was ready to tackle the world in a new way. She wasn’t an idiot. She was unskilled! She could learn to do this and, with Arianna’s help, she was going to make this place into a success!
Walking back into the house, she pulled out the huge paper she used when drawing up landscaping designs. It took her less than twenty minutes, but she had a plan. A good plan! It was different, interesting, and would capture the interest of people driving by on the street. What’s more, she could change it with the seasons.
With her drawing in hand, she marched back outside. Her normal employees were already hard at work and she even had a few customers. Smiling to her guys, she walked over to where the new team was waiting.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” she began, spreading her plans out. She pointed to several features, assigning each of the men a different task. “Any questions?” she asked.
When they looked up and smiled, she knew that they were all on board. “Excellent! Let’s get to work!”
She felt empowered and powerful! So, when Viktor called, asking her if she could come to his place for dinner again that night, she was on cloud nine!
What was even better, she thought as she pulled a simple dress out of her closet, tugging it over her head, he’d asked. In the past, he’d simply given her orders on what to do and where to be, and she’d have to argue right back with him, refusing to be ordered around. But he’d asked her if she could have dinner with him that night!
It was a wonderful day, she thought.
Waiting in his office, she stared out the window, nervousness hitting her all of a sudden. But why should she be nervous? It was just Viktor!
But then again, it was Viktor. From the first moment she’d met him, he’d made her nervous. Now, knowing him better, but not still not well, she knew that he still made her nervous, but in a very different way. He challenged her sexually, demanding that the sensual side of her come out. She couldn’t hide behind her “good girl” demeanor when Viktor was around. He wouldn’t allow it. And whenever he touched her, she didn’t want to be that woman.
Voices behind her stopped the introspection.
When she turned around, there he was, tall, handsome, and all hers.
Except…
“The data shows that several new areas for sales should be investigated,” a tall, beautiful woman said. Her blond hair was shining and twisted up on her head in an elaborate style that Hayden could never pull off. Her red lipstick perfectly matched her red shoes and Hayden felt frumpy in her dress while the red-taloned woman touched Viktor’s arm.
Hayden’s temper fired up as she watched that woman try to flirt with Viktor. Instinctively, she took control, tossing all of her insecurities away because…because another woman was touching Viktor!
Stepping in between Viktor and the woman, she felt small, but refused to show it. “Get your hands off of him,” she snapped.
The woman was stunned for a long moment, but she recovered quickly. “I beg your pardon?”
Hayden wasn’t fooled. The woman was eyeing Viktor as if he was a piece of candy and she was a toddler.
“No. You’re not excused,” Hayden snapped. She stepped backwards, feeling Viktor’s arm wrap around her waist. “You need to leave and, just a warning, if you ever touch Viktor again, you’ll have to deal with me.”
The woman’s overly glossed, devil’s red lips opened and closed, her eyes darting upwards to see how Viktor was taking this threat. But when the woman realized that Viktor was not only going to allow Hayden’s words to stand, he had actually pulled Hayden closer, the woman spun around, almost tripping on her four inch heels in her efforts to get away.
Hayden slammed the door closed after the woman was gone, then spun around to confront Viktor. “You let her touch you!” she hissed.
Viktor’s body reacted as it always did when Hayden was close by. But his reaction was even more pronounced as he watched Hayden, shy and gentle Hayden, become furiously jealous and almost tangibly angry. What was it about her that made this lust so intensely powerful? If she was happy, he wanted her. If she was angry, he wanted her. If she was jealous, he wanted her!
There was almost nothing this woman could do that didn’t excite, fascinate, and entrance him. She’d said that he loved her. Was this love? Was this warm, intense passion…love? Months ago, he would have said it was simple lust. But he’d experienced lust before. This was more. This was different.
Looking down into her flashing eyes, he knew that he wasn’t sure how to define it, but he wasn’t going to hide from it any longer. Not after being away from her for three days. “You’re jealous,” he observed, his body hard and aching for her now. He reached around her and locked the door to his office. The snick of the lock sounded loudly and he knew what she was thinking.
“Don’t!” she snapped at him, lifting her finger to ward him off.
“Don’t what, my dear?” he asked, taking her finger and lifting it to his mouth. His teeth nibbled on the tip and he laughed with the shivers that rippled throughout her body.
She tried to pull her fingers out of his grasp, but as usual, he wouldn’t allow that. “Don’t do this. I’m angry with you!”
“I can see that,” he told her. “And I’m angry with you.”
She tried to pull out of his arms but he held her firmly. “Why are you angry with me?”
“Because you’ve forced me to look at my feelings for you.
Her eyes widened with that admission. “And that’s a bad thing?” she asked, stepping backwards. They were heading towards the conference table. Again! He smiled, his body aching and he wanted to rip that dress off. It was an ugly dress. He made a mental note to take her out shopping tonight. Afterwards.
He loved her yelp of surprise when he lifted her up and placed her on the polished surface of the conference table. She looked beautiful sitting there, but not quite right. His hands pressed against her knees, spreading her legs and she gasped, trying to stop him. So he lifted the hem of her ugly dress, sliding his hands up against the bare skin of her thighs.
“What are you doing?”
He laughed, sensing her nervousness, but he also knew that she was almost as turned on as he was. “You haven’t set a date for our wedding. And you fired the wedding coordinator this morning.”
Hayden gasped when his fingers slid underneath her underwear. She tried to concentrate, but his fingers! They were…so good! Amazing! She closed her eyes, unaware of how her body arched into his fingers.
“I didn’t like her, she was rude.”
“Fine. I’ll have my assistant find another. Set a date, Hayden.”
She shook her head. “Just…touch me!” she gasped, grabbing his wrist.
Viktor pulled the condom out of his pocket. He’d learned to keep several close by after being with Hayden the first time. “Set a date and I’ll give you what you want.”
She shook her head, trying to pull away from him. But he was stronger than she was and…well, definitely more experienced. When she tried to grab his wrists and pull them away from their tormenting intent, Viktor wouldn’t allow it.
He smiled down at her, winning the battle with his intent. His fingers slid into her wet heat and he watched as he teased and tormented her slick folds. “Ya lyublyu tebya, Hayden,” he growled moments before she exploded from his expert ministrations.
When she quieted and was able to breathe again, she looked up at him. “What did you say?” she asked. He was busy rolling the condom down his length and she wasn’t concentrating too well.
He took her hand and pressed it against his chest, which was now exposed, then grabbed her legs, sliding her right to the edge of the conference table. “Touch me!” he commanded. He released her hand and pressed into her heat, his head bowing as she tightened around him. But her hands reached up, sliding over his hard muscles. Every thrust, every movement inside of her brought her closer and closer to release. “I love you, Viktor,” she told him only moments before her second climax hit her. When she screamed again, he absorbed her cries with his kiss even as he poured himself into her heat.
A long time later, as he held her curled up on his lap on the leather sofa of his sitting area, she looked up at him. “You love me, don’t you?”
Viktor lifted his head, the contentment evaporating as he looked first at her lovely, sated features, and then at the hopeful, yet wary, look in her eyes.
With a sigh, he stood up, carefully placing her down in the chair. With jerky movements, he walked over to his clothes and pulled them back on. He knew that she was doing the same thing, but he couldn’t watch her. If he did, he would only turn around and watch and…well, he needed to keep some distance between them. He couldn’t have her, so he needed to keep her away from him.
“Why is loving me such an awful prospect?” she asked softly, standing in the middle of his office, now dressed in that hideous dress.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, staring out at the dark skyline. He contemplated ignoring her question. He needed to take her shopping. She needed food. But he did neither. He simply stood there, staring out at the darkness and trying to figure out what to say.
“My father, he loved my mother more than anything,” he finally admitted.
He felt her move closer, but turned around, not allowing her comfort this time.
“Is that a bad thing?” she asked.
Thankfully, the lighting was dim enough that he couldn’t really see her eyes. He didn’t want to see them now. Not with this admission looming over him. But he also knew that he needed to make her understand. “Yes. His love…it was bad.” He sighed, shaking his head as he looked out at nothing. “My mother wasn’t…. She hated my father. She mocked him.”
He turned, looking at her now, trying to determine if she understood what he was telling her.
Her pretty eyes showed her concern, but he could tell that she didn’t fully understand. He could barely see them, but he knew. “But…why?”
He rubbed the back of his neck as he moved over to his desk. He wasn’t really looking at the contracts or reports that were stacked to one side. He was keeping himself from pulling her into his arms. He wanted to hold her, desperately, but memories of his father’s pain held him back.
“Because my mother hated him. Despised him, actually.”
Hayden couldn’t believe that. Unfortunately, the truth was evident in every taut line of his body. “Why did she hate him?”
He shrugged. “Maybe because she hated the poverty that they lived in. She’d met him while they were both on vacation and believed that he was wealthier. She’d married him thinking he would take her out of the slums where she grew up. But he wasn’t any better off than her own family.” He sighed. “Worse in some ways.”
“Yes, but being poor doesn’t always go hand in hand with misery. Many families don’t have a lot, but they love each other,” she argued.
He looked down at her, enjoying the gentleness of her touch and her sincerity. She genuinely believed that, he realized. “My mother called my father names until the day she left. I never heard from her after that.”
Hayden wrapped her arms around his waist, tightening her hold when he tried to pull away. She pressed kisses against his chest, refusing to let him push her out of his arms. “Mothers should never leave. Nor should fathers, but…”
“Hayden, you live in a fantasy world.”
She shook her head. “No. My parents weren’t very well off either. In fact, my father was one of the worst farmers in the history of my family, which is why I was in such bad financial shape.” Looking up at him, she tried to get him to understand. “My parents loved each other and they loved me. We might not have had much, but we laughed and lived in that small house until they died. Those were some of the happiest times of my life.”
He couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her any longer. There was just something about this woman that he needed, a nurturing that called to him, and he couldn’t resist her any longer.
“My father said that loving a woman makes a man a fool,” he explained.
She kissed his chest again. “You love me. You’re not a fool.”
There was a long silence as he contemplated the truth of that. He’d said it in his ancestral language many times, but hearing her tell him that, it made his mind…
No, this time, there was no panic. Not with Hayden. She was loyal, beautiful, and rejected everything his money could give her. She loved him for himself, not for his money or power. The truth of her words hit him like an explosion and he couldn’t deny the truth any longer.
“I love you,” he finally admitted in English. His arms tightened around her as he said it again. “God help me, but I love you, Hayden!”
She tightened her arms around his waist and he could barely breathe. Not because of her arms, but because of the release that he was feeling. It was almost euphoric. He felt the same this moment as he normally did when he was inside of her heat, feeling her inner muscles tightening around him. \
Better, actually. “I love you!”
“I love you too!” she replied warmly. “I love you and you’re not a fool.”
He pulled back as gently as he could, glaring at her. “Then set a date!”
She laughed, thinking he was the most amazing man in the world. “Tomorrow,” she whispered.
He rolled his eyes. “You fired the wedding coordinator,” he reminded her.
She shrugged. “Viktor, I don’t need all of the elaborate wedding plans. I don’t need flowers, a church, and a dress from Paris or Milan. I don’t need a line of bridesmaids or an expensive reception with musicians, champagne, and a ten course meal.” She raised up on her toes and kissed his jaw. “Just you,” she kissed his chest, “and a minister.” She thought about it for a moment, “How about a beach somewhere warm?” she offered.
He thought about it, then nodded. “Done,” he told her. But in his mind, he was already planning to give her all of the fuss that she claimed she didn’t need.