Rogue Hearts

“Yeah, she is.”

After talking it over with Erik, Andrei knew that he had to give this relationship some serious thought. He knew that his life, career, and his eternal happiness would depend on the type of decisions that he made over the next few days.

Problems hit him as soon as he got back to the office. His father was there to greet him as soon as he got off the damn elevator.

“What the hell did you do now?” his father roared. His father obviously didn’t care that the staff heard him. They knew better than to stare though. Otherwise, they’d be in the receiving end of his anger.

Andrei refused to play. Not when he has so much on his mind already. He started walking to his office, hoping his father waited until they got there to have one of his blowouts. “I’m sure you’ll tell me sooner or later.”

“Judge Hughes called me. He wants someone else on the Stavenoff case. Are you involved with the ADA?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” he said. He closed the door after his father followed him into his office.

“Good because it looks like you’re sleeping with the ADA and ruining this firm’s reputation.”

“That’s all you see, but—”

“I will not have our reputation ruined just because you wanted to get your rocks off.”

“Would you let me talk?! Her name is Victoria, and she’s more than just someone I want to get my rocks off with. We didn’t even know that we would be on the same case today.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“You’re going to believe what you want to believe. I have no control over that. Never did. But believe me when I tell you that this is more than just some fling.”

“I don’t care what it is. You end it and you end it now, or you won’t like the repercussions.” His father didn’t give him a chance to respond. Instead, he stormed out of his office and slammed the door shut.

His father had riled him up. He gripped the edge of his desk tightly to keep from running after the man and setting him straight, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. When his father made up his mind about something, he stayed that way. He was stubborn like a mule.

End i

t? He only had a few hours to go before he saw Victoria again, but his father made things more difficult. The last thing he ever want to do was hurt her, but maybe they both need a reality check about what their relationship meant for the careers and their futures.

Chapter 10

Andrei

Victoria met him at his place at seven thirty. He realized, oddly, that she didn’t know where he lived, until he texted her his address after his encounter with his father. Of course he lived in a swanky high rise, but he made his place his own with interesting artwork that filled his walls and gave life to the dead space around the open area.

“Wine?” he asked her.

“Yes, please,” she said.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” he said, sitting on the couch. He’d gotten it from a meal service that just told him to pop it into the oven for 15 minutes before serving. He was grateful that she followed him into the living room. He wasn’t enjoying the fact that she sat so far away from him, but he would go with whatever made her comfortable.

“We must figure this thing out, Victoria. Exactly where do we stand?”

Victoria took a deep breath. “I like you, Andrei. I really do. Honestly, I can’t get you off my mind.”

He grinned at her words. “Really?” He was going to say she invaded his thoughts, too, but he waited. He liked the fact that she thought about, and got him hard thinking about the fantasies that probably crossed her mind as much as he did his.

He moved closer to her, crowding her space. He wanted her to think of nothing but hum as she chose her next words carefully.

“This is insane,” she said. “I can’t do this if it’s going to impact my work.”

“Why do I hear a but in there?” He placed a hand on her bare knee and made circles on the smooth skin.

“My job is my life. I’ve worked hard to get where I am today. The last thing that I need is a distraction, and you distract the hell out of me.”