But he’d already shown that as important as his own plans for AIH were to Vik, he would not ignore Maddie’s happiness. He’d offered to buy her a building for her dream as a wedding gift.
Calculated? Maybe, but for her benefit, not to her detriment.
Vik’s silence was answer enough. Not only had he strategized, but he’d also started working on her father already. Jeremy had come to the whole “his daughter must marry to save herself and the company’s reputation” pretty darn quickly otherwise.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this,” she admitted.
She understood. To an extent.
But it still felt like she’d been maneuvered.
Vik’s touch finally strayed entirely from her dress to the upper swell of her breasts, tracing the same path as before, only along her skin this time. “While you are deciding, take into account that if you had been a different woman, my plans would have taken a different direction.”
She shivered, her breath quavering in her chest until another thought came to her. “You would have taken AIH out from under my father?”
Horrified because as much as she didn’t get her father, she loved him, and she was certain Vik would have done exactly that. Rather than allow a stranger to come in and take over what he considered to be his.
Vik shrugged, neither confirming, nor denying. “It was not necessary.”
“You said Jeremy is your friend.”
“He is.”
“But you would still take his company.”
“I would not have betrayed him.”
No. That wasn’t Vik’s style. “You still would have figured out a way.”
“Does that upset you?”
“I said before that you’re ruthless.”
“This is not news.”
No, it really wasn’t. “My mind doesn’t work like yours.”
“Make no mistake, you have your own brand of ruthlessness, but if you were too much like me, we would not fit so well together.” Both his hands moved to settle on her waist.
She was distracted by the sensation of his thumbs brushing up and down against her lower ribs. “You think we fit?”
“I know we do.”
“So, you’re saying you don’t just want the company. You want me, too.” Not just sex with her, but Maddie as a complete person.
At least the Madison Archer he knew about. What would Vik think of Maddie Grace?
“You will support my dreams in a way a woman of less strength could not do.”
“Your plans would have been really messed up if I’d picked one of the other candidates Jeremy put forward.” She gave in to the irresistible urge to poke at the bear.
Vik’s gorgeous mouth twisted in disdain. “You were never going to choose another man.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I know.”
“Another word for excessive confidence is arrogance.”
“I prefer honest.”
She laughed softly and then had a revelation. “You manipulated the choice of candidates.”
“I was not expecting Maxwell Black.”
“Neither was I.” And she still wanted to know what the man had done to Romi. “He’s intense.”
“He’s a good businessman.”
“Is he honorable?”
“Yes.”
“As honorable as you?”
Vik considered his answer for a second. “I would do business with him on a handshake.”
“Good to know.”
“Why? Considering your options?” He didn’t sound too worried by the prospect.
“According to you, there are no other options.”
“True.” Vik looked like he was considering what he was going to say next. “We grew up together.”
“What? Like in the same neighborhood?”
“Same Russian-American-dominated street, same school, same afternoons spent in activities sponsored by the Russian cultural center.”
“Were you friends?”
“We still are...of a sort.”
“You’re too alike to be really close.”
“We jockeyed for the top place in class until we went to different universities.”
“No one else had a chance.”
“No.”
Maddie bit her lip, but finally decided she would be honest about her concerns. “Romi dated him.”
Vik’s gaze flared. “I see.”
“He’s intense,” Maddie repeated.
“Are they still dating?”
“No.”
“Then...”
“I don’t need to be worried?”
“He is a good man.”
When it was Viktor Beck making the claim, Maddie believed him.
“Are you really spending the night?” she asked, focusing on what mattered most in the present moment.