Stingray Billionaire: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (68 page)

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

Lexi

As
Max held me, I
rested my head on his chest and listened to his heart beating. It was strong
and steady, and as I lay next to him, feeling his arms encircling me, I
wondered if I had just made a huge mistake. I worked for him, and now, I'd
crossed a line and become something entirely different. The question was what
that was.

I shifted a little
and pulled back so that I could look at his face. When he didn't move, I
realized he had fallen asleep on the chaise. I shook my head as I extracted
myself from his embrace and then covered him with a blanket draped over the end
of the lounge. It was warm enough to sleep outside and the sky looked clear, so
I knew he would be fine. I leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek, then stood
up, grabbed my dress and wrapped it around me as I walked back to my room. I
looked for Anna, but when I couldn't find her, I assumed she was still fast
asleep in Max's room, so I left the door cracked and went to bed.

I lay there in the
darkness thinking about everything that had happened and my head spun with the
mix of images and sensations. I'd landed a second audition for a major role,
and then, I'd ended up having sex on the balcony of my boss's penthouse with
him. As I turned it over and over again, I feel a growing unease in the pit of
my stomach.

Rationally, I knew
that there was no way on earth that a man like Max Malin saw me as a potential
– anything. I was a young actress he'd hired to help him build his business,
and the fact that he and I had hooked up was simply a bonus in his estimate. I
was a support system, in much the same way I'd been for Josh, and I held back a
small sob as I thought about where that had gotten me.

I began replaying
all of the interactions and conversations Max and I had had since I'd begun
working for him. I looked at it all through the lens of being the hired help
and flinched as I recalled that he had people who washed his sheets and did his
dishes. He wouldn't flinch at having a sales girl who performed other duties,
and the shame of having been willing to believe that there might be something
else to it all made my cheeks burn. I was a fool. Just like with Josh.

The problem was
that I'd bought my own act. Max had hired me to play a role and I'd played it
so well that I'd forgotten it was a role. I'd forgotten that it wasn't real.
And yet, I couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't at least a tiny bit of real
mixed in. He couldn't have done what he'd done had there not be some kind of
real feelings. The memory of his soft lips pressed against mine, and the
sensations that his hands had drawn out of my body were real to me. They were
still very real. And, the fact that I wanted more of him proved that what I'd
felt was real.

I shook my head as
I thought about how a man like that didn't want for female company and that I
was fooling myself if I thought he'd choose me, an out-of-work actress, over
some rich socialite who understood his world and what it would take to live in
it. In Max's business, there was no room for this girlish romantic fantasy. He
had an empire to build and I was simply a stepping-stone in the process.

The longer I
thought about it, the more agitated I became as I compared the situation to the
one I'd just left. Josh had used me, too, and then discarded me when I became a
burden, and he didn't have anywhere near the resources or connections that Max
Malin had. And, I'd been with Josh for over five years! If he could so quickly
discard me after that, then there was really nothing stopping Max from doing it
after a few weeks or months, and I wasn't going to become disposable again.

I breathed deeply
as I fought back the tears of rejection and told myself that I didn't have time
for all of this personal drama, anyway. I had an audition for a major role
scheduled and a major part to land. This role with Max would be over once we'd
figured out an ending to this fake wedding and generated publicity for his
business. After that, I would be on my own again, me and Anna, and I needed to
prepare for what would happen. Max Malin had no intention of becoming a
permanent part of my life, so I needed to stop mooning around like a love
struck schoolgirl pretending like he did.

I set my jaw as I
pulled the covers up tightly around me. I was not going to allow myself to be
blindsided twice – not when I could see the ending from a mile away.

CHAPTER
THRITY-THREE

Max

I
woke up alone on
the chaise lounge the next morning with the sun just beginning to peek over the
horizon and light up the sky. For a moment, I couldn't remember how I'd gotten
there, then I smiled as the memory of the night before came flooding back. I
turned over expecting to find Lexi fast asleep next to me. I frowned when I saw
that the space was empty and wondered if she'd awoken early and gone in to get
breakfast started.

"Lexi?"
I called as I opened the balcony door and went inside. There was no response,
so I headed back toward my bedroom, wondering if she'd already started getting
ready for work. "Lexi? Are you up?"

The door to her
bedroom was cracked open, so I peeked inside and found her sound asleep in her
own bed with Anna curled up next to her on the pillow. The kitten opened one
eye and looked at me, then stretched a little and laid one paw on her owner's
head and went back to sleep. I backed up and closed the door, wondering if I'd
imagined the night before.

I walked back to
the balcony, saw the remnants of dinner still sitting on the table, and
frowned. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what had happened. The last
thing I remembered was stroking her hair and kissing her before I drifted off
to sleep. Whatever had happened after that was a mystery to me. I shrugged as I
went into the kitchen and began making coffee. I wanted to get a run in before
it got to late, so I went into the bedroom, changed into my running gear, and
headed out toward the lake to clear my head.

As I ran, I tried
to push Lexi out of my mind, but her face and the feel of her body pressed
against mine was impossible to completely ignore. I shifted my thoughts to what
lay ahead of me. I had to finish my order so that we'd have all the pieces we
needed to refill the displays, then Lexi and I had to decide on a venue and
decorations for the wedding. After last night's dinner, the planning felt a
little odd. I'd felt something with her that I'd never felt before – some kind
of deep need that was satisfied only by her.

I shook my head as
I hit mile three and then turned around and headed back home. Lexi would be up
by now and wondering where I'd disappeared to, and I didn't want her to worry.
I grinned as I caught myself thinking these rather domestic thoughts and then
ran a little faster to get back to where I felt like I belonged.

When I entered the
kitchen, sweaty and still a bit out of breath, I was met with a chilly silence.
"Good morning, Lexi!" I called. She turned and nodded, then turned
back to the paper that lay in front of her and kept reading. Now, I was truly
confused. "How are you this morning?" I asked.

"I'm well,
thank you for asking," she replied in a crisp tone. She was wearing a
robe, but her hair was pulled up into a tight bun at the base of her neck and
no wisps were going to escape. "How was your run?"

"It was
productive," I said as I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down across
the table from her. When she didn't look up, I asked, "What's new in the
news?"

"Gas prices
have dropped," she said reading off the headlines. "CPS is going to
implement stringent budget measures next year, and there's been another
shooting in Wicker Park."

"What does it
say about the shooting?" I asked, feeling the dread begging to rise.

"It says that
a member of a known mafia gang thought to be run by Vladimir Malinchenko was
gunned down outside Malinchenko's bar Ursus this morning," she summarized.
"They called the victim one of the
vory
v zakone
. I wonder what that means. I'm going to have to look that
up."

"Thieves-in-law,"
I said without thinking. "It means they're part of the same gang."

"Oh, that's
interesting. So, it's kind of like brotherhood or something," she
observed.

"No, that's
bratán
," I said as I looked at the
screen of my phone, hoping to find a message from Kristov. There was nothing
there, and I quickly brought up his number and dialed it.

"How do you
know so much about all of this?" she asked.

"It's an
interest of mine since I deal with the Russian community," I said,
carefully covering my tracks as I waited for Kristov to answer. I grew
concerned when the ringing went to voicemail. There had never been a time when
Kristov hadn't picked up his phone for me. There had been times he'd even
answered while he was having sex with his girlfriend of the moment. I'd scolded
him for being indiscreet, and he'd been unfazed as he told me that they found
it sexy. I dialed a second time and it went straight to voicemail. Something
was definitely not right.

"Are you
okay, Max?" Lexi asked.

"Huh? Oh,
yeah, fine," I said as I thought about what I needed to do next. I
couldn't call Papa because I didn't want to alert him to what was going on with
Kristov if he didn't already know. I quickly made the decision to get dressed,
drive over to Kristov’s apartment, and find out where he was. "Look, I
need to run an errand this morning. Can you get the store up and running
without me?"

"Sure, no
problem," she said in a flat tone. "Just don't forget that I have the
call-back audition this afternoon."

"Right,
right," I replied as I downed the rest of my coffee and headed to the
shower. "I'll be back this afternoon in time for you to get to the
audition."

"I hope
so," she muttered under her breath. I couldn't figure out why she was
upset with me, but I didn't have the time to figure it all out. Lexi would have
to wait while I dealt with the more immediate problem of my brother.

I just hoped that
he was, in fact, still a problem.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR

Lexi

I
opened the store
at nine on the dot and was happy to see Mrs. Zakhrov walk through the door ten
minutes later. She was looking for a new statement piece that she'd heard
about, but had never seen.

"My dear, the
Star of Russia is the piece of pieces this season!" she cried as she
browsed the cases. "I must have it. Have you heard anything about
it?"

"No, I
haven't yet, but I'll ask Mr. Malin," I replied, pulling out a large
aquamarine pendant on a thick gold chain and handing it to her to try on while
I pulled out the matching earrings. "If anyone knows where it is and how
to find it for you, it would be him."

"Oh, my dear,
this is lovely" she said admiring herself from all angles in the mirror. I
handed her the drop earrings and watched as she threaded them through the holes
in her ears and let them hang. The set looked lovely on her with her chestnut
hair and violet eyes. "Oh yes, I like this very much. I will take them
both."

"Wonderful,
they deserve to go home with someone who will make them look as lovely as you
do," I smiled. I took the pieces and began wrapping them up.

"You and Mr.
Malin are such lovely people," she smiled. "How on earth did you
meet?"

"We shared
some common interests," I smiled serenely as I wrapped her packages.
"Max always says it was love at first sight, but I tend to think it was
lust, followed by deeper feelings."

"It's always
that way for men, dear," she laughed. "They see what they want and
then they find a way to tell themselves a story that allows them to go after it
and get it."

"Do you
really think that's the case, Mrs. Zakhrov?" I asked, genuinely curious to
hear what a woman with her experience and years of marriage behind her had to
say.

"Oh yes, I
absolutely do," she exclaimed. "I think that women are much pickier
than men, but that when men find what it is they want, they lock on and decide
that's it. My husband pursued me for two years before I even agreed to go out
with him!"

"Why?" I
gasped. "I mean, why did you make him wait two years?"

"I wasn't
sure I liked him." She shrugged. "I was in college and I needed time
to finish my degree, and I knew that if I said yes, I'd most likely end up
married with children, but no degree. So, I held him off until I got what I
needed and by that time, I'd seen what a wonderful man he was, so I said yes.
We were married two months after our first date."

"That's such
a romantic story!" I said, admiring her for her strength of her
convictions.

"No, not
particularly," she said. "I love my husband, but he's never been one
of those flowers and romance men. But by the time I married him, I already knew
that and had accepted that I was marrying a hard worker who would always make
sure I had a roof over my head and food on my table. I could live without the
flowers and romance if I wasn't hungry."

"That sounds
so mercenary."

"You young
people are so foolish these days," she laughed. "You think that love
is like the movies. You think that men are going to come, sweep you up off of
your feet, and carry you away to live in a castle. That's not how it all works,
golubshka
. Real life is sticking it out
through the difficult times and finding a way to love each other, even when
there's no romance."

"But what
about before the marriage?" I asked. She obviously knew what she was
talking about and I intended to get an answer to the Max question once and for
all. "How do you know if he really loves you?"

"He'll be
very clear about it," she smiled. "Watch him and he'll show you
everything you need to know. Actions,
golubshka
,
actions speak louder than words."

I nodded as I
finished wrapping up her packages and carefully tucked them into one of our
signature black bags. If action was a good indication of how a man felt, then
Max's actions were clear as a bell. He didn't love me. Maybe he didn't even
like me. He was just using me.

"
Spaseebo,
Mrs. Zakhrov." I smiled
as I handed her the bag.

"If you ask
me,
golubshka
, that man is head over
heels in love with you," she smiled mischievously. "But no one ever
asks me; I'm just an old woman who talks too much and loves to shop!"

"Oh, you're
much more than that, Mrs. Zakhrov, much more than that!" I laughed as she
walked out the door.

I spent the rest
of the morning cleaning and shining the cases and jewelry in them. It was a
mindless task, so I let my brain run as I polished each piece and then replaced
it in the case.

Around noon, I
called down to Indira's and ordered lunch for both Max and me. He hadn't called
to say when he was returning, but I bet on the fact that he'd probably not had
lunch and would be hungry by the time he got in. I also knew that if he cut it
too close, he wouldn't be able to go out and get something because I was
scheduled to be at my audition by four. I ate my lunch standing by the back office,
watching the front door, and silently hoping that Max made it back in time for
me to make the audition on time.