Stingray Billionaire: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (59 page)

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Lexi

The
next morning, I
woke up with a drooling kitten quietly snoring on my chest. I laughed softly as
I petted her and whispered, "Time to rise, sunshine!" I sat up, set
her on the pillow beside me, and stretched. Anna shot me an annoyed look and then
mushed herself back to sleep on the pillow. I knew she was mad at me for being
gone so long the day before, but she was going to have to learn to accept it or
we were going to be at odds all the time.

"I'll stop
and get you some really fun toys from the pet shop on my way home, little
one," I whispered as I bent down and kissed her fuzzy little head. She
opened one eye and chirped softly, then buried her face between her paws as she
purred contentedly. I laughed, "If I'm not careful, you are going to grow
up to be one very spoiled little girl."

I got out of bed
and padded to the kitchen to make my first cup of coffee of the day. Even
before I looked at the clock, I could tell by the light on the building across
the street that the sun was up and that it was going to be another gorgeous day
in the city. I thought about what I would wear for my first official day of
work and decided on the deep blue wrap dress made of light jersey that clung in
all the right places that Viv had talked about the night before. I wanted to
impress Max, and if I was honest, I also wanted him to notice me. He hadn't
given me the slightest indication that I was anything other than an employee,
and while I didn't want to do anything overtly flirtatious, I did want him to
notice me. I could hear Viv's voice telling me to go for it, but I pushed it
aside by reminding myself that I'd just been dumped by my boyfriend and I
didn't need my new boss to be the rebound guy in my life. It would be way too
complicated and messy.

"Nope, no
dating the boss," I said as I felt Anna winding her way around my ankles
and chirping that she was now ready for her breakfast. I quickly poured some
kitten food into the little pink bowl that Viv had bought her and watched as
Anna happily munched on her breakfast. I poured myself a cup of coffee and
flipped on the news.

"In this
morning's news, a shoot out on the West Side has left two men dead and two
others in critical condition. Wicker Park police say that the shoot out was
sparked by a war between two rival Russian mafia factions who have been under
investigation for human
 
and weapons
trafficking and drug dealing. When asked how he knew they were Russian, Police
Chief Randall Washington said that the tattoos on the deceased’s chests and
knees indicate that they were captains in their factions and that other tattoos
indicated they'd all spent time in prison. There's no word on the identities of
the dead men or their specific affiliations. Stay tuned to
Action News
for updates on this story throughout the day."

"It's a
violent world out there, Anna," I said as I shook my head and drank the
rest of my coffee before picking up the mewing kitten and kissing her nose.
"It's a darn good thing I've got a job downtown and not out in those
areas, isn't it? A darn good thing!" Anna replied by swatting my nose with
her tiny paw and then head butting my chin. I laughed as I set her on the back
of the sofa and headed to the bathroom to get ready for work.

An hour later, I
was dressed and ready to go. I refilled Anna's food and water and snuggled her
once more before I took one more look in the full-length mirror and nodded at
my reflection. The blue dress did exactly what I hoped it would do, I'd applied
a little blush, mascara, and the light lipstick color that Viv had given me, and
pulled my hair up into a loose bun with a wisp or two of hair framing my face.
I smiled at myself as I grabbed my briefcase and headed out the door.

Outside, it was
sunny and warm as I headed for the El station at Clark and Division. I loved
the way I could easily navigate the city by train or bus; it was one of my
favorite parts of Chicago living. Once at the station, I realized that I'd
forgotten my wallet at home on the dining room table.

"Crap!"
I swore under my breath as I headed back out to the street and home to get my
wallet. As I was rounding the corner and heading back up Dearborn towards home,
a dark car pulled up beside me with its window rolled down. Thinking it was a
tourist asking where the new Restoration Hardware store was, I turned and
pointed up Dearborn toward Goethe Street and "Restoration Hardware is that
way, take a left at the next corner!"

"Ms.
Wallace?" I heard a voice call and I spun around to find Max Melin's
handsome face looking at me from the open window. A small smile played around
the edges of his full lips and I had to force myself to focus on the car's door
handle in order to stifle the desire to stare at his lips. Politely, he asked,
"Have you already changed your mind about the job?"

"Huh? Oh! No,
I forgot my wallet at home and I didn't have any cash for the El," I said
flustered by his cool demeanor. "I'll go back and get it, and I'll still
be on time, I promise!"

"Ms. Wallace,
would you like a ride?" he asked.

"Who?
Me?" I replied confused as to why he was in my neighborhood and stunned
that he'd offer his new employee a ride to work.

"I don't see
anyone else I could be talking to; do you?"

"Um,
no," I blushed, knowing that right now, I was acting like an idiot
schoolgirl who had a crush on her teacher. I stammered and looked up the block
toward my apartment building. "I need to go home first and get my wallet,
though, and I don't want to make you late."

"I think the
boss will understand the delay, don't you?" he asked again with the hint
of a smile playing at the edge of his lips.

"Yes,
sir," I said as I looked down and then wondered if I should get in the car
or just keep walking.

"Why don't
you get in the car and give my driver the address?" he asked as if reading
my thoughts. I nodded and walked over to the car and opened the door. When I
slid into the backseat, I could smell Max's cologne, a mix of clean freshness
with just a hint of musk and it made my pulse begin to race. "Ms. Wallace,
the address?"

"Oh, right,
1344 North Dearborn," I told the driver. He nodded and began driving
around the block. I looked over at Max and told him, "You can call me
Lexi, you know."

"Alright,
Lexi." He smiled as he looked at me. His eyes were a cooler shade of blue
than I'd first thought, and I was very self-conscious of the fact that I simply
couldn't look away from them. "How was your evening?"

"It was
nice," I said swallowing hard to keep my breathing even. I used a method
we'd learned in acting class and slowly breathed in through my nose and out
through my mouth. That calmed my nerves a bit and I told him about dinner and
drinks with Viv at The Gage. The driver pulled up in front of my building and I
quickly got out calling, "I'll be right back!" as I made a dash for
the front door.

Anna chirped
happily as I entered the apartment and grabbed my wallet. I warned, "Don't
get excited; I'm not staying, little one!" to where she sat in the
entryway in front of the door. I stopped for a moment, picked her up, and
snuggled her before setting her back down. Satisfied, she chirped and headed
for the bedroom. "Silly little girl!" I called as I headed back
downstairs.

The drive to work
was quick, so the talk was kept to a minimum, but as Max answered his emails, I
tried to come up with a topic of conversation that would give me some clue as
to who Max Malin was and why in the world he'd hired me to work for him.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Max

I
kept my eyes on
my email and worked at a steady pace as the car carried Lexi and me to the
store. I fought against the desire to spend the whole ride looking at her
because every time I did, I felt a wave of attraction wash over me and the
result made me feel conspicuous. I was her boss, and it was inappropriate for
me to see her as a romantic opportunity, but no matter how many times I'd told
myself it was out of bounds, I still came back to the fact that she stirred a
primal urge in me.

Today, she was
dressed in a deep blue wrap dress that clung to her curves and reminded me of
why I was extremely glad to be a man. Her hair was again pulled away from her
face, giving her an intellectual appearance. I'd always been attracted to smart
women, and dressed the way she was, Lexi definitely looked the part. I had a
feeling that when I opened the doors for business, she was going to be one of
the biggest assets in the store.

"So, did you
see the news about that shooting over on the West side?" she blurted out.
"That's some crazy drama, isn't it? It really makes you wonder about
what's underlying the whole feud, doesn't it?"

"Why do you
say that?" I asked as I tried to maintain a calm exterior. I was now on
high alert as the thought that she might be an undercover agent sent to scope
me out crossed my mind. There were a lot of people who had been after my father
for a lot of years, and while he'd done his best to keep Kristov and me out of
the heavier things he was involved in, there were those who knew all about us
and would have given their right arms to take one of us down.

"I was just
thinking about how a feud like that even gets started," she said as she
brushed invisible lint off of her skirt. "Why would people of the same
background be out to kill each other? I mean, doesn't it make more sense for
them to join forces and present a strong front, rather than offing each other
in the streets?"

"I'm sure I
wouldn't know," I replied as I wracked my brain for a way to turn the
conversation away from this topic. I had no desire to talk about Russian mafia
gang history with Lexi.

"It just
seems like this is a lot like the same thing that happened on the West side in
the 1970s with the Vice Lords," she offered. "They started out trying
to tie the neighborhood together and strengthen the community, and for a while
they succeeded, but then someone got greedy and power hungry and the whole
structure fell to pieces."

"You seem to
know a lot about Chicago," I commented.

"I minored in
history, and as part of the program, we had to take two semesters of Chicago
history," she said cheerfully. "They were really great classes. I
felt like I had a much better understanding of the city and how it came to be
once I'd completed them."

"I'll
bet," I nodded. "Where did you go to school?"

"Northwestern,"
she replied.

"Did you like
it?" I asked.

"I did, very
much," she sighed. "I miss it sometimes, you know? I miss the whole
feeling of being in a place where learning is going on and feeling like you're
part of it. I miss the community and the security of being a student, even
though I was dirt poor the whole time I was there. There's something noble
about poor students and starving artists."

"There's
nothing noble about poverty unless your privileged enough to be able to reject
it as you claim it," I shot back in an annoyed tone.

"I'm sorry,
did I say something wrong?" she asked genuinely surprised at my strong
response.

"No, I just
get sick of hearing rich college students say that they love being poor, when
they don't have the first clue as to what that actually means," I said,
failing to work my way to more even ground in the conversation.

"Just because
you think that all college students are rich kids, doesn't actually make it
true, you know," she replied in a bristled tone as she sat up straight and
looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"I wasn't
saying that all American college students were rich kids," I retorted.
"I was saying I was sick of the rich ones saying they were poor when they
aren't, in fact, poor!"

"Well, I
didn't grow up rich!" she yelled.

"I didn't say
you did!" I shot back.

"Well…good,"
she said as she backed off a little and held my gaze.

I could feel my
pulse racing and I knew it wasn't just because we were irritated with each
other. As I looked at her, I had the strongest urge to reach over and pull her
to me so I could kiss her. I wanted to run my fingers through her shiny,
chestnut tresses and feel those full lips pressed against mine. And, I really
wanted to slip my hand underneath her dress and cup her breast in my hand. I
quickly caught myself as I felt the blood rushing away from my brain. I shook
my head violently to clear the image and keep from embarrassing myself in front
of my new employee.

"I'm sorry if
I irritated you," she offered.

"No, you
didn't," I quickly replied.

"The hell I
didn't," she laughed. "I'm extremely good at finding the weak spots
and digging at them, but the problem is that I don't do it on purpose, so I
never know I'm doing it until it's already done."

"Must be a
hell of a way to live," I muttered.

"You have no
idea,"

"Yeah, I
think I have a pretty good idea," I said with a wry grin. "Look,
we're going to be working together for the next few weeks, so let's just agree
to be honest with each other, okay? If you piss me off, I'll let you know, and
I want you to be able to do the same."

"That sounds
like a great plan," she nodded. "Should we have a code word for when
we are mad? You know, so that we don't scare the customers."

"Good
idea," I nodded. "Do you know the Russian word for stop?"

"No, what is
it?" she asked.

"
Stoya
," I replied. "It's
literally the action of stopping, like in a car. And, it's short and sweet, so
most won't notice if we say it."

"Wow, that's
a good word. Are you fluent in Russian?" she asked.

"Something
like that," I said.

"Alright,
then
stoya
it is!" She smiled as
we pulled up in front of the store. "This is going to be good, I
think."

I nodded as I
watched the driver circle the car and open the door for Lexi before coming
around and opening my door. I felt like this was either going to be really good
or an absolute disaster, but as Babi always scolded, "Worry is a down
payment on a problem you may never have!" So, I put the negative thoughts
behind me and hoped for the best.