Two Months and Three Days (Sinister Romance #1)

Chapter 8 (Part II)

"Why don't you ask how I found your salon," Maxim chuckled.

"It's a clinic," Arina corrected him.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Your clinic. It turns out you guys have a lot of locations!"

"Why didn't you tell me why you'd been looking for it," Arina mumbled, putting the cat back in the carrier and giving it a treat. "I don't think you're here because of the cat."

"Well, I don't have a choice then. I'm here because of you!" Maxim dropped the words easily and naturally, but blood suddenly began to flow faster through his body and a vein on his temple began to pulsate. Arina covered her lips with her hand as she always did when she didn't know what to say or how to react. She was blushing. She felt extremely happy.

He has been looking for me! He has been looking for me!

"I don't understand. Why?" Arina's voice failed to obey her.

"I don't understand either," Maxim replied quietly. "Ruining the life of innocent girls goes against my principles, my dear Snow White."

He uttered the words very softly but they shook Arina to her heart's core. She was standing at the epicenter of an explosion watching the world change as the result of what had just happened. He was here because of her. He didn't want to ruin her life. He thought of her as an innocent, little girl. She was not little or innocent. Well, not little, that's for sure!

Besides, what did he mean when he said that he didn't want to ruin her life? Why did he think he would ruin her life? She struggled for breath every time she saw him. He was so handsome, so unimaginably handsome. All she ever wanted to do was look at him.

"Arina! Arina! Hello?" Boris "Fabergé" asked her for the receipt that she was supposed to have printed out but she could barely understand what he was saying.

"What?" she shuddered.

"Can you clean the parrot's beak? It needs vasoconstrictive drops." Boris looked discontentedly at the tall, slender man who was distracting Arina from attending to her immediate duties. He shook his head and started filling out the receipt for her.

"Of course!" Arina jumped on the spot, remembering that she was actually still at work.

"And you just have to wait," Boris turned to Maxim. Maxim scanned Boris from head to toe intently. His look was cold and appraising as if he were a cop scanning a suspect for weapons, drugs, or sharp objects. Maxim turned to Arina and asked what time she got off work. He frowned when he heard that she had to be there all night.

"Can you ask if you can leave? I'm flying out tomorrow."

"Nope! She can't leave!" Boris exclaimed. Arina sneaked into the examination room where the parrot was, closed the door behind her, and sighed with relief. She had no idea how to handle the situation. She really wanted to go with this man. And at the same time, she was terribly scared.

"So, you won't let her go?" Maxim shook his head.

"Next!" Boris ignored his stare. He got up and walked to the table with a black Yorkie on it. Maxim kept staring at him.

"Anything else you want to ask?" Boris asked him in a slightly hostile tone. Somehow, this handsome fellow was making him mad.

"I have a business proposition for you," Maxim said in a very polite voice. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

A couple of minutes later, Boris dashed into the examination room where Arina was finishing up with a big cockatoo that had caught a cold.

"Is he still there?" Arina asked, though it was silly for her to hope that Maxim Korshun would disappear now after he had spent so much effort (or maybe no effort at all) trying to find her. Boris nodded with dismay.

"Hey, who is this guy?"

"Well . . . well. . . ," Arina was babbling without the slightest idea how to answer the question.

"Forget it. It doesn't matter!" Boris "Fabergé" was acting really weird.

"He's a friend. I met him at an exhibition." Arina finally came up with something decent.

"You . . . um . . . you can go home. I mean, your shift is over for today," Boris blurted out.

"What? What do you mean?" Arina stared at him. Boris smirked and told her to change.

"Yeah, go home. Or . . . wherever you're gonna go."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Arina gave him an indignant look. She was completely lost.

"Oh, come on! You're killing me!" Boris cried out suddenly. "I've got a car loan, debts for goodness sake!"

"What?" Arina gawked at him. "Did he give you money?"

"Who cares?! You go talk to him. I'll be fine here without you, trust me."

"You're mad."

"Yup! With happiness," Boris grinned.

Arina looked around, still in doubt but then shrugged her shoulders and took off her uniform. At the moment, her heart beat furiously. She was terrified, scared, and happy all at once. He had bribed "Fabergé"!

"Tell your . . . friend with the cat to stop by more often. He's more than welcome here! I'll take care of his cat in the best way possible."

"Oh really?" Arina flung up her hands and burst out laughing. She handed the cage with the cockatoo to Boris and left. Boris watched her go trying to understand why he hadn't noticed before that they had such a pretty vet student at their clinic. Still . . . it was so much money! The guy must be crazy.

They walked along the warm Moscow streets filled with the scents and sounds of summer. Maxim was silent and looked at Arina from time to time. Arina didn't dare lift her eyes. She was afraid that her heart would jump out of her chest she was so happy.

He came back for her!

Arina couldn't believe that all this was really happening to her. In the twilight alleys, illumined only by the light of sparse street lamps, Maxim looked even more handsome than he had done at the museum. An alien from the planet of most tempting men was walking right beside her smiling. He had bribed Boris "Faberge"! For real! For her!

*** I created a facebook page for the Sinister Romance Trilogy! Check it out https://www.facebook.com/SinisterRomanceseries/ ***