*Adrik*
I locked my phone and walked into my office. I looked through the files on my desk, looking for a specific file. Without thinking, I sat down to flip through the pages of the files. I got lost in my search, not realizing that Sephie had walked quietly in. She must’ve noticed me lost in thought as I was searching for my answer. She walked quietly enough to the bookshelves on the other side of my office that I didn’t hear her. She stood looking over the titles of the books, waiting for me to finish. When I finally looked up and noticed her there, I stopped to admire the view. She had a pair of skinny jeans on, which made her look taller than her 5’10 frame. She had a black t-shirt that hugged her curves in just the right way. Her hair falling loose over her back. I leaned back in my chair, to admire the view. She heard my chair squeak as I leaned back and turned to face me.
“Should I come back later?” she asked. Her arms were folded under her breasts, which just served to make them more prominent.
I thought back to the other women I had been with. They all hated when I worked, but they loved the benefits of my work. They would pout and throw fits when I worked, like children needing constant attention. Sephie was different. I had completely taken her away from her world. I was all she had at the moment, and she was still concerned about interrupting my work.
I stood up from my chair, closing the distance between us quickly. I grabbed her around the waist, picking her up off the floor and spinning her around once. “Please don’t go anywhere. No more work today, solnishko. Promise.”
She squealed as I spun her around, wrapping her arms around my shoulders to hang on.
“Let’s get some breakfast first. Wouldn’t want your stomach to wake the dead again,” I said, as I put her down.
She laughed at me, adding, “I would kill small woodland creatures for some French Toast right now.”
“Then, come. We must go to the kitchen. To save the animals,” I laughed, leading her out of my office. I never found my answer, but it would wait until later.
When we got to the kitchen, Tori was there making breakfast for the guys. The smell of bacon filled the air, making my stomach grumble. Andrei and Ivan were sitting at the bar on the island. Viktor, Misha, and Stephen were lounging on the couches in the next room.
“Morning boss. Miss Sephie,” Andrei said, as he nodded toward both of us.
Sephie’s face lit up when she saw them. She walked to Andrei first, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. Even sitting, he was still almost as tall as her. “Good morning,” she said hugging him tight. Ivan watched, with an eyebrow raised. She let go of Andrei and wrapped her arms around Ivan, telling him good morning as well.
Ivan said, “why do you hug him first? I’m better looking. You should hug me first.” Without missing a beat, she looked at him and said, “you’re going to have to get that murderous aura under control if you want to be hugged first, Ivan the Terrible.”
“Humph.”
She giggled and leaned in to kiss his cheek sweetly. He blushed, while Andrei laughed. Andrei’s laughter brought the other guys into the kitchen. I stood leaning against the island, watching her interact with them. I caught Tori staring wide-eyed while Sephie hugged Ivan. She looked at me when Sephie kissed his cheek, clearly not sure that I would be okay with it. I could be jealous, but not with her and my men. I trusted them completely. Andrei told me immediately that she had offered to marry him. He thought I was going to be mad at him, but I just laughed. Watching her with them, I realized that I trusted her just as much as I trusted them. She loved them, but she didn’t look at them the same way she looked at me. There was no need for jealously. I just shrugged my shoulders at Tori when she looked surprised to see Sephie kiss Ivan’s cheek.
As soon as Viktor walked into the kitchen, he held his arms out to her. “Miss Sephie!” he said in his booming voice.
She ran to him, jumping into his arms. “My favorite bodyguard!” she exclaimed. All four other men said in unison, “hey, wait a minute!”
Viktor laughed, as he put her down. Looking at the other guys he said, “you guys just need to be better looking. It’s simple, really.”
She smacked his arm lightly. “Don’t get cocky. I’m still marrying Andrei.”
Misha stepped in, grabbing her hand, and pulling her close to him, in a dance position. “But Miss Sephie, Andrei can’t dance. How can you marry a man who can’t dance with you at your own wedding?” He led her in a few tango steps around the kitchen. She was trying hard to conceal her laughter as they danced.
“Misha, you surprise me. You’re so…cultured,” she curtseyed to him once he let her out of the embrace. He bowed low to her. “Milady.”
Stephen stepped in and said, “do you really want to marry a guy you need to worry about leaving you for another man though?”
Laughter erupted in the kitchen. Even Tori ended up laughing at Stephen’s joke. Sephie was speechless, which was impressive given her constant comebacks. She simply gave Stephen a high-five and then smacked his ass. “Good game,” she said.
“Thanks, coach.”
Tori was setting out plates of food for the guys as Sephie walked back to me. She was smiling at me, with that spark in her eye that only I could see. I extended my arm to her and pulled her in front of me. I wrapped my arms around her from behind.
Tori looked at me, “what can I get you for breakfast, boss?”
“Sephie threatened violence against small animals if she doesn’t get French toast, so we better make that happen. Don’t want animal rights activists picketing outside.”
Tori looked puzzled but nodded her head. “Right away, boss.”
Sephie added, “I mean I wouldn’t really kill small woodland critters. I would think long and hard about it, but my follow-through is shit.”
Andrei choked on a piece of bacon as he laughed. Tori set a new glass of orange juice in front of him, a look of concern on her face. “Drink this,” was all she said. He looked sheepishly at her and grabbed the glass.
Sephie caught the exchange as well and looked over her shoulder, catching my eye. She smiled at me, knowingly.
It didn’t take Tori long and Sephie had her French toast. We finished breakfast while the guys hung around and talked in the kitchen. Tori finished up and excused herself. Andrei’s eyes on her the whole time as she walked from the kitchen. Sephie caught him watching her. She caught my eye and looked back to Andrei, raising her eyebrows several times in a row. I laughed, shaking my head. I had never noticed that Andrei had his eye on Tori until today. Sephie really had a way of bringing out the best in everyone, without even trying.