*Sephie*
“If you’re going to lie, you need to at least be smart about it. I’ve lived here for months and that elevator has never once been open. Don’t be stupid,” I said, with as much pleasantness as I could muster. Which, admittedly, was not much.
The guys were caught off guard and all of them laughed. She looked completely surprised, but I couldn’t tell if it was from what I said, or the fact that Ivan was laughing. It could go either way, really. Obviously, this was a former girlfriend, if she had a key fob. I didn’t even have a key fob for the elevator. Granted, I never needed one as one of the guys was always with me. But still.
My head was starting to ache from smelling the entire bottle of perfume in one application. *How does she smell anything other than that*?
She looked at me, clear hatred on her face. “You might be living here now, but you won’t be for long. He’ll get rid of you just like he did all the rest. He probably can’t even remember your name.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. He knows my name. He screams it often,” I stepped in front of Adrik, crossing my arms over my chest. I raised one eyebrow, daring her to continue this fun little conversation. She looked flustered and looked toward the floor. I glanced at Ivan, who winked at me, a look of pride on his face. I felt Adrik’s hands on my hips, pulling me back against him.
“You think I’m in the same category as you. That was your first of many mistakes, Vanessa. You probably came here with the intent of either trying to get him back or at the very least to stir some shit up and make us fight. But what you don’t know is that I know him better than you could ever dream of knowing him. It was plain as day that he wanted nothing to do with you. I’d be willing to bet you tried to hug him or touch him and he moved away from you before you could, right?” Her eyes went wide. I didn’t give her time to respond. “You see, Vanessa, you probably think that your body is what will snag a man, which is why you put it on full display for the world to see. You think that’s all that men are interested in and will get you everything you want out of life. You might get attention from boys, but you will never keep a man’s attention. Try covering up a little bit. Maybe use only half the bottle of perfume instead of the whole bottle. Try working on yourself so that you have something to offer other than your heavily made-up face, ass, and tits. Oh, and maybe stop trying to steal taken men.” I took one step toward her, to really drive my point home. “You’re going to leave here of your own accord this time, only because these three would pull me off you. But if I ever see your face this close to me again, I’ll make sure your ass and tits will be the only thing you have to offer going forward. Now, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, so please listen to my words, hand over the key fob and get the fuck out of here.” I walked toward her with my hand out, waiting for her to place the key fob in my hand. She looked at me like she wanted to say something. I raised my eyebrow and stared at her, daring her to speak. She looked past me toward Adrik.
“You’re going to let her speak to me like that?” she asked. *Still trying to stir some shit, I see*. My patience was wearing thin. My head was starting to pound.
I heard him chuckle. “You say that like I would want to stop her.”
She scoffed at him, mumbling something under her breath. My patience had officially run out. “You’re testing my level of give a fuck, Vanessa. Key fob. NOW.” I let my anger slip out. Viktor and Ivan took a step back, causing Vanessa’s eyes to go wide. She reached into her purse, pulling out the key fob. She timidly handed it to me.
“Oh look. It does exist,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Remember, lies need to be believable, sweetheart. Now, and I cannot stress this enough, get the FUCK out of my sight.” I turned to look at Ivan, who was trying hard not to laugh. He moved to escort her out of the building. I handed the key fob to Viktor, who also looked highly amused.
Adrik opened his arms for me. I walked back to him, as he wrapped his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest. Once Ivan and Viktor had walked her out of his office, I looked up at him. “My God, how long did it take your sense of smell to come back after breaking up with her? Like seriously. How could you smell anything after five minutes in the same room as her?”
He laughed. “It has gotten much worse since I dated her. That was one reason I never let her live here, though.”
I cocked my head to the side. “She didn’t live here? Why did she have a key fob then?”
He smiled at me. “None of my girlfriends ever lived here. That’s why she had a key fob, so she could come here without someone having to fetch her. My guys never stayed with any of my girlfriends, either. Frankly, it never crossed my mind. You’re the only one that they watch over. And the only one to live here. And the house too. No one else knows that place exists.” He gently ran his fingers through my hair, pushing a few curls back from my face. I closed my eyes, enjoying his touch, as well as trying to get some relief from my pounding head.
I sighed. “I love you, Adrik.” I felt his lips gently on mine.
“And I love you, Persephone.”
Viktor and Ivan walked back in soon after, both looking more amused than I’d ever seen them.
“Sephie,” Viktor started, but paused. “You’re just… fucking awesome.”
Ivan said, “you should’ve seen the tantrum she threw on her way out of the building. She was pissed. I have to say I’ve been wanting to be able to throw her out of the building for a long time now. Thank you for that.” He looked at Adrik, smirking.
“Let me guess, you hated her from pretty much the beginning?” I asked, smiling at Ivan.
He nodded. “She showed up a few times when Boss was busy and couldn’t see her. She would throw major tantrums, like that was going to make him want to see her. She never did it in front of him though, but she would scream and yell at me. It never once worked, but she kept trying.”
I looked at Adrik. “I’m beginning to question your choices in women.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t even date her for that long. I think she was only a couple of months. She was very… boring.”
I held my hand up. “Don’t expand on that. I don’t need to know. Now, can we get out of here? My head is seriously pounding from having to smell the entire bottle of perfume at once.” Adrik held me closer, his hands in my hair to try and give me some relief.
“Of course, solnishko. I’ll have someone fumigate the office too.”
“And the elevator. We smelled her when we left the 5th floor,” I said. I leaned into him, sniffing his clothes. “And we should burn these clothes. It’s on everything. Burn the key fob too, I don’t even care.”
“You don’t want your own key fob, princess?” Ivan asked.
“Why would I need one? I have six of them already,” I said, winking at him.