*Sephie*
The four of us got in the elevator, me trying to breathe as little as possible. I looked at Ivan, grinning at him. “You guys should shower and change and then grab the other three and come upstairs. We’ll order food. Being bitchy makes me hungry.”
“You’re sure? I thought your head was hurting?” Viktor asked.
“I mean, it is. But I want to see the look on Ivan’s face when Misha tells him about what happened while you guys were away. I think not smelling this God-awful perfume anymore will help my headache go away. Seriously. I should’ve punched her just to see if I could restart her olfactory senses.”
I heard Viktor’s deep laugh as I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes. The doors dinged for their floor. Ivan said, “give us 20 minutes, princess.”
As the doors closed, Adrik wrapped his arms around me. “How bad is your headache, solnishko?”
“Not excruciating, but it’s not getting better either. I can’t get away from this smell though. I feel like I can taste it.”
He chuckled, kissing my temple. “We have just enough time to shower,” he whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes, looking up at him, knowing full well what he meant.
“You like it when I get all bitchy,” I said laughing.
“Surprisingly hot,” was all he said as the doors opened for the penthouse. He grabbed my hand, pulling me quickly toward the door.
The guys were already on the couches when we came out of the bedroom. At least Adrik had closed the bedroom door before ripping my clothes off.
“How’s your headache, princess?” Ivan asked.
“So much better now that I can smell again,” I said grinning at him.
“You’re getting headaches again, spider monkey?” Andrei asked, a look of genuine concern on his face.
Ivan looked to Andrei. “Vanessa.”
“WHAT?” Andrei and Misha both said at once.
Viktor said, “do you remember how she said she ‘lost’ the key fob for the elevator? Well, apparently she found it and used it this evening. She was in Boss’s office when we got back from the 5th floor.”
“And… how did *that* go?” Misha asked, his wide smile across his face.
Ivan laughed. “We knew it was Vanessa as soon as we got on the elevator. She always wore the same perfume. I was more worried about Sephie seeing her and jumping to a wrong conclusion.” He looked to me, somewhat apologetically. “I don’t know why I worried about that. I should’ve known you’d see through whatever she was pulling right away.”
I winked at him, shaking my head. He continued, “when we got to the office, Vanessa was sitting on the edge of his desk. He was all the way at the other end of the desk, like he was trying to get away from her. He stood up and walked allllll the way around the other side so he wouldn’t be anywhere near her to get to Sephie.”
Adrik added, “I was a little worried about how Sephie would read this situation too. I wanted to hold onto her, you know, just in case.” He laughed, looking at my shocked expression.
Viktor picked up the story. “We were all worried but had no reason to be. Of course, Sephie saw through the bullshit right away. Ivan told her to return the key fob. She lied and said the elevator was open. Sephie told her if she was going to lie that it needed to at least be believable. She said she’s been living here for months and the elevator has never once been open. You should’ve seen the look on Vanessa’s face when Sephie said she’s been living here. She made a snarky comment about Boss not even knowing her name.” He started laughing and couldn’t finish. Both Ivan and Adrik had started laughing too and couldn’t speak. Misha, Andrei, and Stephen looked to me to finish the story.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I just told her she was wrong and that he knows my name. He screams it often.” I could feel my cheeks flush slightly.
“OH SHIT!” Misha said, all of them now laughing too.
In between laughs, Ivan managed to say, “but that’s not all. She kept going. She called out Vanessa and what she was trying to do, then told her that all she had to offer to a man was her body. She told her that because the three of us were there that she wouldn’t rearrange Vanessa’s face, but if she ever sees her again, she will. She told her to give the key fob back and then to fuck off.”
“I meant it in the nicest way possible,” I said, laughing.
Adrik said, “but it still gets better. Vanessa asked me if I was going to let Sephie speak to her that way. I saw the exact moment that Sephie’s patience ran out. She turned back to Vanessa, telling her as much and letting her anger slip out. The three of us all know that tone of voice. We all took a step back at the same time. Vanessa went white, but she damn sure produced the key fob and handed it to Sephie.”
“And then Sephie reminded her that lies needed to be believable and told her to get the fuck out of her sight,” Ivan finished, still laughing.
Misha, Andrei, and Stephen were stunned for a moment, but they all three stood at once, clapping. I bowed as dramatically as I could.
“Who wants pizza? Being bitchy works up an appetite.” I patted my stomach, laughing. They all agreed and a call was made. “Now, while we wait, it’s Misha’s turn for story time.”
Misha’s wide smile crept over his face. Poor Andrei’s cheeks went red, having to relive it all again. I walked behind Andrei and climbed over the couch to sit behind him while Misha told the story. I was wedged in between his sizeable frame and the back of the couch, my legs and arms around him. “I’ll be your emotional support spider monkey for this, Bubba.”
He patted my legs. “You’re my favorite, spider monkey.”