Chapter Nine

Willow’s POV.

The weekend was now over. I lay in bed as I thought about the fact that I was going to have to face that man again. I would give up everything I owned to be able to never see his face again… at least that was what I was trying to tell myself. For some twisted reason, even after all this man had done to me, I could not bring myself to hate him completely.

Did I want to scratch his face off? Yes, definitely! Did I want to scream at him and let all of my frustrations out? Of course. However, some part of my treacherous mind was looking forward to seeing him again. I did not understand the effect that he had on me. And I did not understand why he did not want to let me go.

From all indications, Dimitri Rustanov thought I was incompetent. And it did not help matters that he had started nitpicking at little things such as my scent. Like the perfume I wore to work? If there was ever a Traumatized Employee Anonymous, I would probably be the president. But that was besides the point.

This man seemed like he hated me, and I did not understand it. You would think that with all the distaste, he would have already fired me. But no! He was jumping through hoops to make sure I stayed with him. He had refused my resignation and did not want to fire me. What the fuck did he want from me?

With that unanswered question on my mind, I got out of bed very sluggishly. I missed the days when I was actually excited to get to work. Of late, there was nothing that stimulated me anymore. The more this man acted the way he was doing, the more frustrated I became. There was no way I was ever going to be happy working with him at this rate.

I knew that to climb up the corporate walls like I wanted to, you would have to ass kiss a whole lot. But pretending had never been something I was very good at. And Dimitri Rustanov was stretching me past my limits.

I sighed again then I walked to the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I was very tempted to carry myself back to bed and call in sick. But avoidance was not going to solve anything. If I called in sick today, I would have to go into work the next day. And eventually, I would still have to see the man’s face. There was no point pushing something that was inevitable.

I took a long shower to prepare my mind for the day. Luckily, I had woken up early enough to indulge in these little pleasures. When I finally got out of the shower, I felt like a prune. But I could not deny that it had relieved me. I felt a little better than I had when I woke up. That was something at least.

I went to my closet and picked out something I knew I would look amazing in—an orange satin shirt and a pair of brown high waisted pants that went well together. I paired the combo with brown stiletto heels and a brown bag. Then I set out for work.

It had been a while since I had actually dressed up to go to work. I could not deny that it was very invigorating. Maybe I had let myself go way more than I thought. And there was only one person that I could see fit to blame in this case. I rolled my eyes as I got into the Uber I had called. It was probably unhealthy to put the blame on one person like this. However, there was nothing else I could do. It almost seemed like he was the cause of all my problems of late. How else was I supposed to react?

I reached the office in a shorter time than I would have hoped. As I walked to the elevator, I tried to convince myself not to have any out of turn reaction. I was going to do my job. I was not going to let Dimitri Rustanov take away the sanity I had managed to hold on to. This man had already changed me in so many ways. I did not want him to have that much power over me anymore.

Soon enough, I reached our floor. The most stressful part about this job was the fact that Dimitri and I had an entire floor to ourselves. I had often wondered why one man needed an entire floor for his office but I had never been bold enough to ask. After everything that had happened recently, I doubted I would ever be bold enough. I did not want my question to trigger anything and make him mad. There was no way I was about to deal with that.

I peeped into his office and he was already there. So I knocked and got in. I could not deny the physical hold he had over me. The man peered up at me with those gray eyes of his and I almost stumbled in my heels. I did not though. Imagine how embarrassing that would be. I stood my ground and gave him the faces smile I could muster. I needed this job. I could not afford to act picky.

“Good morning, sir,” I said as calmly as I could.

“Willow,” the man said, inclining his head.

I could not pinpoint why but today felt different. The energy was something else. For some reason, it felt like the wolf I had seen in Dimitri’s house was in the room with us. The thought was very absurd but I could not shake it off. There was something.

I swallowed.

I was not about to convey my fears to this man so he could make me feel stupid once again. So I shook my head imperceptibly and asked what I originally intended to ask. “Do I bring you a cup of coffee while we go over the Phillips report?” I asked as confidently as I could.

“Yes Willow, do that,” was all he said and I nodded. Then I stepped out and went to the mini kitchen.

What I did not expect however, was for this man to follow me out of his office. That feeling that we were not alone came back more than ever. I pretended I could not feel anything and I continued making the coffee just how he liked.

“Willow,” Dimitri Rustanov called out.

I paused.

“Yes, sir?” My words were not intended to be a question. But I felt weird. This was weird.

After my question/statement, Dimitri did not say anything else. I stopped what I was doing and turned towards him with a frown. He was watching me intently, so intently that it almost made me feel uncomfortable.

“Forget it,” Dimitri said, then he closed his eyes and sat at one of the tables.

I raised my brow and turned back to the coffee machine. The coffee was brewing so I knew I could go and sit with my boss. But his behavior was so weird. And if I went anywhere close to him, I was going to call him out on it. So I stayed there, watching the coffee drop into his mug.

Once that was done, I put in a sugar and took the mug to him. Dimitri took the mug from me. I sat in the chair opposite him and just watched him as he drank his coffee. Maybe we were a perfect match after all. Why was I staring at him so intently?

“Aren’t you going to get yourself a cup?” my boss asked.

I shook my head. “Coffee is for the days when I cannot function.”

He took my answer in without a word and took another sip of his coffee. His eyes did not leave mine and it felt like our gazes had been cemented to each other. I wanted to stare away from him but I could not bring myself. Something was keeping me there. I did not know if I liked it or not.

Dimitri Rustanov placed his coffee mug on the table, then he stretched his hand out and put it on mine. I felt a jolt of electricity go through my body and I pulled back. I looked down at my hand with wide eyes then looked back at him. As always, he looked very unbothered. It seemed I had imagined the whole thing.

I wanted to brush it under the rug but I was so tired of feeling crazy and not being able to express myself. “Sir,” I whispered. “Did you feel that?”

For a split second, it seemed Dimitri Rustanov would tell me yes. Then he shook his head almost imperceptibly and asked, “Feel what, Willow?”

“Never mind,” I said in another whisper. What was going on? I did not understand anything anymore.

“Let’s go to my office,” Dimitri said abruptly and I nodded. We stood and headed to his office and I shook my head to clear it. I was going crazy.

It was lunch break by the time we were done with the reports. “I’m going to get lunch, sir. Do you need anything?”

“No thank you, Willow. You can take an extra hour,” he told me and I nodded.

That was a first. An extra hour off for lunch? I was not complaining anyways. My first thought when I stepped out of his office was to call Kendra. But I had bothered her enough with my problems.

Then I remembered Lennon and my spirits lifted. Of course I was not going to drink alcohol since I had to come back to work. But it would be nice to talk with someone else. Maybe it would be more refreshing and get my mind off everything that was going on with my boss.

I picked my bag up and headed to the elevator. I could not explain what was happening to me, but for some reason, my body felt so heavy. It felt like it was physically wrong for me to be leaving Dimitri. I ignored the weird feeling even though I was perplexed and confused. For the longest time, this man had been the bane of my existence and leaving his presence should give me peace and joy. So, why was I acting a fool, and why was my body betraying me?

I decided to walk when I reached the parking lot. I did not want to wait for an Uber and I had not brought my car. Also, my boss had given me an extra lunch hour, so I might as well take advantage of it. Luckily enough for me, the heels I had worn that day were actually comfortable to walk in. So, I put in my Air Pods and headed down to Lennon’s bar.

In fifteen minutes, I reached. I let out a sigh of relief when I noticed it was open. I walked in a bit tentatively. It had been two weeks since I had come here. He probably received a lot of clients and I doubted he would recognize me. Whatever anyways. If the vibe was off, then I was going to call up Kendra and we would plan something for the both of us.

Luckily enough for me, that was not a problem. As soon as Lennon spotted me, a huge smile appeared on his face. I let out a sigh of relief and walked towards the bar. He was with someone else, so I sat and hummed a little as I waiting for him to get done with the other clients. The bar was less empty that day. Which was crazy since it was a Monday.

Well, not that crazy anyways. Especially since I had found myself in such an awkward position before. I tapped my hands on the counter top as I waited for Lennon to come towards me. One of the waiters tried to approach me but I noticed him shake his head imperceptibly. It made me even more happy because things would have been so awkward if he did not remember who I was.

I smiled when he came towards me and stood there. There was a smile on his face as well so I had no doubt that the enthusiasm to see each other was completely mutual. Lennon stretched his hand out and I took it. I was glad when all he did was shake my hand and leave it at that. I hated people who tried to be over familiar by trying to hug me or by kissing my hand or something.

“Willow,” he said. My smile widened, happy that I did not have to remind him my name.

“Lennon, it’s so nice to see that you remembered,” I told him, then I swiveled the stool I was sitting on so I could face him completely.

“Of course I did. You were one of my first few clients, and one of the only that was brave and willing enough to try my recommendations. Judging from the smile on your face, I’m guessing you’re not in today for the same reasons as the last time.”

Lennon ended his words with a supercilious brow raise.

“Definitely not. The last time… we were in the pits. Things are a lot better now.” Plus, I had realized how dangerous it was to confide in a stranger like that. Not that I was about to tell him that was how I felt.

For some reason, I wanted to protect Dimitri although he was being horrible to me. Was this Stockholm syndrome? Was this how victims felt about their kidnappers?

“I guess the boss is no longer a problem then?” There was some kind of insistence in Lennon’s tone. I found it weird but I decided not to focus on it.

So, instead of saying anything about Dimitri, I said lightly, “Turns out a lot can change in two weeks. Today, unfortunately, I am going to join the ranks of your cowardly and unwilling clients. No alcohol for me.”

“That much is to be expected, now that things are good,” he said, and I laughed a little uncomfortably.

There was some weird emphasis that he placed on the world good that I did not really like. Was I wrong about the entire perception I had of him? Had it just been the sadness and desperation that had made me think ‘Oh this guy is cool people’? Because his behavior was not making a lot of sense.

“Yes, they are,” I insisted. “If I can just get a non-alcoholic cocktail.”

“Of course. Coming right up,” he said, then walked away from me.

I frowned a little when he left. The saying misery loves company was making a whole more sense now. The day I came to this bar, I was weak and I needed an outlet for my sadness. It did not mean that I was completely okay with everything Dimitri was doing now. But I was determined not to let it make me even more unhappy. I guess Lennon had been expecting that same person and I did not deliver.

When he came back towards me with a cocktail in his hand, I smiled at him. He took a seat next to me and waited as I sipped on my drink before starting any conversation.

“This is really good,” I told him after the first two sips.

“We live to serve,” Lennon replied with a fake bow.

I laughed a little, then focused my gaze on something else before taking another sip from the drink.

“So, tell me Willow, what has changed from the past few weeks? Has your boss magically become your best friend? Is he no longer a monster?”

I frowned at Lennon’s choice of words. It seemed like he was taunting me deliberately. I had given him the opening so maybe I had no right to be mad.

“It’s not that anything has changed. It’s that I realized just how unfair I was being. Dimitri is a great boss, but it was one of those days. And I was so goddamned overwhelmed,” I explained.

“I see,” was all Lennon had to say. “Give me a minute.”

He stood and left and I shook my head. It was crazy that who I thought was a genuine person only just wanted to know what was going on with Dimitri. The way he has asking all these questions was so deliberate. This was clearly the wrong place to be. So, I sipped on my cocktail quickly and placed the glass on the bar. Then I looked for Lennon and beckoned him over.

He came towards me with a smile. “Leaving already?” he asked.

“Yes, I am. I have lots of work to do today and I cannot stay here any longer.”

Lennon hummed. “That’s fine. I guess we’ll just see each other some other time.”

“Definitely,” I answered with a smile.

“Let me walk you out.”

“Oh I haven’t paid yet!” I exclaimed.

“It’s on the house.”

I felt very uncomfortable taking freebies from anyone but I felt it would be rude to insist. So, I just picked my bag up and we walked to the exit. We reached the street and he turned towards me.

“Did you come along with your car?”

“No, I’ll just walk. I find that it helps me clear my head.”

Lennon nodded, then he leaned towards me and pulled me into a hug. “Thank you for coming, Willow. Hoping to see you soon.”

I hugged him back then waved when he pulled away. “Bye, Lennon. Till next time.”

I started walking towards my office with a perplexed expression on my face. That entire encounter was so weird…