"Maksim."

He tore his eyes from the entrance and looked at the woman kneeling before him.

She was smart and pretty. Her hair was auburn with lighter streaks running through it. It reached her waist and was parted down the middle. Her eyes were light brown, and her cheekbones high. She wasn't perfect, though. She was too tall and fair-skinned. Raelynn was shorter and tanner.

"You're not hard again," she told him.

How many times had they tried this? How many times did he call in this fake Raelynn to try to forget the original one? His cock wouldn't be fooled, though. It wanted Raelynn. The real one.

"Get up," he told her.

She adjusted his pants and stood. With pursed lips, she said, "is it me?"

"No."

"Erectile disfunction, then? I could look into doctors for you."

He laughed. He knew his cock was healthy– physically at least. It was his head that was fucked up. He could fist himself and come to the memories of swimming through Raelynn's tight little cunt, but he couldn't come for another woman.

"Go to work. Send someone to fix the door." With that dismissal, he reached for his phone to call Viktor.

The phone rang for a long minute. He thought of Raelynn's hurt expression and how she ran out, looking ready to throw up. Instead of feeling satisfied with his revenge, he felt bitter.

"Maksim," Viktor finally answered the phone.

"What the fuck are you doing?" His roar was so loud that he was sure they heard him in the lobby.

"You found out about the girl?"

"Why did you send her after me? What are you planning?"

"She said she would fix you. Since you returned to us, you have been more machine than man; all about numbers and using alcohol as fuel. I thought she would be worth a shot."

"Spare me the philatrophic bullshit," Maksim interjected. "You are in no fucking position to meddle with my life."

"You're an asshole, Maksim, but I don't want you to waste away. I did what was best for you."

"The same way you did the best thing for Demyan? Like that?"

"How many times will we discuss that? I was a boy!" Viktor snarled.

"Do you feel that rage? That festering, invasive and draining parasite? That is what I felt when I found out what you did to Demyan, what I felt when I left Russia, what I feel now. I hate you more than I hate that rage. I hate that you look like me, and you bleed like me. I hate that we have a bond I can't fucking escape. You want to do what's the best for me? Then crawl into a hole and die. You can bring her with you. Just stay out of my way."

Viktor was silent for a long time. Maksim's declaration of hatred was enough to make a grown man cry, but the men in his family only fed on hatred. That's why Maksim wasn't surprised when Viktor chuckled. It was typical of him. It's how his darkness manifested itself.

"If only you knew."

"Knew what?" Maksim snarled. "That you're screwing my leftovers?"

"Leftovers... I love how plural that word is."

"What the fuck are you talking about, you insane son of a bitch?"

"I am the insane one? Have you looked in the mirror? Have you seen what you did to your chest? Have you noticed your spiraling alcoholism? You need to talk to this girl– communicate. Isn't that what a shrink would recommend? I don't know. Talk to her, or put a bullet in your head already. You're becoming insufferable."

"I'm firing her, and I'm getting you transferred to the businesses in California. I'm done with you."

"Good luck with that. I pulled a favor with father, so he will pick my side. The girl is staying, and so am I. Now fuck off." He hung up, and Maksim accidentally crushed the phone in his hand.

Both Viktor and Raelynn were snakes. They were a match made in hell. The idea of them being together shouldn't bother him, but it had his teeth grinding. It made him want to hurt someone when he imagined Raelynn on Viktor's lap, talking about her day, grinning when he did little things like buying matching bracelets, watch romantic comedies, getting her feet massaged after a long day of work.

Those had been his smiles, his laughters, his farce memories. The moments had been fake, but the emotions he felt had been real. He didn't want those memories to exist within another male, especially one that looked like him, that made him disposable.

He could share an empire with his brothers, but not his happiness.

"черт возьми," he cursed.

He picked up his cellphone since the office phone was destroyed.

"Get me a pack of cigarettes and something to eat. I need a new office phone, too," he ordered his secretary.

"Yes, sir. I scheduled the door to be fixed tonight."

"Good."

He hung up and dove into his computer, tracking down Raelynn. She was working for marketing now. If Viktor really called in a favor to protect her, then Maksim wouldn't be able to rip her out. Their father kept his word, and he was the most powerful Kuznetsov until he died.

Maksim would have to avoid Raelynn; hide from her in his own territory. The idea was abominable.

His secretary, Laina, showed up with what he requested. He stared at the burger she got him. It was his usual lunch, but he had no appetite.

"Take this away. You can leave."

Laina pursed her lips; the ones that minutes ago had been sucking his disinterested cock. He could tell that she wanted more between them, something he couldn't give.

"Would you like me to bring you something else to eat?"

"No."

She left and took his lunch with her. He lit up a cigarette, because it was either this or alcohol. The smoke blurred his vision as he stared at the computer monitor. Raelynn disappeared for seconds, but then came right back. She was inescapable.

The picture in her file was old. She looked plumper now, and her clothes rattier. He wished those changes made his nose stop itching with the need to trail the column of her neck. They didn't. He liked her this way. There was more to squeeze, more to suckle, more to bite, more to hold on his lap, more to cuddle in bed.

He hated the memories that her poison was surfacing, so he dug the letter out of his desk. He read it until his chest was so tight with fury that it allowed no space for reminiscence. Then, he got to work. He turned the destruction inside him fruitful, and made the company another million through an aggressive merge and acquisition.

Days passed. He didn't see Raelynn again and buried himself in work to lock her out of his thoughts.

"Your lunch, sir."

Laina stood with the plate in her hands. He had no appetite again. For days, he had been throwing food out after taking a few distasteful bites. He didn't like taking lunch breaks, because they allowed Raelynn time to sneak into his mind.

"Have it yourself. I don't–" His hand snapped up and clutched her wrist. He rose from his seat and peered into the plate in her hands. "What is this?"

"Uh, sandwiches."

"The crust is cut off. Why?"

"Oh, I thought you would like it better this way."

"Don't lie to me, Laina."

She would've never thought of doing something like this. No, this was the signature of another woman.

"Well... I was in the cafeteria, talking with Susan."

He recognized her as the personal assistant of another executive.

"I was telling her that you weren't eating lunch, and the girl that was here last week heard as she passed by. She approached us shyly. She told me to cut off the crust because you didn't like it. It was kind of creepy, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try."

"Did she say anything else?" he asked, leaning closer with a hunger for something other than the sandwich.

"Uh, at first, she just apologized for intruding and asked if you were alright. I told her you were fine, feeling bad for her. She's pitiful."

"Leave the plate. You can go."

He sat down, his body heavy, as he stared at the crust-less sandwiches.

Why was she doing this? Why was she hitting home with these intimate touches? Why break his heart and stir the pieces?

He picked up the plate. His legs started moving before he allowed them to. Employees parted, not risking saying hello to his scowling face.

He went straight to marketing, knowing they had a meeting. He was hoping to catch Raelynn, although he had no idea what he would say or do when he found her.

He stopped by the corner. There were only three employees on the floor. They were all packing to meet the others in the conference room. Raelynn was among them.

"You guys need to chill," she mumbled, although he heard it.

Who was she talking to?

She pushed hair behind one of her ears, and Maksim wondered if she was using headphones.

"It tickles. Stop it."

She was making no sense, but she had always been quirky like that. It's one of the reasons he fell for her. His eyes moved to his plate, and he realized how foolish he was being.

He dropped the plate off on a random desk, and then he left.