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Project

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Chapter 29: Project (Evie's POV)

For the rest of the day, I didn't utter a word to Rowan. What he said hurt, no matter how much I denied it or wished for otherwise. I was doing nothing but trying to help him and make this process just a little easier for the both of us. I didn't hate him any less than I did before I signed myself away to him on that contract but I thought maybe if we tried to put our hostility and enmity aside for the duration of this marriage, it would be easier, more believable. But apparently, I was wrong. 

If he wants to go about this arguing at every step of the way, then so be it. I refused to be the one to always cave in and accept defeat just so things could get easier for him, just so his ego wouldn't get a little bruised up, I couldn't do that anymore. I was sick and tired of his attitude. The phone at my desk rang and I answered, still reading over the report in front of me. 

"Come into my office, I have work for you," Rowan said. 

"I'm busy," I replied and then hung up before he could say anything else. Just a minute later, it rang again. I answered again. "Hello?" 

"I won't repeat myself over and over again. If you're forgetting, you're my assistant and an employee of this company, Ms. Spencer. When your boss tells you to do something, you do it." 

"No, when my boss tells me to do something nicely, then I do it. I'm your assistant but I'm a manager at this company as well and at the moment, those duties overpower the ones of your assistant and wife. Goodbye, Mr. Rowan." I hung up again, clenching my jaw and circling one of the errors on the page, drawing a big 'x' over the word so hard that the tip of my pen threatened to pierce through the page. 

Finishing up that file quickly after, I slammed it shut and tossed it on top of the pile to my right before letting my hair down and running a hand through it. I lowered my head and groaned softly until the chaos and voices in the room went quiet. I lifted my head from my desk and saw Rowan waltzing into the room, scanning it once and then spotting me. 

My tongue poked at the inside of my cheek as I released a low breath and then stood up, keeping my hands planted firmly on my desk while he made his way over to me. "Can I help you?" I asked, keeping my voice down and my smile intact. 

"You certainly can. Come with me," he demanded. 

"I'm good." I sat back down, keeping my eyes on him. 

With a pause, he took a look around the room, and sure enough, everybody's eyes were on us. 

There's nothing he can do here in front of everybody. 

With a soft exhale, he rounded my desk, stopping beside my chair. He placed one hand on the back and the other on the desk, leaning down and bringing his lips to my ear. I willed myself not to move, not to react, even not to breathe too loudly, but I still couldn't help the sharp intake of air when his lips brushed against my skin as he used a hand to pull my hair over my shoulders. "If you want to play games like this with me, then you should know well enough by now just how dirty I play, Lyubov," he whispered softly. "Tell me. Do you still want to play?" 

I blinked a few times before turning to look at him, my breath ceasing and the air getting stuck in my lungs as I realized how close we were, barely an inch away. "I don't know what makes you think this is a game to me. It may be a joke to you but I'm taking this seriously. I can't let you treat me like that. I'm not just some random employee you can talk to however you please. I'm your wife, Rowan," I said, holding his gaze. "You better treat me like it." 

He lifted a brow at me, amusement and surprise swirling in his eyes. "Come with me right now and I'll show you exactly how I'd treat my wife. Stand up." He took a step back and pocketed his hands. 

"You're being immature," I told him. 

"Unless you want me to talk right here in front of our audience, then stand up, Lyubov." 

"Apologize to me." 

"You're funny," he said dryly before holding a hand out for me. "Come on." 

With a sigh, I took his hand and stood up, suppressing the urge to dig my heels into his toes and I walked with him into his own office. 

He let me in first and then turned around, locking the door behind us before facing me where I stood at his desk with my ankles crossed and my arms folded across my chest. He sighed, sliding his hands into his pockets, and stood in place, staring at me. "You're not going to cooperate and work with me, are you?" 

"Not until you apologize, no." 

"Apologize for what exactly?" 

"For calling me a waste of your time," I scoffed. 

"So... for speaking the truth?" 

I rolled my eyes, taking in a breath through my nose and trying not to lose my temper. "If anything, Rowan, you're the one who is wasting my time. You're the one who wanted me to be your wife. And you're the one who is going to mess up this whole plan if you keep acting like this. If you want me to continue being your wife and acting like it the way I have been, then you have to start acting like my husband too, and not just in front of everybody. There's only so much of you that I can take." 

"Well, then we better help increase your threshold. Because being with me, you have to get used to it." 

"It's been nineteen years and so far and I still can't do it." 

"Then I better push you to your limits, sweetheart," he said, stalking forward and stopping right in front of me.

"No," I argued, standing my ground. "Apologize to me." 

His head tilted a bit to one side as he eyed me, his lips twitching into a smirk. "You've grown quite daring." 

"Not really. I'm just finally sick of you," I gritted out. 

He held my gaze and then nodded briefly once. "Then I'm sorry." 

I blinked in surprise, faltering. I quite literally almost lost my balance. "Say that again," I blurted out. 

"I said I'm sorry. Isn't that what you wanted to hear?" 

"I... wasn't expecting you to say it." 

"My wife asked, so I had to," he mused. "Now, are you done throwing a fit? Can we get back to work?" 

"I wasn't throwing a fit. Someone should really put you in your place once in a while." 

"That's exactly why you're here, Lyubov," he smirked, lifting his brows at me. 

I shrugged nonchalantly, a smile tugging at my lips. 

"Now for work. Tomorrow night, there's a party at Hotel Wanderlust to celebrate the opening of our very first publishing house under Volkov Enterprises," he explained. 

I blinked in surprise. "We got the approval for our project? Mercury Books?" 

He nodded again. "It's a huge project, a crucial one too. And so, we have a huge guest list. The hosts are, of course, Nate and me. And you by default since you're my wife." 

I hummed in understanding. "Isn't that delightful?" I muttered sarcastically, noticing his lip quirk up but he cleared his throat and stopped himself from smiling at me. 

"Delightful indeed. It's an important event so if you want to leave work early and go shopping, you're free to do so." 

"Wow, someone finally woke up on the right side of the bed for the first time in their life," I sang, grinning at him. "You're being awfully nice all of a sudden. It's suspicious." 

"Not at all. I'm just trying to be the perfect husband I need to be. You confuse me, Milaya. You say you want me to be this way and then you react strangely when I do the things you wish for." 

"That's because I'm not used to you doing the things I wish for. It's nice for a change," I teased. 

"For you," he added. 

"Well, of course. Why else would I marry you?" 

"Perhaps because I'm a ray of sunshine, aren't I?" 

"A ray of sunshine? Absolutely," I nodded. I leaned back onto the table as he leaned forward and planted his hands on the desk, holding my gaze. Both of us refused to blink away and with him being in such proximity, I couldn't help myself as my eyes dropped to his lips. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to move away from him or tear my eyes off of him. 

"If you want me to kiss you, just ask, Lyubov. I won't deny you," he taunted. 

I forced myself to look back into his eyes. "You're so full of yourself," I snickered. 

He offered me a small shrug in response, still refusing to pull away. 

Watching him, both of us being silent, I couldn't help the urge to smile that burned through me. "I hate you," I reiterated despite the grin on my lips. 

He nodded softly and bit the inside of his cheek, barely holding in a smile. "I hate you more." 

"You so don't," I chuckled, shaking my head. 

"I do. Till death do us apart, wife." 

I rolled my eyes at him and then my heart stopped. Because Rowan Volkov smiled at me. Dimples out and everything. 

His dimples were... adorable. Shit. My heart.

I held my breath, I kept quiet, I didn't utter a single word. I just took in the moment. I'd known Rowan for practically my whole life and he never smiled at me like this. This was a first, it was genuine. For a fleeting moment, it felt like he didn't despise me. It felt like he wasn't just with me for show. It felt like we didn't always have to hate each other like this, like we didn't have to have this animosity and forced hatred between us. 

For the first time in a very long time, Rowan felt like the same Rowan I came to know as a kid, the same Rowan I had to say goodbye to when he left for college. I missed him more than I would ever admit, more than I would ever accept, more than I fucking wanted to. One thing that broke my little fifteen-year-old heart was not getting a single letter from him. I wanted it so badly that I was stupid enough to start writing to him on my own. 

Never mind that I never sent them and I will never tell him about those letters either. That box is hidden deep within my closet. 

For the longest time, I wanted Rowan to like me, just like me. Like being around, like spending time with me. I wanted him to let me in. And today, it felt like he finally was. 

"Okay. Get back to work," he said, tipping my chin up with his knuckles once and then pulling away, going back to his seat. 

I bit down on my bottom lip and held back my smile, slowly turning on my heels and facing him. "You smiled for me," I pointed out, breaking out into a beaming grin. 

He lifted a brow at me. 

"It's a shame you don't smile more often, Rowan." 

"Is that so?" 

I nodded. "Smile at me a bit more and I just might quit hating you." 

"I'll keep that in mind, Evie," he said, watching me. 

I chuckled softly and then showed myself out. 

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Chapter 29

I. FUCKING. LOVE. WRITING. THEM.

Ik I say this every time but I mean it every time lol but my favorite couple I've ever written right here <3

next chapter: whiskey