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Or your pillow will be warm 

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"All great and precious things are lonely."

― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

"Percy, my son!" Carlos Markov clapped the back of his son joyfully, "Welcome back to the US! Did you enjoy Greece?"

"I did, dad. Thanks," Percy, with all his seven feet, engulfed his small dad in a hug, "How is the company doing?"

"Ah!" Carlos' mood soured instantly, "That Avyanna bitch thinks she can manipulate me! Me! After you had gone away, I didn't have anyone that would help me with her either."

"I had to dad," Percy huffed, "The FBI was on my trail. Besides, she is just a tiny woman!" He laughed mockingly, "She couldn't have possibly scared you that much."

"She is the kind of evil woman they call Lilith son," Carlos huffed, "She has no control! I couldn't control her, she is outspoken; not meek and definitely not docile."

"Not docile huh?" Percy ran a hand over his chin, wicked contempt and interest for this woman he hadn't seen in years boiling over, "She sounds interesting. Is she as hot as I remember?"

Carlos rolled his eyes, his nauseating voice taking on an octave, "You have to focus on what we can gain, not the chick!"

"Has our informer been working well?" Percy asked with a sinister smile.

Carlos' face lit up with an equally evil smile, "Oh they are. If everything goes well, Avyanna Mikhail is bound to fall in our trap."

Avyanna's POV:

"You have to be perfect, Yana. Like a doll. Dolls don't have feelings, do they?"

My eyes snapped open as the dark, sonorous voice resonated within the tendril of my mind. It took me a while to become aware of the time I was in. Like a curtain of memories being lifted and finally unveiling the reality.

Safe, lying in my bed.

I was drenched in sweat, despite the air conditioner being on the highest speed.

That fucking bitch gives me no solace even after her death.

It was a fucking nightmare.

Or a lullaby of memories I would rather not remember.

"Meow~" I looked beside me, taking in Azure who seemed to have woken up too.

"You are awake," I lifted him by his back, he only eyed me curiously as I looked around in search of Mr. Carlisle, "Where's your daddy?"

He meowed again, letting out a yawn. Something fluttered within me as I held him close, rubbing his warm back.

Roman's scent permeated the bed and the bedsheet, engulfing me like a warm hug. Serene and tranquil- a safe cocoon from the defilation of my nightmares. A blanket had been draped over me, which was very thoughtful of him.

My eyes caught the glaring pink note on the nightstand.

"Ms. Mikhail, we had some pending work yesterday. I have taken it upon myself to add some finishing touches seeing as you and Sir Azure Alliester Fitzcharles the first are in a deep slumber and look exhausted. Please feed him something when he wakes up and give him a yarn ball to play with.

Electricity was restored while you were sleeping, hence the blanket.

-R"

A smile tickled at my lips as I read the note. The man deeply cared about his kitten. A person who was compassionate about animals couldn't be a bad person.

I softly caressed Azure's fur, picking him up and setting him down in the litter box. Giving him some food and a yarn ball to play with after he finished his business, I patted him on the back and left the room.

______________________

"Gentlemen," I addressed the meeting room of executives, "I hope you are doing well?"

The animated murmur came to a halt as I walked into the room, dressed to present mine and Roman's finalised plan from the last night.

Speaking of him, I noticed my assistant standing at the corner of the room with a board and paper. I took a seat as they all smiled at me in greeting. I nodded, opening the file and clicking open the PowerPoint.

"As you know our first blueprint had been stolen from us by a company snitch," I stated, eyeing their demeanour, trying to notice any unusuality in their body language, "Thankfully, I had a backup which was finalised by me and my assistant."

The boardroom had always been my playground. This is where I ruled and thrived. Speaking came naturally to me, the body language and conveying exactly what I wanted.

The CEO position should be mine and mine alone. There was absolutely no one else who was deserving of it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I smile, "Now I present to you, Project Black."

I go over the blueprint, describing each of its segments and how it will be executed. I also demonstrate how the codes can be shortened so they consume less space and RAM. Some of them nod, some of them question me silently with a simple tilt of their eyebrows, but all of them admire me.

"But Ms. Mikhail," One of them interrupts, "If we approve of this blueprint and let's say Nathaniel Black likes it too; how are we going to install it without a bug fix plan? Like what if it crashes? We don't have a backup plan."

"We actually do," I give him a cold smile, making him shift uncomfortably. 

Are they fucking stupid? Baldheaded dimwit.

"Of course we aren't going to install something in a system without having its entire package," I pull out another USB, connecting it with the system, "This system is in need of a revision, however. I trust that it will be done by the next five days?"

"How do we approve of it?" One of them asked, taking off his glasses, "This system is only highly compatible with a particular operating system. It's not flexible!"

"The lesser chance of getting attacked by virus," I reasoned, taking a seat and crossing my legs.

"Still-"

The room bursts into a fit of murmur. Chaos unfurls, from the corner Roman meets my eyes nervously.

"Shut the fuck up right now, Or I will make you."

The ensuing silence is almost hilarious. Their jaws pop open as they stare at me with widened eyes. They expect Mr. angel-mouth-Mikhail's daughter to be as prim and proper like him.

Unfortunately for them, I can make a sailor blush.

A faint throb crawled under my temple as I tilted my head to Roman who was now avoiding me nervously. In fact, a tense silence had fallen over the room, I could smell their nerves.

"Give me a cigar, Roman," I gritted out. He immediately took one out and pressed it against my lips. I met his eyes through his glasses as he leaned down.

A jolt of shiver ran down my spine as his index finger slightly brushed my lips. I smirked, taking the cigar in my teeth, touching his fingers with my lips intentionally.

He flushed cutely, his eyes glazing over. No harm in playing around a little bit, right?

I play with men for a living.

"Light it," The tension between us was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. His Adam apple bobbed as he leaned closer again, that familiar comforting smell penetrating my mind as he lit the cigar.

If he was mine I would have given him the head of his life.

"Thank you," I rasped, taking a drag of smoke, releasing it on his dazed face, turning around and breaking the spell.

"The absurdity of your statement baffles me, Mr. Cleveland," I rolled the words between my tongue, feeling calmer as the nicotine hit my system, "Do you, honestly think, there is another way of getting the project black without you approving the only plan we have right now?"

"Well, we have capable engineers and-"

"This is not a foolproof plan, but this is the only plan we have right now," I stated calmly, "Do you think they will be able to come up with something in a week? Be fucking reasonable."

He shifted in his chair uncomfortably.

"Better yet," I asked quietly, "Do you think they are more capable than me? I know I am a self-centered narcissistic woman but give me a little credit here. I was the only one working 18 hours a day while you were off to your paid vacation with your mistress."

A hushed silence ensues as they steal glances at one another.

"You all know this, very well," I blowed out a puff of smoke, "I am a fucking genius and none of you come close to being me."

He sucked in a sharp breath, his puffy face turning crimson from the hard slap of the truth.

"I don't sugarcoat," I deadpanned, "Frankly, most of you have done a shitty job with this company and everything is the consequence of your small actions you took over the years. Last year we lost a couple of major shares because you couldn't decide which plan you should implement, overworking my capable manpower while my father's health deteriorated?"

I killed the cigar taking my time to meet their eyes. They had the audacity to look ashamed.

Well, I was not ashamed. I was not my father and I certainly would not go easy on these fools because they lent me a thousand dollars when I was struggling.

"Do you approve of this or not?" I questioned exasperatedly, "I don't have all day."

"I think this is a well articulated design, Ms. Mikhail," The senior engineer spoke up, a small smile playing on his jolly face, a glint of pride shining in his eyes.

I raised an eyebrow.

"I am not saying this because you are technically bullying us, your father's friends and partners into submitting to your command," I narrowed my eyes, which earned me a chuckle from him, "But I would approve of it either way."

The others nodded, silently agreeing with him.

A breath escaped me as I signed the paper and passed it around the table so that they could write down their answer.

My heart skipped a beat as the paper came back to me, most of the answer being in favour of them approving the plan.

"Thank you," I let out a breath, feeling lighter than ever, "I hope we can make this work."

"I know you won't disappoint us, Ms. Mikhail," Jenna spoke with a small smile, "Thank you for working hard."

I nodded, grateful that they understood my perspective.

"I will see you three days later," I stood up, "Dismissed."

"Good job today," I smirked at Roman who was suddenly taking a great interest in the ceiling, "Thanks for the blanket last night."

He scratched his neck, meeting my eyes for a brief moment and looking back at the ceiling again, flustered, "T-Thank you, I am glad that you are okay. Erm- t-this ceiling's color could be changed, don't you think?"

I leaned in, his height impending on me, his smell ruling my senses and his heavy breaths fanning my hair as I whispered, "What if we replace the ceiling with a mirror?"

He stiffened, in a flash, meeting my eyes as his lips parted. A secretive smile played on my lips.

"Maybe it will make things more..." His addictive scent permeated my senses as I leaned into him, "Interesting."

He gasped, his hand flying to his mouth as he blushed like a fucking virgin bride.

"I know that you found my playroom, Roman."

I placed my hand over his heart. Thump, thump, thump. 

A pool of warmth settled in my stomach, and suddenly, every pore of my body ached to be touched.

"Miss," Jenna ran over to me. I backed off with a cough, still looking into his eyes. I ran my eyes over his crimson face as he stared at me with bewilderment and lust. I looked over to Jenna who looked disheveled all of a sudden.

"What is it?" I asked.

The look on her face told me everything I feared.

The earth seemed to have shattered beneath me as I felt my heart race frantically, after years.

Everything was slowly crumbling, like a butterfly effect.

"Your father," She gulped, her eyes widening in fear, "He was taken into the ICU. Doctors say he doesn't have much time."

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[edited]

Next chapter is going to be extremely interesting.

Take love 💕