Burn

Chapter Ten

Brianna:

I made it home without incident, which was a miracle in itself because I could not even remember the drive back.

My body was moving on autopilot, running through everything that has happened in the last forty eight hours.

From the failed date, to the night under the stars, to the disastrous fiasco that was this morning.

"I'm never dating again." I mumbled to myself as I stepped onto the private elevator.

My phone vibrated in my handbag and I pulled it out to see a series of text messages from Viktor. I didn't even have the energy to respond, so I just shoved my phone back into my bag as the doors opened into the foyer.

I stopped short when I saw a trail of rose petals on the floor, leading into the living room, where it was transformed into a cozy, but romantic space. Blake stood in the middle of it all, a warm smile on his face as he watched me taking in everything he did.

"Good evening, baby. I'm glad you're home." He made his way over to me, holding out the glass of red wine he had in his hands, but I refused to take it.

"Blake, what is all of this?" I asked, taking in the covered down trays of food, the lit candles and the bouquet of roses on the table.

"This, is the beginning of my apology to you for everything that has been happening between us lately." I stared at him for a moment, before a humorless laugh escaped me.

"Do you really think that a dinner is going to make up for all the s**t you've put me through? I told you this morning Blake, I'm done. I was serious."

"Brianna, you cannot seriously be throwing our relationship away over something so f*****g petty." The smile on his face was replaced by a scowl and I raised a brow.

"Petty, Blake? You call standing me up multiple times being petty? You call being tired of taking care of you when you're always drunk petty? You call being cheated on petty?"

"I've never cheated on you!" He lied and a snort escaped me.

"Tell that to the cheap ass lipstick stains and the two dollar perfume that remains on your shirt." I saw his face start to turn red, and I could see that I pissed him off.

Too f*****g bad I didn't give a f**k.

"I swear to God, Brianna. You're such a f*****g bitch." He growled and I gave him a curt smile.

"It takes one to know one. Now get out." I turned away from him, walking up the stairs into my bedroom.

I slammed the door behind me, locking it before heading to my closet to change.

The audacity of that man. Did he honestly think that a dinner and a few roses were going to fix all the problems that were present in our relationship?

This is a joke. Honestly, my whole life as of late has been a f*****g joke.

I dropped onto my bed after changing into my robe, staring up at the ceiling.

"I wish you were here, dad." I whispered, feeling tears well in my eyes.

He always knew how to cheer me up and make everything better. I heard my phone ringing, but I didn't have the energy to move and get it, so I listened to it ring until it stopped.

I closed my eyes, taking in the silence of the penthouse, before it started ringing again.

I groaned in frustration, going to my bag and fishing out my phone.

I frowned when I saw that it was Egor calling, and I immediately called him back, thinking that something was wrong.

"Hi Egor, How are you?" I asked, sitting on the arm chair in front of the floor to ceiling windows.

"I'm doing good Bri. I was calling to see how you were doing." He said and I couldn't help but smile at the fatherly concern he showed.

"I'm good."

"Really? Because you don't sound that good." He said, And I sighed.

"I've been better." I admitted to him.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong? Is it Viktor?" I felt my body tense as he mentioned his son's name, but I I wasn't about to tell him about the office incident.

There's nothing to tell anyways. Viktor and I aren't together so it doesn't matter what or who he does.

I just need my stupid heart to remember that.

"No, nothing like that. I'd rather not talk about it either."

He didn't push the topic, and I was grateful for that. We spoke for a couple of minutes, before I heard his wife's voice in the background and some more mumbling.

"Brianna, I have to go. Elena and I are heading out for the evening. You should come by for dinner on Sunday. I'll finally be able to introduce you to the whole family." He said and I cringed.

"Oh, tell your wife I said hello. As for dinner, I'll let you know." We said our goodbyes and I hung up.

Well, s**t. I definitely don't want to go to dinner on Sunday, but I also don't want to seem rude to Egor. He's done a lot for my father and I. I don't want to come off as ungrateful.

I was pondering what to do when I heard the house phone ring and I got up to answer it.

"Yes?"

"Ms. De Luca? We have a delivery here for you." The Manager, Angelo said and I frowned.

"Send it up."

I heard a knock on the front door, and I made my way towards it, opening it to see a man holding two huge bouquets of Calla lilies, which happens to be my favorite flowers.

"Are you Brianna?" The man asked, and I nodded, stunned.

"These are for you." He handed me the flowers, before stepping out of my line of vision and coming back with a giant life size teddy bear and my jaw dropped.

"What the hell." I whispered as he set it down in front of me.

"I'll need you to sign for these." He handed me the tablet and I signed, feeling his stare linger on me for a minute.

"Thank you." I mumbled, and he gave me a nod before leaving.

I walked back into the kitchen, resting the bouquets of flowers on the counter, before going back to pick up the teddy bear, kicking the door closed behind me.

I set it down by the counter as well and looked between the flowers for a note. I found an envelope and opened it, wondering if it could be from Blake.

"Brianna, I'm sorry for the things I said this morning. I was out of line and I had no right to speak to you like that. It's just that I'm really starting to like you a lot and knowing that at the moment, you're with someone else, leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Still, that leaves me no right to be disrespectful and I hope that you could forgive me for being an ass.

Viktor."

My heart flipped, but I immediately scolded myself. Nothing good can come from this and it's best that we made professional.

But why did that feel like the wrong decision?

~.~

After I cleaned up the things that Blake left behind and packing all his stuff, I decided that it was time for a self care night.

I wish I had girlfriends that I could talk and vent to, but I've always been the outcast in high school and in college. It seemed that my wealth intimidated some and the ones that weren't intimidated, was trying to use me for what they can get before dropping me.

I pushed those negative thoughts out of my head, and applied my face mask while waiting for the bath to fill.

My phone began ringing and I saw that it was Viktor. I contemplated whether or not I was going to answer, before sighing and picking up.

Might as well get this out of the way.

“Hello?”

“Did you get the gifts I sent you?” He asked.

“I did.” I responded, putting him on speaker as I turned the water off.

“Did you like them?” He asked and I rolled my eyes.

I shrugged off my robe, climbing into the bath and settling myself in the warm water.

“What do you want, Viktor?” I asked and he exhaled roughly.

“I want you. And I want you to forgive me for being an asshole this morning.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I told you that already.” I picked up the glass of red wine I had on the side of the tub, sinking deeper into the warm water.

“No, Brianna. I was an ass. Let me make it up to you.” He murmured, but I wasn’t interested.

“Liar.” My subconscious whispered.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Viktor. In fact, whatever this is that we had going on between us, it should end here. We’re going to be working with each other for a while and I don’t want things to be more awkward than they already are.”

He was so quiet that I thought for a moment that he had hung up, but I looked back at the phone and saw that he was still on the line.

“Viktor?”

“Is your boyfriend there?” He asked and I frowned.

“No, But-”

He cut me off immediately.

“I’ll be at your place in fifteen minutes.” That was all he said before hanging up, not even giving me a chance to protest.

I sent him a quick text, telling him not to bother to come. But if he was who I suspected, he wouldn’t listen to s**t I had to say.

I groaned in irritation of having to cut my bath short, taking a quick shower before going into my closet to pull on a pair of grey sweatpants with a black crop top. I piled my hair into a messy bun on top of my head at the same time the house phone began ringing.

“Ms. DeLuca, there’s a Mr. Markov in the lobby here waiting for you, should I send him up?” Angelo said.

I was taking a while to answer, since I wasn’t sure if I wanted him here, when I received a text from Viktor.

Viktor 8:30PM ~ Tell him yes little kitten, or you won’t like the consequences.

“Send him up.” I sighed.

“Are you sure, Ms. DeLuca. We can send him away if you wish.” Angelo responded, reading into my silence.

“No, no that’s okay, Angelo. Just send him up.”

I hung up after that, and I received a text from Viktor.

Viktor 8:33 PM ~ Good girl.

Brianna 8:33 PM ~ *Inserts Middle Finger Emoji*

I made my way downstairs, going into the kitchen for another glass of wine, when I heard an incessant knock on the door.

I made my way to the door, standing in front of it.

I contemplated leaving his ass standing out there, when he spoke.

“Open the door, little kitten. I’m not leaving until we speak.”

I gave a sigh of annoyance before opening the door, letting him in.

He looked devastatingly handsome in the tight tshirt and jeans he had on, the shirt clinging to his strong chest and ripped abdomen.

I swallowed heavily, looking away from him, and led him into the living room.

“Do you want anything to drink? Wine? Water? Beer?” I asked, but he shook his head.

“Fine. Suit yourself.” I muttered, making my way into the kitchen to pour myself my glass of wine.

I could hear him follow behind me, but I chose to ignore him as I poured my wine.

Before I could take a sip though, he grabbed the glass from my hand, setting it on the counter.

“Hey!”

“ I want to talk about earlier.” He took a step closer to me, but I took one back.

“There’s nothing to talk about. Let’s just keep things professional.” I said, refusing to look at him.

A growl rumbled out of his chest and he grabbed my arm, pulling me tightly against him so that I landed on his hard chest.

I gasped as I could feel his erection digging into my lower stomach and I looked up at him.

“Does this feel f*****g professional to you?” He growled lowly, his hand slipping down to squeeze my ass.

“V-Viktor.”

“Do you think we could keep things f*****g professional, knowing that I want you so f*****g bad? Knowing that you make me so hard it f*****g hurts?” Each word sent a pulse of need through me, until I could only cling to him for him to keep me up.

“Viktor, I-”

“What the f**k is going on here?” That familiar voice boomed from behind us and I felt my eyes widen.

Shit.

Blake.