A ruthless mob boss tried to insult me in Russian at his restaurant table, completely unaware I understood every word.

The private elevator ascended thirty-five floors in near-total silence. When the doors slid open, Mara stepped straight into Alexi’s office.

The room was vast, dominated by dark leather, black marble, and an expansive view of the Chicago River. Alexi was standing by a small wet bar, pouring black coffee into a porcelain cup. He was dressed in a charcoal wool sweater and dark trousers, looking relaxed, powerful, and infuriatingly calm.

Mara walked across the polished floor and slammed the laptop box onto his obsidian desk.

"Take it back," she said, her gray eyes flashing with fury.

Alexi didn't flinch. He picked up his coffee cup and took a slow sip. "It's a gift."

"I don't accept gifts from men like you. And you stay away from my brother."

"I haven't gone near your brother," Alexi replied smoothly, walking around his desk to face her. "I had a courier drop off a computer. His university portal indicated he was using an outdated system to process complex econometric data. It was an efficiency decision."

"You investigated him," Mara whispered, taking a step closer, refusing to let him intimidate her. "You dug into my family."

"I investigated you," Alexi corrected, his tone dropping into a low, serious register. "I don't enter business with strangers, Mara. Especially strangers who look at me with disgust while translating my drink orders."

"I don't care about your business!" she snapped. "We had an agreement. One night. Translation only. No gifts. No invasion of my life!"

Alexi studied her. The morning light caught the sharp lines of his jaw and the faint, barely visible scar near his left temple.

"You're afraid," he noted quietly.

"I'm angry."

"You're angry because you realize thirty thousand dollars isn't going to be enough to buy your peace of mind once you step into my world," Alexi said, stepping closer until he was standing just two feet away. The faint scent of sandalwood and expensive tobacco drifted from his clothes. "You think I'm trying to corrupt you, Mara. I'm not. I'm trying to ensure you survive Monday night."

Mara swallowed hard, holding her ground despite the intense heat rising in her chest. "What is going to happen on Monday?"

Alexi stared down into her gray eyes, his analytical gaze dropping all pretenses of warmth. "Viktor Saranov isn't coming to negotiate a contract. He's coming to see if I'm weak enough to be destroyed. And you are going to sit beside me and tell me every single truth he tries to hide behind his mother tongue."