feet up on the worktable. “That’s usually how a man acts when he’s met a woman he takes more than a passing interest in.”
“Well, if I did have more than a passing interest, that’s over. So can we just finish this task and get our next assignment from Orlov? I’m sick and tired of sitting on my ass doing nothing.”
“Clean now, shoot later,” quoted Jacob.
Yes. That was fine with Kirill as long as there was the promise of shooting to come in the near future.
“YOU WERE RIGHT,” Oksana said eagerly. “Having lunch instead of dinner was a very good idea.”
Susan didn’t comment. She wasn’t about to tell her friend that she just really wanted to get this first meeting over with. The men they had come to the bistro to meet were headed their direction. Both were Russian. Both were in some sort of business that did not include mafia ties. Or at least that was the story Oksana was trying to sell to Susan.
“Hello, Susan,” her date said smoothly. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time now. My name is Vlad.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Vlad.” She did not mention that he shared a name with Dracula and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Perhaps that was a topic for another time.
“Oksana tells me you’re in finance.”
“I’m a mortgage processor,” Susan admitted. “I’m not sure I would call that finance. I have an accounting degree, but I hardly use it in the job I’m in now.”
“I’m an accountant myself,” Vlad explained. “It’s nice to meet a woman who isn’t intimidated by the thought of one.”
“Intimidated as in she thinks you’re going to quiz her about her taxes? Or intimidated as in she’s afraid of math?” Susan asked congenially. “Because I’ve met men who seem to fit both of those.”
Vlad laughed, and Susan joined in. Before long, Oksana glanced over from her side of the table where she had been getting very cozy with a man she called Gregory. She smiled at Susan and seemed quite satisfied with the way things were turning out.
“Do you date much?” Vlad asked casually after the waiter had brought their drinks.
“Not really.” She wondered what had brought that question on. “How about you?”
“Not at all actually.” Vlad glanced over at Oksana. “When she first told me she thought she had the perfect woman for me, I told her I would rather not meet you.”
“I said the same thing,” Susan told him with a wry smile. “She’s just so damn pushy !”
“That she is.”
“How do you know Oksana?” It hadn’t occurred to Susan to wonder this before, and now she really wanted to know. What if they had dated ?
“Oksana and I work together. The export firm we work for does a lot of business in Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, and the Czech Republic, so they hire native speakers to make life easier for everyone. It’s so nice to be around other people who speak the language that you naturally make friends.”
“I would imagine,” Susan murmured. “Did you ever date?”
“Oh God no!” He actually looked horrified. “She’s not my type at all. Far too flashy and high maintenance.”
“Yes, she certainly has those things going on for her.” High maintenance? So did that mean he wanted low maintenance? And what exactly did that mean?
Susan was just about to ask a few more probing questions when she saw Kirill come through the front door of the bistro. He turned, spotted their table, and sauntered over.
KIRILL COULD NOT believe his sister thought Vlad would make a good match for Susan. Did Oksana even know Susan? Or did she just think she did? The guy was so lukewarm that he barely had a personality. If the two of them ever wound up in bed together, Susan was going to scorch his dick.
“Kirill!” Oksana jumped up from the table. “What are you doing here?”
“I just saw you were here and decided to stop in and say hello.” He let his gaze wander over Susan and saw a pretty blush stain her