The Russian's Stubborn Lover (The Fedosov Family Series Book 1) by Leslie North Read Free Book Online Page A

items, he remembered to find out who had changed the format, “Who would like to take credit for changing the report format?”
    Maybe it was the way he asked the question or his tone of voice, but the room grew silent and still. No one volunteered any information for so long that Dmitry grew impatient, “Well, is no one going to take credit for changing the report? Without my permission or knowledge, I might add?”
    Julia swallowed nervously as she raised her hand, “Uhm… well, the old report was slightly confusing so I tweaked it here and there to make it easier to read…” She trailed off at the harsh look in his eyes. “I’m sorry?” she offered, not really sure what she as apologizing for. She had done her job, which was to communicate the financial status of the company in a clear and concise manner.
    “We have been using the old format for quite some time. It worked well for us all and I would ask you to refrain from making any other organizational changes without checking with me first.” Dmitry could hear the coldness in his voice, and wasn’t in the least apologetic. His report was confusing? Not hardly!
    Julia realized quickly that she had stepped on the bosses toes, and folded her hands in her lap. She didn’t have a response to his words that could be considered both polite and correct, and so like her grandmother had always told her, “If you have nothing nice to say, be quiet for heaven’s sake.”
    Julia found that advice had helped her in more than was situation and silently counted to ten in her head as she bit down on her tongue.
    Dmitry dismissed the meeting shortly thereafter, still furious about Miss Thompson’s perceived authority in his company. Giving department heads ideas and letting them decide whether or not to implement them was one thing. Taking it upon herself to change a report was unacceptable.
    Julia escaped to her office as quickly after the meeting as possible. Taking the bottle of painkillers from her purse, she had just popped them into her mouth when she was interrupted, “Drugs may be okay in America, but here they will not be tolerated.”
    Dmitry had seen her put the pills into her mouth and his fury was immediate. Stalking inside her office, he quietly closed the door, the action at odds with the emotions rolling through him. Walking closer, he pulled the bottle from her hand, feeling chagrined when he realized she had only been taking some aspirin. Giving her back the bottle, he stepped back a step and apologized, “It seems I was mistaken. I trust you are not ill?”
    Julia took the bottle back and dropped it into her purse, feeling her hackles rise in anger at his audacity. “Was there something you needed?”
    “Yes, an answer to my question. Are you ill?”
    Julia started to shake her head, and then stopped, replying verbally instead, “No, just a small headache. Again, was there something I could help you with? I realize you’re angry over the report, although I don’t see why. I received compliments from several of your directors who stated the report was much easier to read than the old one.”
    Julia stopped talking, watching him fist his hands and close his eyes. He was angry over a report format? Then it occurred to her why, he had designed the report. It was the only acceptable explanation for his anger. Sighing, she thought about apologizing again, but then stopped herself. He needed to learn when to be thankful when someone came along and improved part of his company.
    Julia crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back against the front edge of her desk, not realizing that crossing her arms had tightened her shirt to the point that her cleavage was now fully visible in the vee of the shirt.
    Leaning backwards only seemed to bring attention to the length of her legs, and Dmitry wasn’t blind to either. He felt his body respond and cursed softly under his breath, “ Derr`mo .”
    Julia started to ask for an explanation for what he had said,