In Bad Faith

Chapter 46

Just like that, it was Wednesday morning, and I was back at the office again.

Saying Berlin was intense was an understatement. Since I spent that night in Misha's hotel room, it had been all I could think about. We had both been dying to relive that passionate night during the remaining days of the trips, but it had been nearly impossible. We already attracted attention by leaving dinner together on the first night, and then being late the morning after, so we had realized that we had to lie low. Besides that, the opportunity to sneak to each other's room late at night just hadn't shown itself. Macy visited me often, and since Samuel was apparently staying on the same floor as Misha, we decided it was too risky. It had been hard, though. Laying in that comfortable bed in my hotel room, all alone, while knowing Misha was so damn close. We did text most nights. And yes, that got pretty intense.

But texting was something we couldn't do anymore now that we were back in New York. Of course, Misha still lived with his fiancé, a thought I would rather suppress, and I still had my job. My real job. And yes, I had more than enough time to think this whole situation through. I even had a quick phone call with Floyd a day earlier to tell him how the trip went. But obviously, I didn't tell him about our outburst. Instead, I kept it superficial. I lied. I didn't get critical information, Floyd. Besides the fact that it was his birthday and he kept it from his employees.

"You look tired," I told Misha in a teasing way, as I was leaning against his desk holding a cup of coffee in my hands. He sat back in his office chair, as he also took a sip of his black coffee. "It's the jet lag. One day off was not nearly enough to catch up on all that missed sleep," he answered, looking up at me. And while we weren't even flirting, I still felt this crazy tension between us. These were the first moments we spent together in our office again, and as I suspected, it felt different.

"Nah, it's probably the age. You're nearing your thirties, Zaveri," I smirked at him. Misha just looked at me for a brief moment, and in his eyes, I could see a hint of amusement. He liked being teased.

"You should watch your mouth, miss Fisher," he answered with a strict, but slightly playful tone in his voice. It was enough to make my pulse quicken. "I'm still your boss-" he continued, but his words were interrupted by a few knocks on the cherry wood office door. For a moment we both looked at it in silence, and even though we weren't doing anything we shouldn't, I almost felt caught. I took a step forward so that I wasn't leaning on his desk anymore, after which I straightened my slightly rucked-up skirt.

The door opened, and my eyes immediately fell on Ralph, standing still in the doorway. Oh, no. "I'm sorry to come in unannounced, Mr. Zaveri," Ralph started speaking, while I saw him briefly avert his gaze to me. But he said nothing. It was like he didn't even dare to speak to me now that we were standing in Misha's office. ".. but I wanted to come to tell you right away now that you've returned from Berlin," he followed, as he looked at Misha again. It sounded serious, but that could also just be because Ralph always seemed to be a little tense.

"Should I leave?" I interrupted while pointing at my own desk, but Misha immediately shook his head. "No, I'd like to have you in here, actually," he spoke, sounding confident. It confused me. What did he want from me that had anything to do with Ralph? But instead of asking, I obediently nodded, just like Nadya Fisher would do. "What is it, Ralph?" Misha then asked as he directed his gaze at him again.

"Eh," Ralph stammered while he walked towards Misha's desk, also seemingly confused by the situation, but soon he let his eyes fall on the papers in his hands. "It looks like there's either been a mistake with the invoice the hotel sent, or someone's been taking advantage of their room," he then spoke, after which he laid one of the documents on the wooden desk. "They charged hundreds of dollars extra for room service. Champagne, fo-" he continued, but after having looked at the invoice in front of him, Misha stopped Ralph by putting one of his hands up. Oh my god. I knew exactly what Ralph was on about. And even though I wasn't the nervous type, I got pretty nervous right there.

"I appreciate you telling me this, Ralph, but this is not a mistake," Misha said while looking back up at him. And all this time, I was just awkwardly standing there while still holding my coffee in both of my hands. "It was my birthday, and I treated myself," he followed casually, slowly shoving the document in Ralph's direction again. He sounded so confident. He must've been thinking this through already. Knowing Misha, this shouldn't have come as a surprise to me.

"Oh, my apologies, Mr. Zaveri, I didn't know," Ralph answered, visibly becoming his nervous self again. "Well, I didn't tell you. It's fine," Misha smiled at him, but there was also something in his eyes. Something I couldn't quite figure out, once again. Ralph took the invoice off of Misha's desk again, but before he could turn around to leave, Misha started speaking again. "Ralph, now that you're here," he spoke, which made Ralph clasp the papers he was holding. I just watched, as I started to fear that I was probably going to find out the reason for that look in Misha's eyes sooner than I expected.

"Sit down," Misha gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk, and after hesitating for a brief moment, Ralph did just that. "So, I'm going to make this short, but clear," he then said while adjusting his posture, becoming Misha Zaveri, the cold-hearted CEO again. "I heard you two are trying to go on a date together," he followed, his voice still sounding way too businesslike. My heart dropped. And I didn't even have time to think, since Misha already continued talking. "That you asked her, at least," he said, looking at Ralph again as he shortly paused. Both Ralph and I were completely quiet.

".. And I'm not trying to get involved in your love life, but this is a professional working environment. And when I have to hear from other employees that you're trying to date my assistant.." Misha continued, after which he briefly paused. "Well, it doesn't look good," he ended his lecture. I was in complete shock. Did this just come from the same man that had literal sex with me, under which in his own office? My thoughts immediately drifted off to the event, where he must've overheard me and Ralph talking about that date. God, he even made a comment about it back then. Why was he suddenly bringing this up now, and what employees was he talking about? Was he getting jealous?

"Eh," Ralph stammered, again, but this time a lot more awkwardly. "Yeah, no. I understand completely," he then said. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Yes, I had been desperately trying to get out of that whole date idea, but I had been trying not to hurt his feelings. Which was stupid, but true. Misha on the other hand seemed to have other plans. Ralph was very passionate about his job, so he basically just crushed his dreams of dating me. "Good," Misha casually said, after which he leaned back in his chair again. Why did I almost find his possessiveness, because that was clearly what this was, attractive? What the hell was wrong with me?

"That was it," Misha said, and Ralph nodded as he stood up from his chair. The guy briefly looked at me with the most awkward smile on his face, after which he grabbed his stuff and turned around to make his way out of the office again. "Oh, one more thing," Misha followed, and Ralph hesitantly turned around again. "Thank you again for telling me about the bill. Can you please keep that between the three of us? I kinda let myself go that night. Not a good look either," Misha grinned, at least trying to make Ralph feel less uncomfortable while saving his own skin as well. "Of course. It's confidential information. Don't worry about it," Ralph said, slightly smiling, after which Misha nodded again. Ralph then left the office, and just like that, we were alone again.

I was still shocked, and I didn't know if the tension in my stomach meant that this thing got me seriously nervous, or that I wanted to jump him right here, right now. "What was that?" I asked him, my astonishment revealing itself through my voice, and probably my eyes too, since they were still widened. Misha smirked at me, after which he took a sip from his coffee. So casual. "I just saved you," he then said, and I looked at him confused. "Saved me?" I asked him, my coffee slowly turning cold in my hands. I had not taken one sip since before Ralph came in.

"Ruby told me he asked you out on a date a while ago, but that you've been putting it off," he said. But instead of everything falling into place, I grew even more confused. I knew that Ruby also worked in finance, and that she told me that Ralph had told her about me, but why did she tell Misha? And what exactly did Ralph tell her? "Wait.. what? Ruby? Is that what she was here for before our trip?" I asked him, but Misha just chuckled. He chuckled.

"Getting nosy?" he then asked teasingly, his eyes still locked with mine. "It wasn't," he followed. Okay, get your mind straight, Nadezeya. He was clearly playing games with me again, and I was falling for it. Like I always did.