CHAPTER SIX
The next morning Pavel was woken by his cell phone ringing. He wanted to go for a run this morning after he took Teresa to his place, but he overslept.
“Hello?” he barked groggily.
“Where are you?” Nick asked.
“Why? What’s up?”
“We need to go talk to Dillon Crowley, remember? Or are you having too much fun to get some work done?”
“Ha, ha. Give me the address again and I’ll meet you there.”
“It’s…hold on,” Pavel could hear a clatter as Nick set the phone down. Coming back on the line, Nick continued, “It’s 2983 Via Rencino in Sherman Oaks.”
“Right. Give me a couple of hours.”
“A couple of hours?”
“Look, I’m not even up yet. I need some coffee and I still have to deal with Teresa. She’s been a handful.”
“Gee, I’m surprised. Just drive to the office when you’re ready and we’ll go from there.”
“Fine, see you later.”
After hanging up the phone, Pavel stood up, stretched and walked to the kitchen to make coffee. He fully expected ‘her highness’ would want caffeine when she got up. It would be easier to deal with her if she got it.
Teresa shuffled into the kitchen while he was finishing. He couldn’t help but laugh at her appearance. He never saw her first thing in the morning and—to say the least—she was not a glamorous, morning person. Her hair was mussed and sticking out at odd angles, her face was bare of any makeup making her look pale and her eyes were mere slits in her head.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“You are. You’re sort of weirdly cute in the morning.”
“Shut up. I need my coffee. Then you can talk to me.”
“Ah, I see you’re just as personable in the morning as you are all day long.”
“Pavel, just close your mouth and hand me my coffee.”
He poured two cups, handed one to her and sat down at the kitchen table.
“We’re leaving in thirty minutes, so drink up.”
“What part of ‘close your mouth’ didn’t you get?”
“All of it. Like I was saying we need to leave so I can get to work.”
“Just let me wake up.”
He sat and looked at her sipping her coffee. Although she was grumpy in the morning—actually, when wasn’t she?—he found her oddly endearing. She sat quietly while she tried to wake up. It was probably the only time her jaw wasn’t clamoring about something. She wore only her sheer bathrobe he tore off her last night. Even with the slumber in her eyes, she was seductively alluring. Her perky breasts were visible through the robe and Pavel was tempted to take her right where they were, but he knew there was no time because lovemaking with her was not something he could or wanted to do in a hurry.
Frustrated, he stood up and announced, “I’m going to take a shower. Finish packing your suitcase.”
As an answer she saluted him with her free hand, the other wrapped tightly around her coffee mug.
He fully expected rebellion when he got out of the shower. Instead, he found her packing her suitcase as he instructed. As compliance was not in her nature, he was suspect of her intentions.
