I thought that the idea of not knowing who you were married to was just simply that; an idea. But as I sat here in the meeting to go over the new procedures with the new CEO of the publishing firm, I wanted to vomit.

Not because I didn't feel good, but because I felt completely blindsided by the one person I never expected to do that to me.

"We are looking forward to working with you Mr. Belikov," my supervisor Ms. Kirova said with a fake sweetness that she only used with the higher-ups.

"I'm looking forward to learning more about the publication," he replied, "And getting to know everyone at this branch. I've heard some fantastic things."

I took in a deep breath and bit my tongue, trying not to scream. I twisted my pen between my fingers as I dissociated from the meeting, doing everything in my power not to jump from my seat and strangle the man I married three weeks ago.

Now, part of that was my fault. I meant him in a whirlwind weekend that turned into a passionate six months and an elopement three months later. We were living in the bliss of the moment and now, I was seriously feeling the weight of the intensity.

"Ms. Hathaway, do you mind giving me a tour of the building?" Dimitri asked, snapping me from my head. I licked my lips and turned my head to look at him.

"Oh, I don't mind giving you the tour," Ms. Kirova said almost jumping up from her seat.

"It's alright, Ellen. I don't want to take you away from the busy afternoon you have," Dimitri said standing up, buttoning his suit jacket. I stood up and smoothed my blouse as I picked up my notepad and pen. I walked around the table and took in another deep breath, forcing a smile as I gestured for Dimitri to exit the room first.

Dimitri stepped out and I gestured for him to follow me and I pointed out a few things as we walked. Once we got away from the offices, Dimitri grabbed my elbow gently.

"Roza."

"You could have warned me!" I hissed, "You told me that you work in publication. But you didn't tell me that you owed Vladimir House!"

"Would it really have mattered if I told you?" Dimitri asked softly, tucking my hair behind my ear. I swatted his hand away.

"My husband is now my boss's boss's boss! Of course, it matters!" I exclaimed in a whisper, throwing my hands out to the side, "I sat there and wondered what the hell was happening!"

Dimitri smiled softly and reached for my hand, holding my eyes while he grabbed it. When he realized that I wasn't going to pull away again, he squeezed it, glancing down the hall.

"I'm sorry. I should have warned you, but I liked the bubble that we were in. No titles, no social or professional status," he said and I nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out.

"I see you met Kirova," I said with a sigh.

"That is the Kirova," he mused, leaning back and resting on the railing that was against the half wall. I smiled gently and sighed.

"Yeah, and get ready. She's a nightmare," I said before canting my head to the side so he would follow me, "Let's finish up so nobody comes looking for me. I wouldn't put it past Kirova to hunt me down."

Dimitri laughed and followed me, asking about certain corridors and such. We went over what each floor had, and where the cafeteria was.

"Don't drink the coffee. Honestly, make the three-minute walk to the coffee shop down the street. This stuff is worse than the coffee I made on that ski trip," I explained, "But being the big boss, you could probably put your own coffee pot in your office."

I smirked and then stopped in my tracks, Dimitri bumping into me and grabbing my waist to keep me from toppling over.

"Are you operating out of this building, or Vladimir House?"

Dimitri chuckled in my ear. "I was planning on here if that's okay with you?"

I nodded and looked over my shoulder. "I don't want everyone knowing that I'm your wife right away."

"That's fine, I like the idea of the game," he said and stepped around me, walking backwards and he grinned at me, "Come along, Roza. I have more to see."


The first day was intense, and going home was even more intense. Mostly because Dimitri brought so much home from the office that I barely saw him other than dinner and crawling into bed that night. I sighed and rested lazily against the desk, my head propped up by my fist.

There was a lot of buzz in the office about Dimitri's arrival, and it was hard to keep myself focused because everyone wanted to talk about it.

"How was your tour yesterday?" Sydney asked as she leaned over the top of my cubical. They didn't come up completely, just enough to block out some of the noise.

"It was fine," I said as I highlighted a sentence on the page I was editing. I worked on sports articles, but lately, I had been hitting a wall. We had a new writer that was struggling so I offered to do their editing so that I didn't get canned.

But I guess I couldn't exactly get canned now that my husband owned the place.

"Just fine?"

I looked up at Sydney with almost a dry look.

"It was fine," I said as I capped my highlighter and rubbed the side of my face as I yawned.

"You okay? You seemed stressed out."

I shrugged. "I'm fine," I said tiredly, "Just not sleeping well."

"Are you fighting with the hubby?"

I stilled for a second. "What?"

She pointed at my hand. I looked at my left hand and chuckled to myself. Dimitri and I didn't buy traditional wedding bands. We bought each other rings that we had found at an antique store. Mine was a thin band that was almost wavy with small stones set into it. Dimitri's was black with gold along the edges.

Her question threw me because I hadn't really told anyone here that I got married.

"No. We aren't fighting. We just don't get to spend a lot of time together lately. He's working more and I'm…distracted with work. We're fine."

Sydney smiled. "How long have you guys been married?"

"Three weeks. Together for nine months," I said with a smile, "It was a whirlwind. But I don't think I could ever want anyone else."

Sydney smiled. "Time doesn't really mean anything. Some people date someone forever and it dies out," she said. I nodded and went back to my article while Sydney went to her desk. I picked up my phone and looked at it, already dreading that it was only eleven in the morning.

I rubbed my head and rested my head on my hand as a to-go cup was plopped on my desk. I looked up and saw the familiar back of my husband walking towards his office with a cup of his own in his hand, sipping it as he went.

I reached for the cup and picked it up, taking a sip of the coffee as I opened the email that popped up.

My office. Now! – Kirova.

I sighed and took a bigger drink of my coffee as I went to her office, making a face at Dimitri through the glass wall. He was on the phone but smirked at me. I knocked on Kirova's door and waited for her to call me in.

When I stepped inside, I was ready for almost everything. Except for what she said. She looked like she had sucked on a bitter lemon, but it wasn't just her in the office. It wasn't just her in her office either. Her boss was there too.

"You asked to see me?" I asked as I entered, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, please come in, Rose," Arthur said, gesturing to the car in front of the desk. I sat down and waited for what horror could await me, but again was shocked for the second time this week.

"Mr. Belikov has advised that he plans on staying at our branch long term, and will require an assistant. While it will take you away from active writing for a while, it would be a substantial pay increase, and opportunities to write other articles," Arthur explained and I nodded.

"Did Mr. Belikov request me directly?"

"Yes," Kirov said sharply, "But I want you to know that we will be watching you very closely during this time. You will be essentially on probation as if you were starting a new contract."

I could hear the smugness in her voice like she was just waiting for something for her to use against me. But this also could work in my favour. Job security, but it would allow me the opportunity to branch out. I hadn't been happy in my field, and this would give me the chance to find something that brought me joy.


Nine Months Ago.

I laid back on the lounge chair and sipped my margarita, rubbing my toes together to rid them of the sand. This was a well-needed trip and I was desperate for any and all distraction. I needed it.

"Is this seat taken?" a man asked. His accent surprised me. It was heavy and guttural, almost hard to interpret. But I had gotten used to hearing different accents through work. I looked up at him and my mind went blank for a moment. He was wearing sunglasses and his hair was pulled to the back of his head. His shirt was open, revealing his muscular chest that looked like sugar that hadn't turned into caramel yet. And he was insanely tall.

"No," I said, pulling my towel off the arm of the chair beside me, and draping it over my bag. The man smiled and thanked me quietly, getting comfortable in his chair, kicking his flip-flops off as he crossed his ankle.

"I'm Dimitri," he said extending his hand to me.

"Rose," I replied as I shook his hand. His palms were calloused, but his grip was firm but gentle. Some men had handshakes that were too firm, but his was perfect.

"Are you alone?" Dimitri asked with a furrowed brow, "Not to pry. But I just didn't expect to see you on your own."

I nodded. "Yeah, it's just me. Needed to get away. You?"

Dimitri nodded and lifted the beer I hadn't seen in his hand.

"Sort of here for work, sort of not," he said with a small shrug, "What do you need to get away from? Family?"

I snorted a dry laugh and took another sip of my margarita, finding that it was now just an empty glass with some slush in the bottom.

"I just found out that my boyfriend is gay," I said with a shake of my head, "His boyfriend told me without realizing that I was his girlfriend."

Dimitri tsked and waved one of the beachside waiters over.

"I think that deserves you another drink," he said and asked the waiter to bring me another and to put it on his bill.

"I can pay for my own drinks. I was going to get another one," I said almost cockily but didn't mind the pleasant attention and kindness. It was better than pity.

"Please, you deserve it," he said and took another sip of his beer. I smirked at him and adjusted my hat, tilting it so it covered my face. The rest of my body loved the sun, but my face didn't. I could get a glorious tan everywhere and fry on my face.

"So you said you were here for work? What do you do?" I asked when the waiter brought me my drink.

Dimitri hesitated for a moment and cleared his throat.

"I work as an editor," he said, "What about you?"

"Editorial Assistant," I said with a laugh, "Where do you work."

"Vladimir House," he said and I let out a low whistle.

"Impressive. I applied there but didn't make the cut," I said, "I'm a little jealous."

Dimitri smiled at me and ordered another beer when the waiter was close by. We kept up the conversation as we lounged. It came so easily and fluidly. It was nothing like it was with Mason. Sometimes it felt like work to make conversation outside of household things, and it was nice to talk to someone who didn't know me.

We talked about our hobbies and it was funny to find out that we lived in the same city, even a few blocks from each other. After about an hour or two, we left the beach and made our way into the resort. As the evening went on, we both ate dinner together. We had both had more to drink than we should have and ended up back at his room. We didn't sleep together, well we did, but we didn't have sex.

I wasn't one for one-night stands to begin with, but waking up in a room with another person was nice. It was almost comical that when I woke, he was leaning back against the headboard reading a book. His arm was wrapped under mine like a pillow, but he didn't pull away.

We unspokenly stayed together throughout the rest of the week. We didn't have intentions or pursuing things further when we both returned from the Bahamas, but it was like we couldn't help ourselves. I thought it was strange when he showed up on my front step one morning, an iced latte in his hand.

"How do you know where I live?" I asked cautiously. Dimitri pointed upwards.

"We live in the same building. I saw you in the lobby yesterday morning on your way to work. Asked the lobby attendant what floor you were on, the rest I gathered from the number on your mailbox. I hope that it's completely creepy."

I raised a brow at him and took the cup, looking at it.

"We've both been back for a week, and you can't stay away?" I quipped.

The nervousness on his face broke and he laughed.

"What can I say, you left an intriguing impression on me, Roza. I can't get off my mind."

I stepped out of my unit and closed the door leaning on it.

"Was there a reason you are looming over my door, or just to bring a girl coffee?"

Dimitri grinned and tucked his hand into the pocket of his coat. It was July, and yet, he wore a long brown leather coat that gave me Matrix vibes but longer. Almost like a trench coat.

"I wanted to ask you to dinner," he said truthfully and I took a long drink of my latte, mulling the idea over for a moment before winking at him. I reached behind me and opened the door.

"Pick me up tonight at seven," I said as I slipped back inside. Dimitri didn't say anything, but I heard his laughter on the other side of the door.