Zenovia
Some minutes after my body exploded with Max on the phone, he let me go to go to sleep. And yet, here I was, thinking about him.
I didn’t know what came over me. When he asked for a picture of my red underwear, I wanted to resist it. But he was so… persuasive that I couldn’t let him down. And I thought that maybe… maybe it could take away some of his stress at work, so I decided to give him what he wanted. Besides, I trusted him.
I knew I shouldn’t have because we were practically strangers. But after everything that happened, I did trust him. In just a few days, he earned it. I supposed it was because he was one reliable person. He took care of me ever since we started having this sensual relationship. Still, I had no high hopes over this. I knew that I had to stop as per our agreement if and when I got pregnant.
I sighed and decided to watch TV when I couldn’t sleep. Maybe I’d get sleepy while watching some boring news. Not my favourite channel, but I stopped when I suddenly caught a picture of Maksimillian on TV. My eyes almost bulged as I sat quickly to see if I hadn’t imagined it. But it was gone, and I didn’t hear a thing since it was muted.
Maybe I did just imagine it because I was thinking about him.
I lay down again on the bed after I put my nightshirt and underwear on again. I rolled to my stomach and breathed in Maks’ faint scent on the pillow. Doamne! I must be going crazy over this guy I just knew for over a few days!
‘It can’t be!’ my logical mind bellowed.
***
The TV was still on when I woke up. It was past eight in the morning when I peeked at my cell phone that I put on the side table. There was a text from my mum, asking me about Maks’ name. Of course, I didn’t reply to her about it. Instead, I told her about the fortress I visited yesterday. And I didn’t tell her I was with Maks’ aunt. I supposed it was better to skip that part and not fill in my mother some details. She wouldn’t know anyway, if she wouldn’t see the pictures that I took. Marisha made a point that she and I had at least a picture together, on my phone!
She was nice to be with, actually. She taught me some pointers on how to use the bow and arrow. It was kind of a great experience for me. In fact, it put a smile on my face when I think about it now.
I turned the volume of the TV on, a little bit higher, to not be deafeningly quiet inside the room. I opt to order room service, trying to avoid Marisha, just in case. What if she’d drag me somewhere else to go with her, and then, she’d tell me more about Maks?
I shook my head. I couldn’t let her. I didn’t want to know more. The little I knew about him, the better.
“Finnish authorities are still investigating what happened to Russian billionaire, Maksimillian Usmanov. According to the report released last night…”
My eyes went round when I heard Maks’ name on TV.
“What? Russian billionaire?” My jaw dropped as my grey eyes were fixed on the flat screen.
There was no mistaking it. Maks’ picture was on the upper right corner of the TV!
The anchorman continued to speak, but all I could gather was that Maks was ambushed in Helsinki and was lucky to be alive. There was no other information that registered in my brain as my hands shook.
Doamne ferește! He almost died, and I didn’t know!
I was heaving when I grabbed my phone and dialled his number with slightly trembling hands. I paced near the foot of the bed while his phone rang on the other end. I guess he was still sleeping. I hoped he was. I hoped nobody entered his suite in a Helsinki hotel and killed him in his sleep! Doamne ferește! I was so worried.
I had no idea but my eyes felt hot. My hands trembled even more when he didn’t answer the fourth, the fifth ring. My heart was quivering, too.
“La naiba! Why aren’t you answering the phone?” I yelled.
I sniffled and realised I was already crying. The tears had already damped my cheeks.
I dropped the call without him answering it and dialled it again with still shaking hands. I put the phone on my ear and listened to the ringing of the phone again.
“Hey! Good morning!” He was breathless.
“What the hell’s going on with you? Why didn’t you pick up right away when I’m calling? Where were you? What were you doing?” I demanded, voice high.
And I broke down, even though I didn’t mean it.
Oh, Doamne! I was so relieved to hear his voice and to know he was okay.
I dropped my butt on the bed and cried.
“Hey, hey! I was just taking a shower, so I didn’t hear you call. As soon as I heard it when I was done, I dashed to get my phone!”
“How could you do this to me, Maksimillian?” I sobbed and felt stupid for feeling this.
“Hey, Zenovia! Why are you fucking yelling and crying?” He sounded alarmed. “What’s happening there? Are you all right?”
My free hand caught the sheet and fisted on it. “Why? Why didn’t you tell me you almost died last night?” I confronted him.
“What? Where did you hear that?”
“I saw it on the news! Don’t lie to me!”
There was silence on his end before I heard him sigh heavily. “I… I wasn’t going to lie. I was just wondering how you knew. And I certainly didn’t know you’d react this way.” Then, he chortled softly.
My brows met, thinking he must be crazy. There was nothing funny about what happened to him. “Why are you laughing?” I almost squeaked.
“Are you worried that your sperm donor almost died?”
I ground my teeth, and a string of Romanian oaths left my mouth. He heard it but didn’t understand the literal meaning, though he got the gist. He must have because of the tone.
“It’s not because of that! It’s about your life, Maksimillian!”
“Okay. So, you already know who I am.”
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, wiping away my tears with the back of my hand. “You know what? I don’t want to be entangled with you anymore, Maks. This is all a mistake. What I did was a mistake.”
I was about to hang up when he warned me, “Don’t you dare hang up on me, Zenovia! And don’t you dare tell me that the deal we have is going to be cancelled because I won’t let you. You hear me?” There was danger laced in his voice, although he wasn’t shouting at me.
My heart jumped because of it. It wasn’t fear. I wasn’t afraid of him.
But why did I feel like this? Was it because he cared about me even though he didn’t say it in words?
My throat went dry, and I did my best to swallow some spit.
‘Maybe he just didn’t want to lose an overly willing romp partner,’ a part of my mind suggested.
I ended up the call without saying a word, and I took a deep breath.
‘What now, Zenovia? You’re in damn big and billionaire trouble!’
Crap! How did I get myself into this?