her, butâ¦â She shook her head. âI need to think.â
âYou need a lawyerâ¦â Zakahr said.
âI need a drink,â Lavinia corrected, pulling the ring on an energy drink as Katina waltzed in with an armful of gowns. âAnd to get ready.â She gave him a thin smile. âThank you for listening.â
Zakahr shook his head. âI wish you would listen.â
CHAPTER SEVEN
âN O .â K ATINA was definite. âItâs not your colour.â
âItâs stunning,â Lavinia beggedâbecause the dress was heavenly, and more importantly they had not a moment to spare.
But Katina would not budge.
âYou represent Kolovsky. Youâre dining with a king. I choose.â Katina pulled down the zipper and Lavinia wriggled out. Katina bundled up the peach dress with a warning to Lavinia to do her make-up as she left her standing in her panties and bra. âYouâre running very late.â
She would have put on her war paintâexcept her make-up bag was at her desk.
Had it been Aleksi, or even Levander, sheâd have just padded out thereânot caring if they were there or not. Sheâd even have answered the phone had it been ringing. The brothers were so used to it they wouldnât notice. But Zakahr came from the staid world of finance.
With ZakahrâLavinia swallowedâit was different. Very different indeed.
âWould you mind fetching me my bag?â She settled for popping her head around the door and calling outto him. But Zakahr was in his own office, and he could not believe her gall.
He walked out to tell her soâand there was her skinny shoulder and her clavicle, and the deep red silk strap of a bra. He got that this was normal around hereâhe had been down to the design rooms and the dressing rooms and had seen far more than a shoulderâand he was also exceptionally used to women in their natural form in his own personal life.
âItâs in the second drawer,â Lavinia directed.
He practically threw it at her.
âThank you.â
âYou could have waited till you were dressed and got it yourself,â he said tartly.
âAnd spilled foundation on a Kolovsky creation? I donât think so,â Lavinia called back. But despite her quick comeback she was blushing right down to her toes, and she leant her head on the door for a moment as she closed it.
Why did he have to go and be nice about Rachael? Why couldnât he have ignored her, as he had all morning? How, how , was she supposed to get through tonight?
It was too dangerous to ponder, so she drained her energy drink and then slapped on some foundation, rouged a cleavage where there was none, and painted her face with more than her usual care. By then Katina had returned. Lavinia frowned at the rather bold colours, but she held up her arms as the dress slithered down her skin, delighting in the rich caress of the silk. And, yes, when she stepped back and looked in the mirror Lavinia accepted that Katina had been right!
âItâs perfect,â Lavinia breathed, craning her neck for a view from behind as Katina strapped her into the highest of heels. âIâd never have chosen these colours.â
âI told youâ¦â Katina said, and she stepped back, scrutinising Lavinia carefully. And she was never one to lavish complimentsâat least not with the staff. âI wasnât sure you could carry it off.â She handed her a sheer golden net overcoat, and before she left warned Lavinia she had to sign it in when she brought it back in the morning.
âBut for now youâre all mine!â Lavinia grinned at the mirror.
Her hair had been curled into long thick blonde ringlets, and loosely piled on top of her head, and her eyes were bluer than ever, thanks to lashings of mascara. But her lipstick was neutral, and she added one final layer of gloss before stepping out to where Zakahr stood,