And this week…



Chapter Nineteen

"This is the last floor," Domingo said as they emerged from the elevator.

Oksana was ready lock herself in her office, to get into the computer and start in on the catching up she had to do.

She had met more people than she'd been ready for, and had gotten more than a few hateful glares along with lustful looks. It was going to be hard, working with people she'd screwed in one form or another. She'd slept with half of them, or was a very willing participant on helping the other half get cheated on. As she had spent time with Domingo, she realized that he had no clue about her little affair with his wife. The fact that he was such a great guy made Oksana feel very guilty.

Domingo led Oskar and Oksana over to the glass double doors. "This is Advertisement." He announced, pulling the door open.

Oksana's head snapped up. This is Kat's department! She thought with an increasing smile. It'd be great to get another does of that beauty.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Oskar watched the gleeful light appear in Oksana's eyes. This is getting interesting, he thought with a small grin. Maybe there is something here.

They followed Domingo past the curious stares and Kat's secretary to Kat's office. The door was open and they caught sight of Kat at her desk. Domingo was about to rap on the door buck, but Oksana lifted a hand to his shoulder to stop him. He looked confused but stepped back as Oksana stepped forward to watch the other woman, and watched her lips curving into a small smile.

Kat's head was lowered, pretty green eyes moving back and forth between a folder and a notepad, her computer sitting unused next to her. Her delicate looking left hand scribbled away at a notepad. Oksana knew how tough they could be when their owner was pissed off.

She liked that the beautiful woman chose the more archaic form of note taking instead of the much more convenient audio pad. Oksana stared at the shiny dark hair as it fell over an oval-shaped face austere in concentration, caressing a very smooth cheek. Oksana's eyes were about to thoroughly take in the full rosy lips when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Ekaterina," Oskar said as he walked past an embarrassed Oksana, patting her shoulder again.

Kat jumped to her feet, and she smiled at Oskar in welcome. "Mr. Ivanov!" She exclaimed, opting for propriety in front of Domingo. Her eyes drifted over to Oksana and a soft blush rose unbidden to her cheeks as she nodded at Oksana. "Ms. Ivanov." She looks gorgeous in that suit!

Oksana nodded back, her eyes missing nothing. It was the first time Kat had blushed in front of her without being angry. It sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. "Ms. Gorky." She said, offering her hand for a handshake.

Kat clasped her hand, almost gasping at the heat and smoothness that greeted her. Her mind flashed her back to that night a few months before, when that particular hand had touched her breast.

Oksana could have sworn that Kat's hand was burning her; the temptation to forget about her grandfather and Domingo and jump into the smaller woman's arms was too great.

Oskar sighed and cut quick blue eyes back and forth between the two women, exasperated. I better interrupt them, before they give Domingo a thrill. Look at the smile on his face.

Domingo was sporting a knowing grin. Well, look at this. Ms. Gorky is hypnotized, and it looks like Ms. Ivanov is just as enraptured. It felt good to have something to tease Kat about. She's so tightlipped about things.

"We were just on a tour of the departments, and yours is the last one." Oskar announced loudly, jarring the women from their stupor.

Both women let go of each other's hands as if they'd been burned. Kat quickly turned her eyes towards Oskar, confused by her reaction to Oksana. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her cheeks and ears felt hot, and a mist of sweat was forming at her nape. She kept thinking of the brief kiss she and Oksana had shared months before; it made her lips tingle and the heat between her legs pound along with her heart.

Oksana adjusted her jacket nervously. Even though she had been with more than her share of beautiful women before, Kat made her nervous. She knew that despite her body's reaction to Kat, she had to try to keep a level head. She had to show her grandfather that she could handle being in the presence of a beautiful woman without her control falling apart at the seams. She wanted to have sex; most importantly, she wanted to have sex with Kat. Hot marathon sex until neither woman could go anymore, but she couldn't risk angering Kat again by making her desires known, as she'd been wont to do, disappointing her grandfather and by extension, herself. She turned away from Kat and pretended to look around the office, when in fact she was seeing nothing but Kat in her mind's eye.

Oskar was saying: "Want to take us around your department and introduce Oksana to your employees?"

"Of course," Kat said. She was as recovered as she could get while Oksana was around. "So if you follow me, I'll start with my secretary…"

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Kat stormed into her office with a scowl on her face. That bitch! She thought vehemently, her eyes narrowing into slits. Now I know why I could never stand Gabrielle Mathews. She's such a slut! She practically draped herself around Oksana's neck! And in front of Oskar! She seethed for a long moment. And Oksana just stands there like she doesn't know what to do. I wish I could fire that bitch for that. Too bad she's so good at what she does.

Kat groaned in disappointment at the last thought. She paced her office, puffing air through her mouth as she thought. Why does it bother you so much? She asked herself. I know you're attracted to her, even though she can be an atrocious asshole when she wants to be. You can't deny that you like that caged animal thing she's got going. And her eyes are so expressive. She can't even hide the fact that she wants you too. She stopped pacing at that thought. "She wants me." She said out loud. And she hasn't even disrespected you again in the process. Her conscience supplied. That last time you saw her, she didn't even leer at you, even though she couldn't keep her eyes off your chest. That's a change from the bitch that forced a kiss from you.

ÑÑÑÑÑ

"You don't have to take us back up, Domingo, thank you." Oksana said with a smile.

A grinning Domingo nodded and shook their hands once again, thanking them. He watched them step into the elevator, and as soon as the elevator doors closed, he walked back into Advertising.

"You could not have been more obvious." Oskar said as soon as they were alone.

Oksana blushed slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She said.

"You like her." Oskar said around a chuckle.

"I do not!"

"Even Mr. Quinonez picked up on the fact that you could not take your eyes off her. You should have seen the grin on his face. Let us hope that he is not into gossip."

Oksana cleared her throat, turning her face away and looking at the elevator wall. Shit, I hope not.

Oskar held back a grin, and remained silent as they arrived at the Executive Office floor.

ÑÑÑÑÑ

Domingo found Kat standing at the window, staring out at the beautiful view of the more suburban parts of Sanford. He shook his head at the blank look on her face. She looks confused. "She wants you." He announced after a long moment.

Kat spun around and found that Domingo had leaned his huge frame against the door buck and seemed to have been watching her. She wondered how long he'd been standing there. "What are you doing back here?" She demanded, ignoring the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"They didn't need me anymore." Domingo said, his eyes gleaming teasingly.

"I guess the meeting went well this morning?" Kat fished for a change of subject. She sat in one of the visitor chairs in front of her desk.

Domingo stepped into her office and closed the door. "I'm not falling for the subject change, but yes it went great. I was promoted!"

"Congratulations!" Kat exclaimed, genuinely excited for her friend. "But what happened to Torres?" She asked as Domingo squeezed into the other chair.

Domingo shrugged. "I have no idea. When I got to the office, he was getting escorted out. I thought I was gone too, but they wanted to promote me."

"Well, that's great news. You deserve it." Kat said with a grin, leaning forward and patting his hand.

"Thanks," He grinned back. "Going back to our previous subject, I thought you were going to kill Ms. Mathews. Who would have thought she was such a slut."

Kat's smile faded. "She embarrassed me in front of them with that behavior." She almost growled, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, was it only that?" Domingo feigned surprise. "I thought I saw little green monster make an appearance."

Kat thought about the meaning of his words for a second before her eyebrows shot down in a scowl. "I was not jealous!" She protested hotly.

"Sure," Domingo said sarcastically.

"I don't like my employees behaving that way," Kat insisted. She remained silent for a few moments as a thought occurred to her. "They probably slept together, but it still doesn't excuse Mathews' behavior."

Domingo chuckled. "Who hasn't that woman slept with?" He retorted. He lifted his hands at Kat's darkening look. "Look, from what I've heard, she hadn't been in this building for months. And word around town is that she hasn't been staking claims on women's yards, so to say, in months."

"I know," Kat conceded, relaxing a little with the knowledge that Oksana was behaving, even if she didn't want to. "I guess her grandfather has her on a tight leash."

"So she's not supposed to ever go out with anyone?" Domingo asked, his eyebrows lifting. "Given her past, I hardly think she'd be able to do that."

Kat thought about what Oskar had told her once when they'd had a brief conversation about his ultimatum. "I think she has to get married." She said.

Domingo was suitably shocked. "She has to run a billion dollar corporation and at the same time look for a wife?"

"I'm sure Mr. Ivanov is not hurrying her." Kat said, her eyes far away. She wondered what it would be like to be married to Oksana.

Domingo could see the far away look in her eyes, and he fought the urge to smile. There's definitely something here. "How do you feel about that?" He asked teasingly. "Ms. Ivanov getting married to some girl who would probably only be after her money…"

Kat snapped out of her thoughts, standing up quickly and walking behind her desk. "And why would someone only be after her money?" Kat demanded, frowning. "She's a very good looking woman, and she can be nice when she wants to be…" She stopped abruptly as she realized that her friend was leading her on. "I have work to do, Domingo." She sat down and picked up her pen, keeping her eyes carefully expressionless.

Domingo was fully aware that he'd been found out. I knew you liked her. He grinned and pushed himself out of the chair. "See you at lunch?"

"Yeah, sure," Kat said, lowering her eyes from his knowing gaze. Shit.



CONTINUED…

(NOTE: Remember, this is a first draft, and I'm posting as I go, so if something doesn't jive or it seems a little awkward, bear with me. I'm going back to fix things. Now, if you see something, point it out to me anyway.)


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