Alexei, Her Russian Billionaire

Why did the new owner of that gallery have to be gorgeous? It had sent Maya out of sorts for the rest of the day. Even Howie had mentioned it but Maya didn’t want to tell him how just one meeting with a Russian owner had knocked her off-balance. That was embarrassing, even to a man like Howie who was known for embarrassing encounters with men.

Maya was jolted out of her thoughts when her cell phone rang. The number was one she didn’t recognize but that wasn’t unusual; most clients got her number off her website and called her right off the bat so Maya was used to getting unknown numbers.

So she answered it without thinking.

“Hello, Maya Featherstone speaking.”

“Hello, Maya.”

Maya stopped. Someone bumped into her and swore at her but Maya didn’t notice. She recognized the accented voice.

“Mr Petrov? How did you get this number?”

“I have friends in high places.” He sounded amused. “Plus my friend found your number on your website.”

Maya rolled her eyes. Ask a stupid question. She realized she was creating a bottleneck in the crowd and moved into the mouth of a nearby alley.

“What do you want, Mr Petrov?”

“Alexei, please. I just called to apologize. My behavior towards you was not good and I was not raised to treat women like that.”

Maya was surprised. Men did apologize, she knew that, but not men like him; billionaires. Maya had done a quick internet search and every single link had the word plastered across it. They often thought they hadn’t done anything wrong.

Either Alexei Petrov was genuinely swallowing his pride or he wanted something from her.

“You’re not going to give me that painting for free again, are you? Because I won’t accept it.”

“I thought you liked it.”

“It would make me feel bad if I had an expensive painting like that in my apartment that I didn’t pay for.”

Alexei sighed. When had he suddenly become Alexei? Maya knew she was in trouble. The instant attraction to this man seemed to be working overtime.

“Okay. But I still want to apologize for my attitude towards you. Would you consider having dinner with me?”

For a moment Maya didn’t know how to react. Had he just asked her out? She was a photographer. Men like Alexei Petrov didn’t ask her out.

She resisted the urge to laugh at the ludicrous idea.

“Sorry, I don’t dine with strangers.”

“What about clients you’re meeting for the first time? Don’t you dine with them?”

“The first time I meet them is in a conference room, never in a restaurant.”

She could hear Alexei contemplating this. She knew she was sounding like she was turning it down but secretly Maya wanted to push it, to see what he would do. Men like Alexei were those who went out of their way to get what they wanted. If he wanted Maya he would have to work for it. Maya wasn’t one to be swayed by big dollar signs and a charming persona. The latter helped but the former was not something she looked at when it came to a man.

He may be able to look after her for life but if he was ugly and treated her like crap then it was nothing.

“Well, how about this? I’m relatively new to the city and I haven’t been able to get out and have a look around. Would you be my guide?”

That Maya hadn’t been expecting. She considered saying yes immediately but wanted to tease him.

“How do you know I’m not working?”

“I don’t.” Alexei sounded very sure of himself. “I just thought I’d ask you.”

Maya laughed. The thought of going out for the day with this man was tempting.

“You might find it boring.”

“Trust me, printsessa, you could never make anything boring.”

Did he just call her a princess? Maya’s knowledge of Russian was limited but she knew a few words. One of her Russian clients had called her ‘princess’ and a few other terms of endearment. He had been one of the sweetest men Maya had ever worked for. Maya felt a warm glow in her stomach.

“How about tomorrow? I’m not due to work until three so I’ve got the morning off. I have to be at location by one in Westchester.”

“We can do that.” Did she hear relief in his voice? “Shall I pick you up at eight?”

The thought of Alexei picking her up at Maya’s apartment didn’t sit well with her. The apartment she shared with Jenny was nice but it wasn’t what she wanted to show this man. And having him know her address before she knew more about him didn’t sit well with her. After dating Ash she was a lot more cautious when it came to men.

“I’ll meet you at Central Park at eight. We’ll go from there.”

“Excellent.” His voice deepened. “See you tomorrow, Maya.”

Maya found herself staring at her cell phone long after the call had ended. What had just happened? And what had she just get herself in to?