Russian Billionaire’s Virgin Secretary
Chapter 1
“Come on, Sarah. You don’t want to be late for your own birthday.”
“I’m coming,” Sarah called out to her roommate as she finished getting ready. As Sarah looked at herself in the mirror, she was surprised at the transformation. Growing up on a cattle range in central California, Sarah’s idea of dressing up meant clean jeans and fresh boots. But today was her twenty-first birthday and her friends insisted on going to the Casbah to celebrate. One of the newest clubs in San Jose, they had a dress code and her friends took great pleasure in putting together an outfit for her to wear.
“Sarah!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Her neighbor, Chloe, had loaned her a silver-colored halter dress that complimented her curves perfectly. With five inches difference in height, the dress length was a bit more modest on Sarah as it draped just below mid-thigh. Sarah twirled around in the mirror one last time. Sparkling blue eyes peered back at her, as her dark blonde hair fell in waves around her. She really did look good.
As she exited the bathroom, her three besties whooped and whistled as she twirled around to show herself off. Mia, Chloe and Lisa laughingly began an off-key rendition of Happy Birthday as her roommate, Mia, presented her with a cupcake with a lighted candle. As Sarah smiled at her friends, she made a wish and blew out the candle.
“I hope you wished for a new boyfriend,” Lisa said as they headed out the door.
“There’s nothing wrong with Daniel,” Sarah defended. “He apologized that he wouldn’t be here tonight, but he had to work. Besides, I’d rather spend my birthday with you guys. But not too late, okay? I have that interview in the morning.”
“Uh huh,” Mia replied, as she dragged her friend to the car.
When they arrived at the club, there was already a line around the corner. As Sarah stepped into line, Chloe grabbed her arm as they continued walking to the front. “No lines for us tonight,” Chloe said as they approached the rope. One of the bouncers stepped forward when he saw the girls approach. Smiling brightly, he gave his sister, Chloe, a big hug as he ushered the girls through.
“Happy birthday, Sarah.”
“Thanks, Mathew.” As the girls walked into the club, Sarah nudged her friend, “I’m really glad your brother works here.”
“Come on,” Lisa called as the girls climbed the steps to the tables above the dance floor. “We can get a better view from up here.” As the girls settled in and placed their drink orders, Lisa and Mia leaned over the rail to check out the club. It wasn’t even ten o’clock and the club was already in full swing, as the floor was alive with undulating bodies moving in rhythm to the dance mixes.
As the girls surveyed the club, they noticed a familiar figure out on the dance floor. Turning around, Mia gestured to Sarah and Chloe who joined them at the rail. Pointing down, Sarah looked down to see Daniel dancing with a brunette dressed in a halter top and short skirt.
Sarah clutched the rail as she watched her boyfriend kiss the woman as they exited the dance floor. Following his moves, they settled at the bar as the woman stepped between his legs and they continued to grope and kiss each other.
Wrapping one arm around her friend, Chloe asked, “Do you want me to get Mathew to kick him out?”
Straightening her shoulders, Sarah shook her head no. “No, I have a better idea.” Grabbing her phone, she texted Daniel.
Hi babe, missing you tonight. It’s not the same without you. How’s work?
Work is boring. I can’t believe they made me come in. What are you up to?
Oh, you know, out with the girls. What do you think of my outfit?
Did you send me a pic?
No, but if you turn around and look up, you’ll see it.
As Daniel looked up, he saw Sarah and her friends watching him. The brunette he was with seemed to have no idea what was going on as she attempted to latch back on to him, before he pushed her aside. As Sarah raised her drink to him, Daniel’s phone pinged with another message.
Consider yourself dumped.
As Sarah turned around, she put a smile on her face as she looked at her friends. Lifting her glass, she downed the contents before waving her empty glass at the waitress.
“Let’s get drunk,” Sarah declared as her friends quickly downed their drinks and ordered another round.
Chapter 2
The next morning, Sarah stumbled into the bathroom. She had lost track of how much she had to drink well before midnight, as she danced and partied with her friends. After discovering that Daniel was cheating on her, she was determined to have a good time and Daniel was smart enough to stay away from her or risk the wrath of not one, but four women. Stumbling home before four, she’d managed to get a couple hours of sleep before the angry screech of her alarm clock forced her up.
Contemplating cancelling her interview, Sarah showered quickly and got ready reminding herself that she had worked too hard to cancel now. Taking extra courses and no summer breaks, she was graduating a year early; summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in business and strategic management. Her interview today was for a summer internship with VIC Enterprises, one of the more successful logistics companies in the US.
As she drove to her appointment, she went over her research in her head. The only living child of Russian immigrants, Mr. Chekov moved to the United States with his parents and his younger sister, who died at the age of ten. Growing up in Jersey City, he moved to the Bronx in his mid-teens to work for his uncle, an importer of all things Russian. He later moved to California where his business began to grow. In business for more than ten years, Vitaly Ivanovitch Chekov was a true rags to riches story as he built his logistics company from nothing and now owned other businesses throughout the Silicon Valley. Last night, Mia reminded her that he had been voted one of San Jose’s most eligible bachelors three years in a row and since she was now single…
Sarah had to laugh. Now was certainly not the time to find another boyfriend. It was rare to find paid internships, and the opportunity to work with one of the fastest growing logistics companies was too good to pass up. Chekov was known for taking a hands on approach to every aspect of his business. Considered by many to be an absolute control freak, Sarah relished the idea of learning from one of the best.
When she checked in with reception, she was handed a temporary badge with her name on it before she was ushered into a theater with what looked to be one hundred other people where they watched a video on the company. Sarah hoped that they all weren’t vying for the same position. She knew that she had the grades, but she’d been concentrating on her studies and other than working in the family business, she had no other work experience.
Vitaly stared at the security monitors as the intern candidates filed into the theater. Known for his ability to gain much from first impressions, he flipped through the various resumes, sorting them quickly into yes or no piles. He paused when he caught sight of a small blonde walking in. Adjusting cameras, he followed her as she entered the theater. By the way she surveyed the room, he could tell that she was sizing up her competition. Picking up her resume, he read through it. She had no transferrable work experience, but her grades in supply chain management and service analytics were at the top of her class. He scanned through an article she co-wrote with one of her professors on technology and logistics for “Logistics Today.”
As she sat down and took off her glasses, he watched as she rubbed her temples. From the look of her, she’d had a late night. While normally, he would immediately dismiss her based on that, he liked the pretty little thing. Putting her resume in the yes pile, he summoned his assistant and handed her the reduced list of candidates.
As the presentation video ended, a smartly dressed woman walked out. “Will the following people please remain in their seats? If I don’t call your name, you are excused, as we won’t be needing you.”
Sarah couldn’t help but hold her breath as the woman called out the short list of names. When she heard “Sarah Jenkins,” she sagged in relief. As the rejected candidates filed out of the room, Sarah looked around. From one hundred to five. She liked those odds much better. Once everyone else left, the woman asked the remaining candidates to follow her.
Walking quickly, she led them down a series of corridors and past offices to a smaller room where she handed the files off to someone else who introduced himself as Gary from Human Resources. Calling out each person’s name, Gary handed out envelopes containing a contract detailing their positions, expectations, and compensation. As they read through their packets, he asked if there were any questions and Sarah raised her hand.
“Gary? Isn’t there supposed to be some sort of interview?”
Gary smiled. “We have five positions open and you have each been chosen for the respective position.”
“Yes, but, shouldn’t we be interviewed?” Sarah’s voice trailed off, as it all seemed so fast.
Nodding his head, Gary replied, “Mr. Chekov has already reviewed your files and your background. He made the final selection while you were in the presentation. Now, if there are no other questions, you will need to report to security to have your pictures taken and permanent badges made. He will meet with each of you to discuss his personal expectations and it seems that you, Ms. Jenkins, are first. As soon as you are finished at security, please report to Mr. Chekov on the tenth floor.”
Sarah shook her head in bemusement. This was all moving so quickly, but she was glad that she didn’t cancel. Once she received her badge, she headed to the elevator. When she walked out onto the tenth floor, she was surprised at the amount of open space as the other floors she was on had offices stacked tightly together like blocks. Walking up to a large desk, she gave the pretty receptionist her name.
Smiling brightly, she introduced herself as Laurel as she escorted Sarah to one of the large corner offices, letting her know that Mr. Chekov would be with her shortly. As she shut the door behind her, Sarah wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. Wandering over to the windows, she took in the breathtaking view of the Santa Cruz Mountains in the background.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” came a male voice from behind her. Nodding, Sarah turned coming face to face with Vitaly Chekov. Well, almost face to face. At only five foot three, Sarah was glad she wore three-inch heels, as she didn’t feel quite so small looking up into his six-foot frame. She cringed inwardly when the only thing that came to mind was Lisa’s description of tall, dark and yummy.
“And you must be Sarah Jenkins?” At Sarah’s nod, she held out her hand to shake. As he embraced her hand, Sarah looked down. His hand was so big that it almost completely covered hers. As she started to pull her hand free, he tightened it briefly causing her to look up. The intensity of his stare made her uncomfortable, as she suddenly realized what prey must feel like when cornered. Loosening his grip, he continued to hold her hand as he drew her over to the couch. Sitting down, he tugged her down beside him as he flipped open a file. Sarah had yet to say anything.
“Relax, I won’t eat you,” he told her as he sifted through the file. Sarah blushed. She was glad that he couldn’t read her thoughts.
“Now, according to your file, this is your first job?”
Sarah started to answer, but had to stop and swallow as her mouth had gone dry. What was wrong with her? She was never this uptight around people.
“This is my first corporate job. My family owns a large cattle ranch and I’ve been working on it since I was old enough to walk.”
“Not really the same as logistics, is it?”
“On the contrary, Mr. Chekov, despite the dress code and the smell,” Sarah said as she wrinkled her nose in remembrance, “Raising cattle for sale IS all about logistics. Besides having to keep track of several thousand cattle, we have to monitor their health, we deal with the government regularly; there’s marketing, vendor relations, tremendous amount of sales is involved when we are selling off large numbers to make room for more, and of course the transport, and that doesn’t include all the HR stuff as we maintain a regular staff of about twenty workers, plus an additional thirty during peak times.”
As Sarah took a breath to continue, he interrupted her.
“Okay, I get it,” he said with a smile. “And please, call me Vitaly.”
Sarah blushed as she nodded her head. Vitaly looked at her. She was passionate, articulate and lovely when she blushed. Making a quick decision, he continued.
“Now, originally, you had applied for the position in marketing, but I’ve changed that. Normally, I maintain a personal staff of four, but one is out on maternity leave, another was recently let go and my secretary and receptionist are unable to travel because of family obligations. I’m in need of someone with your academic background and obvious passion. There will be a tremendous amount of travel involved at times as well as long hours. You will of course be compensated for your time as well as any out of pocket expenses that you may incur while doing your job. You will learn about all aspects of my organization in a short amount of time. Is that something of interest to you?”
Sarah opened and closed her mouth before she was finally able to speak. Thinking fast, this was an opportunity too good to be true. She had no coursework. No boyfriend. Why not? Nodding her head, “Yes, Mr. Chekov, er, Vitaly, I am VERY interested in this opportunity.
“Excellent. That pleases me. There is one thing,” as Sarah looked up, he continued, “I can see from the pallor of your skin and the dark circles under your eyes that you were up late and drinking. Is this a common occurrence?”
“Oh, no, sir,” Sarah responded immediately. It was my twenty-first birthday yesterday and I just broke up with my boyfriend, so I over-celebrated. It won’t happen again.”
“Good to know. Now, go home, get some rest. Report to Human Resources tomorrow promptly at eight. You will spend the remainder of the week with the other new hires in training. I want you familiar with all aspects of this organization before you dive into the project files. Oh, and you have a passport, yes?” At Sarah’s nod, “Good. Now go.”
As Sarah left, Vitaly set her file down and sat back. He liked this one. She was submissive and he could tell by her reactions that she was relatively inexperienced. He especially liked that there was no boyfriend in the picture. He was going to enjoy having her around and getting to know her.
Chapter 3
When Sarah returned home, she ran into Lisa.
“Girl, you look as bad as I feel. How was the interview?”
“I got the internship, but it isn’t in marketing. I’m going to be his PA for the summer.”
At Lisa’s squeal, Sarah stopped her. “I get the impression that I’m going to work a lot of hours. He even asked if I had a passport.”
Lisa continued to bounce up and down in excitement. “What?!”
“Is he as good looking as he is in his pictures?”
Sarah smiled. “Better. Now come on, I need help putting some work outfits together until I can go shopping.”
Later that evening, Sarah was checking messages. She had three from Daniel that she deleted without even reading. Clicking on the one from VIC Enterprises, she read a welcome letter from Susan, Vitaly’s secretary, welcoming her to the team and giving her more information on what to expect over the next three days with HR. In addition to the paperwork and explanations on the various benefits and programs available to its employees, Sarah would also be trained on the current project management system VIC Enterprises uses along with all the other performance applications.
When she came upstairs, Mr. Chekov expected her to be ready to go with minimal learning curve. And since she would be spending all her time in HR, she was allowed to dress in office casual, but once she came upstairs, she would have to dress more appropriately. As Sarah read through the message, she took note of the suggestions to keep a travel bag in her car with a couple days’ worth of clothes and to keep her passport close. She also provided her with Vitaly’s tentative schedule, which Susan made sure to point out, changed constantly. It would be her job to know his schedule at all times, so it was mandatory that she be able to access all aspects of their communications software.
The next morning, Sarah reported to HR. Since she knew that she would be sitting most of the day, she had elected to wear comfortable chinos with a breezy top. Gary was their trainer and he took a moment to go around the room and have everyone introduce each other and indicate their role. Sarah was surprised to see a sixth intern in the room, until he indicated that he was in marketing. She had to shake her head at how quickly employment decisions were made around here. The remainder of the week was uneventful as Sarah spent most of it learning the various software systems. Vitaly insisted that everyone who worked for him had a general understanding of the expectations and roles for every department and as his personal assistant, Sarah felt pressured to understand as much of his business as possible. This was her chance to make a good impression and she wanted to do well.
On Friday, they broke for the day around mid-afternoon as Gary congratulated everyone on all the work they did. Since it was still early, Sarah decided to go upstairs to peek at her office and perhaps get a jumpstart on Monday. Both Susan and Laurel had been copying her on emails, so she knew that she had a busy week ahead of her. As she arrived on the tenth floor, she was surprised to find it in semi-darkness. As she walked up to the reception desk, it was obvious that Laurel wasn’t in. Since it was so quiet, she decided to walk around and get comfortable with her new surroundings.
As she walked into the conference room, she gasped at the amazing view outside. While Sarah had been living in San Jose for the past three years, she never paid much attention to the scenery, but the location of the office building and the floor to ceiling windows seemed to command respect for the beautiful mountains that served as a backdrop. She squealed in surprise when she heard a throat clearing behind her. Whirling around, she was surprised to see Vitaly Chekov and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Mr. Chekov, you startled me, I thought you were still out of town.”
“Vitaly. And I came back early. Why aren’t you in training?” he demanded, as he looked her over. She was wearing a sundress under her blazer and he liked how it hugged her curves.
“We finished for the day,” Sarah replied. He didn’t look pleased to see her. “It looks like I’m bothering you. I’ll just show myself out and see you on Monday.” As Sarah tried to scoot by, Vitaly put his arm out to block her.
“Stay,” he commanded as he swept his eyes over her. She really was gorgeous, he thought to himself.
Wrinkling her nose, Sarah attempted to move around his arm. “Mr. Chekov, er, Vitaly, sir, it smells as though you’ve been drinking. I think it would be best if I leave now.”
“Come,” he ordered, as he walked away. Sarah wasn’t sure what to do. She hadn’t even started working for him yet and she was already unsure how to respond. “I said, come,” he demanded as he walked into his office.
Shaking her head, Sarah followed slowly, and what was it with the dog commands? As Sarah walked into his office, she took in the files strewn about the table and the partial bottle of vodka and empty glass. Reaching for another glass, Vitaly filled both glasses before turning toward her. Pushing one toward her, he lifted his glass and took a long swallow. When Sarah still hadn’t picked up the glass, he pointed to the glass, “Today is the anniversary of my sister’s death,” he said in a flat tone. “Drink.”
Reluctantly stepping forward, Sarah picked up the glass and sniffed at it. Her birthday was barely one week ago and that was the most she’d ever had to drink at one time.
Taking a sip, Sarah coughed as the vodka burned her throat. She admitted to herself that she much preferred mixed drinks. Taking another small sip, she managed to swallow the burning liquid without coughing. As she looked up, she caught Vitaly looking at her again. Raising her glass to him, she took a larger sip and started coughing harder as she felt the vodka burn her nose.
“You aren’t very good at drinking,” he told her as he drained his glass.
Sarah laughed as she set the glass down, “I’m new at this,” she told him.
“What else are you new at?” At Sarah’s blush, Vitaly could well-imagine where she went in her head and he immediately felt aroused at the idea of bending her over his desk.
Sarah had no idea how to answer the question and was growing increasingly uncomfortable as he continued to stare at her. She reached for the glass as a means to distract herself, but he stopped her. Taking her hand, he turned it over and looked at her palm. Lightly running his fingers over it, he made small circles along her wrist with his thumb as Sarah caught her breath. How could something so small feel so damn good, she wondered?
Looking up at Vitaly through her lowered lashes, she had to admit that he was unbelievably attractive. He wore his hair on the longish side and Sarah had the sudden compulsion to run her fingers through it to see how soft it was. He had a strong-looking face with heavy eyebrows, chocolate brown eyes and a straight nose. His lips were full and Sarah wondered what they would feel like to kiss them. She was startled when she felt him reach up and pull the band off her hair as her hair tumbled around her. She sat quietly as he lifted her hair off her face and laid it behind her.
Cupping the side of her face, she couldn’t resist pressing lightly against his palm. Her lips felt dry and she paused as she was licking them when she saw his eyes narrow. Sliding his hand around her neck, Sarah yelped as she found herself suddenly lying on top of him. Capturing her lips, he plundered her mouth when she gasped in surprise.
While she tasted of vodka, he could also taste strawberries. He groaned, lifting one of her legs over him as he deepened the kiss. Unsure what to do, Sarah held on as he kissed her. While she knew that she needed to put a stop to this, he was doing something to her insides that was making her head spin. At the sound of a throat clearing, they both looked up as Sarah blushed. Ivan, VIC Enterprises Chief of Security was leaning in the doorway with a wicked smile on his face.
As Sarah quickly sat up and straightened out her clothes, Ivan walked in. “I can’t tell if I’m too early or right on time,” he drawled as he walked over to the couches. “Either way, we did have a meeting this afternoon, correct?” he asked as he picked up the vodka bottle and moved it farther away.
Sarah scrambled off the couch and headed for the door. Her face was bright red and she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. It was silly of her to come upstairs and now she had no idea what to do. As she headed for the door, Vitaly called out, “Bright and early Monday morning, Sarah.”
Pausing, Sarah turned around, still unable to speak. She nodded her head before she left his office and made a beeline for the elevator. Once inside, she looked in the reflection and straightened out her clothes. She had lost her hairband when he pulled it off, so she finger combed her hair before the doors opened on the lobby. Exiting, she practically ran to her car before taking several shallow breaths until she calmed down. Flipping the mirror up on the visor, she stared into it. What on earth was she thinking?
That can never happen again, she vowed as she drove away.
