Tears shimmer in Raisa's eyes, but I don't have time to feel bad for her. After what she's done to me in the past, and her idiotic plot to win me back, I feel no obligations to her. Not anymore. I race down the hall to the elevator, reaching it as the doors shut. I get a glimpse of Elena and her stricken expression, then she's gone.
I sprint toward the stairs but stop at the door. Even if I can run down nineteen flights, I'll never get there before the elevator, before Elena leaves.
Raisa finds me standing at the stairwell door, staring at it. "That was your new lover, wasn't it?"
She doesn't sound irritated. Instead, I sense compassion in her voice. I can't help looking at her.
"Whoever she is, you don't need her," Raisa tells me, taking my hand. "Give me another chance. I'll be different this time, better, more what you need."
I know she's not making a pun when she tells me she wants another chance. She honestly believes I might take her back.
"You lost me a long time ago," I say. "It's too late. Move on, Raisa, please."
Her eyes grow large, lending her face an innocence and pain I haven't witnessed since the day I told her I was moving out of our apartment.
Christ, I don't want to hurt her. But this can't go on, Raisa scheming to win me back while I try to romance Elena. Maybe Elena's right, and we should declare our relationship to Raisa. I need to talk to Elena first.
"I'm sorry," I tell her. "I have to go. It's for the best."
And I swear fate is on my side when I run for the elevator and get there at the instant the doors slide open. An older couple exits the car. I hurry inside and punch the button for the lobby.
Half an hour later, after enduring a long taxi ride amid a traffic jam, I finally stand outside the door to Elena's apartment. I pray she's here. Though I'd checked the hotel restaurant and the bar, I hadn't found her there. She must have come home.
I knock.
A moment later, the door opens---and Elena gapes at me.
She's still wearing that dress, the green number with a low neckline, the one that molds to every curve on her body.
"Hi," she says, still seeming surprised and confused.
"May I come in? I want to explain what you saw."
"Raisa was trying to seduce you, right? I figured that one out already." Elena motions for me to enter. "My apartment isn't swanky, like your hotel, but it's comfortable."
"I'm not a snob."
"Yeah, I know." She hunches her shoulders. "Sorry I ran away, but I kind of freaked when I saw Raisa."
"No worries. I finally got the chance to run after a woman."
I walk into the apartment, taking in the small but very puffy sofa and two puffy recliners. Multi-layered white curtains frame the windows, beyond which I catch a glimpse of the Manhattan skyline glittering with lights. This building is far enough away from that view to be relatively affordable. As affordable as anything gets in New York.
Elena is barefoot.
My attention stalls on her dainty toes and the lavender nail polish on them.
She wanders into the kitchen. A bar separates it from the living room.
I follow her while she opens the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of beer. "Want one?"
"Love one. Thanks." I take the bottle she offers, watching while she grabs one for herself. "Could we sit down? I was on foot for the last two blocks. Traffic was terrible."
She leads me to the sofa and sits down, patting the cushion beside her. "Relax, I know Raisa surprised you with that kiss. It was obvious."
I drop onto the sofa a little too roughly, making it jump. "Sorry, I'm exhausted from the walk."
She sets her beer on the coffee table. "Two blocks wipes you out? How did you ever survive in New York the first time?"
"A talk with Raisa always leaves me exhausted. Besides, I had to give up on the taxi and run to get here."
"Run?" Elena's brows knit together over her adorable nose. "What was the rush?"
"To find you." I take a sip of my beer, then set the bottle on the table. I angle toward her and take her hand in both of mine. "I was afraid you jumped to the wrong conclusion and thought I was reconciling with Raisa. I'm not, by the way."
"Never thought that." She shuts her eyes for a moment, then looks at me again. "I feel horrible. Raisa is clearly still in love with you, and I promised to help her win you back, then I went and slept with you instead."
"She had no right to make you do that for her."
"I know, but she won't give up. This afternoon, I went to the break room to get some coffee, and I saw Raisa there. She didn't see me. She was crying again, Chance. Crying. Raisa."
What am I meant to do about that? I don't want to hurt Raisa, but I've clearly failed to hammer it into her brain that we will never be a couple again. "I don't love her anymore. I want to be with you, Elena, and that unfortunately means I have to hurt Raisa. No way around that."
"Yeah, I know." Elena lays her other hand over mine. "I guess we have to accept that Raisa will be upset. But I really think we need to tell her about us."
"I don't think that's a good idea, not yet. Let's wait and see if this thing between us is really going somewhere."
"No, please, we have to tell her. And if she fires me, oh well. I'm sure they need paralegals in Siberia."
"You don't need to run that far away. Come with me to Chicago."
Elena lays her palm on my cheek. "That's sweet, but we barely know each other."
"We can change that." I turn my face into her palm and kiss it. "Raisa can't fire you for following the firm's rules about coworkers dating. I'm an attorney, Elena. I'll help you sue her for wrongful termination if she does fire you. But first, I'll try again to talk sense into her. It might work."
"Maybe," Elena says, sounding as unconvinced as she looks. "We're taking a risk either way."
"We are. But you should've said you're taking a chance. I'd jump on that offer."
"Oh, but I knew you'd do that." She taps her finger on my lips. "Not giving you any ammunition to use in seducing me."
"Why not? That's why I came here."
She shakes her head. "No, it's not. You came here because Raisa upset you, and you need comforting."
"Do I get some, then?"
"Absolutely." She leans in, her breaths teasing my lips. "How do you like the dress?"
"I love it." I can't disguise the hunger in my voice, because I am starved for her. I feasted on that body two nights ago, but I need more. "Where's the bedroom?"
She hooks a thumb over her shoulder. "Down the hall."
"Too far." I consider the small sofa and calculate whether I can fit on it lying down. The answer is no. "It's either you on my lap here, or both of us on the floor."