Read Online The Fling by Rebekah Weatherspoon - Free Book Online Page A

want me?”
    “I always want you, but you were requested by name.” Not unheard of, but…
    “Who’s the reference?”
    Paul pretended to search for the info in his day planner. Oksana humored his silliness.
    “A Miss Ronnie Ramirez.”
    Oksana’s laugh echoed through the office. “That bitch!”
     
    *
     
    Sixty-five minutes on the treadmill, a hundred or so crunches and push-ups, and eight not-so-innocent peeks at her cell phone later, Oksana wandered into the big house in search of food.
    “Come here,” Baba Inna grumbled in her native tongue. The old woman knew how to throw her voice. Oksana had no clue how, some elder Russian proverb about being invisible in the woods and heard across the fields, but her voice still echoed down the main hall, just daring Oksana to take her time. She was still irritated with Oksana’s cell phone antics.
    She cursed herself for letting the front door slam and Oksana walked into the kitchen to find Kat cleaning her plate into Vasily’s dish. He came for a sniff then cleaned the rest off with his tongue.
    “You walk him tonight,” Baba told Kat as she lit another cigarette.
    “Baba, no,” Kat whined, slouching dramatically against the corner.
    “I’ll do it,” Oksana offered. The dog was the size of a small truck and protective of Kat. She was perfectly safe walking him at night, but Oksana wanted to get away from Baba’s mood as soon as possible.
    “No, it’s her turn. She wanted a puppy. The puppy became a dog and now she walks the dog,” Baba said.
    Kat switched to English, which she only did to piss off their grandmother.
    “I hate this.” She dropped her plate in the sink and stormed out of the room. “He takes the biggest shits.” She had a point.
    Oksana watched the dog enjoy his dinner of scraps, pretending she didn’t feel her grandmother’s glare drilling a hole in the side of her head. Baba Inna ashed her cigarette in the sink and walked to the stove. Oksana finally sat at the table.
    Baba Inna brought her a plate piled high with steak, potatoes, and onions. She often joked that Oksana’s grandfather had passed on his appetite, his Viking blood, and his height to both his grandchildren, but the truth was, being a trainer was as active a career as most people thought. In her down time, Oksana had to keep herself in shape. If she didn’t eat like a trucker, she’d be fabulously underweight and undesirable as a trainer. She had to be slim but healthy, which meant eating mountains of Baba’s starches and proteins and fats. Traditional Russian cuisine was not for the weak, and certainly wasn’t a diet she’d recommend to a client, but Oksana loved it. As she stuffed her mouth, Baba grabbed her phone off the table.
    Fear was quickly replaced with relief as she remembered the final texts her grandmother would read. She replaced the phone next to Oksana’s elbow then just stood there.
    “Who is she?” Baba Inna asked after an uncomfortably long silence.
    Oksana swallowed, then filled her fork again. “A client.”
    “You love her.”
    “No.” Oksana took another bite and considered how to phrase more of the truth. Baba was already irritated. Her tempers were subtle, but the fact that they were having this conversation at all proved that Baba had noticed Oksana’s recent behavior and she wasn’t impressed. The truth didn’t necessarily need details though.
    “She’s engaged. I made a mistake.”
    “There is no mistake. You love her. Your eyes are terrible liars.”
    Oksana’s throat wanted to close. The last time they’d talked like this, it was about Vivian. Baba told Oksana not to move in with her. They hadn’t known each other long enough. Oksana insisted it was the right step in their relationship, but in the end it turned out Oksana didn’t know Vivian at all.
    This time Oksana knew her side of the argument was for the best.
    “I like her,” she said. “But I don’t love her. It was a mistake and it’s over.”
    Baba let her