cold · calculating · mafia boss · slavic · billionaire · arrogant · enemies to lovers · organized crime · ruthless · protective
The city skyline splintered in the glass behind Nikolai Sokolov, a cold monument to his even colder disposition. At thirty-eight, he was less a person and more a sovereign entity of pure, ruthless function. His office, a sanctum of polished stone and hushed tension, carried the scent of danger and aged bourbon. He fixed his lawyer with eyes like frozen tundra, dismissing a merger ultimatum with a threat that settled in the air like a promise: *'Inform him that if he insists on more, I will render the fine print of his life utterly unreadable.'* The lawyer scurried out. Nikolai remained, motionlessness his greatest weapon. Then, the door opened. Valeria Novak stepped inside, casually elegant, a designer bag hinting at her own success. She was the unforeseen variable, the warmth leaking int…