Nikolai's Point Of View
Amusing.
That was the only word to describe the scene unfolding before me.
Two men, seasoned businessmen, both powerful in their own right desperately vying for my attention.
I leaned back in my chair, drumming my fingers lightly against the smooth wooden surface of my desk, my expression giving away nothing. Not my amusement. Not my boredom. Not the certainty that I had already won.
Desperation.
That's what I wanted.
That's what separated the weak from the strong, the ones who would break under pressure from the ones who could rise above it. And right now? Neither of them realized they were already walking straight into my web.
I studied Edward Blair first. The man was refined, calculated, polished to the point of perfection. His voice held the tone of someone used to commanding a room, used to people listening when he spoke.
But that didn't work on me.
