Contract Marriage: Married to My Ex-Husband's Alpha Stepfather [BL]

Chapter 187: Just To Hear You Calling Out My Name

[KATYA]

Katya Romanov never overslept.

Ever.

Yet as he looked at his phone for the third time in fifteen seconds, he couldn’t believe it.

Ten o’clock.

Ten.

As in 10 AM.

Yeah, he was fucked.

All the alarms had rung. And he hadn’t heard any of them.

"Nina!" Katya shouted from his bedroom.

"I’ll skip breakfast!" he added as if to tell the woman that he was coming to be cooked when he got to the company.

Oh, but Katya had never gotten ready that fast. He wasn’t sure what the hell had happened, but going to work at ten am on a Friday, and that too, to a Moskowsky company, was just insane.

"Bur sir—" Nina tried when Katya stepped out in ten minutes, all dressed and, on his way, out for work. This was certainly going to be a long day for him.

"If I’m still alive by the end of the day, I’ll eat all the meals, I promise," Katya said as he rushed out, not even waiting to hear what Nina had to say.

He knew that this was not okay.

He couldn’t even come up with a good enough excuse in his head as the elevator went down. It was so annoyingly slow for an elevator that usually went up at the same speed as the private elevator at Moskowsky.

"Good morning, sir–" his driver greeted, but Katya just asked for the keys.

"I’ll drive myself today. You can come pick it from the company later," was all Katya said as the gates opened and he got behind the wheel.

Oh, but Katya had never driven that fast.

Thankfully, there was usually no traffic in Frolo at ten o’clock, so it took him fifteen minutes to get to the office.

Fifteen minutes of practicing apologies.

Fifteen minutes of trying to think and failing each time.

There was no valid excuse.

He couldn’t even say it was because of Alek, because Alek had dropped him off after dinner, and that was around eight in the evening. That was just enough time for Katya to catch up on sleep.

Yet here he was, walking with a straight face like his shaft wasn’t hammering in his chest. The elevator ride up felt like the greatest ride of shame, not to mention the silence on the executive floor when he got out.

Or was it almost like the entire day was meant to ruin him?

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the glass conference room that sat so conveniently between the offices on this floor was in session.

And Sergei...

Fuck, Sergei was chairing the meeting.

Katya rushed to his office like that to make up for the lost time.

"Do I have any meetings, Rahim?" Katya asked, his voice low like he didn’t know that he had missed his first three meetings for the day.

But maybe if he pretended just enough, it would take away the madness she turned into. Who the fuck even woke up that late on a working day at Moskowsky of all the places?

"None left, sir. All the meetings have been chaired by Mr. Moskowsky. The last one is about to end in five minutes," Rahim said, and Katya sighed.

There was no way he was going to survive today.

So mumbling a thank you to Rahim, Katya set his backpack in his office before he walked himself to Sergei’s office.

He wasn’t going to wait for his boss to come to him and ask why the fuck he was late. That would just make it all worse. It was like waiting for the principal to come and drag him out of class, and it would be too humiliating.

"Chairman Romanov?" Volkov said when Katya walked into Sergei’s office, his palms were sweaty and his hands shaking.

"If I die in there, bury me on a rainy day in some forest far from here," Katya said genuinely, and Volkov snickered at him before he realized the omega was dead serious.

"He would never do that to you," Volkov said sincerely, like he was sure.

Katya just smiled, thinking it was reassurance.

But then it was a truth that everyone on the executive floor was very aware of. Well, not everyone, seeing as Katya was here shaking like a leaf.

"Shall I get you coffee?"

"Nope. More like a farewell note for my parents if they meet my nose somewhere different from my toes," Katya said jokingly, and Volkov sighed softly.

He knew Katya was nervous; well, anyone with eyes could see that. But he also understood why.

Katya is never late.

Katya was easily one of the best employees the Moskowsky group could ask for.

He woke up on time. Was never followed up on. He never failed, ever. And the one time he was falling back, he was here, ready to take his punishment as desired.

It was almost ironic how the entire company was running on the look that Katya had on his face on any regular day.

Because a happy Katya met me at a happy company.

A sad Katya, well... They had learned it one too many times.

"Just be honest with him. Mr. Moskowsky prefers honesty over everything else," Volkov said softly before adding;

"His meeting just ended. You might want to go in."

Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time, Katya straightened up and walked into Sergei’s office.

He knew he would have a lot to explain, but how the fuck was he even supposed to explain when he alone didn’t understand what the fuck had happened to him?

There was nothing logical about his night really not to mention the weird dream he had had of someone carrying him to bed. Which didn’t even make it any better because Katya could swear he slept on the couch and woke up on his bed.

And Masha Romanova wasn’t in the penthouse to take him to bed. So basically, he was screwed in all the ways he’d never get out of.

"Push all my meetings to Monday," Katya heard Sergei say on the other end of the door.

Katya had willed himself to sit, but he was too nervous. So, he stood. Right at the corner.

Not because he was scared of Sergei, no. But because at least at that corner, he would be able to hide from the shame of coming to work four hours late.

Then the door to Sergei’s office opened.

And Katya... He waited.

He knew Sergei hated it when people invaded his space like this, but what the fuck was Katya supposed to do?

It was way easier to get his scolding in here than out there in his office, where everyone probably sees him getting verbally beaten down by his boss, right?

"Solnyshka," Sergei began.

Katya stared at the alpha.

He looked composed. Well, he was always composed. Who was Katya kidding right now?

Maybe it was too late to say he looked a little too good this morning?

Gods, Katya needed to focus.

"I’m s—" Katya began before he remembered what Sergei had once told him.

"You never have to apologize to me ever. I’ll kill whoever you apologize to," Sergei had said that one day when the barbarian had driven a hundred over twenty on their way to work.

"I... I didn’t mean to wake up late. I know it’s a lame excuse and is probably a waste of your time. But it wasn’t intentional. I swear on my life, Mr. Moskowsky," Katya said as he looked at the alpha, who raised a brow at the change of name.

And Sergei...

"I bought a basil today. I watered it, but I think it hates me. But I’ll definitely keep watering it," Sergei said casually, like it was nothing.

"What?"

"I also found a favorite channel that has farming videos. Volkov already processed the payments for the parcel of land I bought yesterday... I’ll try to be a good farmer, Solnyshka.

"Even if that damn basil hates me already," Sergei said casually as he walked over to his seat, while Katya stared at the man like he had finally lost all his brain cells.

Were they looking at the same Sergei Moskowsky right now?

"You look like you rushed to work... Have you had breakfast?" Sergei asked, and Volkov’s words came back to Katya.

"Be honest with him."

How the fuck was he supposed to be honest with a man who was acting like it was normal?

"Solnyshka?" Sergei asked softly.

"Uhh... yeah... I mean, not yet."

"Alright, sit with me. We’ll share mine," Sergei offered.

Katya just stared.

What else could he do anyway?

"I was late... For work," Katya tried.

"You haven’t had breakfast yet... Here," Sergei said instead, offering his food to a shocked Katya.