Chapter 22 - Elena

I get up early, too excited to stay asleep. I lay out the clothes I'm going to wear today, go into my en-suite bathroom, and run a hot shower. I strip down and jump in, letting the hot water wash the last of Arseny off me. I wish I didn't have to, but if anyone smelled him on me, I'd be in deep shit.

Once I smell like coconut and blueberries, I hop out and wrap a towel around myself. I go to my room, sit in front of the mirror, take my circular brush and hair dryer, and dry my hair into large, bouncy curls.

It takes me a while to get it done before I dress in a pencil skirt, a button-up blouse, and a smart blazer. I put on black heels to match the whole outfit.

I pull my bedding off the bed and chuck it in the hamper for the maids to wash. They shouldn't ask too many questions. My room now smells like my perfume anyway, instead of hot, sweaty sex as it did last night.

I put on some hoop earrings and apply some light makeup before I step out of my room and head downstairs. As I walk, I nearly bump into Kyle, who smiles at me.

"You look nice. Are you going somewhere special?" he asks.

"Meeting with Father. He wants to hear my ideas on something." I smile back, feeling proud.

We walk to the dining room and sit down for breakfast. The scent of cooked sausage and bacon wafts in through the door when a maid walks in with my father's paper and puts it in his place. He comes downstairs not long after that.

He kisses my head and sits down. "Good morning, Elena. Kyle."

"Morning, Father," we chorus.

Always Father. Not papa, or daddy, or dad. Just Father. It kind of sucks because it feels like there's no emotion behind it, even though I love my father dearly.

The maids bring out plates of food and set it in front of us. I suddenly feel nervous, realizing this is my big shot. My hands shake slightly as I cut up my food.

Ethan walks in. "Good morning, everyone. Sorry, I'm late for breakfast." He turns to the maid. "I'll also have coffee, black, no sugar."

"I'll bring a pot, Mr. Sokolov," the maid says, batting her eyes at him.

He smiles and sits opposite me while Kyle is next to me. Father opens his paper and starts to read it over as we eat. He's buttered a piece of toast and scooped his egg onto it so he can eat while he reads.

"Elena, I hear you'll be joining us today," Ethan says as a maid brings him a plate with bacon, eggs, and sausages. He takes a slice of toast from the plate in the middle of the table and butters it.

"Yes, Father is letting me sit in on a meeting to see if I have anything to contribute." He's trying to rattle me. I know my brother. He's old-fashioned and believes a woman's place is as a homemaker.

That might have been good enough for Mother when she was alive, but I'm not settling.

"Just remember your manners. I tried to dissuade Father from this terrible idea, so I suggest you sit tight, keep quiet, and learn how it's done." He starts to eat.

"If I'm there simply to witness, then I see no point in going. Father said he wanted my opinion, and I'm going to give it."

"Elena…"

"Ethan," my father says with a warning infliction to his words. "I have asked for Elena's opinion because she has some good ideas. If you are uncomfortable, you can sit out of the meeting."

"Not at all, Father," Ethan says quickly, but he gives me a dark look.

I simply look at him for a moment before I go back to my food. I wonder if Ethan bought the butchers without telling Father. Maybe that's why he's acting so resistant to me attending the meetings. He doesn't want me to find out.

I finish my breakfast and sip on my coffee as my father folds his paper and finishes his breakfast. "I have a business to attend to after the meeting, so I suggest you three come in Ethan's car. Darius will meet us there."

He stands up, and we stand with him. I'm hesitant to go with Ethan in his car, but what my father says goes. Kyle lets me sit in the front and even holds the door open for me like a true gentleman.

Ethan gets in the driver's side and glances at me. "I'm sorry for giving you a hard time."

"It's okay. Next time, though, don't expect me to go easy on you." I smile at my brother evilly, and he grins back.

"I hope you know what you're doing, little sister," he says as he starts the car.

We drive to my father"s downtown office, and we all go straight to the boardroom, where a group of elderly men are sitting with my father. We sit on the opposite side of them, with Darius sitting closest to my father, who has arrived before us.

The meeting commences, and I listen intently to what the men want. They want to do business with us. They're from Los Angeles and want to trade in Vegas with high-quality dope. However, they don't want to encroach on my father"s territory because that would be disrespectful.

My father doesn't say much at first, and then he asks what terms they're offering.

They push a sheet of paper toward my father, who nods to me. I take it and look it over before I slide it over to him. "That doesn't sound like a respectable price," I say calmly. "You want to take business away from our family, and that's what you're offering us in return?"

"We could just start trading and pay no respect," the youngest man in the group says.

I shake my head. "You'll find this isn't Los Angeles, and we're not afraid to get our hands dirty."

The elder of the group puts a hand on who I presume is his son before he looks at my father. "Name your price."

"You use our guys to move the dope," I say. "Pay them ten percent of the profits for their work, and you pay my father forty percent for using his territory. You'll find you'll make more than enough in this town to cover your expenses and turn a profit."

"Does this woman speak for you, Mr. Sokolov?" the son asks. "Women don't belong in meetings like this."

"Well, if you won't deal with my family, then you won't be dealing dope in the Vegas area," I stand up and nod to my brothers, who thankfully follow my lead and also stand up.

"Excuse my son," the father, Hunter, says. Dmitri is hot-headed sometimes. We do want to do business with you and are willing to consider your terms."

I look at him. "Our terms are not negotiable. We will be losing a lot by not trading in dope ourselves to give you an upper hand on the market."

They huddle in and whisper among themselves before Hunter stands up and holds his hand out. "We agree to your terms but insist you offer us protection if we get picked up for it."

"To the best of our ability, we will." I look at my father, who stands and shakes Hunter's hand.

The men shuffle out and take the elevator down. My father smiles at me. "You did well."

"I was nervous," I admit, my hands shaking.

My brothers and my cousin are all smiles.

"That was an incredible deal you secured," Darius says. We should celebrate with lunch—my treat. I'll call Sevan and let him know to meet us."

Ethan squeezes my shoulder. "Lunch indeed. She's earned it."

My father kisses my head. "You kids go ahead. I have other work to take care of."

Ethan leads us out of the office and down the elevator. The restaurant is a block away, so we walk there. After that successful negotiation, I can't stop smiling.

My brothers and cousin talk amongst themselves, and soon, Sevan falls into step with us and greets us all. The boys let me lead them into the restaurant and secure our table, and once we're all seated, we order a bottle of champagne to start with.

"Something to celebrate my little sister"s first successful negotiation and hopefully not the last," Ethan says.

"Oh, so now you believe in me," I tease him.

"I always believed in you." Kyle grins and picks up the complimentary bread.

I see a shadow out of the corner of my eye and glance toward the kitchen. My blood runs cold. Arseny is standing there, half-hidden by the wall. He disappears around the corner, and I look around the table. Ethan is talking to Darius while Sevan shows Kyle something on his phone.

"I need the lady"s room. I'll be right back." I get up without another word and walk as calmly as I can to the back and around the corner. Arseny is standing there with a wicked grin on his face.

"What are you doing here?" I whisper, taking his hand and pulling him into the nearby linen closet.

"First…" he leans down and kisses me deeply. "Secondly, I wanted to hear how your meeting went. Did you blow them out of the water?"

"I did," I say, feeling completely endeared by the fact that he cares about what is going on in my life. "I negotiated an excellent deal." I rest my hands flat on his chest and run them up to his neck and his face, bringing him down for another kiss.

"I'm so proud of you," he says between kisses. "I'm so happy you showed them how to do things."

I kiss him deeper, aroused by his happiness for me.

"Elena, if we don't stop…" he pulls me against him, and I can feel his semi-erect cock.

"Just quickly…" I murmur and kiss him again.

He breaks the kiss and turns me around, bending me over. He hikes my skirt up to my waist and pulls my thong down my thighs.

I brace myself on a shelf in front of me as he takes his cock out and rubs it between my folds, lubricating himself.

"Hurry…" I whisper. "Before someone wonders where I've gone."

He pushes deep inside of me and immediately holds my hips as he moves in and out. My jaw drops at this new angle he's got me at, hitting me in new places. I think this has to be my favorite position so far.

Arseny is moving so quickly that the sound of flesh on flesh starts to fill the closet, and I worry someone is going to hear. Then he pushes deep inside of me and releases. I pant slightly, and when he pulls out of me, I quickly grab a cloth from a nearby shelf to wipe his cum from inside of me before I pull my thong up. I start to fix my skirt and look up at him.

"You owe me one," I smile and kiss him.

"Hmm," he growls. "We could sneak off and do this again."

"I have to have lunch with my family, but I want to see you again soon." I kiss him and fix my hair.

"Meet me at this address later," he hands me a small piece of paper. "There's something I want to show you. Don't tell anyone."

"You're not going to kidnap me again, are you?" I ask, looking up at him.

"You have my word that I won't. You'll be home safe and sound in time for bed." He kisses me again and opens the closet door, sneaking out.

I wait a moment to give him time to get away before I slip out and head back to the table.

"Elena, what took you so long?" Ethan asks me as I sit down.

"Oh, bumped into an old school friend and got chatting," I say with a smile. "She's quite the chatterbox."

We order our lunches, and we talk about business and family, and when we're done, we decide to go our separate ways. Ethan doesn't want me to take a taxi, but I insist that I have things to attend to that he won't be comfortable doing, and then I call an Uber.

I hug each of them, but Darius hangs onto me. He sniffs the air around me before he looks down at me.

I think he knows.

Luckily, he doesn't say anything as he leaves, and I can breathe for a moment. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe he doesn't know.