Chapter 14

Katja~

I was becoming a complete basket case, and I didn't know how to get out of my head long enough to calm the hell down. I still hadn't heard from Maksim, and so my conversation with Klive felt like a ticking bomb inside my brain, my mind worried that I might forget something.

At any rate, with panic eating at my insides, I decided to go visit my grandfather to remind myself of why this was all worth it. Even though he was never far from my mind, I needed an extra dose of strength to see this disaster through. In all my life, I hadn't ever imagined that I'd get embroiled in a criminal espionage, so I hadn't trained for this shit, hysteria something that I found myself battling daily since the day that Klive Simpson approached me.

Practically on autopilot, I pulled into the parking lot of Windmill Gates, got out of my car, hit the key fob to lock it, then made my way through the lobby to find my grandfather. While I was early and would probably catch him during dinner, I didn't care. I needed to see him, and I also knew that he wouldn't mind the interruption. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time that I'd eaten in the eatery with him and his new friends.

However, before I could go looking for him, Devers Branch was making her way towards me, stopping me. "Katja, I'm so glad I caught you."

"Hello, Mrs. Branch," I greeted. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, child," she answered kindly. "I'm always fine."

I smiled at that. "Well, what can I help you with?"

"I just wanted to tell you that we are going to miss your grandfather terribly," she said, surprising me. "Mr. Antonov is such a delight, and he's made our lives better by knowing him."

Doing my best to act like I knew what she was talking about, I said, "Yeah, he…he really loves this place."

Her face quickly softened. "Well, you know…when we first heard that you were taking Mr. Antonov home with you, some of us were immediately worried that something had happened, or that you might feel as if he wasn't getting the proper care here," she said. "But when Mr. Dubie assured us that you were simply taking him home because you were able to afford his personal care now…well, while we were all happy for the both of you, we're still going to miss him so much."

"He's definitely going to miss everyone here," I assured her, my mind spinning at how Maksim had already arranged for my grandfather to come home, yet hadn't even called me to tell me. "Plus, if he ends up deciding that he prefers the comfort of his new community to sitting home with just me to entertain him, we can always see about bringing him back here."

I was rambling.

Suddenly, I realized that I had no idea what I was doing. Once the Kotovs captured Klive Simpson, my grandfather and I were no longer going to be in danger, and then what? I couldn't see Maksim Barychev paying for my grandfather's care indefinitely, and since I wouldn't be able to afford it on the salary that I made now, would I have to whore myself out to Maksim until my grandfather finally found peace in the afterlife? Then there was also no guarantee that Windmill Gates would have any rooms available whenever the money dried up. I'd made demands without thinking them through, and it wasn't lost on me how it'd be in my best interest for the Kotovs not to find Klive Simpson.

I could feel a bubble of hysteria making an appearance, so I quickly said, "Well, I need to go find my grandfather, Mrs. Branch. We'll be sure to say our goodbyes to everyone when we finally get around to moving him home."

She graced me with a genuine smile that made me feel like crap. "Of course, Katja."

Turning from her, I went in search of my grandfather, and when I found him reading quietly underneath the big oak near his bungalow, my heart thumped painfully in my chest. He looked so damn peaceful, and a part of me wondered if I was making a mistake by taking him away from all of this. Of course, with his safety the priority, I was confident about why I was taking him home with me, but was he going to miss the social interaction that this place provided for him? Was he going to be lonely while I worked all day? Plus, now that I had to pay for his safety by spreading my legs for Maksim, was that going to make my grandfather lonely during the evenings as well?

Tears were quickly making an appearance as the weight of confusion threatened to crush me. I no longer knew what the plan was, and it was killing me to think that I didn't even have enough sense to do something as simple as taking care of my grandfather.

When I finally approached his chair, I said, "Hey, Dedushka."

He placed his book on his lap, his light brown eyes regarding me carefully. "I hear that I am going home," he said, cutting to the chase. "How is that possible, dorogoy? How is that you can afford such a thing?"

I took a seat on the bench next to his chair, and hating myself inside, I was going to do my best to convince him of my lies, praying that it worked. After all, this was the man that knew me best, and I'd never been able to lie to him before without getting caught. My grandfather might be eighty-three, but he was still as sharp as a tack, and that was going to make this so much more difficult.

"Well, first off, it was supposed to be a surprise," I lied. "I wanted to be the one to tell you, but I forgot to let Mr. Dubie know that, and for that I'm sorry. You should have heard the news from me."

"I am more interested in how you can afford this, Katja," he repeated. "We did the math until we couldn't see straight, and so I know how much the care costs."

"The Tremaine Group got a new CEO about three months ago, and…well, he seems like a real for-the-people kind of boss," I said, the lies feeling like broken glass on my tongue. "He's the great-grandson of Kenneth Tremaine, and according to the gossip at work, he claims that he has more millions than he and his family will ever need, so he wants to give back to the employees."

Now, everything that I was telling my grandfather about The Tremaine Group was true, except for the part where the new CEO was handing money out like Chicklets. While our new boss was still fairly new, it'd be a couple of years before we could see what kind of boss he'd really be. Passing down the reins was never an easy thing to do, and it really was anyone's guess on what we'd be getting when it was all said and done.

"Really?" he asked skeptically, and since this was America, I didn't blame him.

I nodded. "His father finally stepped down, and once Darren Tremaine took over, he opened the checkbook, and then just started giving away money. Everyone in the company got a twenty-percent raise and we get quarterly bonuses now." Guilty tears sprung to my eyes, but I forced myself to smile through them. "You can finally come home."

"Katja, I'd love nothing more than to be home with you," he said, his voice firm but soft. "I miss seeing your grandmother everywhere. Still, I do not want to be a burden-"

"You could never be a burden," I rushed out as I grabbed his hands. "You can't possibly know how much I miss having you at home, and as soon as we got those raises and bonuses, I did the math to see if we could get you home, Dedushka."

"If I were a stronger man, I'd tell you to use all that extra money to do something nice for yourself," he sighed tiredly. "However, I miss your babushka so much. I'd like to be home where I can be closer to her."

"And what of the friends that you've made here?" I asked, letting go of his hands, so that I could wipe my eyes.

"I will miss them," he admitted. "I've been treated well here, but if given the choice, I'd rather be home than anywhere else in the world, Katja."

"Well, I'm going to have you home as soon as possible, but since it'll take a few more days to get the nurse's schedule organized, you'll have some more time to spend with your friends," I said, knowing that I was going to have to call Maksim to ask him what in the hell was going on.

My grandfather eyed me, his gaze a knowing one. "Are you sure that everything is okay with you, Katja? You seem…weighted down."

Though I couldn't tell him the entire truth, I was honest when I said, "Now that you're able to come home, I realize just how much I've missed you, Dedushka. I feel…I feel both relieved and saddened by how long you've been here."

"Katja, do not do that to yourself," he replied graciously. "I've been treated well here. Truly."

I quickly wiped the quiet tears that I just couldn't seem to get rid of, then said, "Enough of this. I say that we tour the place, get phone numbers, addresses…whatever for the people that you'd still like to keep in touch with."

My grandfather smiled over at me. "I think that's a great idea. I'd really like to see Mrs. Turnbuckle's great-granddaughter grow up. Plus, there's online chess. Gary Reasons cannot cheat if it's online."

Despite the shitshow that was my life, I chuckled. I'd wanted to be reminded of why I was doing all this, and my grandfather's laughter had done just that.