Zakhar

Chapter 3

Zakhar

Monday…

I sharply eyed my assistant. "Tell me."

Nathan wore a tweed suit that clung too closely to his small figure. His sharp dark eyes always seem to glare at me as he stared at me unblinking. Yet, his fidgeting was what gave away his either fear or disgust. It didn't bother me either way. The most important thing was the way he carried out his task … and he was a good assistant.

"Her name is Carla Montrose. She's American and well versed in several languages, beautiful, and well-travelled. Would you like to know more?"

"No. I suppose we will need something to talk about and she might love talking about herself."

"I think she's the perfect fit, Sir."

She sounded annoying at first thought, but I put that aside and asked, "Time and place?"

"The Chandra Adwani Restaurant at 2pm. I made the reservations, and they will accommodate her until you arrive."

"Good, have the car brought to the entrance."

"Mr. Mikhailov, your brother arrived home safely."

I nodded, moving from behind my desk while adjusting my tie. "Ensure his safety until I return home."

By safety I meant that our personal security detail would keep him guarded … always, with detailed information relayed to me daily about his whereabouts. We didn't need another scandal on our hands, and I sure didn't want to have to be more drastic when it came to my older sibling. This was for the best … for us all.

"About your father…"

I stopped directly in front of him. "I will be late if you keep delaying me."

Nathan bowed his head. "My apologies, Sir."

It was now midday, and I was twenty minutes away from the restaurant. Given the afternoon traffic, I might get there in forty-five minutes. My driver took the shortest route and we arrived at the restaurant ten minutes early. The hostess guided me to my table, and I was half expecting to see my date. However, there was no one there.

According to Nathan, this woman was an American and she was staying at the hotel across the street, hence the choice of this meeting place. I was expecting her to be early. As the time approached, I was doubting this date. At five minutes after two, I decided to allow her another five minutes in which to arrive … because she was a foreigner and I wanted to be generous.

At ten past, I stood and started moving away from the table when a tall, thin, blond rushed up to the table. She was everything I was not looking for in a wife or the mother of my children.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, sliding into a chair. "I was caught up with work and lost track of time."

I turned in her direction, still standing. "You're ten minutes late. I despise tardiness."

"Well, I'm here now. So why don't we get to know each other. I'm sure you'll find me irresistible within five minutes." She held up a hand splaying her fingers. "Can't you give a girl five minutes?"

Aversely, I returned to my seat. "You got five minutes to convince me to pursue this."

A coquettish grin graced her features. "As you can see, I'm beautiful, I love sports and am pretty successful. I travel a lot and have experienced many cultures."

"What's your occupation?"

"Social media marketer."

"Oh, you're into marketing. What companies are under your portfolio?"

"I have my own business."

This sparked my interest. "A business owner, in what field exactly?"

"Oh, I … hmmm … a ….," she stuttered.

"You don't know what it is you do?" I slowly rose from my seat. "Well, it was interesting meeting you."

"They call me an influencer," she blurted out.

At first this confused me as I wasn't sure what she meant by that. If she didn't know what it was that she did, how could she influence anyone? Then it hit me. She was unemployed, perhaps with no marketable skill, therefore she posted on the internet.

I turned abruptly to face her. "So, you post videos for profit on social media."

She seemed offended and she also stood. "I don't have to take this from you."

Picking up her purse she stomped out of the restaurant. This amused me and I sat back down and ordered a bourbon. I needed the drink after a disastrous first encounter. What was Nathan thinking, pairing me with someone like that? After finishing my drink, I picked up my phone and left the table. I started voice dialing my assistant when someone bumped into me.

"I'm sorry," a woman's raspy voice uttered.

My head snapped up because I'd never heard such a tone on a woman before. It wasn't harsh, not quite soft, yet she spoke it softly. It was quite an interesting voice. She seemed to be around age thirty-five, with smooth tawny skin that had a deep golden undertone. With her high heels she seemed to be my height, but I suspected she was around 4 inches shorter than my six foot three inches.

My eyes ran from her head to her feet, noting that she was definitely not skinny, not quite overweight either … a sturdy female if you will, with ample busts and wide hips. I didn't allow her shy smile to bother me.

"You need to watch where you're going," I grunted.

Her smile faded as she glared at me. "If you'd been paying attention, you would have seen that you were the one who bumped into me."

"You're blocking my path."

"You need to apologize," she responded.

"Get out of my way or I'll have you removed."

A man came up behind her. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. I was just conversing with this arrogant hint of a human being."

With that she turned and walked away, the man following closely behind. I thought that she would have looked back once, like the woman earlier, but she didn't. I chuckled as I recalled how her hazel eyes pierced into mine, her lips tightening when she became angry … or was that disappointment? It appeared that she was disappointed. I recognize the look. It was the same look father would make whenever we … or more accurately …my brothers were out of line. That look kept me in check most of the times.

When I returned to the office, Nathan also showed me his disapproval about the date, yet he was terrified of actually voicing his thoughts. I asked him when the second date would be and he hesitated.

"I don't think you will like her, Sir."

"And why is that."

He shuffled on his feet. "She is African American. I have no idea why they paired her with you."

I frowned. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's African American Sir."

It took a moment for me to realize what he was talking about. It seemed I was quite slow today since I wasn't understanding both my assistant and the women I met earlier. That second woman though and her disappointment grated my nerves. How dare she be disappointed with me. She was the one who apologized; therefore, she must have been in the wrong. Still, there was something about her that intrigued me. Was it the voice or that air of sophistication? If only she wasn't yet taken. I pushed her from my mind and brought back my attention to what my assistant was saying.

"You're skating on thin ice Nathan. Being African American is not a disease. You continue to utter this nonsense, when I'm done with you no one in Dubai will hire you."

"I'm sorry, I won't say anything more."

"When will I meet her?"

He opened his file and read it. "One o'clock, same place as today."

Was that like retracing my steps? Perhaps the second time was the charm? I didn't believe in such nonsense, but this was too coincidental for my taste. Perhaps the second woman would have some charm that could make me possibly see some potential in her.

"This time tell me about her. I know I said I wanted them to tell me about themselves but today was a disaster. So fill me in."