Chapter 15 - Oleg

The last few days Raisa has been very frustrated.

She is moody, short tempered and looking agitated with everything, including me.

I know it’s because of her studies. She has been working so hard. Sitting for hours with her mind focused on the same thing—she must be exhausted.

Tonight, I want to do something nice for her so that she can get out of the house for a bit. She really needs a break, otherwise she will burn out.

I need to help her get rid of some of that building frustration so I’ll plan something fun.

But before that happens, I have a very important meeting set up for this afternoon.

I am sitting down with her oldest brother, the leader of the family, Rodion Kuznetsov.

I need to be fully focused during that meeting, so my plans with Raisa need to wait. From what I have heard—her brother is not an easy man to deal with. I don’t know how I am going to get him to come to some kind of agreement with me to stop messing with my clients and my business.

I don’t know what to offer him until I’ve had a chance to talk to him a bit. I am hoping that I’ll be able to read him. I’m usually pretty good at getting a decent read on people when I see them face to face.

Close to lunchtime, I pop my head into the sunroom. Raisa’s little study space is near the big window where she can enjoy some sun and a nice view while she focuses. “I’m heading out for a bit.”

She turns to face me, her eyes are brighter blue than usual today. Absolutely gorgeous.

“Where are you going?” she asks.

I clench my jaw. I don’t want to lie to her, but I wasn’t planning on telling her I had a meeting with her brother until after I knew the outcome of that meeting.

I sigh.

There is no real reason to keep it from her, though. She knows I want to negotiate peace with them.

“I’m meeting your oldest brother to try and come to some kind of agreement.”

“You’re meeting Rodion?” she asks, sounding shocked.

“Yes.” I wait for her to respond in some way. Maybe she is going to be angry, or upset that I didn’t tell her earlier.

She chuckles. “Good luck,” she says with a grin. “He’s as stubborn as they come.”

I smile. I’m happy she’s ok with it. “Thanks. I think I’ll need that luck then. I won’t be back late—and then I have something planned for us for this evening. I thought it would be nice for you to get out of the house a bit after all of your studies?”

“Definitely. I am feeling frustrated.” She rolls her eyes then turns back to her books. I guess that’s my cue to leave her in peace.

I walk out to my car, thinking about her brother and what kind of man he is.

I think his main motivation is keeping his family safe and I’m walking into this meeting at a slight disadvantage because I’ve pissed him off by marrying his sister. However, he is under the impression that she chose to be with me, so that’s at least a good thing.

Driving into the city, I run through options and scenarios in my head. I hate being unprepared. I hate not knowing how things will turn out—but it is all part of the lifestyle I am living.

Parking outside the coffee shop where he chose to meet, on neutral territory where neither of us would feel uncomfortable, I switch my car off and take a deep breath.

Well, it’s time, I think to myself, climbing out of the car and crossing the quiet street to walk into the coffee shop.

The rich aroma of freshly roasted beans is in the air. It’s a warm scent, a welcoming one.

I walk over to where Rodion is sitting. He stands up as I approach and I hold my hand out to shake his. He glares at my hand for a moment. Not accepting it.

“Shall we get straight to it?” he says gruffly.

“Sure,” I reply, pulling my hand back and taking a seat.

I stare at Rodion, trying to read his expression.

His body language is cold and tense. His shoulders are pushed back, his jaw is tight. His eyes are narrowed and focused intently onto me.

“What do you want, Dubrov?” he practically snarls at me.

I sigh. This is not going to be an easy meeting. I can already tell he’s got his mind set on not coming to an agreement.

“I want to resolve whatever issues we have between our families and I want to come to some kind of peaceful agreement. If we can’t come to an agreement, well then, I hope to at least have a better understanding of what you want.”

“I want you to go back in time and not marry my sister,” he snaps bitterly.

“Your sister is quite happy where she is, with me, and I want to discuss business matters instead of that.”

He huffs loudly.

We start a tense back and forth which seems to be getting us absolutely nowhere. He is determined not to work with me in resolving this and I can feel my patience begin to wear down.

“Rodion, we need to figure this out. If we can’t, you know how this ends. Neither of us wants to go to war over this shit.”

He snorts angrily.

“My only goal is to keep my family safe and build a business that allows me the chance to take care of them the way they deserve to be taken care of. I will do whatever it takes to achieve that.”

“We both have a great deal of responsibility to keep our families safe, Rodion,” I sigh heavily. “Look—how about this—we are in the same line of business, but I know the main product you deal with is a secondary product for us. Additionally, our main product is a secondary product for you. Right?”

“Correct,” he says coldly.

“So, if we agree to no longer trade in your primary product, and you agree to no longer trade in our main product, that leaves the entire market for that specific clientele open to you. We no longer have to fight over clients or cause issues between ourselves. If I do have a client looking for the product you sell, I will simply refer them to you and vice versa.”

He leans back in the chair and folds his thick arms across his chest. He looks like a hunter, watching his prey. His eyes are locked onto me as his mind races with the offer I have made.

“How do I know you will honor this deal and not sell the product behind our backs?”

“That would defeat the entire point of this meeting. Besides, I am going to have to trust you as much as you are going to have to trust me.”

He nods slowly.

“Fine. I accept the deal.”

“Great—“ Rodion is already standing while I’m talking. He glares at me one last time, tosses some money onto the table to cover the bill, then walks out of the coffee shop without even one more word.

I stare at the notes he’s left on the table and shake my head.

Fuck. He’s an asshole.

His entire demeanor is making me doubt whether he will actually stick to the deal we’ve made.

I feel like I’ve made two steps forward and one step back. Like I’ve almost resolved this.

I don’t want to take any chances.

Pulling out my phone, I dial Marcus.

“Oleg, how did the meeting go?”

“I want a tail on him. He’s come to an agreement with me, but I’ve got a bad feeling about him. There is just something about him that I don’t trust.”

“Alright, you want him followed then. I’ll get one of the more experienced guys to do it. We don’t want to mess up on this one and make matters worse.”

“Yes, good thinking.”

With that out of the way, I push my own chair back and take a deep slow breath. I’ve done what I can for now, but I am not going to assume it’s over.

I’ll keep my eye on it and take it one day at a time.

Raisa will still need to work on making her brothers believe that she wants to be with me—and I still need to figure out which of their enemies it is that is so hell bent on taking them out.

For now, though, I can focus on my plans for tonight.

Trying to decide what Raisa would enjoy most, I call a very popular restaurant in the city. It’s a sought-after venue and one that it is not easy to get a table at but of course, I know the owners, and they are happy to help.

It’s a really over the top place and people there all seem pretty fake to me—but I think Raisa will enjoy dressing up in something pretty and the food is incredible.

Back at home, we still have a few hours before the evening plans.

I find Raisa sitting downstairs in the living room, flicking through some series on the television.

“You can’t find something to watch?” I ask, sitting down on the sofa with her.

“I’m just trying to find something to relax my brain, but these shows are all so boring. I’m not much of a movie watcher, but I thought I’d try. How was the meeting with Rodion?” She tosses the remote onto the sofa next to her, giving up on the shows.

“It went well—I think. We have sort of come to an agreement.”

“Sort of?”

“I think he’s still very nervous about trusting me, and I won’t lie, I’m not fully on board with trusting him either. But I feel like we did make some headway and I hope for improvement in the future.”

“That’s good. It does take Rodion, all my brothers actually, a long time to trust people. We’ve all been through a lot.”

“I wanted to ask, would you like to have a phone call with your siblings this afternoon before we go out?”

Her face lights up. “Really? I’d love to.”

“I had them install a program on your laptop that will allow for a group call. But Raisa, please understand that the calls are being monitored by my security team. I can’t take any chances with negotiations only just opening up now. I really want to find a way for our families to work together and if you—“

“I understand, Oleg,” she interrupts me. “I get why you want to monitor the call.”

I feel bad, blatantly telling her that I can’t fully trust her, but the risk is too great.

“Well, then you can call them whenever you are ready. As for this evening’s fun, be ready at five. There is a dress on your bed.”

“You bought me a dress for tonight?”

I nod, smiling. She looks excited maybe it’s the phone call, maybe it’s for this evening’s plans.

Either way, I am happy to see her smiling.

Raisa is on the phone call with her brothers—four of them were able to join the call—the others were busy—she is chatting away happily. She asks them how they’ve been and if they are all safe. I know she has been worried about them, especially after someone took a shot at us not too long ago. But I promised to keep them safe and I have kept that promise.

Raisa chats for half an hour, all the while she comes across as someone who is relaxed, settled and enjoying her life. Not once does she give the impression that I kidnapped her and forced her to marry me.

I don’t know if she is damned good at acting or if she is starting to enjoy being in my home.

I know I’ve been enjoying having her around.

***

At five, Raisa walks into the living room, looking like a goddess.

The red dress I chose for her fits perfectly, and compliments every inch of her body.

I feel my blood rushing quicker as I stare at her.

Shit.

Maybe I should have chosen something less sexy. I am going to struggle to pay attention tonight because she is so distracting.

“Oleg, this dress is gorgeous, but isn’t it a little over the top for a restaurant?”

She brushes her hand over the soft fabric clinging to her body.

“No, it’s perfect for the place we are going to.”

I usher her out to my car, opening the door for her. She climbs inside, her eyes on me as I walk around to the driver’s side.

She doesn’t know yet, but the place I have booked is not actually in this city.