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Chapter 4
Nicolai
I pulled out my favorite deep blue suit, which I had purchased with the first paycheck I received from my dad.
It was wool and kept me warm, not to mention it brought out my eyes. Hugo always said that it made me look like a real businessman, and since this was the first time he put me in charge of a project, I didn’t want to take any shortcuts. My father’s approval meant everything to me.
My apartment was in an upscale building on the outskirts of Moscow. It used to be a mill, but our family turned it into condominiums. Renovating the entire building was my first project. All I expected out of it was a promotion, but my father surprised me by gifting me the only penthouse in the building. It was on the top floor and was full of real gold furnishings, even down to the sinks.
I was getting ready to meet the representative from Affinity Finance. After taking a long, hot bath, I exfoliated my body in the shower and then rinsed off. Hugo taught me about maintaining good skin and how beauty regimens weren’t just for women. One of the first things that a potential client notices is your skin, so I got into the habit of regularly scrubbing mine.
Hugo also groomed me on how to present myself. Not everyone reacted well to cologne, but since humans were smelly creatures by nature, you still had to have some type of pleasant scent on your body. I dabbed a small amount of cologne on my neck. It was a gift from him and had a clean yet musky scent with bamboo overtones. Numerous clients had asked where they could buy a bottle.
Unlike my brother, whose hair was slightly longer than a buzzcut, mine fell to my ears and had loose curls. I ran some mousse through it and then let it air-dry. My father had been begging me to cut it shorter, but as I grew older and morphed into a more serious businessman, I longed to hold onto something that would remind me of my younger days.
After applying some unscented body oil to my skin, I got dressed and then stood in front of the mirror.
“Not bad,” I said while admiring my reflection. It was impossible not to recognize me as one of the Stepanov brothers, future heirs to our family business, and heads of our Russian Mafia family. All thanks to Hugo, of course. Our father had asked him to take the reins, but he insisted on having me by his side.
We were brothers and the best of friends.
I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet, and then got into the elevator to go downstairs. The building had seventy-seven floors, one of the tallest in all of Russia, and every apartment had tenants. One of the great things about living in that building was keeping an eye on everyone who came and went.
It was hard not to flirt with some of the more attractive women.
I took Hugo’s advice and didn’t sleep with any of them, though. As hard as it was, even I knew better than to mix business with pleasure.
A driver from our company was waiting for me when I went outside. One of the perks of being a Stepanov was always having someone ready to take you wherever you wanted to go, and there was still ice-cold vodka waiting for you in the limo. I knew Hugo wouldn’t want me drinking before meeting with a client, though, so I left it in the cooler.
We drove to the private airport, which my family had built several years ago. It was strictly to fly esteemed clients in and out of Russia, and anyone from Affinity Finance was important. Hugo had already taken it upon himself to have the most expensive champagne available at the airport’s bar, just in case the client wanted a drink after their long flight.
As I looked out over the city skyline, I wondered who Affinity Finance sent over as their representative. It was a large company with thousands of employees, though I assumed it’d be a man. Doing business with us required an iron fist that most women lacked.
Hugo called me as soon as we pulled into the airport.
“You don’t trust me, big brother?” He chuckled a little bit, and I knew damn well that he was going to call me. I wouldn’t have put it past him to time my exact arrival.
“Of course I do, Nico, but this is a big project. I just wanted to go over what you’ll be doing today.”
“I have it on my phone right here, Hugo. I didn’t even go out last night, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“Just listen to me, okay? As soon as they get off of the jet, offer them some champagne and anything else they may want. The airport has plenty of food, although they might eat on the flight. After you leave the airport, take them to the hotel and help them get settled in. Then give them their itinerary and ask what else you can do to make their stay more enjoyable.”
“What am I, some bellhop?” Hugo laughed a little bit, but I could tell that he was annoyed.
“Part of this business is kissing their asses. Kissing this particular ass isn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last, alright?”
“I know,” I said.
I wasn’t submissive by nature, but my brother and father showed me that to get what you want, sometimes you had to put your ego aside, especially when it involves a significant amount of money.
“Remember what Dad said: this could make or break our company, Nico. I cannot stress that enough. We need financial ties to the United States if we want to continue expanding, so don’t fuck this up, all right?”
“I won’t, Hugo.” The driver met my eyes in the rearview mirror and then quickly looked away.
“Alright, you’re good to go. We’re still meeting for drinks tonight, right?” I eyed the cold bottle of vodka peeking out from the cooler.
“We sure are,” I replied.
