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“No.” I shake my head quickly. “Not a nightclub. A dance studio. With everything exactly the way that it is.”
“Are you serious?” Galina cocks her head at me, her voice trembling with barely constrained excitement. But why would you do that? I thought you wanted to tear it down?”
“I’m a simple man who wants two things.” I shrug. “To make money and to kill my enemies. If you can turn a profit with this studio, I have no reason to transform it into something else.”
In front of my eyes, she lights up like a shooting star. The muscles bunched around her neck loosen, her arms dropping from behind her back to her front. For a second, I think Galina is going to hug me. And for more than a minute, long after she doesn’t, I wish she would.
“Arsen! That’s … incredible! Thank you so much, really. I mean it.”
I wave my hand to indicate my gesture means nothing to me. But my heart is thudding quicker at her addictive joy. In that moment, her eyes turn brighter, her lips redder, and she’s practically vibrating on the spot.
“I’m not the monster you think I am,” I say. “I can be persuaded. Besides, my wife should have some say in my businesses. It looks good to outsiders.”
“You know what also would look good?” Galina smiles crookedly. “Letting me leave the house.”
“No,” I snap. My spine tightens as I give her a fierce look. “That’s not happening.”
She wilts. “I’m not going to run away.”
I’m not sure about that. “My gut says you’ll find a way to get yourself into trouble, Galina. Which reminds me.” I motion at the ceiling above. “While you have free rein to explore my home, there are some places off-limits besides the outdoors. You’re not to go to the third floor. Understand?”
I purposefully avoid looking at her. But I can’t. Galina has managed to manipulate me by making me want to make her smile. I know that if I avert my eyes, I can keep my composure. But at the same time, I can’t tear my eyes away from her face.
“What’s on the third floor?” she asks.
“Nothing for you,” I reply. “Tell me you’ll respect my instructions, Galina.”
“Okay, fine. I won’t go to the third floor.”
“Then we’re done. Now, please, I’d like to finish my book in silence.”
Only when I hear her footsteps moving away do I look up. Galina’s back is to me, her hips tick-tocking like an alluring pair of clock hands. I thought it was her face I had to be wary of. No, it’s so much more than that. My heart remains in my throat until she’s out of the room. Breathing out, I set my elbows heavily on the table. The mug of coffee I’d forgotten about tips over.
“Fuck!” Snarling at my own clumsiness, I jump to my feet. There’s nothing to clean the mess. I’ll have to summon a staff member. Glaring at the puddle that almost ruined my book, I realize that I was wrong about giving myself leniency.
It turns out I’m not immune to causing messes.
And as I move over to the space that Galina occupied mere moments ago, I have a feeling that she’s about to cause me to make the biggest mess of them all.
15
GALINA
The dopamine high I’m on lasts a whole day.
He’s going to let me keep the studio!
Well, not keep it keep it; he still plans on owning it. But that’s only paperwork. The dance studio won’t be bulldozed. It will remain as it was. My memories of that place—and by extension of my father—won’t be turned to dust. He’ll probably pay for upgrades too! He wants to turn a profit, and I know I can do that with a little extra help. I can’t wait until I can go back to teach the students. Mom will faint at the news.
But why did Arsen have a change of heart? I’ve been trying to figure it out since the conversation ended. All I did was tell him the truth about my father. Arsen, normally as frozen as an Alaskan mountain, softened as he listened. The sternness around his mouth melted away. He didn’t look like the man who threw me inside a car or held me down on a kitchen table by my throat.
Arsen looked … human.
“Miss, your bath is ready,” Olesya calls out.
Moving from my bed to the bathroom, I meet the girl in the doorway. “Thank you. I mean it.” She beams at my comment. I’ve been trying to find a middle ground between instructing the house staff to do things for me, as Ulyana wants, and making sure whatever I ask doesn’t take a lot of effort.
I’ll never be comfortable bossing the staff around. But it’s nice to have people who want to make my life easier. Once Olesya leaves, I shed my clothes, dipping my toe into the hot bubble bath. The suds tingle my nose as I sink in the water, releasing a burst of lavender scent that grows stronger the lower I go.
