“Spasibo, Emma,” Ivan says. His eyes narrow when he sees the other table, and I notice him flexing his fingers, as if he’s trying to control his temper. “I don’t like that boy putting his hands on you.”
“I don’t think they’ll be here much longer. They’re almost done with their food,” I reply while glancing at the frat boys. Ivan lets out a low growl.
I take the drink refill to the rowdy table, but this time things escalate. As soon as I place the drink in front of the guy who ordered it, he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me down. He’s strong, and his arm keeps me in place as I try to wriggle away.
“Let me go!” I say forcefully, trying to get out of his grip.
“No way, baby. You’re going to sit right here and keep us entertained,” he whispers in my ear. He and his buddies laugh like this is all a game.
I’m still trying to get out of this guy’s clutches when I see Ivan’s already on his feet and walking towards me.
“The lady said to let her go,” Ivan says loudly as he pulls me from the guy’s grip, then snatches his collar. “Boris, get out here.”
“Hey man, fuck off. I was just having some fun,” the guy argues as he tries to shake off Ivan’s strong grip. I don’t think he quite realized just how big Ivan is, because he throws his hands up in surrender when they are both standing, Ivan looming over him.
“What’s going on out here?” Boris asks as he enters the dining room. “Emma, are you okay?”
“This table has been rowdy all night. They’ve been verbally harassing me and two of them grabbed me,” I explain to Boris.
“You boys are done,” Boris says angrily at the table. “No one puts hands on my staff. Pay your bill, get out, and don’t ever come back here.”
“You heard the man. If I ever see you in here again, you won’t like the consequences,” Ivan threatens them in a low voice. I watch silently as the men pay their bill and Ivan, with just his presence alone, seems to intimidate them into leaving a very generous tip. Ivan then makes sure they quietly leave the restaurant before calmly walking back to his own table, adjusting his tie, and resuming his dinner like this was an everyday occurrence.
Did I really just see that?Yes, I did. Did Ivan really just defend me against a table of six drunken frat boys?Yes, yes he did.
The butterflies begin fluttering again as I smile at Ivan. I walk over to his table to thank him, notice his drink is empty and his plate has gone cold. I take his plate and tell him I’ll be right back.
The pan ofgolubtsythat I made earlier is still hot in the oven, so I prepare a new plate for Ivan and take it to him, along with a double shot of vodka.
“Thank you for earlier,” I say, placing the new plate and drink in front of him. “I got you a fresh plate. These are the cabbage rolls I made myself.”
“You’re welcome,” Ivan tells me sincerely. “You made these yourself,lyubimaya?” he confirms as he takes a bite of the cabbage roll. His eyes close briefly, and he sighs while savoring the bite. When they open again, he smiles. “This is delicious. The bestgolubtsyI have eaten in a long time. Don’t tell Boris,” he says in a joking manner.
His praise does something funny to the butterflies in my stomach.“I’m glad you like it, I’ll leave you to enjoy your food.” I walk away and go to clean up the remainder of the mess left by the frat boys before they were thrown out.
Ivan stayed at his table for the rest of the evening. Boris came out to sit and speak to him at one point, and they looked like they were having a good conversation. Right before the restaurant closed, Ivan paid for his dinner and left an incredibly generous tip.
“Thank you for the meal,” Ivan whispers as he walks by me to leave. His shoulder brushes mine, and I scream internally at the sensation.
After closing and finishing up cleaning, I start to walk home to my apartment—but not before noticing that Ivan’s car is still parked across the street from the restaurant. I wave at him and start walking, smiling to myself as I think of how he defended me tonight. I also pretend not to notice when his car slowly follows me home to make sure I get there safely.
CHAPTER NINE
IVAN
A PAIR OF green eyes is at the front of my mind as I wake up, and I smile. I thought I might be in trouble that first night I met Emma and escorted her to her apartment building—now I know that I’m in trouble.
A woman has never captured my attention the way mylyubimayahas. Many have tried and failed to hold my attention for any length of time. My father tried to arrange a marriage for me once while he was stillpakhan,and that ended up falling apart when the girl ran off and married someone else. I think my father may still be upset about that, but I’m not particularly concerned.
Picking up my phone and getting out of bed, I call Kolya for an update.
“Yes, Boss?” Kolya answers on the first ring.
“Before you wrap up the details on the property at 652 Greenwood, I need you to include everything you can find on a woman named Emma who lives there. I’m talking everything—down to the shoe size she wore in elementary school,” I tell him.
“Right away, boss.”
“Call Grigory. I want the building in our real estate portfolio by the end of the day today.”
