“That sums it up, yeah. Mr. O’Brien said he’ll wait, but I’m worried he’ll get a better offer and it’ll be sold out from underneath me. And I wouldn’t blame him. It could be months before my money is freed up,” I grumbled.
Hoss and Mikhail exchanged a look that told me they were communicating without words, which wasn’t unusual. They’d been friends almost as long as Reuben and Mikhail had been. Maybe they had an idea how to work around this. The silence stretched to over a minute before they both nodded, then looked back at me.
“Alright, your ESP moment is over. Should I ask what it was about?” I asked, jokingly.
“We know how you can buy the building now and do your renovation without waiting on the shit with Rowan to be resolved,” Mikhail stated.
“Let me hear it,” I said eagerly.
“You allow us to loan you the money and then, once you’re unrestrained, you can repay us,” Hoss said.
Both men were very successful in their work. Mikhail owned Lustz and had investments. Hoss owned a software company, SackettEdge Technologies, that was extremely profitable. However, I wouldn’t ask for their money. Mixing friendship with money could get ugly. I shook my head before answering.
“No, I won’t do that. I thank you both from the bottom of my heart, but I won’t put financial strain on you or have money messing with our friendship. On the odd chance things go down the drain, I refuse to take you with me.”
“You’re being ridiculous. We know you’re good for it. Interest-free is better than other options. And if you won’t accept our help, as your friends, then you leave me no choice,” Mikhail stated.
“No choice but what?” I asked, mystified.
“I’ll have to go to Matvey, tell him the problem, and then he’ll show up, hand over briefcases of cash, tell you he won’t hear no, and he’ll walk off. How will you explain millions in cash from aPakhan?”
I groaned and held my head as I thought through what he outlined. Matvey would do it in a heartbeat. And how the hell do I say it was a loan from a Russian Mafia boss, who happens to be a friend? I could imagine the conversation.
No officer, I’m not laundering money for the Russian mob. It’s a temporary loan from thePakhanwhile I untangle my personal wealth from my brother’s identity theft and forgery. I will pay Mr. Ivanova back. I’m a legitimate businessman. No, sir, there’s no reason to investigate every orifice of my body.
“Goddamn it, don’t do this to me.” There was a note of whining in my voice. The fuckers chuckled darkly.
“We’re not doing anything other than attempting to be you and Stasia’s friends. You would offer to do the same for us, wouldn’t you?” Hoss asked.
The truth was, I would. They had me cornered, and they knew it. I tried to wiggle out, but after five more minutes of arguing, during which our lunches arrived, I gave in. I waited until our plates were in front of us and we’d told our waiter we needed nothing else at the moment. When our waiter was out of earshot, I capitulated.
“Fine, I’ll accept the loans. And while I thank you very much, I want to tell you that you’re assholes, too.”
Their laughter turned heads in our direction as I grinned and shook their hands across the table. With that out of the way, we settled in to enjoy the rest of lunch, which was delicious.
Anastasia:
Reign was in a great mood when he got off work. He was walking around our home, whistling. We’d decided to order in tonight. Neither of us felt like cooking. Finally, I couldn’t hold back.
“Reign Caldwell, if you don’t tell me what the heck has you in such a good mood, I’m going to strangle you. Pass along the good vibes. You know we need all we can get right now,” I snipped.
He half-snorted, half-laughed before gesturing for me to come to him. I did so. He sat in his favorite chair, tugging me down on his lap. I stared him in the eyes.
“I had lunch today with Hoss and Mikhail. They unexpectedly dropped by the office and asked. It has been too long since we did anything like that, so I said yes. We went to a favorite restaurant and had a great time. Well, it was great except for one small diversion,” Reign explained.
“What diversion was that?”
“I told them about Rowan and his bullshit and how it affects buying this building. I was just venting. However, they hopped on it and insisted they’d loan me the money to buy it, and then I’d repay it as soon as my money wasn’t tied up in Ro’s crap.”
I gasped. I knew the price tag. It wasn’t pocket money.
“That’s extremely generous of them. What did you say?”
“I thanked them, then told them I couldn’t. I refused to mix money with our friendship in case something unforeseen happens.”
I wasn’t surprised at his decision. “How upset were they?”
“They weren’t. Instead, I was told if I didn’t accept their help, Mikhail would tell Matvey, and he’d show up with cash in hand, drop it off, and walk away. I can’t have a Bratva boss giving me money. I have to account for it. No one would believe I wasn’t laundering dirty money, and Mikhail knows it. They left me no choice but to accept the loan from Hoss and Mikhail,” he grumbled, even though he was grinning.
