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Chapter Twenty-Two
“Ah, if it isn’t the fashionably late,” Natasha says snidely to the woman.
She was also expecting her?
“Parents.” The newcomer’s voice is icy. “Bros.” The voice is a tiny bit warmer now. “Couldn’t wait even a minute, huh?”
Bros?
Whew.
She’s Vlad’s sister, not his lover.
Unless there’s some Game of Thrones crap going on, which I doubt.
Vlad stands up and pulls out a chair for her. “I tried to make them wait.”
As she sits, I sneak a glance. Now that I know she’s Vlad’s sibling, I can see the resemblance: the jet-black hair, the blue eyes, and even the ability to put on that chilly expression.
“Bella, meet Fanny.” Alex sounds placating. “Vlad’s friend.”
The ice queen expression melts as the heavily mascaraed blue eyes swing toward me. “Oh, you’re Fanny? Nice to put a face to a name.”
Face to a name? She’s heard about me?
I guess Vlad could’ve mentioned me when she came to see him this morning. Or Sunday—he did come over smelling like her.
I give her my warmest grin. “Nice to meet you, Bella. You look amazing.”
Her return smile is radiant. “You don’t need to flatter me. I’m already your biggest fan. Your help on—”
“No business at the table,” Vlad says sternly.
Business?
Hold up. What help does she mean? Surely not the testing we—
“Your brother is so right,” Natasha says, wrinkling her nose. “No reason to talk about your work in polite company.”
Huh? Is she a prostitute or something?
Vlad gives his mother a slitted stare. “Bella’s company is the best in its field. They’re about to get a writeup in Cosmopolitan magazine.”
I blink a few times.
Her company.
The Cosmo writeup.
She owns Belka?
If so, I was right a moment ago. She was about to compliment me on my help with the testing.
As in, Vlad told his sister about what we’ve been doing.
I nearly choke again. The snafu with the pump—he was going to tell the folks at Belka they need to get more generous with sizing.
That must’ve been a fun thing to tell his sister.
