AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I try to dab away my tears without anyone noticing, but nothing gets past Ruslan. I catch him staring at me before I turn my face away to hide.
Ruslan claps Josh on the back. “You deserve it. You played well today.”
“I’m gonna put it on right now,” Josh insists.
“Are you sure, honey?” I ask. “Why not wait ‘til we get home?”
Josh’s face curdles into a frown. “If Dad sees it, he’ll try to sell it, Aunt Em. I can’t wear it at home.”
Ruslan’s eyes meet mine for a second and, even though I can’t be sure what he’s thinking, I imagine, based on that scorching look in his eyes, it goes a little something like,That fucking sorry excuse for a father.
When everyone’s done with their ice cream, I take the girls to the bathroom to clean up their sticky mouths and their even stickier hands. On the way back to our table, I notice Phoebe leaning towards Ruslan, her expression earnest. The last time she looked that serious was when I’d told her Sienna was gone.
I have no idea what’s been said while I was in the restroom, but I catch the tail end of their conversation.
“… just don’t hurt them,” she whispers. “Any of them.”
Ruslan doesn’t move. His expression is hard to read, but he answers immediately.
All he says is, “I won’t.”
40
RUSLAN
“Good evening, Mr. Oryolov!”
Kirill snorts into his drink while I lean away from the phone in confusion. Hearing Sergey this chirpy is certainly a departure from the norm.
“I’m guessing you have good news to share?”
His breathing, despite his good mood, is still huffy and heavy. Apparently, that’s not a nervous thing, just a Sergey thing. “Sir, so far, all the trials we’ve conducted have been a roaring success. The new formula is performing well, with minimal side effects.”
“Excellent. And what about final studies?”
“Close to being completed, sir.”
“Final chemical shipment?”
“Due in two days.”
Kirill meets my gaze with a satisfied smirk. “We’re right on track,” he mouths to me.
“I’ll check in tomorrow. Keep it up, Sergey.”
Kirill punches his fist in the air as I hang up. “You’ve done it again.”
“I’m not celebrating until the launch event is over with,” I warn.
He waves a hand dismissively. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, dude. Our dealers have been hyping up Venera, pushing a couple of ‘exclusive’ samples to give the public a taste of it. People are losing their goddamn minds over this stuff. And happy customers spread the word to other happy customers. By the time we launch, it’s going to be the number one demand on everyone’s lips.” He cocks an ear to the window and softly chants, “Ve-ner-a. Ve-ner-a,”as if there’s a crowd of hungry partiers lining up outside to get their hands on a taste of the stuff.
It’s hard to temper the sense of victory, but I’m also keenly aware that a lot can change in a matter of days. I’m not willing to fuck things up by being overconfident about this launch. I’ll leave that task to Kirill.
“Speaking of the launch party—”
“Got it covered. A sizable ‘donation’ was made to the relevant authorities yesterday. I spoke to Sergeant Mathison myself. On the night of the launch, he and his men will be looking the other way.”
“Good.”
