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I got a call from the shop where I got my dress. They wanted me to come in for a fitting before they sent the dress home with me. Because I was slightly tall for a girl, it meant I needed extra length, so they had to special order the dress for me. Andrei was free, so he was the lucky guy that got to take me. Viktor had been the one to go with me to pick the dress out, which was a hilarious sight. This giant Russian bear of a man looking at pretty dresses with his boss’s girlfriend.
Viktor offered valuable insight, however. He could tell me what kind of dresses Adrik’s past girlfriends had worn to such events. I was fairly certain that they showed way more skin than I was planning to, but I was also certain they did not have as many imperfections to hide as I did. I decided on a black halter neck gown that had a lace bodice and back, so it covered most of my back. My arms and shoulders were exposed. You could see the faintest bit of my scars, but they were mostly covered. It also had a very high slit in the skirt, so I wasn’t being completely prudish.
When I came out of the dressing room to show Viktor, he was speechless and told me that Adrik would love it. “You must buy that one, sestrichka. You must. None of his girlfriends have ever worn anything like that. He will love it. You look beautiful.”
On our way to the dress shop, I asked Andrei how things were going with Tori. He exhaled loudly. “Spider monkey, I don’t know what she wants. I don’t think she knows what she wants. I keep trying to make her happy, but it seems like I keep failing. Miserably.”
“Is she mad at you again?” He nodded his head. “What for this time? You haven’t even seen her in a couple of weeks?!”
“That’s why she’s mad.”
“Can’t she come to the city? She has a car, right? I mean, if we’re not at the house, what is she doing, exactly?
He took his eyes off the road to look at me. “That’s exactly what I said!”
“So…? Why won’t she come to the city? She can’t be mad at you for having to work when she’s perfectly capable of coming to see you. That’s a weird power move.”
“Thank you!”
“Have you specifically asked her? Like literally said, ‘Tori, I would like it if you came here since I can’t come back to the house right now’ or did you just vaguely hint at it without specifically asking her?”
He got quiet. “Net. I didn’t ask her like that.”
“Okay, try that. If that doesn’t work, then you need to move on from her. She’s proving to be very complicated. Is she good in bed at least? Wait, no. Forget I asked that question. I don’t need to know.” I sat in silence as he laughed. Then I added, “Okay, forget I said forget I asked the question. I need to know. There has to be a reason you’re putting up with this.”
“Da.” His cheeks started to turn red, but he didn’t say anything more. I reached over and patted his shoulder as he drove.
“You go, Bubba.”
When I tried the dress on, it had been a little snug on me before. Now it was loose. The seamstress went to work, marking where it needed to be taken in. Great, now I’m going to be paranoid about eating too much until this stupid ball is over. She finished putting dozens of pens in the bodice of the dress and asked, “You want to show your boyfriend?”
I laughed. “He’s not my…oh never mind. Yes, I’ll show him.” She pulled the curtains back from the fitting room, revealing me to Andrei.
“Spider monkey…” he said, his mouth open. “You look like a girl!”
“I KNOW! It’s crazy right?”
He rubbed his face with both of his hands, like he was still astonished at the sight of me in a dress. I walked closer, turning so he could see the back. “I did good, huh? You can’t see anything,” I said, pointing to my back. He stood up to get a closer look.
“Only if you’re close and you’re looking for them. You can’t really see anything.” He looked me up and down one more time. “Boss is going to love this dress. It’s perfect for you.”
“You really think so?” I asked as I twirled in front of him.
He laughed as he grabbed my hand and twirled me again. “He’s going to spend the whole night dancing with you and nothing else.”
“Wait, what? There’s dancing involved?”
He laughed. “It’s a ball, spider monkey. What did you think there was going to be?”
“Not dancing. I did not bet on dancing.” I looked up at him, suddenly even more terrified of having to go to this thing. “Bubba! I don’t know how to dance!”
“Misha will teach you. It’s simple. He taught me,” he said as he placed a hand on my back, keeping my hand in his. He smiled down at me and lifted me slightly off the floor as he stepped around the small area in the dress shop. “See? You don’t even have to do anything,” he grinned at me.
“I can handle this. I can totally handle this. It’s your job to make sure that he does not break either of his arms before this event. I’m holding you personally responsible,” I said, trying to look at him as seriously as I could.
He spun me around one more time, then set me down and saluted me.
On the way back to the penthouse, Andrei’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it. I heard him curse under his breath. He threw it on the console and rubbed his face in his hand.
