AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 9
Michelle
The drive to Alexander Stepanov’s house was pretty long, seeing as how it was on the outskirts of the city.
Nico said that it wasn’t too far from his condo, and Hugo also lived nearby. I put the divider up between the driver and me, craving some privacy as we made our way through the winding roads of Russia. It had been a long day at work and then straight home to get ready for the dinner party.
I checked my hair and makeup in my diamond-encrusted mirror, which once belonged to my mother. It was pulled back at the nape of my neck, with a few strands framing my face. My slinky, long, black sequined dress perfectly matched my black heels. It was the opposite of what I had worn to meet the brothers at the Vodka Grove. I had heard all about their father, Alexander Stepanov, and wanted to do my best to impress him.
Like my father, Alexander was a powerful man and the one who ran the family. I had heard stories about how he had people killed just for falling behind on their mortgage or rent payment, or if he suspected them of going against his family. After hearing about his family from my parents, who used to be close to them, I read up on the Russian mafia years before my trip.
They were one of the most dangerous crime families in the world.
That was one of my first thoughts when my father told me about the Russian project, but I wasn’t too worried since they wanted our business. Now that I was having dinner with them, however, my nerves had started to get the best of me.
The limousine pulled up to a large, iron gate, and a man walked over to our car. He and the driver exchanged a few words in Russian, and I waited for the gate to open. Instead, the man walked closer to my window, which was open, and looked down at me. I gasped and sat back.
“Apologies, Ms. Harrington. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He motioned for us to pull forward as the gate opened up, revealing a long driveway with dozens of beautiful flowers and trees lining the way. As we got closer to Alexander Stepanov's home, I could hear voices echoing. Many of them were laughing, which helped calm my nerves down. The last thing I wanted to have was an awkward dinner with dangerous mafia members.
I kept reminding myself that the dinner was for business purposes only. Of course, Nico and Hugo would look sexy as hell, with their chiseled abs showing through their shirts, and pants hugging their perfect asses. In an ideal world, the three of us would have sex instead of doing business with each other. But we didn’t live in a perfect world, and no matter how good they looked that night, I had to keep it professional.
Our threesome was fun, and I didn’t have any regrets, but it could never happen again.
As the limousine pulled closer to the mansion, I saw dozens of people around us. All of them looked familiar too, but only because they were well-known Russian mafia members.
I instantly recognized Shikalov and Pechkina Anatolievich. The Anatolievich’s were another prominent mafia family. If what I’d heard was true, then Shikalov had killed a few people with his own hands. Pechkina made no qualms about being his trophy wife either, which was evident by the way Shikalov was flirting with a young blonde woman right in front of her. With all of the diamonds she was wearing, she probably agreed to an open marriage.
Gribov Eduard was smoking cigars with Zuyev Ruslanovich by the water fountain in front of the mansion. They were two big, burly, bald men who spent all of their free time and money on prostitutes. Both of their families were also part of the Russian mafia. If my memory served me correctly, both of their wives went missing years ago.
I was used to being around prominent businessmen, but mafia members were an entirely different situation. All of these men could have someone killed with just a phone call, and here I was, having sex and doing business with two of them, although I doubt that Hugo or Nico had ever killed someone. They just didn’t seem like those types of men, and hopefully, they’d remain that way.
I had every right to be nervous, but for some reason, the danger of being near so many mafia members only made it more interesting. Nerve-wracking, but interesting nonetheless.
My driver came around and opened up my door, and I stepped out directly under the moonlight. Everyone turned to look at me as I made my way inside, including Bogomolov Victorovich. His family was slightly more potent than the Stepanov family, and he looked at me the way that I looked at Nico and Hugo. He didn’t have a chance in hell, though. I’d read that he was a billionaire, and based on his looks, that’s all he had going for him.
Nico greeted me as soon as I opened the door. He was holding two glasses of champagne, and I gladly took one as he kissed me on the cheek.
“You look lovely tonight, Ms. Harrington.”
“Thank you,” I said while taking a sip of my champagne, and eyeing him up and down.
The interior of the mansion was immaculate. As soon as you walked inside, you saw a double staircase that curved to the bottom. The floor was rose and gold marble, and large, white columns separated the rooms. There were more people than I had anticipated. When Nico and Hugo had invited me to have dinner with their father, I had assumed it would just be us.
As it turned out, nearly every Russian mafia family had shown up for dinner that night.
Hugo walked into the foyer to greet me, and my mouth almost fell open. He looked sexy as hell in a tight, brown button-down shirt and black pants. Nico looked good too, in his black tie and suit, but there was something about the way Hugo’s clothes hugged his body that caught my attention.
“Ms. Harrington, we’re so glad you could come. Would you like to meet our father now?”
“Yes, please introduce me to him.”
I followed Hugo and Nico into the dining room, where two large, rectangular tables were full of people getting ready to sit down and eat. At the head of one table was Alexander Stepanov, a face I immediately recognized.
“Ms. Harrington, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Alexander stood up and walked over to me, kissing me on both of my cheeks. I casually steadied myself on one of the dining room chairs. On the outside, I was confident, but on the inside I was in hell. It was suddenly all so overwhelming.
Maybe it was the fact that I desperately wanted to run my own business, or that Russian mafia members surrounded me, but all I could think about was closing the deal and going home.
