The guy looks down at the money and then back at me. “Certainly, sir.” He smoothly takes the bills from me. “I have a private table for you with the best view of the city. Give me just a few minutes to put it together.”
I nod and he disappears.
When I walk back, Chelle’s golden eyes are locked on my face with a sort of startled expectation.
I give her a nod and watch her small frame relax a bit.
Taking care of her feels good. I suddenly wish I was here alone with Chelle. On a real date. Considering I never go on dates, it’s a strange desire. But I also never stalk women, and I’ve got Chelle firmly in my sights now.
The host returns and escorts us to the table, and the guys proceed to order the most expensive drinks and sushi on the menu. Chelle wisely chooses to stick with water.
I make conversation by asking questions and keeping them engaged. The kind of shit I do every Friday night at the games. The liquor makes them rowdier, but they’re not unmanageable.
“So what do you do, Nikolai?” Randy asks.
I meet his gaze steadily. “I am Russian mafiya.”
Chelle
I choke on my water.
The guys laugh, then Tiny says, “I can’t tell if he’s serious.”
“Of course he’s not,” I interject. “He’s an accountant.”
“Da,” Nikolai agrees. “I run numbers.”
I make a huge show of rolling my eyes like he’s kidding. All the while, my stomach is stuck up in my solar plexus.
This dinner is going to cost a literal fortune—I’ve been adding things up in my head, and we’ve already easily passed two grand. That’s not even counting the money Nikolai paid to get us a table. I’m sure I’ll be paying that back with a ton of interest, too. I have the company credit card, but if I don’t land this deal, Janette will probably kill me.
I couldn’t be more stressed out.
The only thing that’s gone right about tonight is, well, Nikolai.
He’s my saving grace. He got us into this place. He somehow has control of my raucous guests, and I actually think they like him.
I can’t imagine how awkward and different tonight would be without him.
To make matters worse, the guys keep ordering more drinks and more sushi. I swear they challenged each other to rack up the highest bill possible.
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly their plan. They’re probably secretly filming this to put on their Youtube channel and make fun of me. I look for hidden cameras, but don’t see any. Then again, what do I know about that sort of thing?
When the bill finally comes, I refuse to look at it. I just pull out the American Express and put it in the folder.
“Thank you for dinner,” Boner says with a mischievous look.
Yep, they were definitely working me.
“Now we’d like to see Chicago’s nightlife. Janette was promising to take us out on the town.”
“Sure, we could go—”
“Take us to a strip club!” Randy interrupts.
“Hey,” Nikolai says sharply, making all three of them look. “That’s my girlfriend you’re talking to, so show a little respect, or I’ll shove your head in the toilet back there. What do Americans call that? A swirly?”
The other two guys make “ooh” noises. “Oh, I think he would, too,” Tiny says.
Randy looks at me. “Is he really in the Russian mafiya?”
“We don’t discuss that,” I say primly, finally playing along like it’s all a big joke.
Nikolai shoots me a satisfied smile and pushes back his chair to stand. “My friend’s band is playing not far from here. Come on, you’ll like them.”
The guys all follow like Nikolai’s their natural leader.
It takes me a minute to reorient. I had my list of possible things to do running in my head, and my mind was still spinning trying to pick the best when I realize I’m off the hook. Nikolai has this evening in hand.
Thank God for my unlikely hero.
But no, Nikolai isn’t a hero. I have to remind myself. He’s a dangerous felon. He probably kills people in back alleys. He definitely uses violence and extortion to get his way. And worst of all, he’s got my brother’s balls in a vise right now. Characterizing him as a hero would be a mistake of epic proportions.
Still, I can’t find it in me to regret asking him to handle tonight.
I’ll probably regret it plenty when he calls in his favor.
Hopefully it won’t be anything illegal or unsavory. I can’t decide if I hope or don’t hope it will be sexual in nature.
I can’t think about that now. I just have to get through tonight.
Nikolai takes us to a grungy sort of pub. It’s nothing I would ever pick to take a potential client to, but the guys from Skate 32 seem to love it.
There's a band on the stage, but they’re not playing. They’re tuning and getting set up still.