I looked at my father and saw a strange expression on his face as he gave me a smile.
A little bit later, there were footsteps coming closer, and a second later one of the staff announced our guest for dinner had arrived.
The man who stepped into the sitting room was tall and burly, his neck so thick it was like a tree stump, a scar slashing from his forehead and dissecting across his eye and cheek. It completely distorted his face, making it seem like he wore a perpetual scowl.
I took an involuntary step back.
The man was terrifying in appearance, and when he smiled a gold tooth at the side of his mouth flashed as he glanced my way. A shiver of unease passed through me when I saw his gaze rake up and down my body.
Despite being fully clothed, I felt completely bared at that moment. I stared up at my father but he was busy saying something low to my mother, who straightened her shoulders and finished off her wine before coming to stand beside him.
“Anastasia, I’d like to introduce you to Ivan Borekov. He’s one of my brigadier generals from the West Coast. And I’ve invited him to dinner so you can get to know him better.”
I snapped my head in my father’s direction at that.
“So I can get to know him better?” My father gave me a tight-lipped smile. “I don’t understand what that means.” I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut, especially given the fact when I looked at Ivan, he couldn’t hide the frown or the lowering of his brow fast enough. But as soon as our eyes locked, it disappeared and he gave me a placating smile.
“Come on, sweetheart. Dinner’s waiting.”
I didn’t miss the fact my father changed the subject right away, or how he didn’t answer my question. But I silently followed him out of the sitting room and into the dining room, where the table was already set and a literal feast spread out for everybody.
I took my seat to the left of my father at the head of the table, and my spine straightened involuntarily when Ivan came to sit beside me. I gave him a polite smile and had to hold in my gag reflex as the overpowering stench of his cologne saturated the air around us. I actually lifted my hand and smoothed the finger under my nose, crinkling it.
My father snapped his fingers, and one of the staff came by with a bottle of wine, pouring a small amount into a glass so he could smell and taste it before giving his final approval. I felt Ivan’s stare and suppressed another shiver, refusing to look at him.
“You look absolutely stunning, prima.” His Russian was rough, not smooth and sophisticated like my father’s.
“Thank you,” I pushed through gritted teeth, hating that he used the endearment “prima” toward me when this was our first time meeting.
I tried to shift slightly away without being too obvious, but even sitting next to Ivan made my skin crawl. Ivan started to laugh deeply, as if my discomfort pleased him, which it probably did.
For the next few moments, everyone sat in silence as the staff served the first course, and I was doing everything in my power to bite my tongue. I didn’t want to overstep bounds or embarrass my father by questioning him. He always needed to be in power and control, especially in front of an associate. But the longer I sat there, the more I knew I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about what all of this was.
I cleared my throat and glanced at my father. “I’m not really sure what’s going on,” I said honestly.
He took a bite of his food before answering, wiped off his mouth, then picked up his tumbler of scotch before leaning back in his seat and looking at me as he took a long drink.
I could feel the awkwardness start to feel heavy in the room, oppressing. The stench of cologne, cigar smoke, sweat, and booze that came from Ivan slammed into me, and I started to feel beads of perspiration dot my brow.
It was only after my father set his tumbler back down and folded his hands in his lap that he finally answered me. “You know family strengthens bonds.”
I had my hands curled tightly around the napkin that sat in my lap as I silently listened to my father. I bit my lip, waiting to see what he would say, the point he was getting at. Although I had a very sickening feeling I knew.
“And with those bonds comes alliances. Power.”
Those beads of sweat that had made me feel overheated were now frigid droplets of ice on my skin.
“And so I’m very happy to announce that I found your suitable match with Ivan.”