“Damn. That sucks. I was thinking about being your agent myself.”
I smiled. “You might be a pretty good manager.”
“Does that involve knocking a motherfucker out if he doesn’t pay you?”
“Well. . .I don’t know about that, but it wouldn’t hurt.”
“How much will this agent get paid?”
“Ten percent of all my jobs.”
Maxwell nodded. “Let a brother know if you need a manager with cool swag and a personable way of getting things done.”
“You’ll be the first one.”
Naveen studied Misha. “Where will this meeting be?”
Misha replied, “Skazka. I have men surrounding the restaurant and snipers on the roof across from each exit and entrance.”
Naveen didn’t look impressed. “And if the Xecutioners come?”
“Circuit has a satellite on the place. He’ll be tracking where they go.”
“It won’t matter if they kill you,” Naveen said.
Misha’s jaw twitched. “They won’t.”
“Who picked—Ava or the agent?” Naveen asked.
I spoke, “The agent.”
Naveen kept his view on Misha. “Have you checked the agent out?”
“Circuit did the usual and Maxwell followed the agent around.”
I quirked my brows at Misha. “What?”
“Don’t worry, Ava.” Maxwell winked at me. “I’m good. She had no idea. She’s a simple woman. Wakes up before dawn and does yoga in front of her window. I think she likes to watch the sun go up while she’s doing upside-down dog or whatever the pose is.”
I leaned forward. “How do you know that?”
Maxwell glanced at Misha.
Misha spoke, “We put cameras in Hightower’s place. Maxwell monitored them.”
“Wait a minute.” I shook my head and took my hand from his. “She’s not even my agent yet, plus—”
“We can’t take any chances.” Maxwell placed his hand in his lap. “She arrived at a convenient time. I had the job of making sure Mrs. Hightower was who she said she was.”
Maxwell continued. “After yoga, your agent likes to masturbate to ballerina rehearsal videos. I don’t know if she’s a lesbian or if she has a thing for tutus. I actually have a fetish for them myself so—”
“Hold up.” I put my hand in front of me. “You seriously invaded her privacy. You can’t do that.”
Misha spoke, “Anyone that comes near you will be thoroughly checked out.”
I glared. “But does Maxwell have to watch her masturbate?”
Maxwell jumped in, “If it makes you feel better, Ava, I can send your new agent a video of my masturbating. Then, we’ll be even.”
Tension rose in the limo.
I turned to Misha. “We need to talk about this later. I don’t want things like this happening without my permission.”
Misha nodded.
Naveen snickered. “I told you that you better take control.”
Maxwell continued. “She eats two fried eggs with kale every morning. Very disciplined about her eating. Next, she showers. Then it gets pretty boring after that. Lots of phone calls and messing with her computer. Every now and then she’ll meet someone for a business lunch or dinner, but she has no social life.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “And do you know the addresses of all her loved ones too?”
Misha responded, “Just parents and siblings.”
Anger boiled in me.
As if knowing how much I wanted to yell at him, Misha nodded. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“We sure will.”
The limo arrived in front of Skazka and stopped. I looked out the window to calm myself down.
This is my life. This is what I signed up for when loving Misha. . .but can I do this?Chapter 19
Ava
Minutes later, we sat in Skazka. Sitting inside the place felt like being at the center of an alluring jewelry box. The place mesmerized my eyes.
Skazka meant fairytale in Russian and the décor embodied that definition. A luxurious turquoise velvet covered the booth seats and chairs. On the polished wood walls, tons of mirrors were framed in shining crystals. These mirrors diagonally hung, creating pyramids that reflected the room. Black feathers coated the chandeliers. Gold mugs and dinner china covered the tables.
At the center of each table, porcelain ballerinas stood on one toe with the other leg high in the air. White tule served as the ballerinas’ tutus. The dancers held lit candles in their hands that gave off the scent of lavender mixed with lemon.
Ever since I became the prima ballerina, there seemed to be no end to my adventure, from Misha’s glamorous life to my very own. It was still taking me time to get used to all of this.
However, I wasn’t surprised that Mrs. Hightower chose this place for our meeting. Skazka was popular within the ballet industry, although I’d never had the money to eat here. The owner was Lada Grigoriev. Long ago, she’d been a prima ballerina at the Bolshoi Theater and enjoyed a lovely career during her twenties. When she turned thirty, she retired from ballet to start a family. When her kids became adults, she opened this restaurant. Last I heard, Lada’s son helped her manage this iconic place.