AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The meeting commences, and I listen intently to what the men want. They want to do business with us. They’re from Los Angeles and want to trade in Vegas with high-quality dope. However, they don’t want to encroach on my father's territory because that would be disrespectful.
My father doesn’t say much at first, and then he asks what terms they’re offering.
They push a sheet of paper toward my father, who nods to me. I take it and look it over before I slide it over to him. “That doesn’t sound like a respectable price,” I say calmly. “You want to take business away from our family, and that’s what you’re offering us in return?”
“We could just start trading and pay no respect,” the youngest man in the group says.
I shake my head. “You’ll find this isn’t Los Angeles, and we’re not afraid to get our hands dirty.”
The elder of the group puts a hand on who I presume is his son before he looks at my father. “Name your price.”
“You use our guys to move the dope,” I say. “Pay them ten percent of the profits for their work, and you pay my father forty percent for using his territory. You’ll find you’ll make more than enough in this town to cover your expenses and turn a profit.”
“Does this woman speak for you, Mr. Sokolov?” the son asks. “Women don’t belong in meetings like this.”
“Well, if you won’t deal with my family, then you won’t be dealing dope in the Vegas area,” I stand up and nod to my brothers, who thankfully follow my lead and also stand up.
“Excuse my son,” the father, Hunter, says. Dmitri is hot-headed sometimes. We do want to do business with you and are willing to consider your terms.”
I look at him. “Our terms are not negotiable. We will be losing a lot by not trading in dope ourselves to give you an upper hand on the market.”
They huddle in and whisper among themselves before Hunter stands up and holds his hand out. “We agree to your terms but insist you offer us protection if we get picked up for it.”
“To the best of our ability, we will.” I look at my father, who stands and shakes Hunter’s hand.
The men shuffle out and take the elevator down. My father smiles at me. “You did well.”
“I was nervous,” I admit, my hands shaking.
My brothers and my cousin are all smiles.
“That was an incredible deal you secured,” Darius says. We should celebrate with lunch—my treat. I’ll call Sevan and let him know to meet us.”
Ethan squeezes my shoulder. “Lunch indeed. She’s earned it.”
My father kisses my head. “You kids go ahead. I have other work to take care of.”
Ethan leads us out of the office and down the elevator. The restaurant is a block away, so we walk there. After that successful negotiation, I can’t stop smiling.
My brothers and cousin talk amongst themselves, and soon, Sevan falls into step with us and greets us all. The boys let me lead them into the restaurant and secure our table, and once we’re all seated, we order a bottle of champagne to start with.
“Something to celebrate my little sister's first successful negotiation and hopefully not the last,” Ethan says.
“Oh, so now you believe in me,” I tease him.
“I always believed in you.” Kyle grins and picks up the complimentary bread.
I see a shadow out of the corner of my eye and glance toward the kitchen. My blood runs cold. Arseny is standing there, half-hidden by the wall. He disappears around the corner, and I look around the table. Ethan is talking to Darius while Sevan shows Kyle something on his phone.
“I need the lady's room. I’ll be right back.” I get up without another word and walk as calmly as I can to the back and around the corner. Arseny is standing there with a wicked grin on his face.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper, taking his hand and pulling him into the nearby linen closet.
“First…” he leans down and kisses me deeply. “Secondly, I wanted to hear how your meeting went. Did you blow them out of the water?”
“I did,” I say, feeling completely endeared by the fact that he cares about what is going on in my life. “I negotiated an excellent deal.” I rest my hands flat on his chest and run them up to his neck and his face, bringing him down for another kiss.
“I’m so proud of you,” he says between kisses. “I’m so happy you showed them how to do things.”
