Her Bratva Billionaires

by Harper West

  It was too good to be true, though.

  “Damn straight, I’m not. And--“ My father put his hand up.

  “You don’t have to marry him, Michelle. But that also means that you won’t be a part of Affinity Finance anymore, and I sure as hell won’t be funding your little real estate business. So go ahead and stay here, spread your legs for the Stepanov brothers, and live your fucking life. You are absolutely correct that it’s your right. But guess what? You make that decision, and you can kiss my money goodbye.”

  My father saw the look on my face and instantly knew that he’d won. Without his money, I was nothing. He also had access to all of my bank accounts, which meant that he could freeze or even move money around. And without money, I was completely immobile. I didn’t want to ask Hugo and Nico for help, either.

  “When you leave the hotel,” he said on his way out of the room, “there’ll be an airplane waiting for you at the airport.” He slammed the door so hard that my new purse fell to the floor. I broke down crying, right there on the hotel room floor, as my dreams were shattered before my eyes. Elaina came in from her room, then wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

  “It’s okay, Michelle,” she said. Except I knew that it wouldn’t be okay. Nothing would ever be okay again. Unless I wanted to up and leave my father, and thereby lose everything that I’d ever worked for, I’d have to get on that plane. I’d be forced to leave the Stepanov brothers.

  “How is it going to be okay, Elaina? I have to get on that fucking plane. It’s the only way I can ever break free from my father! I mean, I have plenty of money in the bank, but he’s on all of my bank accounts, Elaina!”

  “You can’t break free from him by marrying someone he chose for you, Michelle! I say to hell with him, don’t get on that fucking plane. Stay here and make a life for yourself with the Stepanov brothers. I’m sure they can get you a job working at Erect-it Corporation.”

  “Yeah, right,” I said in between sobbing. “Their father and mine go way back, Elaina. I’m fucked no matter what I do. I have to go back to the United States, and I have to marry whatever douchebag he’s found for me. Because if I don’t, then I’ll always be living in my father’s shadow.”

  “But, you’re in love with the Stepanov brothers!”

  Hearing her say that made everything worse for me. I broke down sobbing into her arms, even harder than before, letting my mascara run down my face. The world may have looked at me as being Daddy’s girl, the woman who got whatever she wanted because she was Chase Harrington’s daughter. In fact, most people would have killed just to marry into our family.

  But I had never, in all of my life, hated being a Harrington more than at that moment.

  Chapter 16

  Nico

  I kept pacing back and forth in my penthouse, waiting for Michelle to answer me. I had been calling and texting her for well over an hour with no response. It was highly out of character for her, especially after everything we had been through. She may have been a busy career woman, but she always made time for Hugo and me. Something was wrong.

  So I went over to Hugo’s place, worried that something bad had happened.

  “Michelle’s not getting back to me,” I told him. “This isn’t normal, Hugo. Something’s wrong.”

  Hugo put his hands up. “Just relax, man. Maybe she fell asleep or forgot her phone at home.”

  “Michelle would never leave her phone at home,” I reminded him. “And I’m convinced that she’s part vampire because she doesn’t need a lot of sleep in order to get through the workday. I’m telling you, something is wrong.”

  “How about we just go over to the hotel and surprise her?”

  I nodded my head, eager to see Michelle. The thought of anything bad happening to her made me sick to my stomach.

  I followed Hugo in his car as we made our way to her hotel. We were driving pretty fast and a bit recklessly, but the Russian cops knew who we were and rarely pulled us over. That was part of the perks of being a Stepanov.

  As soon as we got to her building, Hugo and I rushed inside and ran up to her room. By the way, he was walking, I could tell that Hugo was also concerned. He had been telling me to relax, but it didn’t take him long for him to get on board with my emotions.

  We knocked on the door a few times, but nobody answered. With one swift kick, Hugo kicked the door open.

  It was completely empty. Not even a suitcase in sight.

  “Why the fuck would she leave without telling us first?” I looked Hugo in the eyes, but I could tell that he was heartbroken.

  “None of this makes sense,” Hugo said to me. “Michelle isn’t the type of woman to just up and leave, Nico. Come on.”

  “Where are we going? To the United States?”

  Hugo rolled his eyes at me. “No, you, asshole. Get in your car. We’re going to Dad’s place to figure this whole thing out.”

  As soon as we got inside of our father’s mansion, we raced to his office and went inside.

  “Hello, boys,” he said, motioning for us to sit down. “You look upset. What’s the matter?”

  Hugo and I took a seat, and I decided to let him do the talking.

  “Where’s Michelle Harrington?” Our father cracked a smile, then leaned back in his chair.

  “She was called back to the United States, sons. I’m surprised you guys didn’t hear. Chase Harrington announced her engagement this morning.”

  “Michelle’s engaged?!” I stood up as I yelled across the desk. My father looked surprised at my outburst but kept talking.

  “Well, her father betrothed her to some big business guy. Michael, something or other, I don’t know. Anyway, he’s made billions of dollars on investment deals, and Chase is a bit old school.”

  “So wait,” Hugo said. “This is an arranged marriage? As in Michelle has no say in the matter?”

  Our father nodded. “It’s a bit odd to do that kind of thing in the twenty-first century if you ask me, but Chase has always colored outside of the lines. Plus, he’s a lot like me. He wants someone to take over the business someday, hopefully in the near future given his age, and it’s always better to have a man on board. You know how women can become too emotional.”

  “Michelle is far from being too emotional to run a fucking business,” I said. “If anything, I bet she can do a damn better job than Chase Harrington ever has! Just look at the way she pushed this project along, Dad. She doesn’t need some guy at her side to run that company. Plus, who’s to say that she even wants to run that fucking company?”

  Our father cocked his head to the side and then looked at Hugo.

  “Since when do you two care so much about who she marries?” Hugo cleared his throat.

  “I think what Nico is saying,” he said, “is that we’re just shocked this is all happening. You taught us to be polite but professional with clients, and we were just surprised when Michelle left without saying goodbye. That’s all, Dad.”

  I stared at the floor as Hugo tried to explain our surprise. My face was beet red as I pictured all of the ways that I wanted to smack Chase across the face. No woman deserved to be treated as community property, especially a woman like Michelle Harrington.

  “Well, sometimes that’s the way things go, son. Plus, I’m sure this won’t be the last time you two will be dealing with Affinity Finance. Now that this project is completed, we have bigger ties in the United States. We’re about to become even richer than you could have ever imagined.”

  Hugo and I went outside, then paced back and forth in the driveway.

  “Obviously, we can’t let her do this,” I said out loud. Hugo nodded.

  “I have an idea.” Hugo whipped out his cellphone and started dialing. He put his finger up to me when I started to ask who he was calling.

  “Yes, is this Chase Harrington? Hello, Mr. Harrington. This is Hugo Stepanov.”

  My mouth fell open once I realized that he’d called Michelle’s father.

  “If it’s alright
with you, I’d like to put you on speakerphone so that you can also speak with my brother, Nico.” I stood next to Hugo in the driveway, staring down at the phone and waiting for him to talk.

  “What do you boys want? The project is over with.”

  “Michelle,” I said into the phone. “We want Michelle back.”

  Chase laughed into the phone.

  “You two certainly didn’t try to hide your fun with her, did you? I have dozens of pictures of the three of you, shopping in Moscow, and taking her out to eat. I’m not a fucking idiot, boys. I’m sure you all had fun, but Michelle has responsibilities.”

  “She doesn’t want to run your stupid company,” I yelled into the phone.

  “Well, if Michelle wants to continue being in the Harrington family, she better give up the games and do as she is told. She had her fun with you, but it’s time for her to move on now. And the same goes for you. So why don’t you find a couple of nice Russian women and call it a day, okay? Leave Michelle alone, or else.”

  Chase hung up the phone, and I immediately kicked the tire on my car.

  “Okay, calm down, Nico. We’ll figure this out. The good news is that Michelle, we both know, doesn’t want to marry this asshole.”

  “But the bad news is that if she doesn’t, then she loses all ties to the Harrington family and their fortune.”

  “Come on,” Hugo said to me. “Let’s go back to my place and come up with a game plan.”

  Chapter 17

  Michelle

  I sat in the local cafe, stirring my latte with a swizzle stick while waiting for Michael Anderson to arrive. All I knew about him was that he was five years older than me and was a venture capitalist. He also didn’t consider himself to be a relationship type of person. He told my dad that he liked to spend a lot of time alone in his room while surfing the internet.

  That didn’t matter to my father, though.

  In fact, when Michael asked if he that’d be a problem, my father shrugged his shoulders and said, “Michelle knows this is a business move.”

  Michael walked into the cafe, saw me, and sat down at my table. Everyone in there turned to look at him, and I had to admit that he was physically attractive.

  Michael was a few inches taller than me, with short, cropped hair and brown eyes. His face was nicely shaped, with a strong jaw and a nice nose. His broad shoulders filled out his suit, which I assumed was either Armani or Gucci, and he was wearing a gold Rolex watch. He definitely had plenty of money and was physically attractive, but I soon found out that’s all he had going for him.

  “Michael Anderson,” he said while extending his hand across from me. I shook it and immediately wanted to run out of the cafe. It was cold and clammy, and he didn’t even smile when he said his name. His eyes immediately went to my chest, and stayed there for several minutes, until I finally spoke to snap him back to reality.

  “So, Michael, what is it that you do exactly?” All my father had said was that he was in finance and made a lot of money, which was like saying peanut butter and jelly go on bread. I wanted to know his background, credit score, exact business dealings, and so forth. If my father wanted to view this as a business contract, then I’d damn sure be treating it as such.

  “Well, I’m an investor, and I earned my business degree from Harvard University. I ran a few hedge funds, funded two start-up companies, cashed out when they made it big, and now I rely solely on the stock market. It’s a funny thing, the stock market. The key is to keep an eye on what Congress does. Anyway, so yeah, I graduated from an Ivy League school.”

  I hated guys who bragged about where they went to college. “Oh, that’s nice. I considered going there to continue my education, but I haven’t had time. I work up to sixty-hours a week at Affinity Finance. Plus, I don’t really think that it’s necessary. My father has taught me everything that I need to know about business. So, what do you like to do in your spare time?”

  “I don’t have a lot of spare time, but I do enjoy golfing and tennis. My days are usually spent watching the stock market, although sometimes I go on social media. I have to admit, however, that I do have a bit of a porn addiction. But don’t worry, Michelle. All of my usernames are associated with fake email accounts, so it won’t ruin your reputation. Unless, of course, you’re addicted to porn too.” He smirked at me, and I could tell that it was an attempt to make a joke that failed.

  I couldn’t even bring myself to smile at that comment. In fact, knowing my father, they probably discussed some of their favorite porn stars and adult films. The worst part was that I’d have to spend the rest of my life with that asshole, listening to him beat off in another room while watching porn movies all night. Because there was no way in hell that we were sharing a bed. If he wanted to have children with me, then it’d have to be through artificial insemination.

  “Golfing is one of my favorite pasttimes,” I said, trying to steer the conversation back to something normal. “I’m a member of several golf clubs in this area, so we should play sometime. I have to admit that I own pink golf clubs, though.”

  “Did you know there’s a genre of golf porn?” He giggled like a little kid as he said it, and I wanted to sink underneath the table. Michael must have read the expression on my face, though. “Sorry, I just wanted to be honest with you. Anyway, I earned my first million dollars by the time that I was twenty-five years old. Your dad seemed really impressed by that, by the way. I’m assuming all of your money is inherited?”

  “Um, no, Michael. I’ve closed plenty of business deals and made my own damn money, thank you very much.”

  “Mmm,” he said. “I like a sassy woman.”

  “Yes, well, let’s not forget that this is a business deal, Michael. And since you were so honest with me about your porn addiction, let me be perfectly honest with you: I’m only doing this so that my father funds the business that I want to start. Plus, I know damn well that you’re only doing this to run Affinity Finance.”

  “I appreciate your honesty, Michelle, and I’m really not a bad guy. In fact, I have a lot of plans for our future. Now, when I take over the company, I told your father about how everything will happen. Even though you’ve worked directly for him, I think we both know that I’ll be the one charge. It just looks better, sweetheart. Nothing to be upset about. On our next date, I’d like to show you some five and ten-year plans for growing Affinity Finance.”

  Just looking at him pissed me off, and I realized that he had a very punchable face. In fact, I pictured myself forming a fist and hitting him right in his mouth if only to get him to stop talking. I needed to find a way out of marrying that douchebag before I beat him to death with one of my pink golf clubs as he raved about golf porn.

  “When all of this happens,” he continued, “I’ll expect you to kind of be in the background. Look, I know it’s the twenty-first century, but everyone knows that men are better at business. Regardless of how smart you are, it’s better for Affinity Finance’s image if you’re more of a background figure than an employee. Plus, you’ll have your little business to run.”

  “It’s not that little,” I spat at him.

  “Anyway, would you be interested in seeing a Broadway play with me tonight? I figured since we’ll be spending the rest of our lives together, that we should probably get to know each other a little bit better.” Once again, he was staring at my breasts, and it became evidently clear that unlike the Stepanov brothers, he had no intention of ever getting to know me.

  “Um, I’ll have to pass Michael, but thank you.”

  “Oh, you’re welcome. By the way, I should tell you that I’m a virgin. I hope that’s not a problem.”

  I shook my head.

  “Let me level with you, Michael. You’ll be lucky if you and I even share the same bed, all right? Based on everything that you’ve told me so far, I’m not surprised that you’re a virgin. It seems like you spend all of your time beating off to porn, golf porn nonetheless, and trying to marry into a business. You
better thank your lucky stars that my father chose you, because I, for one, wouldn’t even want to share a bathroom with you.”

  By the time our initial meeting was over, I wanted to vomit. Michael had told me everything about his plans for the company and asked absolutely nothing about myself. It was clear that he didn’t give a flying fuck about me or who I was as a person, and it made me crave the intimacy of the Stepanov brothers.

  I went into the ladies’ room and pulled out my cell phone, and my eyes lit up as soon as I saw text messages from Nico and Hugo. I leaned against the wall and felt tears forming in my eyes. I would have done anything to be with them at that moment, and I knew that Hugo and Nico would ridicule Michael. In fact, I wanted to see them punch him right in the face for talking to me that way.

  I opened up each text message.

  “Where are you?”

  “Nico and I are very worried, Michelle. Please, get back to us.”

  “Did we upset you, Michelle? Hugo and I are going crazy without you. Please, let us know what’s wrong so we can make it right.”

  In addition to text messages, they had also called my phone several times. I didn’t know how I would ever explain this situation to them, but I knew they needed to know what had happened. It wasn’t like me to just bail on a relationship, but I couldn’t find it in my heart to tell them goodbye. And I knew that’s exactly what I’d end up doing, because what other chores did I have?

  I slammed my phone shut, deciding it was best not to text them back. It would only make things worse than they already were. Maybe in the future, when everything was settled down with the business marriage, I’d explain to them what happened. But not at that moment.

  As I made my way out of the cafe, I realized just how utterly heartbroken I was over the Stepanov brothers. I missed them more than I could ever explain, and I couldn’t believe they had gotten attached so fast. Plus, I wasn’t used to guys getting attached to me. Usually, it was the other way around.