by Alexa Davis
"Wear the lighter one tomorrow," she advised as she put me in a cab and said goodnight. Then, as the cab pulled away from the curb, she shouted, "And, the wrap dress! Wear the wrap dress!"
I laughed and waved as she disappeared from view.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Max
It had grown dark outside and most of the Wabash Street stores were empty by the time I locked the door and headed for home. I'd dismissed my driver for the night despite his protests; I needed to walk and clear my head. I knew he was concerned about my safety, but I'd changed out of my suit and put on an old pair of jeans, well-worn t-shirt, and an old pair of running shoes before hoisting a backpack over my shoulder. I checked myself in the front mirror and was satisfied to see that I looked like just another Chicago college student.
One thing my father had pounded into our heads as we were growing up was that despite the fact that we had more money than we'd ever know what to do with, we were not allowed to live like the rich. We were clothed and fed well, attended only the best schools, and lived in a beautiful house in a nice section of Wicker Park, but my father eschewed the luxuries that that Russian government officials had indulged in while their people were starving in the streets, and as a result, he had a love/hate relationship with consumer capitalism. My mother never wore expensive furs or jewelry, but she always dressed well and looked beautiful. My father had warned us over and over to keep a low profile and never ever flout our wealth. As a child, I had no idea how my father spent the money he was making, and as I walked, I recalled the Christmas when I learned never to ask.
I was twelve and Kristov was fifteen, and we had both decided that we wanted an expensive video game console like the ones we saw in the pizza parlor. It was unlike the ones that all the kids in the neighborhood had; it was bigger and better. We lobbied Mama and Babi so that they would be our allies in the push to get Papa to buy it for us. Two weeks before Christmas, we made our move. Papa was in the front room smoking a cigar and watching the news when we approached him and made our case. He listened carefully to all of the reasons we had outlined for why we wanted a gift that had a price tag exceeding our monthly mortgage payment, and then he asked the question that has never left me.
"You boys have a lot of good reasons why you think you deserve this present," he smiled. "But you haven't told me why you want it. Why do you want this gift?"
"Um, so we can play with the technology, Papa," Kristov answered hesitantly. Later, I realized that he was far more adept at reading my father's moods than I would ever be, and this would be the thing that would get me in trouble over and over again.
"Nah uh!" I protested loudly and then blurted out, "We want it so that we'll have a better game system than anyone in the neighborhood and so everyone will be jealous of how great our system is!"
To this day, I still don't know how my father moved so fast, but before I could take another breath, he raised his hand and slapped me across the face so hard that I fell against my brother and knocked him to the ground. As the pain from the explosion that had ripped across one side of my face began to subside, I looked up at my father with tears in my eyes and a surprised look of confusion.
"Don't you ever talk about wanting to be better than anyone else," Papa growled as he leaned over me. He was close enough that I could smell the cigar smoke on his breath and see the rage in his eyes. His voice grew angrier as he delivered his message, "You are never better than anyone else because of what you own or how much money you have! You are human, just like everyone else, and I won't stand for you boys acting like spoiled, American brats! Do you understand me?"
"Y…y…yes, Papa," I whispered, unable to look away. I was terrified of what he would do next and Kristov, sensing that it wasn't wise to be connected to this plan any longer, had extracted himself and now stood over me. He looked at me with disgust before turning and walking away.
"Get up and go do your homework," Papa said as he waved me away. "I don't want to see your face. Go do something useful."
I stood up, turned, and walked out of the room, not making a sound until I was safely behind the closed door of my bedroom. Then, and only then, did I grab my pillow and let out an anguished cry of pain, rage, and powerlessness. I knew that night that my father was a dangerous man, and that if I didn't learn how to tread carefully around him, I would end up like so many other people who had displeased him. From then on, I kept my head down and my mouth shut as I watched and waited for my chance to break free.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts of the past and brought them back to this afternoon's conversation with my father. I felt the pressure of the limited amount of time I had to prove myself closing in on me.
For the first time, I realized that in a real and urgent way my life depended on my ability to make this store a success and that I needed Lexi to pay her role perfectly. However, I also knew that there was no way I could let her know how much pressure we were under and I definitely couldn't let her know why this endeavor was so very important. No outsider could possibly understand the weight my father had placed on my shoulders, and I felt my spirits sagging with the understanding that I'd be carrying this burden all on my own.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Lexi
The next morning, I woke up with a drooling kitten quietly snoring on my chest. I laughed softly as I petted her and whispered, "Time to rise, sunshine!" I sat up, set her on the pillow beside me, and stretched. Anna shot me an annoyed look and then mushed herself back to sleep on the pillow. I knew she was mad at me for being gone so long the day before, but she was going to have to learn to accept it or we were going to be at odds all the time.
"I'll stop and get you some really fun toys from the pet shop on my way home, little one," I whispered as I bent down and kissed her fuzzy little head. She opened one eye and chirped softly, then buried her face between her paws as she purred contentedly. I laughed, "If I'm not careful, you are going to grow up to be one very spoiled little girl."
I got out of bed and padded to the kitchen to make my first cup of coffee of the day. Even before I looked at the clock, I could tell by the light on the building across the street that the sun was up and that it was going to be another gorgeous day in the city. I thought about what I would wear for my first official day of work and decided on the deep blue wrap dress made of light jersey that clung in all the right places that Viv had talked about the night before. I wanted to impress Max, and if I was honest, I also wanted him to notice me. He hadn't given me the slightest indication that I was anything other than an employee, and while I didn't want to do anything overtly flirtatious, I did want him to notice me. I could hear Viv's voice telling me to go for it, but I pushed it aside by reminding myself that I'd just been dumped by my boyfriend and I didn't need my new boss to be the rebound guy in my life. It would be way too complicated and messy.
"Nope, no dating the boss," I said as I felt Anna winding her way around my ankles and chirping that she was now ready for her breakfast. I quickly poured some kitten food into the little pink bowl that Viv had bought her and watched as Anna happily munched on her breakfast. I poured myself a cup of coffee and flipped on the news.
"In this morning's news, a shoot out on the West Side has left two men dead and two others in critical condition. Wicker Park police say that the shoot out was sparked by a war between two rival Russian mafia factions who have been under investigation for human and weapons trafficking and drug dealing. When asked how he knew they were Russian, Police Chief Randall Washington said that the tattoos on the deceased’s chests and knees indicate that they were captains in their factions and that other tattoos indicated they'd all spent time in prison. There's no word on the identities of the dead men or their specific affiliations. Stay tuned to Action News for updates on this story throughout the day."
"It's a violent world out there, Anna," I said as I shook my head and drank the rest of my coffee before picking up the mewing kitten and kissing her nose. "It's a darn good thi
ng I've got a job downtown and not out in those areas, isn't it? A darn good thing!" Anna replied by swatting my nose with her tiny paw and then head butting my chin. I laughed as I set her on the back of the sofa and headed to the bathroom to get ready for work.
An hour later, I was dressed and ready to go. I refilled Anna's food and water and snuggled her once more before I took one more look in the full-length mirror and nodded at my reflection. The blue dress did exactly what I hoped it would do, I'd applied a little blush, mascara, and the light lipstick color that Viv had given me, and pulled my hair up into a loose bun with a wisp or two of hair framing my face. I smiled at myself as I grabbed my briefcase and headed out the door.
Outside, it was sunny and warm as I headed for the El station at Clark and Division. I loved the way I could easily navigate the city by train or bus; it was one of my favorite parts of Chicago living. Once at the station, I realized that I'd forgotten my wallet at home on the dining room table.
"Crap!" I swore under my breath as I headed back out to the street and home to get my wallet. As I was rounding the corner and heading back up Dearborn towards home, a dark car pulled up beside me with its window rolled down. Thinking it was a tourist asking where the new Restoration Hardware store was, I turned and pointed up Dearborn toward Goethe Street and "Restoration Hardware is that way, take a left at the next corner!"
"Ms. Wallace?" I heard a voice call and I spun around to find Max Melin's handsome face looking at me from the open window. A small smile played around the edges of his full lips and I had to force myself to focus on the car's door handle in order to stifle the desire to stare at his lips. Politely, he asked, "Have you already changed your mind about the job?"
"Huh? Oh! No, I forgot my wallet at home and I didn't have any cash for the El," I said flustered by his cool demeanor. "I'll go back and get it, and I'll still be on time, I promise!"
"Ms. Wallace, would you like a ride?" he asked.
"Who? Me?" I replied confused as to why he was in my neighborhood and stunned that he'd offer his new employee a ride to work.
"I don't see anyone else I could be talking to; do you?"
"Um, no," I blushed, knowing that right now, I was acting like an idiot schoolgirl who had a crush on her teacher. I stammered and looked up the block toward my apartment building. "I need to go home first and get my wallet, though, and I don't want to make you late."
"I think the boss will understand the delay, don't you?" he asked again with the hint of a smile playing at the edge of his lips.
"Yes, sir," I said as I looked down and then wondered if I should get in the car or just keep walking.
"Why don't you get in the car and give my driver the address?" he asked as if reading my thoughts. I nodded and walked over to the car and opened the door. When I slid into the backseat, I could smell Max's cologne, a mix of clean freshness with just a hint of musk and it made my pulse begin to race. "Ms. Wallace, the address?"
"Oh, right, 1344 North Dearborn," I told the driver. He nodded and began driving around the block. I looked over at Max and told him, "You can call me Lexi, you know."
"Alright, Lexi." He smiled as he looked at me. His eyes were a cooler shade of blue than I'd first thought, and I was very self-conscious of the fact that I simply couldn't look away from them. "How was your evening?"
"It was nice," I said swallowing hard to keep my breathing even. I used a method we'd learned in acting class and slowly breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. That calmed my nerves a bit and I told him about dinner and drinks with Viv at The Gage. The driver pulled up in front of my building and I quickly got out calling, "I'll be right back!" as I made a dash for the front door.
Anna chirped happily as I entered the apartment and grabbed my wallet. I warned, "Don't get excited; I'm not staying, little one!" to where she sat in the entryway in front of the door. I stopped for a moment, picked her up, and snuggled her before setting her back down. Satisfied, she chirped and headed for the bedroom. "Silly little girl!" I called as I headed back downstairs.
The drive to work was quick, so the talk was kept to a minimum, but as Max answered his emails, I tried to come up with a topic of conversation that would give me some clue as to who Max Malin was and why in the world he'd hired me to work for him.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Max
I kept my eyes on my email and worked at a steady pace as the car carried Lexi and me to the store. I fought against the desire to spend the whole ride looking at her because every time I did, I felt a wave of attraction wash over me and the result made me feel conspicuous. I was her boss, and it was inappropriate for me to see her as a romantic opportunity, but no matter how many times I'd told myself it was out of bounds, I still came back to the fact that she stirred a primal urge in me.
Today, she was dressed in a deep blue wrap dress that clung to her curves and reminded me of why I was extremely glad to be a man. Her hair was again pulled away from her face, giving her an intellectual appearance. I'd always been attracted to smart women, and dressed the way she was, Lexi definitely looked the part. I had a feeling that when I opened the doors for business, she was going to be one of the biggest assets in the store.
"So, did you see the news about that shooting over on the West side?" she blurted out. "That's some crazy drama, isn't it? It really makes you wonder about what's underlying the whole feud, doesn't it?"
"Why do you say that?" I asked as I tried to maintain a calm exterior. I was now on high alert as the thought that she might be an undercover agent sent to scope me out crossed my mind. There were a lot of people who had been after my father for a lot of years, and while he'd done his best to keep Kristov and me out of the heavier things he was involved in, there were those who knew all about us and would have given their right arms to take one of us down.
"I was just thinking about how a feud like that even gets started," she said as she brushed invisible lint off of her skirt. "Why would people of the same background be out to kill each other? I mean, doesn't it make more sense for them to join forces and present a strong front, rather than offing each other in the streets?"
"I'm sure I wouldn't know," I replied as I wracked my brain for a way to turn the conversation away from this topic. I had no desire to talk about Russian mafia gang history with Lexi.
"It just seems like this is a lot like the same thing that happened on the West side in the 1970s with the Vice Lords," she offered. "They started out trying to tie the neighborhood together and strengthen the community, and for a while they succeeded, but then someone got greedy and power hungry and the whole structure fell to pieces."
"You seem to know a lot about Chicago," I commented.
"I minored in history, and as part of the program, we had to take two semesters of Chicago history," she said cheerfully. "They were really great classes. I felt like I had a much better understanding of the city and how it came to be once I'd completed them."
"I'll bet," I nodded. "Where did you go to school?"
"Northwestern," she replied.
"Did you like it?" I asked.
"I did, very much," she sighed. "I miss it sometimes, you know? I miss the whole feeling of being in a place where learning is going on and feeling like you're part of it. I miss the community and the security of being a student, even though I was dirt poor the whole time I was there. There's something noble about poor students and starving artists."
"There's nothing noble about poverty unless your privileged enough to be able to reject it as you claim it," I shot back in an annoyed tone.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" she asked genuinely surprised at my strong response.
"No, I just get sick of hearing rich college students say that they love being poor, when they don't have the first clue as to what that actually means," I said, failing to work my way to more even ground in the conversation.
"Just because you think that all college students are rich kids, doesn't actually make it true, you know,"
she replied in a bristled tone as she sat up straight and looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"I wasn't saying that all American college students were rich kids," I retorted. "I was saying I was sick of the rich ones saying they were poor when they aren't, in fact, poor!"
"Well, I didn't grow up rich!" she yelled.
"I didn't say you did!" I shot back.
"Well…good," she said as she backed off a little and held my gaze.
I could feel my pulse racing and I knew it wasn't just because we were irritated with each other. As I looked at her, I had the strongest urge to reach over and pull her to me so I could kiss her. I wanted to run my fingers through her shiny, chestnut tresses and feel those full lips pressed against mine. And, I really wanted to slip my hand underneath her dress and cup her breast in my hand. I quickly caught myself as I felt the blood rushing away from my brain. I shook my head violently to clear the image and keep from embarrassing myself in front of my new employee.
"I'm sorry if I irritated you," she offered.
"No, you didn't," I quickly replied.
"The hell I didn't," she laughed. "I'm extremely good at finding the weak spots and digging at them, but the problem is that I don't do it on purpose, so I never know I'm doing it until it's already done."
"Must be a hell of a way to live," I muttered.
"You have no idea,"
"Yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea," I said with a wry grin. "Look, we're going to be working together for the next few weeks, so let's just agree to be honest with each other, okay? If you piss me off, I'll let you know, and I want you to be able to do the same."