by Alexa Davis
"Papa…" I began.
"No, you listen to me, moj syn, I have given you everything in my power," he said leaning across the table. "I have given you a life in the U.S., school, money, and I have spent a lifetime building a business that is successful enough to take care of you, your brother, and both your families when, God willing, you have them. I have never asked for anything in return, but now I am asking."
"But, Papa, I really do think a high-end jewelry store could be yet another income generating business and I have spent a great deal of time researching and coordinating the business," I protested carefully and thoughtfully. If my father suspected that my real reason for starting the business was to distance myself from him and the family, there would be hell to pay. "It seems like a fair tradeoff to let me run the business, don't you think?"
"Fair?" he yelled as he slammed his fist down on the counter. "Fair? What is fair? Is it fair that I had to move my family away from my homeland, away from my city, so that they could have a life that wasn't possible in Moscow? Was it fair that I went from being a highly respected man to someone who runs a bar? Was it fair that I worked long hours and late nights when your mother needed me at home?" He stopped and inhaled sharply to keep from letting his emotions take control.
"No, it wasn't fair," I said softly. "But I think we are heading into a new era of doing business, and we're going to have to modernize or else we're going to suffer. We shouldn't suffer, should we, Papa? The business shouldn't suffer, should it?"
He closed his eyes and raised a large callused hand to his forehead, rubbing it back and forth before he looked at me again. When he did, I saw the years of pain welling up in his eyes, and my father's pain scared me far more than his anger. I knew what happened when he was in pain – and nothing good had ever come of it.
"Maksimka, I loved your mother more than life itself, but nothing I could have done would have saved her. She made her own choices and I had to protect you boys. You know that. Kristov knows that. I know that. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of you and your brother running the business together and carrying on the family tradition. If you don't, then what good was my life? What was my purpose? I'm not a young man anymore. I don't have a lot of time left."
"Papa, don't say that, you're fine," I countered as I searched his face for a sign that what I was saying was true.
"None of us know how much time we have, Maksim," he told me wearily. "The truth is that I'm losing my grip on the young ones. They don't understand the value of the old ways, and I'm too old to bring them to heel, anymore. I need you and Kristov as my captains. I need you to wear your stars so that the young ones will fall in line and do as they're told."
"Papa, I don't have the same kind of force as Kristov does," I said. "I'm not like him. I can't make people do what I want them to do through violence."
"Don't you think I know that, moj syn?" he said shaking his head and smiling. "Kristov is the muscle, but you are the brains. I need you to be the brains of the operation, so that your brother can be the brawn. He is a good boy, but he can't see past his own zhopy. I need you to oversee things."
"Papa, I've sunk a lot of money into this shop, and I want to make it successful," I said as I thought about the beautiful gleaming jewels carefully packed in boxes waiting to be unpacked and sold. "I need to add to the business and make it successful so that we can add it to the family income and ensure that we'll be financially solid for a long time. I need to contribute in the best way I know how. Can you understand that?"
"I understand it all too well, Maksim," my father said. "I know what you want. I wanted the same thing before we left Moscow, but the family business is the most important thing and I need you here to run it."
"Papa, can I at least have a few months to try? I've sunk a lot of money into this store and I want to at least recover it," I said as I quickly tried to think of a way that I could have what I wanted without angering my father too much. "Just give me a few months to at least try. If I can't make it successful in that time, then I'll close up shop, sell it all, and come work with Kristov without a complaint."
My father sat staring at me as he considered my request. He sipped from his coffee cup and then leaned forward and spoke. "I'll give you three months to make your first million; if you can't do it by then, you're never going to do it big enough to make it matter. If you can make your first million by then, then we'll talk about how to keep your store open and let you have your little side business. But meanwhile, I want you to keep in contact with your brother and me so that we can keep you up to date on the situation with the family. I've got a shipment coming in the week after next and I need help getting the cargo off the dock. Do you understand me?"
"I understand," I said nodding solemnly. My father's cargo shipments weren't a pretty business, and I knew that my mother had seriously objected to it, but one thing we all understood was that we were never, ever to interfere with my father's business. We were all well aware of the fact that those who did didn't live to tell about it. And, it didn't matter who they were.
"Good, so now that we have that straightened out, how about some of my fresh vatrushka? I just made it this afternoon!" he said as he moved toward the counter where the pastry sat. He looked at me expectantly. I nodded and watched as he expertly cut the sweet treat into pieces and served one up. "We're family, Maksimka. We take care of each other."
"I know, Papa," I said as I accepted the plate and with it, the terms of my father's agreement. I now had three months to make this work or I'd be sucked into the seedy underbelly of the Russian mafia for the rest of my life. I took a deep breath and ate my dessert.
CHAPTER TEN
Lexi 10
I called the number on the sheet that Peter had given me as I walked down Wackier toward Madison. No one answered, so I left a message with my number and let the man know I was on my way to the shop. I had no idea who this man was; Peter had told me next to nothing about him, so I imagined he was probably an older guy with a paunch and a bald spot. He needed a pretty young woman to be the face of his shop and help encourage men to buy more expensive pieces.
I had worked retail before, so I knew how the sales process worked, and as I walked I began creating a back-story for my sales character. She would have come from the Chicago suburbs, gone to good Catholic schools and graduated from Northwestern with a degree in Literary Studies. I tried to make the character mirror my own background as much as possible so that I wouldn't have to remember too many false truths. That was one of the things we'd learned in the acting classes I'd taken with Josh. I inhaled sharply as I remembered that he was gone and then swallowed hard to keep the feelings from boiling up to the surface. I was not going to allow Josh to screw up this opportunity for me.
"Smile and remember that you're playing a role, you don't have to know everything," I muttered under my breath as I crossed over to Madison and followed it toward Wabash. A man in a suit shot me a look as I reminded myself of all the things I needed to do to land the role. I ignored him and kept reciting my character's background. So what if people on the street thought I was crazy. So long as the client thought I was sane and capable to playing the role he wanted me to play, it was all good.
I arrived at the small storefront on Wabash and tapped on the door. The place looked empty, so I knocked a little louder. When no one came to the door, I pulled out my phone and dialed the number Peter had given me again.
"Hello?" the man on the other end said.
"Hello, I'm Lexi," I replied. "Peter Baxter sent me over to meet with you about the job?"
"Oh, right," he said and then went silent.
"Are you in the store?" I asked wondering if the guy was senile or something. He didn't sound that old, and I wondered if he was busy with something else.
"No, unfortunately I'm not there at the present time," he said and again, silence.
"What would you like me to do, then?" I asked.
"Can you wait for me?" he asked. "I
'm in a cab on my way back and should be there in a few minutes."
"Yes, of course. I'll wait here."
"Very well," he said and then abruptly disconnected.
"Great," I muttered as I stepped away from the storefront and walked over to the planter near the store and perched on the edge. "He's a geriatric space cadet who can't remember that he asked to have an employee sent over. This is not good, Wallace. Not good at all."
As I sat on the planter waiting for my new boss to show up, I thought about all of the things that this job would make possible. I could pay my rent out of one paycheck and bank the rest as insurance for a few more months. Two paychecks and I'd have rent covered for a while. I could use the other two to pay off my credit card and buy a new laptop. If I was careful, I could invest in some new clothes for the job and buy Anna a cute little kitty condo so that she could entertain herself while I was working. I was so intent on ringing up all the benefits this job would bring that I didn't notice the man who got out of the cab and approached me.
"Ms. Wallace?" he said. Startled, I fell backwards into the planter. As I lay there wondering what had just happened, a handsome man leaned down and offered me his hand. I took it and as he pulled me up, I gasped. He was so handsome I had to look away for a moment. When I looked back, I inhaled deeply as I studied his face. He had messy, medium-length, dirty blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and an aristocratic nose. As my eyes trailed down his face, I couldn't help but notice his lips – there was a tough sensuality about them, making it almost impossible for me to stop staring. It was an absolutely irrational thought, but I desperately wanted to chew on his bottom lip.
"Ms. Wallace, are you okay?" he asked as I stood looking up at him, mesmerized by his sensual good looks. Not even Josh, the aspiring Hollywood star, was this handsome. What made this man even more handsome was the fact that he seemed absolutely unaware of his intoxicatingly good looks. "Ms. Wallace?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, fine," I stammered as I tried to breathe evenly and focus on what he was saying. "I'm fine, thank you, Mr…" I trailed of as I realized that Peter had only given me his first name and I didn't feel comfortable calling him by it when he was addressing me by my surname.
"Malin," he said as he held out his hand for a handshake. "Max Malin, but you can call me Max."
"Hi, Max," I said as I shook his hand and looked up into his eyes. "I'm, um, Wallace, Lexi Wallace."
I could have kicked myself for my awkwardness, but he just smiled and said, "Would you like to come in and see where you'll be working?"
"Um, sure," I said with a confused look on my face. "I thought this was an audition, Mr., um, Max."
"Oh, you got the job," he said as he unlocked the front door and led me into the front of the store. The cases gleamed in the afternoon sunlight and looked ready to be filled with merchandise.
"I did?" I was stunned that he'd hired me after my back flip into the planter outside. "Why?"
"You're just who I need to help me get this place off the ground and running smoothly," he replied.
"But you don't know anything about me."
"I know everything I need to know." He smiled again and my breath caught in my throat. I berated myself for already having a crush on my new boss.
"What will I be doing?" I asked as I strolled around the small showroom and looked at the cases.
"You'll be out here on the sales floor showing the merchandise to potential clients and selling the jewelry," he said. " Basically, Ms. Wallace, you'll be the face of M. Malin. Do you think you can handle that?"
"Yes," I said swallowing hard and looking back at him. His face was impassive and I couldn't tell if he was happy or not. "But you can call me Lexi."
"Very well then, Lexi, you will be the sales force at M. Malin," he said as he walked to the back and pulled out a small box and handed it to me. "I want you to wear this."
I took the box and carefully opened the lid. Inside I found a solitaire necklace on a thin chain. I gasped and looked up at him. "I can't accept this!"
"You have to," he said grinning. "I need you to wear the merchandise and make it look good."
"So, you're going to pay me an outrageous weekly salary and you're going to make me wear gorgeous jewels in order to better sell them?" I asked.
"That sounds like something I would do," he agreed as he turned and walked to his office. He returned with a laptop and set it on one of the cases. "I'm going to need to get some information from you for tax purposes, so could you fill out these forms and then just hit enter?"
"Of course," I mumbled, still in shock over the unexpected opportunity that had fallen in my lap. I filled out the paperwork, then turned and said, "What's next, boss?"
"Now, I'm going to need you to help me check in the inventory that we'll be putting out tomorrow and the next day," he said as he headed for the back stock room. "Follow me, please."
The jewelry room was a space smaller than Max's office and with the two of us in it, there was no room for me to look away. He began handing me boxes one after the other and I took them and placed them on the counters out in the showroom. Once he'd unloaded all of the merchandise, he led me back out to the showroom and said, "Now, I want you to open each box and check the SKU numbers against the inventory sheet. Once you've checked off every piece of jewelry, come let me know and I'll give you another task. Okay?"
"Okay," I said staring up into his eyes. They were so blue that it was like looking up at the sky on a cloudless day.
"Ms. Wallace? I mean, Lexi?" he said.
"Mmm hmm," I nodded. "I mean, yes? What do you need?"
"Nothing," he replied. "I was just checking to make sure you're okay."
"Oh yeah," I said. "I'm fine. I'm so much more than fine."
"Excellent, then when you're done, come get me from the office and we'll start on the next project," he said as he turned and headed back to his office.
Watching him walk away was an event in and of itself, and I had to tear my eyes away in order to begin counting the boxes. I'd only looked for a moment, but the image stayed with me all afternoon. Working for Max Malin was going to be an interesting experience, indeed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Max
As I gave Lexi instructions about what she was to do, I tried very hard not to stare at the strategically draped fabric of her bright green blouse. She was a sensual woman, and I could feel myself responding to her beauty in a way that confused me. I had always appreciated beautiful women, but unlike my brother, I'd never looked at them as solely for my pleasure. I had been attracted to many women, but although I'd never tell my brother the truth, I'd had sex with very few of them.
One of the reasons was that I'd watched my brother and vowed never to be like him. Kristov had a new woman every night of the week. He would woo them and make them think they were the most important thing in his life just to get what he wanted, and once he did, he discarded them quickly and moved on. He liked the thrill of the hunt, but once it was over, he was on to the next challenge.
I, on the other hand, liked the challenge, but preferred to actually like the women I had sex with and that took time to figure out. Kristov would mock me for being a wimp or a softie, so I'd learned to brag about my many conquests just to throw him off my scent. The reality was that I liked strong, smart women and they weren't easily fooled by a slick talking, good-looking guy with money. They wanted something more, and I was willing to give that to the right one. And so far, Natalia was the only one who'd managed to hold my interest. I knew she wasn't in love with me, or I with her, but we had a solid friendship and a mutual understanding about how things worked; so far, it had worked perfectly.
So as I sat down at my desk and started going through my email, I reminded myself that Lexi was my employee and that having a crush on her would be highly inappropriate and bad for business. I tucked the memory of the way her skirt curved around and hugged her body away in the back of my brain and tried very hard to focus on the work at hand.
> An hour later, Lexi entered my office and said, "I'm done with the check-in, boss! What's next?"
"We need to put everything in its proper tray for display," I said. "Do you have any experience with displays?"
"Nope, not a bit, but if you give me the stuff, I'm sure I could figure it out," she said confidently.
"I'm sure you could, too, but let's cut down on the learning curve," I laughed as I got up and followed her out to the showroom. I swallowed hard as I watched her hips gently swinging from side to side as she walked and I tried not to picture her doing the same thing without any clothes on. It proved impossible and I felt a surge in my groin that I knew I had to tame before she noticed. I conjured up images of dirty dishes in Babi's sink and the smell of the back room in my father's bar. It worked, for the moment, and I was able to stand near her as I showed her how each piece had to be displayed. She nodded as she listened and I felt another rush of desire rip through my veins as a stray lock of hair slipped out of its place and gently floated down to frame her face.
"Do you understand?" I asked as I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the shapely curves of the woman standing a little to close to me.
"I think so," she said looking up at me with her intense brown eyes. "I put the necklaces on these, the earrings on these, and then the rings on these?"
"That's right," I said. "But don't forget the bracelets. They go on these." I held up a small t-stand that had room on it to hang several bracelets.
"Oh, right, sorry, I forgot," she said as she took it from me. Her fingers lightly brushed mine and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my body. I jumped back and looked at her with surprise. She stared back and asked, "Did I do that?"
"I think it was the carpeting," I told her, despite the fact that I had on leather soled shoes and the carpet was an anti-static brand designed to fight just the thing she thought had happened. "No worries."