Jason didn’t say anything for a few moments, he just looked out the window past the light street traffic towards the hotel across the street. There was a family unpacking their luggage from a large van, handing them to the beleaguered looking bellhop.
“I take it they offered you principal?” she asked. Rahina could feel the acid of jealousy in her stomach churn, and it made her feel even worse for feeling this way.
“Yeah,” he laughed grimly, turning his head from the window to look at her. He looked tired and disappointed, not at all like a man who finally got the position he wanted from the company. “But you didn’t see the upcoming schedule they announced. They are going to treat me like a goddamn workhorse if I sign the contract.”
Her insides froze at the implication. “Wait a minute “if” you sign? What do you mean? Principal was all we talked about why would you not take it?”
“Yeah it’s something you and me talked about,” he gestured between them. “I always imagined working with you, Rahina. I can’t stand Nadia, though Isabella and Sarah are ok, but they aren’t you. To be really honest, I was counting on you making principal, not just because you’re my best friend and partner but because I knew there was no way that you would accept an insane lineup for next year. Rahina you should see what they’re proposing, you should see how many performances a month we would have to do. There is no way. I would be injured by the end of the year, and I can't risk that.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, vaguely trying to remember the schedule Theodore had showed her when he spoke to her one-on-one that day. “Theodore mentioned something about me having more shows when he tried to sweet talk me into focusing on the pay raise.”
“Yeah, and what good is that for us?” Jason waved a hand in anger.
The frozen feeling in her stomach increased painfully with an odd sense of twisted hope. “So, let me get this straight are you saying…”
She could see the decision in his eyes, and the cold sense of hope in her stomach began to warm. “I’m saying if you walk, I walk.”
After her lunch with Jason, she stopped by her apartment to water her plants and to pack a suitcase with more than just two night's worth of clothes. Yesterday on their way to the airport, Roman told her she could stay in his place while he was gone. At the time she didn't really focus on his words, her mind was to wrapped in his spellbinding kisses and burning touch creeping up her shirt. Last night when she fell asleep alone in his bed, she never felt more alone with her thoughts. The whole house felt vacuous and lifeless without Roman’s larger than life smile and piercing stare. She certainly did not see herself staying another night without him, that was until her lunch with Jason.
Things were different now. Not only was her life about to change, so was Jason's and somehow, she felt responsible for that. The added weight of responsibility felt odd as if the full implications of the situation had not fully set in yet. But she needed time to focus, time away from the comfort of her normal life to make plans and get herself together and she decided Roman's big empty house would be perfect for that. Rolling her luggage out the door, she locked her apartment. Hopefully, by the time she returned, she would have her future figured out.
~*~
It had been four days since Roman had left and she had been able to talk to him only twice. The first time he called her he sounded tired and slightly angry, his naturally smooth deep voice sounded intimidating on the phone making it easy for her to picture him in the role of leadership in his organization. He was still angry that he had to be down there, but he told her that now that he was there and could see the problem clearly and it was probably best, he was there, though he still never made it clear what the problem was exactly.
"Just think of it as a merging of two criminal organizations, and we are here to work out the final kinks,” he had said.
Whatever that meant, she thought and honestly, she didn’t really care. It was something Roman was lending a hand on due to the commands of his boss, once it was over Roman would be back. Besides, she had her own issues to worry about.
Today she was on the treadmill in Roman’s massive, state of the art gym over the garage. It felt a lot like one of those super, exclusive private gyms for the rich and elite. The kind where the outside of the building had no markings or anything signifying there was a gym on the inside, you were either rich enough to know about it, or you weren't. She could tell the space was designed by a man who worked out a lot, nothing was overlooked. It had everything: its own bathroom, hot tub, sauna, and steam shower. The equipment mostly consisted of lots of free weights, which didn’t surprise her at all considering Roman’s massive body. Running on one of the two treadmills, she stared blankly out the large window ahead of her which sat directly over the garage and looked out to the front of the house giving her a perfect view of the sprawling manicured lawn. As she increased the speed on the treadmill, her thoughts were lost in that morning's various activities. She had sat at Roman's long kitchen counter as the dogs played at her feet as she made calls, sent texts, and drafted emails. She was casting the line to all the major dance companies, and it wasn’t a move to be taken lightly. The moment she pressed send on her first email to a competing dance company, she had pretty much shouted to the world she was leaving the Boston Ballet Company. Looking down at her phone as she ran, sweat dripping down her face, she saw another message from Theodore come through, it had only been two hours since she sent out her first emails and she already had six unread messages, and four missed calls from the man.
“You should have thought about that when you chose Nadia, you dickweed,” she mumbled to herself.
Collars jingled behind her, catching her attention. Looking back, she spotted Mosca walking through the gym door.
“Hey,” he greeted her quietly as he petted Genghis.
Not decreasing her speed, she focused back on the window in front of her as Mosca walked up beside her. “Hey,” she breathed heavily, as her feet struck the conveyor belt in a steady rhythm.
“Roman texted me and told me to tell you he will be calling you at eight tonight.”
"Yeah, I got his message," she could feel the burn in her thighs, glancing down at the display she nearly groaned. Not quite three miles yet, she was so close. "I haven't had a chance to reply yet."
A beep to her right caused her to take a quick glance. Stepping onto the treadmill next to her, she watched Mosca increase his speed to match hers. Taking another glance, she realized the lieutenant was wearing workout clothes; a pair of dark blue shorts and a plain white t-shirt with a small branded logo. She had never seen the man wear anything other than pressed black slacks and a button-down shirt before, it was odd to see him in such comfortable looking workout clothes.
"How is the search going?" Though she hadn't discussed any of her current situation with Mosca, she knew he knew everything.
"I don't know yet, everything is still in the air at this point. Just waiting for people to get back to me," her words were terse over her heavy breathing, and she could feel her energy flagging.
“Don’t quit,” he urged, his own footfalls hitting loud and evenly on the belt as he ran. “You’re almost there.”
Normally, she was better than this, hell, normally she would be the one racing him at breakneck speeds, but today her mood was weighing her down. Pushing herself, they ran for another few minutes before the display on her treadmill finally flashed. Slowing to a much-needed walking pace, she rested her hands on her hips.
“You worried?” Mosca finally asked.
The constant thoughts of doubt she had all morning swirled in her mind as she envisioned the contacts she reached out to ignoring her calls. What if no one picked her up and Theodore saw her attempt to leave as a slight on him and dropped her from the company?
Without saying anything, she just nodded.
"It's strange for someone like me to look at someone as talented as you be worried," he said nonchalantly.
Stopping the treadmill, she l
ooked at him questioningly. Stopping his own treadmill, he got off and stood in front of her.
Tilting his head, he gave her a considering smile. “You can’t seem to see because you’re not looking at your life from the outside like I am, but I can guarantee you Rahina, you are too talented to fail.”
Unshed tears threatened and stung in the back of her eyes as she gave him a short nod and quickly turned to leave. She was surprised by the sudden motivational speech, but she realized as she headed down the stairs to the main part of the house, she really needed to hear it.
Eight-o-clock arrived as she was lounging in the bath when Roman called. Putting him on video, she held the phone close to her face and smiled at the sight of him. Her heart clenched as his eyes found and focused on hers. He was beautiful.
“Hi sweety,” she squealed. Hearing her familiar high pitch tone, she normally used for them, both dogs stood up from their laying position on the floor and stepped halfway up the marble stairs that led to the large deep tub she was currently soaking in, sticking their faces close to hers. “No,” she turned her face to both of them and laughed. “Not you guys.”
"Where are you?" Roman's eyes narrowed darkly, and she froze. Mosca had told her Roman never allowed the dogs upstairs in his room. Seeing her frozen wide-eyed guilty face, he gave her an accusing look. "I can see now that there will need to be some discipline when I return."
“Oh, come on, I get lonely in this big house, and Mosca refuses to come play with me, so I have to have some sort of company," she argued, “besides you’re too strict.”
“You will learn to like it,” she would have reacted to the thrilling promise in his words if she didn’t notice the fatigue in his eyes. Standing on what she could only assume was a balcony, she caught glances of tropical trees around him.
"It looks hot there," she observed.
"You have no fucking idea,” he grumbled, shifting in place giving her another peek of the bright sun over his shoulder. “I hate this place, and we are nowhere close to finalizing this deal, it's getting more complicated by the day."
"Aww my poor pale baby, you weren't built for the heat," she joked, hoping to take his mind off his anger. His wide mouth was set in a hard-unsmiling scowl that worried her, she was used to Roman’s never-ending smile in the face of anything, and she knew that whatever was going on was really pissing him off.
“I miss you,” she confessed.
Something deep in his eyes softened, taking away his perpetual look of anger for a second. “Tell me, what have you been doing while I have been gone,” he asked softly, looking at her with honest interest.
She let out a heavy sigh. "Well it's probably nowhere near as serious or important as what you're doing but…"
“Trust me, everything you do is important to me.”
The meaningful look in his eye felt like a barb to her heart. Just like earlier with Mosca, she could feel herself wanting to tear up again.
“God, I really do miss you,” she whispered, feeling very emotionally raw suddenly. She wanted him here with her, she wanted to lay on his chest again like she did that night before he left. She wanted his warmth and strength seeping into her again as she faced this upset in her life.
“You have no fucking idea, baby,” he groaned deeply, looking out away from the camera squinting into the sun before looking back at her. “Continue,” he commanded.
“I…” she had to reign in her wayward emotions and swallow the lump of tears in her throat. “I am just sending out inquiries at this point and waiting to hear back. Although, I have gotten a bunch of missed calls and texts from Theodore.”
“Good, let that piece of shit stew.”
She laughed. “That’s what I thought.”
Rahina could see Roman look off camera and say something in Russian to someone behind the phone. She didn’t want him to go yet, she thought frantically.
Not wanting the conversation to end, she quickly came up with another topic. "So, I tried looking up some of the letters beneath your knuckles on the internet, but I could only get like one word from it."
With his attention back on her, Roman gave her a lazy smirk. "Lower the camera, and I will tell you what they say."
Surprised, her eyes widened. “How did you know I was in the tub?”
“I know the tile of my bathroom, you are keeping the phone way too close, and I can hear water moving around occasionally,” he explained evenly.
His gaze was waiting, but she could see the intrigue and lust warming up his cold, angry eyes. Tilting the phone down she revealed only the tops of her breasts which were submerged in the soapy water.
"Is it sad how satisfied I am with just that?” he grumbled his eyes taking in every detail he was offered. "What word were you able to translate?"
Tilting the phone back to her face, she answered. “Smile, but that is it.”
Shifting the phone to one hand, he held up his right hand, forming a large fist to display his knuckles and presented it to the camera. “Smile,” he said before switching his phone to the other hand and repeating the process. “For me.”
“God, you're twisted,” she whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest as she sat up a little in the tub.
“You and I both know it turns you on,” he accused, daring for her to argue.
The sad thing was, he was right, it did. “Only because you're corrupting me.”
Holding the phone, a little closer, he pinned her to the spot with his stare. "I plan on doing so much corrupting when I come back.”
Knowing this was the end of their conversation, she refused for him to have the last word. "We shall see,” she said lightly before sitting up directly out of the water and tilting the camera down to show her bare breasts. Rahina had to bite her lip at the deep curse she heard from him just before she pressed the disconnect button.
A few seconds later a text chimed on her phone. Tapping it open, she nearly dropped it in the water as she read the text.
(I am going to strap you spread eagle to my bed and fuck you for hours for that.)
Chapter 15
Pulling up to the restaurant Rahina parked her car and got out. She was running late as she always was when it came to her family dinners. Dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans, a black and white striped shirt, and a pair of red wedges Rahina was tucking her keys into her tiny yellow purse when she spotted her brother, Amit standing at the entrance with a group of her cousins. Amit’s eyes were fixed on her with narrowed suspicion, and she knew he must have seen her new yellow car. Refusing to acknowledge his obvious suspicion, she smiled wide at the group as she received a few greetings from her cousins. Amit said nothing as she walked into the restaurant.
Walking into the private room, she cheerfully greeted her parents, aunts, and uncles before making her way over to her two sisters.
“Rahina,” Safina practically screamed before launching into her with a fierce hug. “I missed you.”
Sixteen years old, Safina was the perfect mixture of her two sisters. She was incredibly smart, normally obtaining the highest grades in her class and extremely outgoing. To her mother’s satisfaction, Safina was pleasantly outgoing without the willful stubborn streak her middle child possessed.
Hugging her harder back, Rahina grinned at her groan of pain. “I missed you more! How was your school trip to Seattle?”
“It was amazing!” Pulling her to sit on plush couches, Safina launched into her recounting of the trip.
Rubina, who was already sitting on the other side of her, gave her a bemused look.
After a few minutes, they heard their mother interrupt Safina’s endless story, calling her over to where she stood with their aunts. Grumbling with a sigh, Safina obediently stood and headed over to their mother.
Without delay, Rubina scooted over to Rahina and fixed her with a level look.
“What?” Rahina laughed at the sudden seriousness in Rubina’s eyes.
“Do not “what” me, I saw your post on social media
with you posing in your new car,” she hissed, giving her a look that demanded answers. “Just how the hell did you get a new car when the last time we talked you were talking about leaving the Company?”
Looking up and over her sister’s head, she made sure no one was coming their direction and looked back to her with barely contained glee. “Roman surprised me with it the morning before he left for out of town. It’s my birthday gift, can you believe it?”
Rubina’s mouth dropped. “You're telling me he gave you a car for dating less than a week. Don’t you think that is odd?” Rubina’s beautiful face held none of the excitement Rahina expected to share at this great news. Instead, she looked at her as if she was insane. “Aren’t you worried he may be a psycho or something?”
Amused, Rahina threw her arm over the rounded cushion of the sofa and leaned heavily on it as she prepared herself for an argument. “Trust me, I already know he is a psycho, and honestly no, I’m not worried. If you knew him, you would know that spending tons of money means nothing to this man. You should see his bathroom Rubina, it’s so magnificent I want my ashes spread in there.”
“Rahina, I’m serious. A car this soon is too much.”
Sighing, she looked away from her in thought. She could see her sister’s point of view, she honestly could, but Roman was different. There probably wasn’t a man like him anywhere else, so it was understandable that she was worried.
Leaning further until their foreheads nearly touched Rahina whispered a confession. “We haven’t had sex yet.”
“What!” Rubina jolted away from her as if she had been shot. “And he already gave you a car. That only freaks me out more.”
His Smile: A Mafia Romance Page 16
