“This is…” Galina started and stopped, just in awe of the majesty surrounding her. “I don’t even know what to say. I mean, we have beautiful buildings back in America but this…this is regal.”
“Imperial,” he corrected with a knowing smile. “The Imperial family funded the church to be built. They obviously had a bunch of money to spend and chose to use it like this.”
“You wouldn’t have? You sound like you are almost callous about it. What was wrong with them building a beautiful cathedral like this at the time, if you think about it- over a hundred years ago there was no television or cars. All they had was community and worship. I think it was beautiful of the Tsar’s to do this for the people.”
“It is lovely…breathtakingly so. Don’t you think that the people would have rather had food on their tables or better lives?”
“Buildings like this provided jobs,” Galina countered.
“For skilled tradespeople- not all people.”
“And you would give back to all people if you were the Tsar at the time?”
“Well that will never happen so the question is moot.”
“You wouldn’t,” she confirmed, feeling disappointed.
“I didn’t say that,” Nik rejected. “I’ll never be a Tsar and money isn’t everything if you can’t use it to take care of your family or do good with it. Sometimes people would rather simply do good and not have to worry about money.” Nik stared off at the mosaics in the distance for a moment, silently thinking.
“The Imperial family had all this fortune and was threatened repeatedly. Tsar Alexander was killed in this very location that the church was built. His money did him no good; he could have done more with deeds and giving back. I would rather be a nobody that gave back to the people than well-known and rich.”
Taken aback by his admission, Galina swallowed hard, unsure what to think. What kind of man was she being sent to watch if his moral compass simply only wanted to do good? He was supposedly rich beyond belief but didn’t concern himself with it because it didn’t make him feel good to spend the money. Nik would rather help people and this raised him on a pedestal in her eyes.
“But enough about me,” Nik said quickly in a light-hearted voice, “What would you do if you were the Tsarina? Would you have built the cathedral?”
“Yes, as a memorial to my husband for all time if I loved him and he died here before his time. I would make it one of the wonders of the world to show how much I cared. Maybe that is why it’s so gorgeous. Was the cathedral a tribute?”
“From his son,” Nik corrected. “Maybe they weren’t that great together,” he teased. “I don’t know, but I like your thought process.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It was sweet and caring,” he admitted. Galina looked at him and saw he was watching her with an unreadable expression. She quickly looked away and continued walking through the cathedral, Nik following her. Stopping at the devotional area, Galina took a moment to light a candle and placed several rubles in the donation box. Taking her place on her knees on the bolster below the enclave that held the candles, she shut her eyes and clasped her hands together in a quiet prayer.
“May I join you?” Nik whispered softly, lighting a candle and kneeling beside her.
“Of course; I will only be a few minutes. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” he grew silent for several moments. “Have you lost someone?”
“I pray because I am thankful to be here in this moment and I wanted to light a candle. Have you lost someone?”
“Today is a holiday for my people, Cosmonautics Day. People celebrate aviation and space flight, but for me it’s a reminder of my father. I light my candle for him. He was an astronaut that died much too young.”
“I am so sorry, Nik,” she said softly, growing silent as several people from behind them hushed her. Her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment as she knew they were not supposed to be chatting there, rather silent with prayer. Here was another facet of the Nik Petrov that she’d not been expecting. He was humble, compassionate, and a genuinely likeable man.
5
Galina and Nik had spent a beautiful afternoon together at the cathedral. It had been like meeting up with an old friend, yet they were virtually strangers. A man she was supposed to be pumping for information. A handsome man that she would betray. He was charming and inviting, insisting that he show her the sights again tomorrow.
“You can meet me here, at our park bench, since you won’t let me walk you back to your hotel,” Nik said adamantly. “Your favorite, and most handsome, tour guide won’t take no for an answer.” Laughing at his blatant outrageousness, she saw him smile as she finally agreed. Good-girl, play hard to get in order to keep him interested, she thought and felt that nagging twinge of guilt.
“So, what is on the agenda tomorrow, oh handsome tour guide?” she teased.
“At least you are admitting it now,” he mocked playfully. “I think perhaps the Peterhof Palace since you liked the extravagance of the Church of the Resurrection.”
“Oh yes, I like all sorts of shiny, pretty things, just like any other normal girl,” she exaggerated, only to see him cover his face in mock horror. “What?”
“Is that what I have been doing wrong all this time?”
“What?”
“Not giving women shiny, pretty things?”
“Oh goodness, no. It was a joke!”
“I know, I’m teasing you as well.”
“I will see you tomorrow,” she said with a final tone to her voice.
“I can’t wait.”
That evening back in her hotel room, Galina poured through his dossier again with new eyes. She had a grasp of what made Nik Petrov tick and found him absolutely fascinating. It was different seeing a photo and imagining a person’s motives. She scrolled through the photos on her phone and Go Pro, looking for any signs of them being watched by someone else.
She’d known he’d been targeted before he’d gone to the military, but what was he doing now? She couldn’t picture him stealing information or sabotaging equipment, yet that is what Dima had implied. She decided she would continue on and get to know Petrov a bit better… hoping he might possibly reveal a bit more about himself.
Early the next morning, she found herself eagerly getting ready for the day. As she hurried downstairs, she emerged from the hotel only to see Nik was already pacing in front of the park bench. Smiling happily, she glanced at her watch and saw she was early. Apparently he was quite eager to spend the day with her as well! As she got closer, she hesitated for just a moment, seeing that he held a single long-stemmed pink rose.
“What is this?”
“Just a little something. It’s not sparkly or shiny, but I hope it will do.”
“It will do nicely,” she murmured softly with a smile. “Good morning, Nik. Are you sure you don’t mind me monopolizing your time today?”
“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be,” he told her enigmatically. “It’s not often you get to see all these wondrous sights through the eyes of someone for the first time. I rather enjoyed myself yesterday and I have seen the cathedral several times, but not once has it touched me like that before. I had a wonderful time and look forward to seeing what you think of the Peterhof Palace.”
“I can’t wait. How far is it? Will we be walking or taking a taxi?”
“I thought I would drive if you are okay with it?”
“Do you drive like a maniac or plan on kidnapping me?” The first was a joke, the second statement was more to be sure. Part of her kept reminding herself that he was being investigated by the CIA for a reason and to be cautious.
“Yes, and maybe. You look awfully beautiful today,” he said, giving her the rose and winking at her. “I’m kidding. You are safe with me. I pulled my car around close by for you.” Nik held out his arm and began to walk her to the line of parked cars nearby. There were several nice vehicles in this prestigious neighborhood but
instantly she knew which one had to be his.
A silver Aston Martin glistened in the sunlight. Black shiny rims on the stunning coupe screamed ‘look at me!’ Adrian Dima had been right about one thing: Nik Petrov had expensive taste in vehicles. This car demanded that it be driven fast and was not something you simply left out in the parking lot. It would be a sin to let it get a door ding or salt on the undercarriage, yet when they walked up to it, he held open the passenger side door like it was nothing.
It wasn’t like she was sitting in a Ford Pinto. This was an Aston Martin – a 007 movie car- and the fact that there was an American spy sitting in the passenger seat was not lost on her. She idly wondered if she pressed the radio button if it would shoot rockets or something. The supple stitched leather seats felt like butter and she gave a little wiggle of happiness just before Nik slid into the car.
Sliding in was an apt description. One long khaki pant leg slid into the car, followed by a glimpse of khaki-clad firm buns, made her instantly catch her breath and shut her eyes. It was almost sensual how the man got in the vehicle and she couldn’t help but admire the smooth way he moved.
“Mercy, does the car have seat heaters on? It’s awfully warm in here,” she blurted out, fanning herself. “Are you hot? I’m boiling.”
“I haven’t started the car yet, but you do look a little flushed. Are you sitting in the sun?”
“Sure. Yep. That sounds like a likely excuse,” she mumbled on, quickly rolling down her window the moment the engine turned over. Listening to the purr of the motor gave her chills and she knew she would never forget this – the view she’d just had nor riding in the expensive car. Everything was exquisite on the vehicle. Sleek interior with marbled wood trim; it just made her feel extravagant being inside, and the smile on Nik’s face told her it was just as amazing to drive. She could certainly see the appeal, especially if money wasn’t an issue – and that was the million-dollar question: how did he pay for this?
“Is this a rental?” Galina asked bluntly and almost groaned at the stupidity of her question. You didn’t rent quarter of a million-dollar cars – you rented Chevy’s and Volkswagens.
“No. I got really lucky,” he said simply, pulling up to a stop light and glancing over at Galina. “Do you have your cell phone with you? Open up the app store.” Pulling out her iPhone, she obediently did as he asked, only to see him smile proudly. “Popular apps…the top three on there I created and built. I’ve held that spot for the last month.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. That’s me,” he admitted with a casual shrug. “I like building software that people can use to make their lives better. It makes me feel good to know that I can help somehow. In fact, it looks like you have one already downloaded,” Nik told her happily pointing at her screen. Sure enough, she had downloaded the traffic app that was so popular at work. It told her when to leave, gave her the best route to take, and would even recommend filling stations along the way with the best prices for fuel.
“So that is why you are free today to play tour guide? You don’t have to work, do you?”
“I work,” he blurted out, glancing back at the road in order to maneuver through traffic. Cars were everywhere and it reminded her of traffic back home on the way into Washington D.C. Peak times had traffic backed up, but even when it smoothed out – it was still crowded.
“Yeah, you build fantastic apps in your free time for tons of money- most people would call that a dream job, not work. Besides, if you work for yourself it shouldn’t feel like work.”
“I work for others too and that definitely feels a lot like work,” he admitted and Galina’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “But that’s enough about me. Who do you work for? What do you do for a living?”
“I’m in administration. I am the ultimate desk jockey… a whipping post extraordinaire… a stealthy pen ninja… A mighty queen of all filing and sorting… sole Empress of the stapler… Tsarina of the copy machine…” she went on and on, her voice taking on the tone of someone announcing an important person. She couldn’t necessarily tell him she worked for the CIA. She needed to get off the subject of herself and back on him.
“You get the drift,” she finally said, coming to a stop as he started chuckling at her outrageous descriptions of her job. Please don’t ask where, she thought. Lying tasted so foul in her mouth and she wanted to avoid it at all costs. She could be evasive and talk him in circles, but the last thing she wanted to do was lie to him.
“I do,” he nodded with a smirk. “We are here.” She had been so focused on coming up with these blatant titles for her desk job that she didn’t even notice that the car had stopped. Glancing out the passenger side window glass, she caught her breath.
“Mercy,” she breathed in wonder. “That is…”
“More beautiful than anything you’ve ever seen?” she heard him say softly, and she looked at Nik. His blue eyes were watching her tenderly, scanning her face as if he was trying to read her expression. She didn’t know what to say or do in the enclosed car. Part of her wanted to lean towards him and see if his lips were as gentle as she imagined they would be, but she was also torn. She didn’t want to hurt the man and he was so much more than she could have ever dreamt of in a person.
“Nik…” she whispered in soft protest.
“Let’s go,” he told her quickly, as if he knew that there was a letdown coming and wasn’t prepared to deal with it. Galina felt horrible, not just guilty for spying on the man but because she hated to let him down as a person and she obviously had. Nik moved to get out of the car and she had to fight the urge to watch him, using this as an impromptu escape to open her own car door before he got to her. She ungracefully launched herself out of the car and tapped the door on a truck nearby.
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” she blurted out, horrified, and instantly inspected the car door to see if she’d left a mark.
“It’s no problem, but I’d have gotten the door for you,” he offered. “You could let me pretend to be a guy treating his girl to a nice afternoon – even if that’s not really us, you know?” She saw his face flush as he looked away quickly at the admission. Galina was going to fall hard for this guy if he kept up with the sweet, tender, mushy stuff.
“I don’t know what to say,” she admitted honestly.
“You don’t have to say anything. Let’s go inside,” he brushed it off. “Have a good time today and that’s enough. Maybe you’ll like Russia enough to come back for a visit again in the future if I do my job as tour guide properly.”
“You are pretty good at it,” she told him with a smile. He held out his arm indicating that she should go first. He fell in line beside her as they walked up to the front of the massive yellow palace and it amazed her that people were able to tour the places where the Imperial family used to live. While the cathedral had been busy, it was nothing compared to the crowds here. The palace, she had read in her travel guide, was one of the most photographed places in St. Petersburg. Galina reached out and slipped her hand in Nik’s. He glanced at her in surprise and smiled widely at her.
“Maybe we’ll pretend just for today,” she teased with a wink. “I don’t want us to get separated. You’re my ride and my esteemed tour guide.” Nik nodded happily and gave her hand a light squeeze in silent agreement. As they stepped through the entrance, Galina suddenly understood why the Peterhof Palace had the moniker it did.
To say that the palace was grand was such an understatement, it was practically insulting. Heavenly, divine, magnificent, ostentatious…those words could easily be used together to attempt to describe the building. Galina had never seen such warmth, such a glow of epic proportions.
Stepping into the grand hall and seeing the gold hues everywhere illuminated by sunlight streaming in as well as crystal sconces felt like what you would imagine a sunbeam looked like. Everything seemed to shine from an inner light that simply reflected on the opposite golden wall. A massive mural of heaven on the ceiling m
ade you feel like you were there.
Grabbing her cell phone with her free hand, she quickly snapped several photos and saw that it showed the golden walls, but not the reflected light that made it seem so opulent. It was like trying to take a photo of the moon and all you got was a pathetic recreation on screen. The divinity of the moment just didn’t come through quite right.
“The Peterhof is called the Versailles of Russia. This was the summer home of the Tsar and his family.” Nik told her as they walked down the massive corridor slowly. Galina wanted to see everything and was afraid she would miss some detail. She’d never seen anything like this before in her life.
Just ahead were rows and rows of French doors that were open, allowing a breeze through the building. She had at first thought it was air-conditioning or fans that had kept the building cool from the throngs of people. As they got closer, she saw that there was a massive stone patio just outside of the door and realized they were heading towards the gardens. Stepping into the sunlight, she blinked several times to adjust her eyes from the interior blinding golden room to the exterior of the palace that was just as brilliant. Galina couldn’t help it nor could she hold it back…she gasped in incredulity, looking at Nik.
“This is unreal,” she breathed in amazement, looking around mindlessly and clutching Nik’s hand to keep from losing her balance as her head spun. Massive golden statues of horses were rearing up in the center of fountains that were separated by expansive stone stairs. It was like the building was bowing to the heavens and trying to make a name for itself. The stone steps were the red carpet, and before you lay the true masterpiece.
“Oh my gosh, this is so…so…” Galina said wordlessly, looking out on the gardens and ponds below. “I am…stunned and never expected this. Will you take my picture with this in the background? No one will ever believe me if I try to describe this.”
“Sure,” he said, pulling out his phone.
“You can use mine,” she quickly told him, handing it over. He looked at her oddly, his eyebrow arching.
Spying on the Billionaire Page 4
