Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “Charly sent that balm I used for your massage when you had that headache,” he explained. “Actually, she made it.”

  Tamika was pleasantly surprised. She had loved the wonderful scent of the balm and how it had soothed her, banishing the headache in no time.

  “Wow, that is just awesome,” she said to a beaming Charly. “Do you travel with it then?” she asked Nico.

  He looked at her in horror. “Hell no!”

  Tamika caught Charly’s amused gaze and chuckled.

  “Actually, a few stores across the country carry some of our products,” Charly said.

  Tamika was in awe. “How do you run your business and still work for Nico? Is it not a bit stressful for you?” She sincerely wanted to know.

  Nico sorted through the last of the mail and turned to Tamika with a scowl. “Hey, don’t put ideas in her head.”

  Tamika rolled her eyes and Charly laughed again. Tamika really liked her laugh. It was full throated and filled with humor.

  “Actually, my mom and husband oversee the day-to-day running of the business. Most of the recipes are my mom’s. I just improved on them”

  “Wow, you’re incredible.” Tamika could not help admiring the woman.

  “Yeah, and if you two are done with the grand reunion, I would like to get some work done today,” Nico said with a mock frown.

  “So demanding,” Charly said with a shake of her head as she went back to take her seat.

  Tamika chuckled again as Nico’s palm settled lightly on the small of her back. Even though he kept his touch light, she felt the warmth from his palm spread to the rest of her body. The warmth didn’t just stop there though, it seeped into the chilly parts of her soul and the areas that had been frozen for so long began to thaw bit by bit.

  **

  Nico glanced up from his work to watch the woman curled up on the sofa in his office. He had been hard at work for several hours and in that time, a couple of people had come and gone. But Tamika had sat quietly, gazing into her tablet, seemingly unaware of what was going on around her. She had been very much aware though. Scanning everyone who came in, trying to determine if they were a threat or not. Even though she had not uttered one word since, he’d been conscious of her presence there.

  “Hey, let’s bust this joint and get something to eat.” It was already lunchtime and he could do with some sustenance.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” she said, swinging her feet off the sofa and slipping them into the shoes she’d worn.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to neglect you,” he said, suddenly feeling bad. They’d left his penthouse apartment without breakfast, which meant that aside from the coffee Charly had delivered to them, Tamika had not had anything to eat.

  “Don’t be, you had to work,” she said with a shrug.

  He stared at her, wondering how he got so lucky. Not only could she match him, not letting him get away with bullshit, she also knew when he had to work. He knew he was a workaholic, which had been a problem with previous girlfriends. He was not going to let it be a problem with Tamika, but it was nice to be with someone who understood when he needed to work.

  He was just about to get to his feet when his door burst open. An irate-looking man marched in, leaning heavily on a cane, followed by a flustered and exasperated Charly.

  “So you’ve decided to grace us with your presence, Nilolai?”

  Nico gritted his teeth in an effort to rein in his temper. No one called him by his full given name. He was Nico to everyone, except to this walking nuisance who knew how much the name drove him crazy.

  Behind the man, Charly mouthed I’m sorry before beating a hasty retreat. One of the reasons Charly was so invaluable to him was because she was a whiz at handling everyone. Everyone that is, except his Uncle Ivan. It was like that was his own personal demon.

  He watched the man sit across the table from him.

  “Please have a seat, Uncle Ivan,” he said politely.

  “Don’t patronize me, Nikolai,” he snapped. “I’ve been coming here every day and you were nowhere to be found.”

  “So I’ve been told,” Nico murmured.

  “Well?” he demanded, pounding his cane on the floor.

  It was only once, but it was enough to startle Tamika. Nico noticed the unmistakable reaction from the corner of his eyes.

  “Well what?” he asked, suddenly feeling so tired.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Nico sighed. “It’s really hard to say anything, Uncle. You seem to have the final say in everything, anyway.”

  The elderly man narrowed his eyes to slits. “Mock all you want, boy, but this time around you are not getting out of this.”

  “Out of what exactly?” Nico asked, leaning back against his chair.

  “I’ve got you cornered like the rat that you are. Did you think we would not find out? Just you wait till we have that shareholders meeting and you are going to be out on your ass so fast, you won’t know what’s hit you.”

  “Find out what exactly?” He sounded so weary, even to his own ears.

  He was tired of the shit he had to put up with. He had seriously considered putting in his resignation and doing his own thing, but his siblings wouldn’t hear of it. If it had only been Ivan he had to deal with, he could have coped, somehow. But it wasn’t just Ivan. There were others who while they wouldn’t attack him the way his uncle was doing, didn’t hide the fact that they would rather see someone else at the helm of affairs. Forget the fact that he’d made each of them far richer than they had ever dreamed of being.

  “Just you wait and see. You are finished, you sewer rat. And it is time you go back to where you belong.” He pounded his cane on the floor once more.

  And that was the crux of the matter. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the elderly man seated before him. He was completely grey, from his thinning hair to the full beard. His pale blue eyes were watery and mean. His weathered face showed a life that had seen more than its fair share of vodka. But not even his face evidenced the meanness and wickedness that lived in his soul. He had been through three wives already, each one unable to stay more than a decade at the most. He had very little contact with his children and made it his duty to torture the kids of those family members that lived close to him. He made everyone’s lives miserable, but he saved his special brand of malice for Nico.

  “Okay, Ivan, you’ve had your say. We’ll wait until the meeting with the shareholders before you can completely finish me off and you’re no doubt exceptionally eager to do. In the meantime, I need you to get out of my office so I can get some work done.”

  Nico kept his voice even, but something of the icy anger he was feeling must have come across because the old man stood up without complaint. He hoped he would quietly leave his office the same way too.

  “Enjoy it while you can, it’s not going to last for much longer,” the man said just before he walked out.

  So much for hoping he would just leave without another word. He watched the man leave and after the door closed behind him, Nico leaned back on his chair and stared at nothing in particular. For how long would he have to deal with this crap? He had more than proved himself, yet each time it seemed as though he needed to prove himself over and over again. Maybe it was time to move on?

  He was so lost in thought that he did not see Tamika get up from her seat and walk over to him until she gently lowered herself unto his lap. He looked at her in surprise. He’d forgotten she was there.

  “You heard all that, huh?” he asked.

  “I did.”

  He sighed. He would rather she hadn’t witnessed that.

  She dropped a kiss on his lips and ran a hand over his head in a gentle caress. “C’mon, let’s go have lunch.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  He took her to a lovely restaurant in East Village. It was hidden away behind a butcher’s shop and a bakery. His driver dropped them off there, then they had to walk between both buildin
gs, into an alley. Tamika was fascinated. At one point, they made a sharp turn to the right and found themselves in front of a door. He knocked three times, two rapid raps and a slower one. The door was immediately flung open by an older gentleman. He beamed at them and pumped Nico’s arm in a handshake.

  “Nico, my boy, good to see you! And is this the angel you told us about?”

  Tamika glanced at Nico in surprise, but he flashed her a smile and whispered something in the man’s ear. The man laughed loud and shook his head.

  “Okay then, I won’t let the cat out of the bag,” he said, still laughing. Then he turned to Tamika and held her hand before he gallantly brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her hand.

  The action was so unexpected, a giggle escaped her lips.

  “Esteban, this is Tamika. Tamika, this is Esteban, an old friend of my grandfather’s.”

  “So pleased to meet you, madam. Welcome to our establishment,” he said, his eyes twinkling up at her.

  Tamika could not help herself, she dropped him a courtesy. “I am honored to be admitted into your establishment.”

  The man threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, I see our Nico’s met his match, eh. Good, good. Come on inside, kids.” He winked at Nico. “Your mama’s waiting for you both.”

  Tamika froze. His mother? She turned panicked eyes to Nico. What was going on? He winked at her but did not say much else. Simply grabbed her hand and pulled her in, when she would have dug her heels in and remained by the door.

  Inside, was a lovely restaurant with ornate furnishings in red and gold. It looked like something out of a period movie and was so enchanting that Tamika could not stop gawking. There were a few patrons at some of the tables and well-dressed waiters attended to them. Esteban led them through the restaurant, greeting some of the patrons, most likely regulars, while he made his way towards the back.

  “We’ve reserved the special table for you,” he said, his voice sounding gleeful.

  “You didn’t have to do that, Esteban,” Nico said.

  Esteban paused and gave Nico a look. “You are kidding me, right? You bring this beautiful girl here today, of course we’ll keep the special table for you.” He shook his head and resumed walking.

  The special table turned out to be a table for two set on a balcony that looked out on one side unto the street and on the other side, into the main hall of the restaurant. It was private, where they could still see what was going on without being seen.

  Esteban sat them then left. Tamika looked at Nico. She had her suspicions about where they were, but she wanted to hear it from him. He met her gaze and must have read the unasked question in them because he sighed and reached for her hand across the table.

  “Yes, it’s our restaurant,” he said, his eyes never leaving hers.

  “This was the first one, the one started by your dad?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, and Mom still runs this one.”

  “So I’ll be meeting your mom?”

  “Yep.”

  She didn’t know how she felt about that. “Does she know that we’re dating?”

  “Well…” He shifted his glance then, avoiding her gaze. She had a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “Nico,” she said his name like a warning. When he still wouldn’t meet her eyes, she knew he was hiding something. “Just tell me, it can’t be that bad,” she said, though she feared it was.

  He ran a hand over his head. “It’s a long story.”

  “Then you’d better get talking before your mom shows up.”

  He met her eyes then and sighed. “See the thing is, I forgot her birthday.”

  That brought her up short. He forgot his mother’s birthday? What did that have to do with anything?

  “You forgot her birthday,” she repeated.

  “I never forget her birthday,” he said earnestly. “But this time, with Chicha and the plans and everything else going on, I forgot. And my mom is well…you’ll meet her yourself.”

  “So how did I get mixed up in all this?” she wanted to know.

  That was when he told her about the phone call with his mother when they were on the island and the mischief Alex played on him.

  “He told her that you were in love?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Not exactly,” he said with a grimace. “He just made her believe that I had finally found The One.”

  “The One.” She needed to stop repeating everything he said, but this was just too much, even for him. “So she’s going to take one look at me and think I’m The One.”

  “Yep. Something like that. You don’t mind, do you?” He looked at her hopefully.

  Tamika was stuck between hitting him upside the back of his head and laughing her head off. He really was too much.

  “Of course I mind! You brought me here under false pretense.” Then something occurred to her. “Is that why you asked me to be your girlfriend when you knew we were coming to New York.”

  “Tamika, it’s not like that,” he said, but she wasn’t convinced.

  “I don’t believe you, Nikolai Ortega.”

  “I don’t believe him either.”

  They both turned in surprise at the new voice. They found an older woman standing there, looking stern. They had both been so involved in what they were saying that they hadn’t heard her approach. Tamika made a mental note to be more alert, even as Nico got to his feet.

  “Mama, I have missed you,” he said, going to give her a big hug.

  The woman hugged him and gave him a kiss on both cheeks. “Nico, Moi Mal’chik, how are you my boy?” she said, her eyes filled with love for the man in front of her.

  “Very fine, Ma. I’m so sorry I forgot your birthday,” he said, looking really sorry.

  She gave him the eye. “Humph. We’ll talk about that later. Now introduce me to this lovely girl.”

  Tamika got to her feet and met the kind green eyes of the woman who was Nico’s mother. She had copper hair, dusted with silver and except for the wrinkles around her eyes, her face was pretty much unlined. She was slender with well-rounded curves and had a look about her that said she didn’t suffer fools gladly. Tamika liked her instantly.

  “Mom, this is Tamika. Tamika, my mother.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Orlov,” Tamika started to stretch out her hand but was pulled into a warm hug. She inhaled the sweet smell of cinnamon and Chanel No.5.

  “Oh sweetheart, it’s so nice to meet you. You can call me Katerina.” She drew back, but still kept hold of Tamika. That was probably where Nico got it from. “So you’re very angry with my Kolya?” she asked, nodding towards Nico.

  Tamika felt her face heat up. She was at a loss on how to reply. She was mad at him because she felt that he had used her to appease his mother. But in a strangely bizarre way, it was rather sweet. So she just said, “He shouldn’t have misled you.”

  “It wasn’t like that…” he began to say, but his mother just shushed him.

  Hmm, that was interesting. Tamika peeked at him and knew that she could not wait to try that trick on him as well.

  “What you say is very true,” Katerina said nodding gravely. “But I just want to know one thing.” Her gaze was piercing, as though she could see right into what lay beneath the skin, inside Tamika’s heart. “Do you like my Nico, even a little?”

  Tamika glanced at Nico and found him grinning. She shot him a warning glance before facing his mother. With a defeated sigh, she said, “Yes, I really do like him.”

  “Fabulous!” Katerina drew her forward for another hug, this time kissing her on both cheeks as well. “Now, I’ll leave you alone to eat. Sit and I’ll feed you.” She turned to Nico with a frown. “You, I’ll deal with later.” And then she was gone.

  The meal was absolutely delicious. True to her word, Nico’s mother left them pretty much alone. Tamika was still annoyed with Nico, but somehow he teased her out of being pissed with tales of how he and Alex looked for different ways to throw each other
under the bus. He told her of the time he convinced their mom that Alex was gay.

  “Are you kidding me?” she spluttered on a laugh. Not that there was anything wrong with being gay, but she could just imagine how horrified very virile and heterosexual Alex would have been. “So how did he get her to believe that he was not gay?” she asked in horrified fascination.

  “Let’s just say he’s still working on that. She keeps trying to hook him up with guys she meets.”

  “No!” And just imagining the look on Alex’s face had her laughing so hard until tears ran down her face.

  She noticed after a while that Nico was not eating. Instead, he had an arrested look on his face as he stared at her weirdly. She stopped laughing.

  “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked.

  “I’ve never heard you laugh,” he said slowly.

  She glanced away from his probing gaze. She did not say anything to that, not that she could. She could not remember the last time she’d laughed so hard. Or laughed at all. She had not really felt like laughing lately. She thought of all that had happened in her life, all the tragedy she’d faced and knew that before now she had not had any reason to laugh. But somehow, without even trying really hard, Nico had changed that. She felt lighthearted in a way she’d never felt before, maybe not even as a child.

  She lifted her gaze to his and saw tenderness and understanding in them. It made her melt a little bit more.

  “I have not had much to laugh about,” she finally said.

  “You should laugh more often. It suits you.” With that, he picked up his fork and resumed eating.

  **

  Nico could not keep his mind on the food any more. He kept stealing glances at Tamika, hoping she didn’t find it too weird that he could not seem to take his eyes off her. He had been blindsided by her laughter. It had been so rich and filled with mischief. Hearing her laugh had lifted his spirits and made him want to smile and keep smiling. It had made him happy. And the way her face had become radiant was something he could not get past. Everything in him had gone still, then his heart had begun racing as she’d transformed from a beautiful woman to an absolutely stunning one.