Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
But she’s also loyal, caring, and occasionally funny.
Mostly a snake, though.
Still, over the last few months, we’ve gotten close. Much closer than I thought was possible when Arsen first suggested I start working with her.
“How much were you briefed on this?” I ask her as we approach the meeting.
“All I know is we’re seeing Vartan and Haik to discuss new territory alignment.”
“Their sons and several of their soldiers are here too. Arsen says they’ve been pretty unhappy since the realignment started.”
“Since when did we use business jargon?” Sona murmurs. We stop outside of the conference room.
I raise my eyebrows at her. “Look at us.” I gesture at our smart pant suits. “We look like a couple corporate bitches.”
“In the old days, business was handled in smoky restaurants.”
“Right, and you walked twenty miles each way, and also played Russian roulette for fun.”
She smiles fondly and sighs. “Those were better days.”
“Life’s different in the new Brotherhood.” I shove a dossier of papers at her. “Those are the proposed plans. The cartel product can be rearranged slightly, but it’ll take convincing. You need to make Haik feel important.”
“What about Vartan?”
“Arsen’s probably going to—” I gesture across my throat and make a choking sound. “So, you know.”
“Understood.” Sona straightens herself and turns toward the door. “These men hate us, Lena. They think because they’ve got dicks that they matter.”
“Also, I’m Russian, and that makes me, you know, less than human.”
“That too. We’ll make them see reason.” Her eyes narrow. “Speaking of less than human, your brother has been making trouble again.”
I want to scream. Vadim was given a comfortable job at a family-owned club, but he’s done nothing but be a pain in the ass. “What is it now?”
“He wants to be a gangster.” She says it totally deadpan. “You know, work a corner, that sort of thing.” I resist the urge to groan and kick a hole in the wall.
“I’ll talk sense into him. I promise. He just needs to figure out how things are now.” I hope, anyway.
“Good, because I like you, but I am less fond of your sibling.” She turns to the door and lifts her chin. “Now, speaking of annoying men, let’s go handle this.”
Sona’s entire demeanor changes as she shoves her way into the meeting room. Despite the eight or so large and violent men arrayed around the table, she instantly dominates the space. Any sense of friendliness fades away and there’s only the ruthless ice queen in her place.
I remain on the edges of the meeting. She negotiates new positions for Haik and largely ignores Vartan’s protests and complaints. He’s as good as dead anyway. I stay quiet, but I’ve been cramping all day, and a big one hits me a few minutes into the discussion. I have to grip the edge of the table to keep myself from crying out. Sona doesn’t like it when I interrupt her.
I’ve learned a lot working with her. At first, my curiosity was hard to control, but Arsen’s been helping me figure out how to channel it into something productive.
Which is how I ended up Sona’s research assistant. She’s taken on the business side of the family and she’s always looking for new, legitimate investments. That’s where she steers me. Sona likes to shove me down rabbit holes. I can spend hours or sometimes days researching different business proposals for her. I’m obsessive and tenacious, and we’ve come up with more than a few good investments together, all while keeping control over the unruly Brotherhood.
It’s not crawling through moldy basements, but it’s pretty satisfying.
The transition hasn’t been smooth though. Arsen’s constantly putting out fires. The old guard is pissed that new men are being raised above them, but Arsen refuses to compromise. Only the most skilled and most talented will rise in the ranks, regardless of blood.
I’m proud of him, but it’s all kind of a pain in the ass.
You’d think grown men wouldn’t whine so much all the time.
Another cramp hits me. This time, it’s brutal. I groan, leaning forward. I bite my lip to shut myself up, but everyone turns to stare. I’m in too much pain to feel awkward though.
“Is she okay?” Haik asks, sounding genuinely concerned.
“I didn’t know you fucking cared,” Sona snaps at him, but she leans over and puts a hand on my arm. “Lena, dear. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I say, breathing hard as the discomfort passes. “More embarrassed than anything. I’m just cramping.”
Haik’s frown deepens. He’s a big, hairy man, and I flinch when he leans toward me and gestures. “Did you, perhaps, ah… have an accident?”
“What the hell?” I snap, glaring at him, but then I look down.
Ah, shit.
My pants are soaked. It looks like I peed all over myself. My cheeks turn bright red as I look around the room.
Everyone’s staring at me.