27. Shopping
Jolie paced in front of her floor to ceiling windows. A finger was caught between her teeth but every few seconds she remembered and snatched her hand away. But less than a minute later, it was right back in her mouth and she gnawed on the broken nail. Adrik had ditched her last night, placing her in the hands of his bodyguards before he rushed off to attend to Alexei. There was no information otherwise. All night she waited for something, but nothing came, leaving her with not only anxiety about Alexei”s safety, but also leaving her with the last moments of their conversation.
Jolie kept telling herself this attempt at a relationship was a bad idea, but the excitement, thrill, and exhilaration that kept her heart pounding gave no mind to the negative thoughts. If Adrik wanted to try, than she could too. She was constantly wondering why a man like him would want her. It was clear he had options, and she was far from good enough for him. But those gloomy thoughts dissipated every time they spoke because it didn”t matter why. He wanted her.
Her cats zoomed around the room, running into walls and freaking each other out. Despite it being annoying, it actually reassured her she wasn”t alone. She sat to gain their affection and they were quick to jump on her and give her headbutts. She smiled into their sweet attention.
He”s killed people, the logical part of Jolie reminded. But it didn”t compute. How could Adrik be a murderer and be as sweet as he was?
What if, one day, she saw him kill? Would it then make a difference? Would it then make her realize what she”s doing?
It would be too late then.
Jolie held the pen in her hand. If she decided to be with Adrik, could she come clean about Agent Mally? Would he be forgiving? Understanding? Or would it destroy whatever is developing between them?
A text spooked her, making her jump. With annoyed frustration at herself, she grabbed it.
”Shopping today. Ten minutes.”
She mentally groaned. No part of her wanted to go shopping with Katia. She liked the woman enough, but Jolie could only handle Katia in small doses. Spending hours with her did not sound appealing.
Jolie redressed three more times before another ding told her she was late, and she rushed out the door. She was fixing the fat belt at her waist when Alexei”s door popped open, and to her surprise, Adrik stood there. He was wide-eyed, meeting her face. She had time to sleep and shower while he still wore the same clothes as yesterday. Exhaustion riddled his face.
”Hey—”
Adrik walked right by her; with enough space between them, another person could have walked through. She stared ahead, slightly numb. She had forgotten about the world around them, and for half a second, she felt discarded and hurt. But then it poured into her, reminding her he couldn”t talk to her.
With his disregard, the doubts returned like a Ferris wheel going round and round.
Jolie sat in the limo. She had been a minute late, but Katia”s look of annoyance greeted her as she climbed into the limo. Helina”s full grin made her feel better, and she sat next to the little girl and played with her on the iPad. She enjoyed the break from her thoughts, diving into a five-year-old”s silliness. Helina was more than willing to teach her words for things and less willing to learn the English form of it, but with a few tickles and giggles, Jolie was able to teach her a couple new words.
Her phone beeped with a text, and Jolie couldn”t stop her smile when she noticed the unknown number. Adrik wrote, ”Let”s finish our conversation tonight.”
Such a simple message that wreaked havoc on her heart.
”I hope you will let me pick out your dress,” Katia interrupted, dropping her phone in her lap. There was something about Jolie”s happiness that annoyed her. Perhaps because she knew who was texting her. With unhindered distaste, Katia eyed Jolie”s clothing. ”We have certain requirements.” Katia forced a loving smile. She wasn”t doing it for Jolie. She was doing it for her in-laws. It was bad enough that the Americans had to attend. Jolie needed to fit in at least, and wearing cats on one”s dress wasn”t currently trending.
Jolie nervously fidgeted. ”I”m not sure I”ll be able to afford the kinds of dresses you”re talking about.”
Katia giggled and reached for her purse. She pulled out a black square credit card. ”All expenses are taken care of. Welcome to the Mafia.”
Jolie nodded quietly, moving her eyes to the window. She was using blood money. In fact, ever since she came to Adrik”s estate, Jolie had unconsciously been surrounded by things they had gotten because of drugs, murder, and prostitution. Even this car was paid for by it. She shifted uncomfortably. How did she think she could be with Adrik when his life was drenched in blood? She rested her head against the window.
It”s not going to work.
This shouldn”t be difficult. Adrik was an evil man and should be in prison. It didn”t matter how nice he was. She was pretty sure Hitler was nice to a few people. He still deserved to die a horribly gruesome death.
The drive was thankfully short, cutting off her misery as she got out of the car. Katia kept hold of Helina”s hand as they stepped up to a blank store with black and gold trim. At the entrance were two bodyguards and, surprisingly, Gil. It”s only been three weeks, but he stood on his leg, with a slight limp and a single crutch, as he pulled the door open. ”Good afternoon, ladies.”
Jolie stopped and smiled. Gil clearly hated her, evident by their talk at TGI Fridays, where he tried to talk to Adrik about her ”boy” look. Since then, Jolie decided she would try to win him over. And kindness was the way to go. ”It”s good to see you. How”s your leg?”
Katia stopped and looked between them with an odd expression. She met Gil”s gaze, but he stuttered in response, ”I”m good, thank you.”
”I”m glad,” Jolie didn”t think her words were so terrible, but the awkwardness was apparent.
”Me too,” Katia added patronizingly.
Inside, a man at the front desk, with painted pink nails and gold bracelets, gushed over them as he brought them to the other side of a wall. A dozen dresses were on a rack, and two or three dressed mannequins, but it was otherwise limited. The selection was bare, and Jolie almost wanted to tell her that the superstore, Ross, wasn”t too far and had plenty more options.
They spoke in Russian, leaving Jolie to her thoughts as she moseyed over to the rack, checking for a price tag. To her confusion, there were none.
”Jolie, Miss Lacy has a dress for you in the back.”
Jolie quickly followed the path to the open curtains where Miss Lacy stood. She was an old Russian beauty, with eyes like crystal. She didn”t know English, but she understood the gestures well enough. Jolie undressed and stood awkwardly in the middle of the changing room while the woman stared at her.
”Off,” Miss Lacy ordered.
Jolie looked down at her undergarments.
”Off.” The woman flicked her hand again.
”Um.” Jolie fidgeted and then turned around and undid her bra.
”Off, off,” Miss Lacy instructed as Jolie stood in her panties, covering her breasts with her arms.
”No. On,” Jolie fought back.
”Off.”
”On.”
”Jolie,” Katia sang, ”listen to Miss Lacy.”
Jolie narrowed her eyes. For some reason, she had an inkling that Katia was enjoying this.
With aggravation, she pulled her panties to the ground. Miss Lacy was quick to help her into her dress, and it was then she understood why she needed to be completely naked for it. The dress dipped so low in the front that it almost touched her belly button, and then there was no back to it. Jolie could feel a draft in her butt crack. Only two strings kept it up.
It was beautiful, what little there was of it. Glittering red fabric went down to her ankles, with a slit riding up to the top of her hip.
Miss Lacy had shoes ready and slipped the tallest stilettos in existence on her feet. It was like walking on twigs.
”There”s no way.” Jolie cursed as she held Miss Lacy”s arms.
Katia”s voice came through the curtain, ”Well, let”s see it. We don”t have all day.” She snapped the curtain back. A smile started on her lips until a choked laugh came through, and Katia slapped a quick hand over her mouth. Jolie glared at her, her knees shaking from the awkward, steep hill her feet were camped on. Katia put up a hand in apology, ”Maybe something not so revealing. She is still a virgin.” Katia then joked in English, ”Can”t risk your virginity, can we?”
Jolie leaned over, gripping Miss Lacy”s hand as she reached for a chair and roughly collapsed. ”I”m not a virgin.”
”Oh.” Katia perked, quite surprised. ”Sorry. I just assumed.”
Jolie flung off the death trap of a shoe as Miss Lacy went in search for something else.
”Who was the lucky man?”
Jolie ripped off the other shoe. She thought about lying, but she was already struggling with enough lies that it didn”t seem worth it. And she still wasn”t sure if Katia was trying to be her friend and gossip or make fun of her. ”A high school boyfriend.”
Katia adored the look of embarrassment on her face. If this woman provided nothing else, at least she was entertaining.
”I think that is sweet,” Katia admitted. ”Do you still love this man?”
Jolie winced, thinking of it. ”No. He wasn”t exactly my type. I know that now.”
”Yet you slept with him. I don”t see you as the kind of woman to sleep with just anyone. And believe me, that is all the women I encounter in my world. You should see how they throw themselves at my husband. It is disgusting.” Katia could have patted herself on the back for that little zing. She wanted this girl to realize Adrik was off-limits. Instinct was a woman”s greatest defense, and she felt the need to get Jolie out of her life and Adrik”s as quickly as possible.
Jolie stood as Miss Lacy brought in another dress. This one had more fabric to it. Katia closed the curtain so she could change.
”He was the first boy to look at me in high school. I wasn”t exactly cheerleader material. I was a book nerd.”
Katia rolled her eyes and mouthed the word, ”Shocking.”
”But he was sweet initially, and I kind of just went with it. He was the quarterback but a delinquent. You know, smoking, a skateboarder. I thought I could fix him. Get him on the right track.”
”Did you manage it?”
”Not even close.”
Jolie peeled the curtain back and stood before Katia, even more unsure than the last one. There was more fabric, but it sucked around every curve. It was a short long-sleeved black cocktail dress. There was no bending over in this.
Katia grinned. ”Perfect. You can wear high heels, correct?”
”Yes. Just not Eiffel Tower heels. But this is too revealing.”
”For our dinner, this is perfect. And you do want to fit in, yes?”
”Of course.”
”Then, it is settled. Alexei will fall over when he sees you.”
Jolie blushed. Not exactly the brother she was thinking of.
Katia nudged her with a smile. ”Do you like Alexei? He has the heart of a kitten. You pet him, and he”ll mew at your feet for a lifetime.”
Jolie turned to the mirror to analyze her dress as she thought of that horrible comparison. What man would like to be compared to a cat? As much as Jolie adored cats, it didn”t sound appealing.
”Alexei”s nice.”
Aside from the fact that he said he would kill me.
She would love to ask what happened with Alexei last night, but she wasn”t supposed to know about it.
”You never told me your lover”s name; what is it?”
”Vincent Ortez. I”m pretty sure he”s still in prison.”
”Prison?” Katia stood behind Jolie, fixing her stale long brown hair, trying to decide if she should curl it or just let it hang. But it was a distraction as she thought of the name. Ortez sounded too familiar. It wasn”t a family name or Russian, but why would it spring out at her?
”He robbed a bank when we were together. I turned him in.”
”Oh.” Katia feigned heartache. ”How brave.”
And terribly stupid,Katia thought. Why would Adrik bring a narc into our world? Is it possible he doesn”t know?
”I”ll be back.” Katia stepped out, leaving her alone.
Jolie needed help getting the dress off, and she wondered who was going to help her put it on for the party. She never understood why women dressed to the point of being uncomfortable. Feeling pretty was a state of mind and had nothing to do with the makeup or the outfits. She learned to love herself in high school even when others clearly didn”t. She was made fun of by the girls with self-esteem issues, but their words didn”t outweigh her own thoughts.
Jolie felt relieved to be back in her own clothes. She stepped out, finding Helina sitting on a couch, with a lollipop and her iPad. Jolie searched for Katia and heard the distant whispers of Russian. She peeked behind the wall and saw Katia and Gil arguing. It was intense and full of hand movements that expressed the vital upset. Gil reached out to her, touching her arm, but she snapped it away before turning around.
Jolie was too slow to hide, but she rushed over to sit next to Helina, her heart pounding as she heard the sharp clip of Katia”s heels. The woman stomped toward them. ”Let”s go,” she ordered.
”Is everything alright?”
Katia narrowed her eyes. ”That is clearly none of your business. And just so we”re clear, eavesdropping could get you killed.” She pulled Helina up even as the little girl protested and yanked her to the door.