CHAPTER 2
IRIS
Tessa and I walk into the senator's office building together.
She positions herself just behind me, with her arms folded across her chest, wearing her most menacing face, looking every bit like my personal bodyguard.
I approach the receptionist at the front counter, who visibly tenses the moment she sees us.
Clearly disturbed, she reaches for her phone, probably to alert security.
Before she can lift it, I place my hand on the receiver, stopping her gently but firmly.
"Look," I say, keeping my voice calm but serious. "I don’t have time for this, okay? I just want to know if the Senator is in his office right now."
The receptionist, Alina Petrov according to her nameplate, hesitates and shakes her head slightly. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't disclose that information, unless you have a reservation meeting with him."
I lean a little closer, maintaining eye contact.
"Alina, I’m not here to fight you. I’m only here to deal with one person.
By stopping me, you’re obstructing justice.
How can you sit here and protect a man who nearly killed an innocent person?
Do you really want to implicate yourself in an attempted murder charge?
Because that’s exactly what I’m going to sue Senator Ivanov for.
" I pause, letting my words sink in. "Could you live with yourself if someone had died yesterday, me or my client because of what the senator did? You’d better let me handle this. So tell me: is he in there or not?"
Alina looks shaken. Her eyes dart from me to Tessa and back again before she whispers, "He's in his office. But he has an important visitor right now."
"Thank you," I say, softening my tone. "You won’t lose your job. If he threatens to fire you or makes things difficult, call this number." I hand her my business card. "I don’t have a big firm yet, but I’ll gladly take up your case and make sure you get justice."
Tessa steps forward, dropping her own card next to mine. "And if you ever need someone to drag that senator by his balls, just call me. I’m always ready to set up tents outside this building," she says with a wink.
Before Alina can react, Tessa and I hurry down the hallway toward the senator's office. As we make our way towards Senator Ivanov’s office, I can hear obnoxiously loud laughter coming from inside, obviously from the pig-headed senator himself.
The other person's voice isn't audible, but judging from how boisterous Ivanov is being, the visitor must either be exceptionally funny or Ivanov is desperately trying to flatter him.
It's probably the latter. Why else would the senator laugh like a wife eagerly waiting for salary week at the end of the month, hoping to charm her husband into giving her extra money?
I open the door without knocking, stepping inside with Tessa behind me. The senator’s laughter stops abruptly. His smile drops into a look of disdain when he sees me. Ignoring his glare, I step forward confidently.
"Sir," I say, "I’d like to speak with you about the incident yesterday if you have time—but even if you don’t, I still need to speak with you."
Ivanov’s face reddens, his breathing heavy, making the buttons on his shirt strain. Clearly ready to blow a fuse, he bellows, "Who allowed you and that troublemaking minx inside here?" His shout echoes, alerting the guards outside.
The “troublemaking minx” is Tessa. Ivanov loathes her.
I know why. He tried flirting with her once when she brought a petition to his office.
She had collected a mountain of signatures against one of his political moves.
He thought he could charm his way out, and she gave him a bloody nose for his efforts.
Ever since then, he’s never called her by her real name.
Tessa points a finger. "Shut it, pig."
He grunts, turning even redder. "Who allowed you inside? That stupid receptionist can’t even keep you away. I’m going to fire her."
I hold up a hand. "Don’t fire her. She tried her best to stop me. I didn’t come here for trouble. I came for peace. I just want to hand you all of this."
I press a stack of papers into his hand.
"This is the bill for all the products you wasted that day—the ones that aren’t even edible anymore.
Here’s a note from the doctor. The doctor says I’m traumatized and need therapy, so you’ll be paying for my therapy, Tessa’s therapy, and Mr. David’s therapy.
That’s about $5,000 per session. And this is a bill for my stomach.
After one of your goons punched me, I had a bad stomach ache. "
He stands there, hand outstretched, clutching the papers against his chest, seconds from exploding.
"These aren’t everything, Mr. Ivanov," I pause, bending a little to pull out the last and thickest document. "This is the one where I’m suing you for attempted murder on each of us. That’s all. Do you have anything to say?"
He doesn’t answer. He throws every paper on the ground with a loud bang, his already wrinkly, fat face turning even redder. I didn’t know a human could get that red, but here he is, having a full-on tantrum, throwing my documents like a toddler tossing toys.
“How dare you, you…..you…..” he sputters, the words failing him.
I hear a laugh breaks out from the other side of the room, and notice a man sitting quietly off to the side. How did I not see someone like him before? It’s almost like he can erase his presence on purpose. Is that even possible for a human?
He’s still laughing, low and amused. My eyes widen, oh my God, it’s the same man I met in the alley. There’s a flicker of recognition in his eyes. He stands up, and for a second I brace myself, thinking maybe he’s about to side with the senator, or worse.
Instead, he looks at the senator and says, “Senator Ivanov, it seems you might have a little trouble on your hands.” The senetor points at me. “She’s the one. She’s the one I want gone.”
My heart skips. Is he saying he wants me killed? Is he some hired hitman?
But then the strange man turns to me and grins, shaking his head. “She’s the one. She’s a complete angel. What do you expect me to do to someone this innocent?”
I’m so caught off guard at his response.
He starts moving closer to me. I feel Tessa behind me, reaching for my arm, probably ready to yank me back, but I just place my hand over hers, reassuring her I’ll be fine.
The man approaches, extending his hand. Up close, I see the tattoos winding up his fingers, a gold watch on his wrist that are exposed, and rings on almost every finger.
I catch myself wondering how he even manages to rub his face with all that on.
Then I shake my head to clear the thought and reach out, meeting his handshake with a firm grip.
He introduces himself. “Ilay Ivanovich.”
“Iris Antonova,” I reply, holding his gaze. We shake hands, and my heart starts racing. He’s exactly my type, not that I’m about to say that out loud. There’s just something about scary-looking men that gets to me, but I still can’t figure out what this man is doing with Senator Ivanov.
Ilay smiles, and says, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh? I hope it’s only good things,” I say, raising a brow.
He chuckles. It’s almost dangerous how good it sounds. Any girl listening could lose her mind over it. I actually catch myself thinking if it’s possible to get off just from hearing a man’s chuckle on repeat.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Senator Ivanov’s veins popping.
Ilay, completely unbothered, reaches his free hand into his pocket and pulls out a black business card.
He hands it to me, and I awkwardly take it with my free hand, trying to pull my other hand away.
He just keeps staring, his blue eyes almost sparkling, a wide grin spread across his face.
“Mr. Ivanovich, do you have a habit of holding on to strangers?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “I believe a handshake should only last six seconds. Yours is pushing forty.”
He apologizes with a small laugh and finally lets go.
I bend down and reach into my bag, pulling out my own business card and handing it to him.
I try to keep my tone professional so I don’t sound like a con artist. “Sir, if you ever need a lawyer for a bargain, I’d be happy to take your case.
As you can see—” I gesture to the senator—“I’m not afraid to go up against a fat mountain. If you need my services, call.”
He glances down at the card, then back at me. “Is this your personal number?”
I shake my head. “No, it’s a business line.”
He hands the card back to me, his grin unfading. “No, I’d prefer to communicate through your personal number.”
“Tough luck,” I say, pocketing the card again. “I don’t give my personal numbers to strangers.”
He shrugs. “Strangers don’t meet twice. We’ve now met twice. So I don’t count as a stranger anymore, do I?”
Is he genuinely trying to annoy me, or is he just this illogical? I refuse to keep up the banter, so I step back.
That’s when Senator Ivanov finally explodes. “Get out of my office or I’m calling the police!”
I glance at Tessa. She gives the senator a smug look and says, “Pig, make sure to pay up. If not, the police won’t just come for us, you’ll be dropping the soap in prison right next to us.”
With that, we both turn and leave, not looking back.
Back in the lobby, Tessa gives me a look and nudges my arm. “Hey babe, why did you talk to that man for so long? From what I can tell, he’s no lackey. He looked pretty dangerous.”
I shrug. “Sometimes fire is good for getting rid of ticks.”
She rolls her eyes. “Stop with the deep talk, that makes no sense.”
Annoyed, I retort, “Look, he obviously has ties to that pig in there, and we need to move smart. Didn’t you see the senator get scared the second Ilay started talking?”
Tessa narrows her eyes. “So what, you’re planning to use him?”
I give her a small smile. “Maybe, maybe not. He seemed interested, and men like that—well, their attraction doesn’t last long. I take what I can, when I can. What I need right now is a big presence behind me to win this case.”
She stares at me. “Then why the hell didn’t you give him your personal number, genius?”
“Shit, you’re right,” I mutter, suddenly embarrassed. “Is it too awkward if I go back now? I was running on adrenaline.”
She shakes her head and laughs. “Just message him with your personal number, then reel him in.”
We walk out of the senator’s building and go our separate ways. She has a meeting with her group—they’re going on a rally out of town for two months, so I won’t see her for a while. My friend is honestly too good for this world, but she gets results, and people trust her.
After we part ways, I head to the train station, deciding to treat myself to cake and ice cream uptown. I deserve it.