Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
LARA
“ S weetheart,” my father begins. “I might have gone a bit overboard tonight with the gambling.”
The suspicion that has been brewing and forming in the corner of my mind finally bubbles to the surface. I stare at him, blinking hard, my voice is barely audible. “How much have you lost?”
He hangs his head.
I have never seen my father hang his head, no matter how bad things have gotten for us, and the fact that he’s doing it now breaks my heart. It’s as if everything is crumbling around us, and I can’t catch the falling pieces.
“I’m in debt,” he mumbles, his voice so low I almost can’t hear him. “The market’s been slow and hard, and I’ve had to borrow to keep things going... to keep everyone paid.”
His voice drops further, almost to a whisper, and I lean even closer, placing my hand on his shoulder. He stares at my hand for a long time before he can continue. I turn my back on the bastard behind me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how low my father has fallen. No matter what he will not get what he wants from me, even if I have to fight tooth and nail to ensure it.
I go close to his ear and ask, “Was he cheating?”
He whispers back in my ear. “No, to be fair, he wasn’t cheating, he was just completely unpredictable. He folded when I expected aggression, and he bet when I least expected it. He made moves that defied traditional strategy. When I thought he was losing he went all in.” He shakes his head as if in a daze of disbelief. “Was it intuition over mere mathematical calculations or just pure magic? I don’t know. I don’t even know where this guy comes from?”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I ran out of places and people to borrow from. So… this was the route I tried. It was the only way. I won, I lost, I drank, and I came back... after the loss today, I just... we won’t make it until next month, sweetheart,” he sighs, the weight of his words pressing on both of us.
I look into his eyes and nod. “It’s all right, Dad. We’ll figure it out.”
He shakes his head sadly, brokenly. “No, we won’t. Not now. The payments on everything have been late now for months, but it still might have been okay… if I hadn’t run into him… it’s all his now, Lara. All gone. All of it… gone.”
Suddenly, I feel unable to stand the smell coming from my father, the reek of alcohol mixing with his total defeat. I straighten and look down at him. He is broken. Totally. My heart feels heavy with sadness. I know it is partly my fault. I knew there was a problem, but I buried my head in the sand and hoped it would sort itself out. Well, it didn’t.
“The two of you are quite audacious,” the man behind me interjects with breathtaking arrogance.
“What?” I snap, feeling the sadness evaporate and fury take its place.
“You are both acting like I committed a crime when all I did was win at poker. Why exactly am I the villain here?”
“Because you’ve taken everything, you bastard,” my father yells, his voice cracking with emotion. “You’ve taken every single thing I own.”
“No,” he replies coldly. “You’d already lost everything before you sat in front of me. You really thought you could just win a quarter of a million at a gambling table?”
My head is spinning. Jesus! This guy is talking about a quarter of a million dollars! What’s really going on here? Is that what Dad owes him? My first reaction to the enormity of the problem is instinctive and irrational. To flee: run: never come back.
“Dad, we need to leave,” I say urgently.
“Good idea,” the Russian taunts. “Leave and I’ll sell your debt on to the Russian mob. They’re very good at collecting from the unwilling.”
“That is illegal,” I flare back.
“So is not paying your debts.”
“We’ll figure it out somehow. Just leave us be.”
He looks at me curiously. “You have no idea how much trouble your father is in, do you?”
I swallow. “We don’t need your help.”
“All you have to do is say yes, and I will make all of this and even more, go away.”
“You can’t just go around buying people.”
“I can’t?” All traces of amusement disappear from his face.
I clench my hands into fists as I stare at him, my pulse quickening. “No. That’s not how the world works. Nobody gets everything they want.”
“That is exactly how my world operates. I see what I want, and I am willing to pay the price.”
I start to respond but stop myself and try to hold my temper back.
“You didn’t tell him, did you?” he asks, his eyes boring into mine.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, glancing at my Dad and feeling the tension build inside my chest.
He leans back, crossing his arms. “If you’re too ashamed to tell him, I’m willing to keep it a secret as a courtesy to you.”
I glare at him as my dad touches my arm, demanding my attention. I can feel my face heating up as I turn towards him.
“What is he talking about?” my father asks, frowning deeply.
“One word from your lips,” Ivan Ivanovich persuades silkily, “just one word and you’ll have everything you want and more. Think of the peace of mind you’ll be giving your father. This can’t be good for his health, can it? The constant worrying, the drinking to numb his anxiety—it must be a living hell.”
I can’t look at him, not for even a second. Because if I do, I will fall apart again. I won’t be able to think and manage this situation. But if I ignore his presence, I can focus solely on the facts, and if I coldly focus on the facts, then I know I can make a logical decision. A quarter of a million. Dad owes a quarter of a million and this man can make it all go away forever.
“What the fuck is going on here?” my dad growls.
I shut my eyes briefly. “Dad, can we have the room, please? I need to talk to him.”
“Absolutely not,” my father refuses belligerently. “Why the hell would I leave you alone with him? Lara, I’m really sorry he dragged you into this, but I’m fine. He’s not threatening me physically. No matter what, I will find a way to resolve this. I’ll call the police. There is no way for him to force me to pay him anything. This whole place is illegal to start with. It’s a terrible position and I put myself in it, but I’m still the one in charge here, and I will take care of it.”
“Actually, she, and not you, is in charge here,” a cold voice taunts from behind me.
I turn and glare at him, wanting nothing more than to punch him square in his handsome face.
“What?” my father’s astonishment and anger echo through the room. “What does any of this have to do with my daughter?”
I turn around to block my tormentor’s mocking face, and standing firm, face my father, and lie to him.
“Dad, this is Ivan Ivanovich and he’s my ex.”
My father freezes, the color draining from his face. “What?” he gasps incredulously. Then his eyes start shining with new fury. “I knew I knew him. This man is your ex?”
I continue to lie through my teeth. “Yes, he’s my ex-boyfriend, and… this is just a sick game he’s playing to get back at me.”
I expect my tormentor to jump in and ruin everything, but to my surprise, he stays silent.
“I’m sorry, Dad. He’s been trying to talk to me, but I wouldn’t give him the time of day, so he set up the showing today. I didn’t find out who he was until this morning, and when I did it was too late, we had all already wasted our time and effort.”
My father’s eyes darken as he stares at me with a mixture of shock, astonishment, and disappointment. “You didn’t tell me any of this this morning.”
“I know, I’m sorry. It’s just... the whole agency was depending on this, and when I saw him this morning, I didn’t know how to explain to everyone that he had been playing us all.”
“I am not playing anyone,” Ivan says. “I intend to buy that house.””
I turn to face him directly. “Do it,” I challenge.
“Do what?” he asks.
“Write the check. You talk a lot, but can you actually back your words? Write the check right now and sign it, or there will be no further discussions.”
He smiles mockingly at my challenge, then nods at one of his two goons.
With that single signal, one of them leaves while the other remains standing still and wary. I can hardly believe he’s actually going to go through with it, but when a few minutes later the man returns with a checkbook in hand, my jaw nearly drops to the floor.
He scribbles across the page, signs it, rips the check out, and hands it over to me. I stare down at the sheet and see the words and figures written clearly in black ink.
“One hundred and twenty million dollars,” he says, watching my reaction closely.
I stare at the check and can’t help but feel amused. “You really think this means anything? Anyone can write a check.”
“Why don’t you wait and find out tomorrow if I’m good for it,” he says. “Take it to the bank and let me know.”
He rises to his feet and I panic, feeling my control over the situation slip away.
“Wait!” I call out, louder than I intended.
He turns, his face blank.
“Dad,” I say, turning back to my father, but he shakes his head emphatically. “No, I’m not leaving. We will resolve this here, together. This is all my doing and I’d rather go to prison than have you suffer the consequences.”
“For God’s sake, Dad, please just leave,” I plead, unable to hold back my temper any longer. “I told you... he and I have this unfinished thing. We will resolve this together, and you will get back everything you’ve lost to him.”
But he shakes his head obstinately like a child making a final useless stand against a parent. “No.”
“Please, Dad.”
Suddenly, he looks small and defeated. His eyes start to swim as he stares at me with guilt and regret. My heart aches at the sight. Rising to his feet, he shuffles out of the room. I watch his sad figure until the door shuts, and then I turn around to see that the Russian has once again taken his seat.
He plays with the gold ring on his little finger, turning and twisting it. Then he looks up at me from under his lashes and it makes my heart skip a beat. The sensation is so unfamiliar my legs feel like jelly. I have to look away and quickly sit. Obviously, these strange sensations have nothing to do with sexual attraction for there is no one else I hate more in this world than him. It must be the intensity of hate.
I hate feeling so powerless. From the glint in his eyes, I know this is going to be a bargain with the devil.
My voice is barely above a whisper. “At this point, seeing the kind of man that you are, I’d rather die than sleep with you. But I don’t want to die, and I don’t want my father and his business to die either. He has run that agency for the past ten years. It’s his baby, his last big dream and he won’t survive its loss.”
He responds calmly, his tone light as if he is discussing the weather, and it puts me on edge. “Let’s not sugarcoat the situation. Your father is an addict, in an endless black hole. That baby and that last dream you speak of, it will be lost again right in this room, or in another sordid place just like this. No matter how many times you throw money at him, he will piss it all up. He needs help and fast.”
I stare at him, flabbergasted, realizing a total stranger has seen what I didn’t. Or rather what I didn’t want to see, but I can see now the enormity of the problem that needs to be faced and faced urgently. I take a deep breath. Hopefully, I am not too late.
“You are right. I will get him the help he needs. If you will be kind enough to turn this debt into a loan? We’ll pay you back. Every last cent. I promise. It might take a little while, but?—”
He raises his hand, cutting me off mid-sentence.