Chapter 3
Her office was cramped and tiny and just the way she liked it.
It was windowless and stifling most of the time.
She didn't need a lot of space for what she had to do.
A battered file cabinet in industrial beige stood to one side of her scarred desk.
And it was covered with files. A single chair was in front of the desk and did not encourage loiterers.
She had been ordered to have it upgraded but balked and stood firm.
She hated people sitting down for a chat.
She was a strong believer in delivering what you had to say standing up.
She did not indulge in office gossip and every one of her colleagues was aware of her stance. She had no friends where she worked. So, there was no need to stop in for a chat. She was too busy, too much to do with too few hours in the day.
It was a Saturday, and the rest of the staff were out for the weekend, which gave her enough time to get some work done.
She had a hearing coming up on Monday and was prepping.
The hard ass, hard-nosed and completely biased judge would be sitting on the bench, and she hated the son of a bitch.
But she was also a diplomat and if it meant kissing his meaty cheeks to get her client from serving a sentence, she was going to play ball.
So, here she was, instead of doing laundry and cleaning her place.
She had someone who came in two times a week, but she had run out of clean underwear.
Which meant she should probably stock up on some new ones.
She also hated shopping with a passion and felt as if she was being tortured if she had to buy anything.
She had tried to get out of the party at the McKenzies', but Elizabeth was as tough as they come, and she owed the couple an arm and a leg and possibly a kidney. They came through for her every time, without question.
So, it did not matter that she would rather be eating cardboard and strung up by her fingernails instead of dressing formal and slapping on some makeup to socialize with a bunch of people she did not know.
They had issued the invitation, and she was going to have to suck it up and attend.
She would make an appearance, smile and grit her teeth for a few hours and consider her duty at an end.
She would also check on Jaime in the process as well as the others who were at the farm.
She received regular reports and knew they were adjusting, but still, it would not hurt to see them face to face.
She probably did not have anything suitable in her closet to wear. Closing her eyes briefly, she sat back and rubbed her temple and tried to do an inventory on her closet. Suits, casual wear, mostly jeans.
Snarling, she reached for the phone and dialed Jessica.
"I have an emergency."
"Are you on fire?" her friend growled.
"No. Why?"
"Because it's bloody seven on a Saturday morning."
"You have a business to run," Allison pointed out reasonably, squashing the guilt.
"Which opens at ten and my husband and I decided to have a sleep in. Just because you don't have a damn life, doesn't mean we should not."
"Hi Jared."
"Hi Ally," the amused drawl had her grinning.
"Sorry."
"You are not interrupting anything. Yet."
"Okay, I'll make this quick. I'm going to a party at the McKenzies' and need something to wear."
"We're not the same size," her friend pointed out.
"You were a model, and you know the deal. Find me something to wear. Nothing scandalous. Please bear in mind that it is cold as a bitch. I have some boots."
"No boots, you're not a whore or in combat."
"I love boots," Allison protested.
"You have great legs; you should show them off."
"You do have great legs," Jared chimed in with a laugh.
"Please don't encourage her. Nothing that's going to break my neck."
"You'll accept what I send over. You're the one asking for a favor."
"I'll remember that next time you ask me for one. Okay, I'm hanging up now."
Her friend beat her to it.
Leaning her head back, she sighed bitterly. She knew Jessica's tastes and was resigned for something barely legal and clinging to every part of her body. Oh well! Dragging the file towards her, she got back to work.
*****
"What do you think?" Jessica spread the sparkling wool dress out on the bed for her husband to see.
"I think she's going to freeze her ass off. She's petite, but that's little more than a napkin." His dark blue eyes sparkled as he stared at the material.
"There's a shawl." She turned the dress over and he whistled.
"No back."
"Just enough."
"She's going to kill you. And I won't be able to defend you."
"I can take her easily. I'm way taller."
"She's strong. I've seen her in action at the karate place."
"She will look damn good in this. I had to call up Leon at Romano's to have him search for something spectacular at this short notice. The shoes are there." She nodded to the black patent with the killer heels.
"She will break her neck," he predicted.
"She knows how to walk in heels. I'm going to drop it by her place on my way to the store."
"And no doubt grab some suitable underwear."
She grinned at him. "Just panties. She cannot wear a bra."
"While you're doing that, pick something out for yourself." He tugged her up. "All this talk about sexy lingerie is setting me off."
"Anything sets you off." Wrapping her hands around his neck, she fastened her mouth to his.
*****
"You've been running yourself ragged. Take a breath." Making sure she did, Alvin took his wife's hand and led her to a comfortable chair. "Everything's in place."
"I never anticipated so many people would accept our invitations."
His thick gray brows lifted. "Are you joking? Of course they would want to come." He poured tea and brought it over to her. Their grandson had been with them for a week now and he was enjoying the man's presence.
"He's adjusted and is eager to learn." Alvin settled next to her and picked up his own tea. "Right now, he's out with some of the guys checking the horses."
"And just yesterday he was helping me dig in the dirt." Elizabeth beamed as she enjoyed her beverage. "He's a treasure."
"One you cannot wait to show off."
She shook her head and laughed. "The ladies of my bridge club envy me.
We were inside the library when he walked in.
He had on jeans, a chambray shirt rolled up to the elbows and all that wonderful dense dark hair all over the place.
He came in and smiled and they just sat there staring.
These women are in their seventies and eighties and they practically swooned. "
Alvin chuckled. "The female members of staff are in love with him. We might have to fire every last one of them."
"Mavis adores him."
"They all do. He's wonderful."
"And determined to be useful." She sighed. "I'm looking forward to the party."
"Then I suggest you get some rest. Everything is ready. The caterers are here to give a helping hand to the kitchen staff, and the place looks like Christmas."
Sipping her tea, Elizabeth smiled happily and for the first time since losing her baby, she felt light.
*****
"You've been strangely reticent and uncommunicative since you left."
Easing his aching muscles, Dimitri took the phone inside the elegant cream and gold bathroom with him. He was sore, feeling muscles he had not known existed. He considered himself to be active and healthy, but these past few days on the farm had proven him wrong.
"I sent you a text just yesterday."
"You could call, Dimitri. We worry."
"Why?" Sitting on the floor, he tugged off his socks and winced at the blisters on his feet.
His grandfather had warned him about doing too much too quickly and he hadn't listened.
How could he? he wondered. The land was wild and some of it untamed.
And beautiful. Miles and miles of trees and hills. It was hard to resist.
"You're in an unfamiliar place." He heard the impatience in his brother's voice and had to smile.
"We both considered here home when we were younger. I think of it as home now."
There was a pause during which, Dimitri finished stripping in preparation for his bath. He had decided that a long soak in the fragrant water would do better for his sore muscles than a quick shower.
"It no longer is."
"It is to me. Papa hasn't texted me back or called." It hurt, but he would live. His father's indifference was not going to break him.
"He has been busy."
Bypassing the sink, he went about turning on the tap and adding bath salts and some pine scented gel. "You're very good at that."
"At what?"
"Making excuses, being the diplomat. It's all right, brathiska. I don't blame you for it. How's my nephew?"
"Missing his uncle."
Putting his phone on the lip of the tub, he stepped into the warm suds and sighed. "And my sister? Has she come to her senses and decided to come and find me?"
He grinned at his brother's longsuffering sigh. "In your dreams."
"Why are you up so late?"
"Some troubles with the shipment to the UK. And a minor threat from a competitor."
He went on full alert. "How minor?"
"Minor enough to be squashed. We have eyes and ears everywhere."
"Take care of yourself and the family."
"What I do best. Are you happy there?"
"More than I expected."
"Babushka is very forthcoming with her information, unlike you. She tells me you are, how do we say? Adapting. You're becoming a regular farm man."
"It's called a hand. And yes, I like it here."
"Russia is your home, don't you forget it."
"If I do, you will remind me. Brother, get some sleep. Your lovely wife is wasted on you."
"I will in a minute. Don't be a stranger."