Chapter 9
Kasimir~
Now, while my job rarely had any downtime, I was making the time to visit Zoya at the diner again.
I had tested myself for two nights already, staying away from Ruby’s, but I was done with that bullshit.
For whatever reason, Zoya Kuzmin entertained me in a way that nothing else did, so I wasn’t fucking done making my presence known just yet.
Plus, as long as I didn’t hurt her, Aurora could still sleep well.
However, when I walked into the diner, Zoya was nowhere to be seen, though I knew that she was on shift.
I had called earlier, and one of the day-shift waitresses had been more than free with information that she probably shouldn’t be giving out over the phone.
Of course, it had worked out in my favor, so I wasn’t complaining too much.
At any rate, I walked over to her section, and when the same guy who’d given her a ride the other night approached me, I could feel heat slithering down my spine again. No matter where she was or what she was doing, I didn’t appreciate this asshole taking her place.
“Hello,” he greeted cheerfully as he placed a menu in front of me. “Can I start you off with something to drink?”
“You can get me Zoya,” I told him, and his eyes flared, letting me know that he knew exactly who I was, though my white eye usually announced who I was without me having to say anything.
“Uhm, she’s...she’s on break,” he stammered.
“Even better,” I replied. “Now, go get her for me.”
Recognizing that it was in his best interest to not argue with me, he quickly turned, and it wasn’t two minutes later that Zoya was walking towards me, and the fire in her hazel eyes had shit feeling uncomfortable downstairs, but that’s what made this so much fun.
The second that she sat down across from me, she asked, “Do you want to see me homeless? Would that satisfy your need for revenge?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is where I work, Mr. Korolev,” she practically snapped. “This is the only job that I was able to get after you had me fired and threatened any place that paid decently not to hire me. Now, while not particularly glamorous, it pays my bills, so I can’t afford to get fired.”
“I am not here to get you fired, lepestok,” I chuckled, and she really didn’t appreciate it.
“Then what are you doing here?” she hissed. “And quit calling me that.”
I cocked my head. “Do you even know what it means?”
“I don’t care what it means,” she replied through clenched teeth, lowering her voice.
Straightening in the booth, I said, “I’m confused. At what point did you get the impression that you can tell me what to do, lepestok?”
“What is this, Mr. Korolev?” she asked. “Why do you keep coming here?”
“You feeling entitled to answers, why?” I smirked, and it was clear that she was struggling with keeping it together.
“No,” she answered. “No, I don’t feel entitled to anything, much less answers from you. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to take your shit lying down, Mr. Korolev. No matter what my uncle did to your family, I don’t deserve whatever it is that you think I do.”
“I’ve already told you to call me Kasimir-”
“I don’t want to call you Kasimir,” she hissed, then quickly fell back in the booth, aware that she might have been a little too loud. “I want...I just want you to leave me alone.”
Leaning forward, I said, “You’re lucky that you’re alive, Zoya. You’re lucky that we didn’t erase your entire bloodline for what Armen did. Do not forget who we are.”
“How can I?” she spat. “I work at a diner for minimum wage and live with my mother because we can’t afford anything else. Every day that I wake up, I’m aware that I’m still in Korolev territory, and if you think that this is fun for me, it’s not.”
“Then what are you still doing here?” I finally asked. “Why haven’t you and your mother left?”
“That’s none of your business,” she whispered quietly.
“Everything about you is my business if I say that it is,” I shot back. “Do not play with me, Zoya.”
“I am not playing with you,” she insisted. “You’re the one who keeps coming here while I’m doing my best to stay away from all of you Korolevs.”
That pissed me off.
Though exactly what she should be doing, her statement still pissed me off.
“Get me a coffee,” I ordered, making her head rear back a bit.
“Wh...what?”
“Get me a coffee,” I repeated.
Her cheeks became two spots of rosy rage as she said, “I’m on my break. So, either order it from Paul, or else you can wait until my break is over.”
My little flower had thorns.
“Baby, I’d rethink your answer if I were you,” I said, but I couldn’t quite hide the pride in my voice.
Just then, a shadow fell over our table, and that slither of heat down my spine was back as Zoya’s shift manager asked, “Zoya, is everything okay?”
She looked up, and the wariness in her eyes pissed me off. Zoya was genuinely worried that she was going to lose her job, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t not want her fearing any other man but me. I didn’t want her worrying about any other nightmares other than me.
“Y...yes, Lowell,” she stammered. “I’m on...it’s my break time.”
“Of course,” he replied kindly. “I just thought that I should remind you that employees are to take their breaks in the back. It’s not a good look to sit in the dining area.”
“Oh, yeah...no, yes...of course,” she replied as she quickly and nervously stood up, and it was enough to make me stand with her.
“I fear that I am to blame,” I told him, and that’s when he turned to face me, finally getting a good look at who she’d been sitting with. “I’m just sort of used to getting my way, you see.”
“Oh...uhm, Mr. Korolev-”
I put my hand up to stop his apologies and/or excuses. “I trust that Zoya will not suffer any repercussions for my insistence.”
“Of course...no, she...she won’t,” he quickly replied. “I...Zoya’s one of our best servers.” Then looking between me and Zoya, he added, “I’ll...I’ll give you two a few more minutes.”
Before I could say anything to that, he was scurrying away, probably praying that I wasn’t waiting for him in the parking lot after his shift tonight, which wasn’t out of the question right now.
I was all about making statements when it came to my last name, and having a little chat with that asshole after work would definitely send a message.
However, before I could give it a lot of thought, Zoya was back in my face, and though extremely ill-advised, it was hard not to give her credit for having enough guts to stand up to me. Especially, when you considered how many grown men pissed their pants at the sight of my face.
“I need to get back to work,” she hissed up at me. “And if I’m lucky, I won’t have a final check waiting for me when I get back from my days off.”
Zoya turned to walk away from me, and it took everything in me not to grab her by her arm, then drag her out of the diner in front of everyone.
However, even I wasn’t so brazen enough to commit kidnapping in front of a bunch of people who might not be aware of what happened in the streets of St. Moran at night.
Like most cities, we had a wealthy side, and those people lived in ignorant bliss most of the time.
Their money shielded them from what really made this city turn, and they liked it that way.
At any rate, though my different-colored eyes usually announced who I was, if you weren’t aware of all the criminal activity in St. Moran, then a person might feel compelled to call the police if they saw me dragging a woman out of a diner, and most definitely against her will.
“You will still have a job, lepestok,” I assured her. “I guarantee it.”
That’d been the wrong thing to say.
“I don’t want any favors from you,” she snapped. “I’d rather sleep on the sidewalk and beg for food than owe you anything.”
“Careful what you wish for, baby,” I warned. “That’s just how you might find yourself if you keep testing me.”
Angry tears immediately hit her eyes, but instead of guilting me with them, she turned from me, then headed towards the back of the diner to collect herself, I imagined. She still had the rest of her shift to get through, and she couldn’t manage if she didn’t get her anger under control.
I dropped another hundred-dollar bill on top of the menu before leaving the diner, and while it all seemed casual enough, I felt anything but.
Zoya Kuzmin was getting under my skin, and I had no idea how to get her out, or if I even wanted to.
In fact, I almost felt sorry for the girl if I couldn’t.
No woman should want to be the object of my affections.
At least, no woman in her right mind.