Chapter 27 - Clem
Due to traffic, I wasn’t the only one who ended up being a little bit late, and it was Erina who found me only a few minutes after I arrived at the massive shopping mall, apologizing profusely. Her two daughters were in tow, five and seven years old, with matching dark bobs and perfect manners.
The older one already spoke a little bit of English, and she kept up a running commentary as we ambled along, looking into shop windows. I still tingled from Rurik’s last kisses, erasing any last doubts I had about his late-night escapade with his uncle.
It was as clear as the diamonds in the bracelet Erina was currently checking out that their stories didn’t match up at first. When Rurik finally showed up after a night of restless worrying, I was so relieved I wasn’t going to have to call the local police to look for my missing husband that my suspicions were eclipsed.
I couldn’t even stay disapproving for too long at his Uncle Konstantin for getting mixed up with a married woman.
His huge, bright personality and obvious fondness for Rurik overwhelmed my initial anger, and pretty soon, I was as big a fan as Rurik was.
Though I was definitely glad when he finally left, since all that gregarious charm wore me out.
“I’m going to try it on,” Erina decided, heading into the jewelry store. “Clementine, those agate earrings will look so pretty on you.”
The daughters whipped out their game systems and patiently settled into the shop’s luxurious seating area, while I tried to find the prices anywhere on anything.
I didn’t want to seem extravagant when we were out the other day, but if there was one thing Erina Koboyashi wasn’t conservative about, it was spending money.
After his last kiss, Rurik had called after me that if I didn’t spend at least ten thousand dollars today, I would be fired. It didn’t seem like he was joking, either. So, why not try on the agate earrings? They really did make my eyes pop, just like the saleswoman said.
I had never been much of a shopper, always getting my clothes on sale, and usually only buying something new when something old wore out or if I had to go to a wedding.
Working my way through college and supporting a deadbeat didn’t leave me much extra, and stopping for coffee instead of brewing it at home used to seem excessive.
If I ever left the cup in the car, Jordie would go off.
Why was I wasting money while constantly complaining about the bills? And then, absurdly, why didn’t I bring him one? I couldn’t win. Well, if I were lucky, I’d just get screamed at for an hour.
“Are you all right, Clementine?” Erina asked.
I shook off the memories that had been crowding in ever since I thought I saw my ex. I never should have searched for him last night; it was like awakening a vengeful ghost.
“It’s too hard to decide,” I said, forcing a laugh.
“Then don’t,” she said. “I could tell right away that your Rurik is the old-fashioned kind of man who likes to spoil his woman. Let him. Think of all the things you do for him to make him happy.”
“You’re right,” I said, playing along while trying to swallow the sudden lump in my throat.
My Rurik. That sounded so nice.
Once we were out of the jewelry store, a good chunk of my ten grand goal already whittled away, the girls wanted to go into a toy shop.
Since the older one was close to the age of Rurik’s eldest cousin’s daughter, I recruited her to help me pick a gift for her, going into full assistant mode and piling up presents for all the Fokin children.
“See?” Erina asked. At that point, she had called her chauffeur to meet us and take away the first batch of shopping bags so we wouldn’t get bogged down. “Look how you make Rurik’s life easier.”
Well, yeah. I got a salary for that. Seeing her happy daughters clamor around her brought the lump back.
I used to want kids, back when I thought happy endings were real.
The idea of ever bringing a child into the kind of life I used to lead made me shudder.
The life I led now? It wasn’t real. I had to remember that and not get swept up in wanting what Erina had.
The jewelry and pretty clothes were already too much. Kids and a lifetime of security, peace, and joy? Not worth thinking about.
After another transfer of bags to the chauffeur, we stopped into a restaurant and had a lavish meal.
The girls and I practiced our different languages together, breaking into laughter over our mispronunciations.
Erina’s daughters had a much better shot at learning English starting at their young ages and with bilingual parents, than I did with my little phrasebook and app.
The three of them got up to go to the ladies’ room, and I waved for the server, determined to pick up the check.
We had been out for hours, and I couldn’t imagine that the tour Rurik got at the factory would have lasted as long.
As much fun as I was having, I wanted to get back to where we’d left off that morning, when both of us had to race off before either of us could be satisfied.
After I paid the bill, I dug my phone out of my purse, ignored since that morning.
Rurik made it very clear that I should concentrate on having a good time and that there was nothing going on in the LA office more important than that.
So, I hurriedly scrolled past several emails and messages from work, but there was a message from a number that wasn’t in my contacts list and with an area code I didn’t recognize.
I’d slowly cut off my college friends, finding it easier to hide what was going on in my life if there wasn’t anyone around to ask questions.
By the time I arrived in LA, the only person I regularly communicated with was my aunt, and I not only knew her number by heart but had just spoken with her a couple of days ago.
Already anxious that something had happened to her, and this was one of her neighbors reaching out to me, I opened the message with a thumping heart.
You made a big mistake. See you when you get back to LA.
Not a concerned neighbor, and not a spammy sales pitch.
A warning and a promise that had cold sweat popping out at my hairline and my stomach twisting into knots.
How was it possible? I shook my head, reaching for the water glass with shaking hands.
No way Jordie could have my number. I was so careful.
But there were so many ways. That was what he did, after all. He had nothing else to do with his time but hunt me down. The one that got away.
The words seemed to scream up at me from my phone screen, in Jordie’s voice. I could feel his hands gripping the sides of my head and slamming…
“No,” I said out loud, forceful enough to have someone at the table next to me turn my way. Ignoring her, I deleted the message and blocked the number. If I had to, I’d get a new phone number when we returned to LA.
Erina and the girls returned to the table in a smiling, laughing whirlwind, her older daughter asking if I wanted to go to a nearby museum. It had probably been less than five minutes since they left, but it felt like I had relived a year of my life and run a mile on top of it.
Erina noticed my cold sweat and asked if I felt ill. Jumping on the excuse, I told her I thought I might be having an allergic reaction to something, but insisted I only needed to get back to the villa to lie down for a bit.
“Don’t let me ruin the rest of your day,” I said, patting the youngest girl’s head. “I’ll be fine once I get some rest.”
After all the shopping bags I had completely forgotten about were transferred to a taxi she hailed for me, I huddled in the back seat, waving wanly as it drove off. I had worried them for nothing. This had to be nothing.
The traffic seemed unbearable, and we inched our way back to the villa, and I prayed the entire time that Rurik would already be there when I arrived.
The one person I felt so safe with, I considered telling him about the message.
He had resources. He could hire someone to find out if the message was a fluke or if Jordie had really caught up with me.
By the time I got back, I was much calmer.
The message could have been anything, meant for anyone.
It might not have been a threat at all, but just someone informing someone else they’d made a mistake.
It was silly to fear a message when I was thousands of miles away from my former abuser and stalker, even if he happened to be in LA.
Rurik came out to help me carry in my purchases, seeming utterly delighted that I’d managed to spend so much of his money. He gave me a long kiss, his arms strong and sure around my back as he held me close.
“How did it go?” I asked, desperate to get my mind on what was really important. This deal with the Koboyashis.
“The factory tour was brilliant,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe how efficient everything is.”
That wasn’t exactly an answer about how it went.
“But?” I asked, looking up into his eyes, which clearly told another story. He shook his head, acting like nothing was wrong. Just like I was. “Is it something to do with Konstantin?”
“Don’t worry about that,” he told me much too quickly, even though he very definitely was. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing.”
He hugged me close again, and I rested my head against his chest, smiling at the reassuring sound of his steady heartbeat next to my ear.
He was my boss, after all, so why not listen to him?
When I was in Rurik’s arms, nothing could hurt me, and the message that had seemed more dangerous than a lion on the loose an hour ago was no longer the least bit frightening.
There was no need to get him all worked up when he was already upset about whatever was going on with his family; at the same time, we were trying to secure a multimillion-dollar partnership.