Chapter 17
Aurora~
It was two days later, and I was back in Aleksei Korolev’s home office, this time, both Viktor and Kasimir in attendance, and I couldn’t believe how I was already tired of these men.
Liar.
Yeah, that probably wasn’t a charitable or completely honest thought.
In the three days that I’d been married to Viktor, I’d only seen Kasimir twice, and this was only my second meeting with their father, and as far as Viktor was concerned, if he wasn’t taking me to get something to eat, then he had me naked in his bed, and that wasn’t necessarily a complaint.
For all that I hadn’t ever wanted to marry the man, he sure knew how to take command of my body, and any soreness that I felt in the morning was worth everything that he did to me the night before.
The lines also got blurry at night. While I knew better than to ever trust a Korolev, the way that Viktor worshipped my body every night made it hard to remember that love would never be part of the equation between us, and I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
Though loving him wasn’t in the plan, and though him loving me wasn’t anything that I particularly credited with much thought, every time that he touched my body or put his lips on me, it was hard not to feel like there might be something more between us than just a mutual hate for our last names.
I also never imagined that I could be so blinded by sex, but now that I knew what it felt like to be possessed thoroughly by a man, I understood why lust had the power to destroy so much.
There was no drug out there that was more dangerous than sex, and if you threw love into the mix, it was why people killed for one another, and I could see how falling in love was the most reckless thing that a person could ever do.
At any rate, I wasn’t here to discuss how I felt about the eldest Korolev or how he felt about me.
I was here because Aleksei Korolev wanted an answer to his job offer, but we all knew that there was only one answer that I could give.
Unless I wanted to live the rest of my life trapped inside the walls of Viktor’s home, I really had no choice but to take this job.
“So, have you made a decision on our offer?” Aleksei asked, and it made me briefly wonder if I was ever going to like this man, though I doubted it.
“While I have, I thought it prudent to discuss a few details before either of us commit to this,” I replied, treating this like a real job interview.
“Which are?”
“What’s the operating budget?” I asked, and all three men looked at me like I was insane.
“I’m sorry?” Kasimir said, clearly flummoxed.
“Okay, correct me if I’m wrong, but I assume that you have a standard operating cost lined out for all of your business endeavors, you know...calculating what’s coming in and going out?” No one said anything as I added, “You have to know how much money you guys are taking in, no?”
“Of course,” Aleksei finally answered. “But since no one has ever really bothered with the prostitution revenue, mostly because the amount isn’t worth mentioning, we just let the girls do the math.”
Jesus Christ.
“So, is that a no?” I asked. “Are you telling me that there’s no operating budget for the girls?”
“We let them solicit on our territory, and then they pay us forty percent of their earnings,” Viktor answered. “Our wealth has always come in the sales of...of other stuff, that we’ve never overly cared about what the girls brought in.”
Looking at my husband, I said, “Again, quit treating me like I’m a tourist to all this.
Just like you know everything about my family, I’m aware that you deal in guns, drugs, gambling, and I even know that you guys have a side venture that involves real estate markups.
So, can you all please quit acting like you met me at a country club, and that I’m too busy getting boob jobs and manicures to know what the fuck you Korolevs are about? ”
“Well, isn’t that fucking something,” Kasimir laughed after a heartbeat of silence.
Ignoring the youngest Korolev, Viktor said, “There is no operating budget when dealing with our sex trade operations. The girls make what they make, and at the end of the night, day, or week, they hand over forty percent of their earnings. That’s it.”
Looking back at Aleksei, I asked, “Will I be granted an operating allowance, and will I have full control over the operation?”
“If you deem it necessary, of course,” he answered evenly, and it was hard not to believe him.
“If I’m doing this, then we’re doing away with crack whores-”
“Jesus Christ,” Kasimir choked out, though he was clearly trying not to laugh.
Ignoring him, I said, “If we’re expected to make a significant profit, then that only happens when you offer the best services available, and heroin whores don’t cut it.”
“Okay, lay out your business plan for us, doch',” Aleksei replied, sounding genuine.
“I want all the women who work your territory rounded up for a full health inspection,” I said.
“And I want an operating budget that will allow an annual gynecological checkup for anyone working for you. I want to make sure that every girl is clean and healthy, and while I will still advocate for condom use, each one of them will need to be on birth control as an added layer of protection.”
“What else?” Aleksei asked.
“Since I’m very aware of your real estate venture, I want an apartment building bought and dedicated to housing the women only,” I went on. “Somewhat of a dorm, if you will.”
“You want us to spend money on an apartment building for a bunch of whores?” Kasimir asked incredulously. “Are you serious?”
I looked over at my brother-in-law, and trying to ignore that wicked white eye of his, I said, “Right now, the women give you forty percent of their earnings, which cannot be proven since none of you ever cared enough to count the money. However, making a one-time property purchase, you will be able to ask for half since you will have taken their housing costs out of the equation for them. After all, women don’t become prostitutes for the glamour of having a three-hundred-pound asshole jacking off on them. ”
“Aurora-”
“Women prostitute themselves for the same things that everyone else wants, and that’s a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, and clothing on their backs,” I went on as I looked over at my husband.
“If you give them free health care and free housing, you’d be surprised at how happy they’d be to turn over fifty percent of their earnings, rather than the forty that you’re getting now. ”
“And what of the women with children?” Aleksei asked, thinking that he was smarter than I was.
“What of them?” I shot back. “Since the women won’t be taking clients home, why can’t the women with children live in the same building as those who don’t?”
“And what if they want to take clients to their homes, rather than pay for a motel room?” Viktor asked.
“Do you honestly think that all of this would be done with no contracts or rules in place?” I asked.
“What else do you want for your operation?” Aleksei asked.
“We’ll have two sets of options,” I said. “One where you can make an appointment with the women, and one where you can buy some time on a whim. I also want to interview every woman working your territory.”
“For what?” Viktor asked.
I looked back over at my husband. “Because everyone should be able to have options in life,” I said, and that included him and I, though I was wise enough not to say that out loud.
“So, I want to know their individual limits, so that they can be paired up with the appropriate customers, ensuring that everyone has a good and safe time.”
“And what if some of the women don’t appreciate your interference,” Kasimir asked.
“Then those women will no longer work Korolev territory,” I answered confidently. “And for any of them that leave, there’ll be more to take their place once word gets out that we’re actually offering a generous return on their efforts.”
After a heartbeat of silence, Aleksei said, “You are asking a lot, so we will need a couple of days to think it through.”
“I’m not asking for a lot,” I argued. “You just think it’s a lot because it’ll benefit people who you don’t give a damn about.”
“Aurora, that’s enough,” Viktor ordered. “You’re overstepping.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to go eat a bag of dicks, but I had to be smart here. I didn’t want to be stuck inside Viktor’s home all damn day and night, so it’d do me no good to cut off my nose to spite my face.
“I will let you know what we decide in a couple of days,” Aleksei repeated, and I knew that was the end of it.
So, standing from the chair, I said, “I know my way to the living room.”
No one said a word as I walked out of the room, shutting the doors behind me like last time.