Chapter Six
Aliannah woke the next morning feeling a little lighter than she had since leaving Croatia. Talking with Michelle had been cathartic, although she had not opened up fully; talking about some of the lesser details had proved some relief. Aliannah had not realised how much emotion and stress she had bottled up. She had thrown herself into focusing completely on Michelle’s birthday and work to distract from her inner turmoil. Will she ever be able to get over the mental picture of what she saw that night? Will she ever get past the pain of the heartbreak as her world shattered around her? These thoughts bounced around her head repeatedly as she showered and got ready for another long day of cataloguing in the museum.
Aliannah was about to grab her handbag and go to work when Michelle shouted from the sitting room. “Ali, come quick! The news is insane! You won’t believe what has happened!” She ran into the sitting room, not sure what to expect. Another 9/11? An earthquake? Has Hermes finally made purchasing a Birkin easy? Would socks and sandals finally be accepted by society? The answer was none of the above. Aliannah could not have prepared herself for what unfolded on the TV screen in front of her.
An out of control blazing fire, it was huge, the size of fire that could wipe out an entire city. The two girls stood in shock as the news anchor informed the media of what had happened and resulted in such a catastrophe.
*brEAKING NEWS*
Oil rig explodes off the coast of Russia. I.K. Oil is the company responsible for this rig.
I.K Oil claims an accident within the pipes and multiple injuries, but no fatalities reported so far.
“Oh My God!” Aliannah gasped. Her thoughts immediately went to Ivan; even though she hated his guts right now, she still panicked about his well-being. She did not wish him dead despite what he had done to her. The panic was brief as she remembered he was not on the rig that he was in New York. She breathed a sigh of relief and felt the adrenaline slowly fade away and her heart rate return to normal.
*PING* Aliannah looked at her phone.
Darling, there is an issue with one of the rigs. My jet leaves in an hour. I will return as soon as I can. We need to talk when I return. – I
She was glad Ivan was not in Russia for the explosion, but she was also relieved to be rid of him again for the foreseeable future. She also noticed the time and realised that if she did not leave right now, she would be late for work, so she ran out the door to make it on time.
The day was a blur for Aliannah. She had spent the entirety of her shift in the warehouse out the back of the museum, logging another delivery. There was a large TV on the wall, usually used for product media when private viewings of new deliveries were happening; thankfully, there were no viewings scheduled for today. The main manager was at a conference today, too, so there was no head office looking over her shoulder. Aliannah put the news on; if anyone asked, she would say it was for background noise so the warehouse did not feel so intimidating. This was bullshit as she was completely comfortable working out there alone, but to anyone who may pop in, having the news on would not be as criminal as having trashy TV on. At least now she could keep up to date with any developments on the fire.
It was late at night when the news finally said the blaze was finally under control and no longer spreading. Aliannah was curled up on the couch, half asleep, watching the news; she was home alone tonight as Michelle had gone to Gavin’s apartment. She was just about to turn off the TV when she heard a familiar voice, and the feeling of hurt ran through her veins. Ivan was standing on a podium, giving a press conference to the media.
“It is a devastatingly catastrophic event, and our hearts go out to those who have been injured. We endeavour to support those employees and their families until they are back on their feet again. We are also conducting a thorough internal investigation to determine the cause of today’s events. The lord must have been on our side, for there have been no fatalities. Thank you” Ivan waved thanks to the reporters and left the podium.
It was strange to see and hear him again, even if he was thousands of miles away through a TV screen. Aliannah knew Ivan; she could see straight through his facade. On the TV, he had tried to make himself seem cool, calm, and collected. However, she knew he was anything but. She could see the anger radiating from his eyes.
Ivan was a very proud businessman. Oil was his main business. He did have other endeavours, but it was the oil that brought in the big money. He had a monopoly on the European market. This explosion would not set him back too harshly because he had a lot of rigs along the Russian coastline and on the Arctic shelf, too, but it would give an air of weakness to his enemies and competitors. A proud businessman would be furious at this.
Aliannah hated to admit to herself that Ivan looked incredibly handsome in his well-tailored, all-black suit. How could she still find him attractive? She was disgusted with herself for this. She was relieved Michelle was not home to quiz her or give a running commentary on Ivan. It was exactly what she did not need right now.
Although she couldn’t fault Michelle for this, what girl in their right mind would not swoon for a man in a well-tailored suit who exudes such power over every aspect of life? She would swoon herself if the last night in Croatia had never happened.
Aliannah shook her head. She needed to forget about Ivan and enjoy her peace while he was gone. Who knew how long the oil situation would keep him busy in Russia? She needed an outlet, someone new, a fresh start. So Aliannah took the leap and downloaded Tinder. She created an account and added a photo of herself from Michelle’s birthday night.
Aliannah S, 23, Blonde
Seeking: A man (25+) New York City
Bio: No boats.
There, that should do it, right? Keep it simple; keep it sweet. She could almost hear Michelle screaming at this confidence boost; Aliannah laughed to herself at this idea. The time had come to enter her post-Ivan era. Well, at least until he came back; if Ivan said he would be somewhere, then he would be there. His word was his bond. “No, we will not hang by for Ivan; we are over Ivan. We are moving on from Ivan,” Aliannah said to herself with certainty.
*SWOOSH* what was that?? Aliannah looked at her phone. The screen was flashing with matches. In the space of five minutes, 22 men had “matched” with her. This was going to be an interesting experience. Michael, 28, Raymond, 32, Jasper, 29, and Keifer, 38, were the top four names on the match list. Keifer’s age was too old; she shivered at that age gap! Michael had a fishing photo – automatic no. Raymond looked like he was married with four kids – he might not have been, but that was the vibe Aliannah got from his photo. This left Jasper at the top of the list.
Jasper Conrad, 29,
Black hair, Green eyes, New York City.
His profile photo looked interesting. Jasper was clean-shaven yet still had a mysterious charm. Those eyes looked like they could see right through her, even though it was a photo. She felt drawn in by this, so she took a chance and hit the match. Aliannah reaffirmed to herself that this was only a conversation; she could take it as slowly as she wanted. There was no pressure to dive right in.
*SWOOSH* MESSAGE FROM JASPER. Wow, that was quick!
Jasper: Hey there! Fantastic to match with you, looking forward to getting to know you!
She stared at the message for a few minutes. He seemed nice, right? They all seem nice in the beginning; that’s how they lure you in. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe this was too soon. She could hear Michelle in her mind telling her to bite the bullet and put herself out there. She took a deep breath, and before she could convince herself otherwise, she replied,
Aliannah: Hey! I am new to this, but it would be nice to get to know you, too.