Page 6 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride
Everything my family did was intentional, and that didn’t stop with me.
Rubbing elbows with the city’s finest was a gift in disguise, regardless of how tiring it all was. With more than enough money floating around the place, I was exactly where I needed to be.
The biggest and brightest of the elite loved to showboat, and they also loved any opportunity to make themselves even richer. Which meant my target audience was right in front of me.
After things fell through with Andrey, it left me with no choice but to move forward with the business…or at least, to find a partner who could help me without trying to ensnare me at the same time.
The one thing he did offer me for free from our meeting was the concept. A luxury strip club was exactly what I needed, but the idea couldn’t get off the ground without someone to man it for me. Someone who knew all the right people, along with the ins and outs of what it took to manage.
I needed a business partner with the same experience as Andry, and one who could handle taking orders from me without having a complete fit.
Of course, there were plenty of connections and deals to be made that night, and I only needed to take full advantage of that. I just needed to schmooze and be patient. It was only a matter of time before something fell into place.
With whiskey in hand, I stood by the bar, listening to yet another story about a vineyard I couldn’t care less about. I didn’t care about his grapes, and I certainly didn’t care to be in his company, but I stomached it as best as I could with the occasional polite nod and comment when I could muster one.
It was a shame that such a dull man could possess so much money and influence…but even so, I had to keep up appearances. Uphold my reputation and that of my family.
When I eventually ran out of patience, I excused myself, downing the rest of my whiskey before walking off and sighing.
By that point, the names and faces were blurring together in my mind, and I was getting sick of trying to kiss the asses of everyone worthy.
Then, I spotted him—Andrey.
Irritation and a vague sense of envy coiled within my stomach at the sight of him, knowing he had exactly what I needed, but I wasn’t willing to pay his price.
It could’ve been so simple, but of course not.
Damn him…
His eyes lit up faintly with recognition at the sight of me, and I knew at once I’d be locked into my next agonizing conversation.
“Val,” Andrey said with an almost friendly, yet knowing, grin. He put a hand against the back of the woman he was with and approached. “I’m pleased to see you here.”
I nodded and pulled a tight-lipped smile of my own, but my eyes fell on the woman, and I felt everything around me halt at once.
“This is my daughter, Tatiana,” Andrey said, making an introduction that suddenly seemed more important than anything else. He gestured to her, then to me again. “And this is Valentin Novikov. The one I mentioned previously…?”
I couldn’t tell if it was just me or the room itself, but the temperature shifted at once, and there was no way I could stop myself from staring.
She was gorgeous…stupidly so.
To my surprise, she was taller than most women there, filling her light-blue gown with beautiful curves that were screaming for my attention…and god, did I want to give it.
Her soft, dirty-blonde hair was pulled back in an elegant yet seemingly effortless style, and those brown eyes settled on me with a touch of innocence I couldn’t miss.
That gaze of hers held me there completely, almost like looking at sunlight through bourbon. I didn’t want to look away.
It wasn’t like me to forget how to breathe, but somehow, some way, she rendered me completely speechless.
That was Tatiana…the woman he tried to set me up with.
Inwardly cursing myself, I did my best to maintain my composure.
God, was I an idiot for refusing.
The faintest color that hadn’t been there before entered her smooth cheeks as she sent an almost burning look toward her father.
The one I mentioned previously…
