“You know who they are?”
“One’s my boss, that’s all I need to know.” Carol was giving me a look I didn’t recognise.
“Those men are more than our boss and his friends, they’re the mob, for lack of a better word. Be careful, yeah?”
“Mob?” I kept my tone quiet, unable to hide my surprise. With the whispered rumours I’d heard, never had I put two and two together, thinking they were one of the many gangs of criminals that walked London’s streets. “Oh.”
“Yannick Ischmov doesn’t ring any bells? Him and his wife are sadistic as fuck, you don’t mess around with them and live to tell the tale.”
My stomach soured, and I felt like I was going to be sick right there at the bar. I hadn’t thought too hard about the man’s name, more enamoured with the man after I’d got over my shock at seeing him again. “Didn’t realise he had a wife. Oh wow, you’re sure?”
“Irina Ischmova. Come on, you’ve surely heard the name? That woman has a screw loose, I swear it, but if anyone asks, I didn’t breathe a word. I value my life.”
Laughing uncomfortably, I leaned over the bar. “I’m a supply teacher in posh schools. If what you’re saying is true, it’s doubtful these people are the topic of conversation in the library at lunchtime. I had no idea they were the mob.”
“You’re right. I’m just mentioning it because Yannick is the boss, and lady, he’s not been able to take his eyes off you all night. CeeCee has cottoned on to that fact too, the girl is in jealous mode.”
“It’s the hair.” I stuck my tongue out at her attempting to make light of the sinking conversation and the dread flooding my chest.
“Keep telling yourself that, Jolie. You’re deluded, sweetheart. He is quite bloody handsome though, isn’t he?”
“Okay. Advice taken. Be careful. Another half hour and we’re out of here and it’s doubtful we’ll cross paths again. I’ve been here for over two months and it’s the first I’ve seen them.”
Carol’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t have a clue, do you?”
“About what?”
“This is Yannick Ischmov’s bar, his legitimate bar, and yeah he comes in here often, just so happens it’s not on your shifts. I hope he hasn’t taken a shine to you, because if that’s the case, I think you’re going to be seeing a lot more of him.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck,” she chuckled. “Just go be your usual charming self. They’re not really the type to insist on women’s company even if they make it obvious which ones they’re into, not in here anyway. You’ll be fine, just watch yourself. I’d hate to lose a good worker, and I kind of like you, missy.”
“Just kind of?”
She grinned at me, then stuck her middle finger up before heading down the bar with the loaded tray. Back to the corner I went, watching the three men still sitting there. The bar was closing, and I took a moment to wonder if what Carol said was true. Would I see them again, more frequently? All five of the men had been pleasant, not overly demanding, showing a respect us waitresses didn’t always get. It would be no hardship to accommodate them again. My earlier hesitation had ebbed away over the last few hours and other than being tired, I felt a little disappointed it was almost time to go home, I’d had a fun shift for a change.
By the time I reached VIP, the men were dragging on their suit jackets while sharing a joke judging by the way they laughed with one another. Yannick Ischmov looked nothing like the scary man I’d previously encountered in that back room, Carol had spoken one truth at least - he looked like a wet dream, a man who could probably charm a woman naked in a few short minutes and have her panting at his feet.
Dangerous - those types were always dangerous.
I blinked, and suddenly the man in question was standing right in front of me. “Thank you, Miss Summers. We look forward to doing it again.” A blush was heating my cheeks, and I stumbled to reply, my ensuing thanks almost garbled. Yannick smiled wolfishly, his teeth gleaming in the low light, the wink not a figment of my imagination. Oh boy, there’d be trouble brewing if I didn’t get my mind out of the gutter, the man was married for Christ’s sake. Leaning in closer, he said. “I’ll be seeing you again.”
And damn if I didn’t shudder from the buns on the top of my head right down to the tips of my aching toes.
Irina
Yannick did not come to bed. He was in the house, I’d heard the car pull up around three in the morning, but he hadn’t come into the bedroom. Something had compelled him to go to the guest room and not sleep where he normally did. I’d expected it honestly, sooner really, our agreement was over, so by rights, he was entitled to make himself comfortable elsewhere. There had never been a good reason for us to share a bed, our marriage wasn’t conventional, yet we’d done it all these years. It was the little things that made me think he did actually care, when I knew the reality was entirely different.
We’d both avoided the inevitable conversation we needed to have, but he was a fool if he thought I couldn’t see right through him and figure out which way his mind was headed. Yannick’s plans were to ride off into the sunset without so much as a second glance back, he had every intention of leaving behind the life that had been thrust upon him, the one he’d never wanted, and the one he was most vocal about voicing his displeasure of. It wouldn’t be so easy for
