Page 11 of Bratva, Baby

She looks at me, as though she is waiting for something. Finally, she says, “No one can know about this. Work would become hell if people thought I was sleeping with my coworkers.”

“But you ARE sleeping with a coworker,” I reply, agitated that she wants to hide that I’ve made her mine. Though she doesn’t realize she is sleeping with a lot more than just a coworker, I wonder what she would think if she knew I was the CEO.

“This will become a one-time thing if you even think of telling anyone what just happened.” She threatens, but I will wear her down .

“I have to get going, little bird. I have a meeting with my brothers regarding family issues, go to sleep, and I’ll text you in the morning.

” I say. I hate having to leave her after what we’ve just done, but I can’t neglect the bratva’s business.

So I quickly pull my clothes on, lean down and give her a final kiss on the forehead, and walk out the door as the thought of how I am surely falling in love with her crosses my mind.

Andrei

Arriving at the warehouse where we usually meet, I see my ten closest brothers and members of the bratva.

The thought that any of them could have betrayed me hurts, but I will have to find out who it was and end them.

I can’t let betrayal stand. I don’t expect to find out tonight, and I don’t expect it to be easy.

“Brat’ya,” I call for my brothers’ attention in Russian, our first language. “We have an issue that has arisen that could turn into a war.” I continue once I have all their attention. “The Italians are making a move on our docks with the help of an…. informant from inside our ranks.”

At my admission, murmurs of descent start up around the room. I patiently wait for them to settle down because yelling for order was my father’s way of doing things; I will do things differently in the face of betrayal.

When they are finally quiet, I say to them, “We will not fall into dissension due to these allegations against one of our brothers. I will not become my father and fall into madness. We will go about this logically and not lose our minds in the process.

“How do you plan on doing that? How on earth do you plan on finding the rat in our ranks without torturing the information out of the Italians?” One of my brothers asks.

“I never said we wouldn’t go after the Italians, I said I wouldn’t go out like my father and harm my brothers the way he did,” I reply, staying calm so as not to show my actual aggravation at the situation.

My men doubting me cannot stand, so I will need to show them that I cannot allow them to doubt me, so I divulge enough of my plan to appease them for now.

“As of now, the standing plan is to take one of the Italian higher-ups and get as much information from him as possible and then dump his body back to the Italians as a warning sign,” I say. “These are our docks, and we will not stand to have them taken.” At that, all ten men whoop.

After a few shots of vodka and some finalizations to the plan, I head home. I need some rest and to rely on Ivan, Mario, and the cameras to keep an eye on my little bird for me to get a night of sleep.

Ava

I wake the next morning feeling refreshed after last night's date and the activities afterwards. I am sure most women would be bothered by Andy’s quick exit afterward, but not me.

I intend for that to be a one-time deal, no matter how much I enjoyed myself.

Coworkers are off-limits in the handbook, and if HR finds out, then I’m screwed because this job will pay enough for the rent and for me to save a little back for emergencies.

Before I allow myself to spiral, I switch my thought process to cleaning the house today instead; that’s what past therapists have taught me to do.

I strip my bed sheets and begin to make a list of things I need to do today, but I know if I don’t write it down, then I will forget what needs to be done.

So, after starting the laundry, I go to my dry-erase board and write.

Laundry

Floors

Bathroom

Go through closet for donations

There, that doesn’t feel too overwhelming for the day now. I’ve already started the laundry, so now it is time to start on the floor. At least once a week, I like to clean my floor deep, so I grab my gloves, knee pads, and cleaning supplies and start the mind-numbing job.

I am so absorbed in my cleaning that when my phone rings, I scream. Oh, come on, Universe, who does that? It’s just a phone call. Looking at the call, I see it’s Olivia from the coffee shop, and I answer her call. “What’s up, Olivia?”

“You still want to get those nips pierced?” She asks through the phone. The mischievousness bleeding through her tone tells me she is planning something, and it sounds like it’s bound to be fun.

“Yes?” I reply hesitantly, excitement building because, of course, I want a new piercing, and I have been wanting my nipples pierced for a while now.

“Well, my guy has an opening tonight, and he said since it’s Saturday night, we can come in right at closing and we will have the shop all to ourselves, does that sound like it wouldn’t be totally miserable?” she explains. “I know you said you were anxious about who sees your titties-“

“Olivia-“

“I know, I know you don’t like that word. But, are you really going to call them breasts in the middle of sexy time?” She asks curiously.

My face flames at her question, and I am infinitely glad that it isn’t a video call. I am not a prude, but I am not super experienced either. Last night was my first time to orgasm with another person involved, and it was also the best sex I have ever had.

“Well, if we count last night, there wasn’t saying much of anything,” I say, only somewhat shyly. I know I need to open up to my new friend, as I often end up pushing friends away; I know I need to do better.

“WHAT?? You and the hunk you had coffee with?” She squeals.

“Shhh.” I say, as if someone is actually listening, “Yes, him. And it was the first time in a while for me.” I say, my face flaming red. At least she can’t see my embarrassment.

“Oh, so, what’s the plan then, you just taking him out for a spin?” She asks, and jealousy swirls in my chest at the idea of someone else with him.

“No!” I say none too nonchalantly, “We work together, so we just have to keep things quiet.” I explain. “If HR found out, then I would be out of a job, and then I would be on the streets.”

“It can’t be that bad. A lot of people fool around in the office and just keep things a secret.” She says, like she’s trying to convince me to take the risk.

“At the risk of sounding like a coward, there is this woman in the office who is hellbent on raising hell over Andy. She already started a rumor around the office that I was fired from my last job because I slept with the boss.” I explain, “The boss was an older woman who had no interest in me. I lost my job because of budget cuts; at least that’s what they told me. ”

“Wow, sounds like I need to meet this woman in the office.” Olivia jokes. “I could really ruffle her feathers. You should fuck with her and tell her about last night. Just let it slip in conversation, you know, so she overhears.”

“You are terrible!” I exclaim. “But back on track. You said your guy has an opening tonight?” Desperate for the distraction from the current conversation.

“Yeah! You want to go? We could go right at closing, like I said, so that we would have the place to ourselves.” She says.

“Sounds like a great plan! What’s your guy’s name?” I ask, I should at least know ahead of time who is going to pierce my nipples, shouldn’t I?

“Alessandro, but we call him Aless. You will totally love him!” She exclaims.

“Ok, what time shall we meet and where?” I inquire excitedly.

“I’ll pick you up and bring you if you’re cool with that?”

“Hell yeah, that’s better than the Uber I was going to take because my car is broke down and I am not getting on the bus that late at night,” I reply. “But until tonight, I have some housecleaning I need to get done, and I’ll talk to you later, text me,” I say as I hang up the phone.

It’s not even half an hour later that I am onto my next chore, and someone is banging on my door. What the hell? Going to answer the door, I peek out the window to see that it's Mario, and who I assume is Ivan, since I’ve never actually seen the man.

Answering the door, I jokingly say, “Hey Mario, what’s up? Long time, no see.”

“Hey Ava, I just wanted to come introduce Ivan to you, just so you know who to look for in case you ever need anything, and I am not around.” He states.

“Thank you both, that’s very sweet of you,” I respond. Turning to Ivan, I say, “Hey Ivan, I am Ava, nice to meet you.”

“Hello.” He says, not seeming to be very talkative. Ok then.

“Would you guys like to come in?” I ask, trying to break the awkwardness.

“Thank you, we’d love to,” Mario says, though Ivan shows no signs of wanting to.

I open the door and let them pass, though I don’t necessarily love the idea of having new people in my home. Not wanting to come across as a rude neighbor, I ask, “So what are you guys up to?”

“Oh, you know, just in the neighborhood.” Mario jokes .

“Do you know how cheesy you just sounded? That was like the ultimate ‘dad joke’.” I say through a giggle.

“But it made you laugh, so it’s valid.” He argues. Mario seems like a great guy from just these few interactions; the judgment is still out on Ivan since he has yet to say a word. Maybe he’s just the strong, silent type.

We sit and talk for a bit longer about mundane things, feeling each other, but until he offers, “I noticed the other morning your car didn’t start, I'll take a look at it for you if you’d like? I used to work on cars with my pops.”

“Are you sure? I don’t have a lot of spare cash, but I can pay you.” I'm relieved I don’t also have to find a tow truck to pull it to a garage.

“Yeah, working on cars is easy. I can start working on it today if you’d like.”

“Today would be great, but I have plans for this evening with a friend of mine.” This seems to bother Mario for some reason.

“Oh? Are you going out tonight? Got a hot date?” He tries to joke, but I can suddenly sense the tension.

“No. I’m going to get a new piercing with a friend of mine.” I reply questioningly.

“Oh, that sounds interesting. Where are you going?” He asks, sounding too interested in my plans .

“I don’t know the name of the place, just that the piercer's name is Aless,” I respond.

“You should do better research about the places that you’re allowing to stick you with needles,” Ivan states in a deep voice, laced with irritation.

“He comes highly recommended from my friend,” I say back, trying not to catch an attitude with him. Technically, he’s not wrong.

“He? You said their name is Alice.” Ivan says.

“No, I said their name is Aless, short for Alessandro,” I reply with an eyeroll. At my reply, Ivan and Mario share a look.

“You really should do more research about the place before going.” Mario decidedly agrees. “Ready for me to take a look at your car before the evening?”

At eleven o’clock, Olivia picks me up after texting me and asking me for my address. As we drive over to the tattoo shop, which I found out is called Dark Visions, we have a comfortable conversation about our past boyfriends; we both find out we are equally inexperienced. We have a lot in common.

As we arrive, I see a black SUV that reminds me of Andy’s, but I tell myself that’s ridiculous. Why would he be here, and how would he know where I was planning to go? Entering the tattoo parlor, I stop dead in my tracks when I see Andy waiting inside. What the fuck? What would he be doing here?

“Andy?” I question.

“I guess now would be a good time to talk,” He says ominously.

“What are you talking about?” I ask him, feeling agitated. I look over at Olivia as if she would know what’s going on, but she seems as dumbfounded as I do.

“My name isn’t Andy Pabliski, it is Andrei Sokolov, and I am the Pakhan of the New York Bratva and CEO of LevCorp.” He says as if it isn’t the end of the world for me.

“What the fuck are you talking about? What is that? You’re the CEO?” I ask again, feeling like a broken record.

“Little bird, since the day I saw you, you have been mine, whether you have known about it or not. Whether you accept it yet or not.” He says, and with that, I turn around to walk out the door, but Ivan of all people steps in front of the door.

“What are you doing here, Ivan?” I question, now angry, but of course, he just remains quiet.

“You should listen to me, little bird,” Andy-Andrei says from behind me.

Turning back around, I finally notice another person in the room when they speak. “What the fuck is going on?” They ask with a light Italian accent. They have short, bright purple hair, black yoga pants, and a neon pink shirt that cuts off at their belly button. Immediately, I loved them.

“What is going on is I am introducing my true self to my little bird, so sit down and be patient, Aless, until we need your services,” Andy-Andrei says. Looking at me, he says, “You were about to let someone else touch what’s mine. I don’t share, little bird, you should know this now.”

“I’m not yours And-Andrie, apparently, I don’t know you,” I tell him, thoroughly pissed off.

“Oh, yes, you are, little bird. I will make you see that you are mine. But back to your other question. I am the Pakhan of the New York Bratva, meaning I am the head of the New York Bratva. I am also the CEO of LevCorp, where you work.” He explains, adding the end like I don’t know it myself, that I’m screwed.

“You lied to me,” I say, stating the obvious. “Now I’m out of a job because of your games!”

“I assure you, little bird, no games are being played here.”

“Stop calling me that! Only Andy got to call me that, and you’re obviously not him, Andrei. ” I snap.

“Ivan, please escort Olivia home. I have everything from here.” Andrei says as if I didn’t say anything.

I had all but forgotten about Olivia in my panic over the Andrei situation.

“Now, little bird, you wanted your nipples pierced? If you want them done by someone other than me, there is only one way that is happening, and that’s with my face buried between your thighs. ” He growls.