Page 69 of Arranged Bratva Virgin

“No, because right away I saw the error—"

“Kiril, you can’t just assume. You have to take the time to hear me out until I’ve explained everything. I thought that by putting it in an email before the meeting everyone would have chance to look at it properly."

Paval chuckles. “You really should have read till the end Kiril.”

Kiril’s cheeks flush red. Paval obviously read the whole email, and now Kiril is squirming in his seat.

“What? Why?”

“Just read it. We’ll give you a minute,” Paval says, folding his arms across his chest.

Kiril pulls his mouth tight, and while he is reading, I can see the muscles of his jaw are clenching and unclenching. Then they seem to relax, and he shakes his head.

“Shit. I should have read till the end, hey?”

Stefano chuckles. “So what do you think then?”

“Yeah, I like it.” Kiril nods, then shakes his head. “Sorry.”

“No worries.”

And that was the entire disagreement. I practically breathe out a sigh of relief. I can’t believe they resolved a difference so amicably. I think things are really improving every time we have a meeting. They are learning how to talk to each other, and Stefano doesn’t seem as defensive anymore.

Paval looks around the table with his eyebrows raised. “Does everyone else like the new shipment plan?”

Ivan leans forward with his arms resting on the table. “What about the larger cargo?”

Stefano leans forward as well so that he can see Ivan clearly, addressing him directly. “I thought it was best to test the new plan out on the smaller cargo shipments and let it run for a month or two. If it works out, then we can start integrating the larger cargo. What do you think?”

“Ah, I see, okay. That makes sense. So then will you keep an eye on this and put a report together at the end of the month so we can see if it's working?”

“Of course.”

Paval and Kiril nod with satisfaction and Maxim throws me a smile. He can see how relieved I am that this is all going smoothly even though there was a minor hiccup.

All in all, I am actually pleasantly surprised to find that my brothers and Stef seem to be handling each other much better. The original tension that was there before has faded and the macho rubbish has settled.

Thank goodness.

Stef leans back in his chair looking relaxed, his hand still resting on my thigh.

I reach down and thread my fingers through his, and the corner of his mouth curls upwards.

The meeting carries on without any issues. I take notes here and there for things to follow up on in the next meeting.

Paval is busy wrapping up some final bits and pieces when Stefano’s phone starts ringing.

He picks it up off the table and glances at the screen. “Sorry guys, I need to take this,” he says, standing up and stepping away from the table.

My eyes follow him because I didn’t really like the look on his face when he answered.

I can see something is wrong right away.

He is pacing up and down at the other end of the room, talking softly, the color in his face gone. He is keeping his hand held close to the receiver, almost covering his mouth to keep the conversation private.

I am trying to pay attention to the last pieces of information Paval is sharing for the meeting, but I feel the tension in my shoulders growing as I watch Stefano.

He glances over at me, noticing that I am watching him. He throws me a tight expression that I can’t work out, his brows knotted, and a tight awkward smile plays over his lips. Then he walks out of the room, probably looking for some privacy.

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