Page 6 of Brutal Bratva King

Yefim is asking something and I wasn’t listening. I have to listen if I want to do well here and learn the ropes.

“Rodion’s dock might be a better option to ship from with Thursday’s outgoing stock. Just because of the inspections we’ve had twice last week.”

Rodion nods. “You are welcome to use my dock. I wanted to ask if I could borrow one of your trucks for a delivery I have to make just outside of town on Friday.”

Rodion’s deep voice is like dark, rich caramel. It’s easy to focus on what he’s saying when he talks.

My blood runs a little faster as I listen to him and I can’t figure out why it is that he makes me feel this way. My body is tingly, and my heartbeat has sped up.

I clear my voice softly, trying to calm my weird reaction to him.

“Was there something you wanted to add, Anya?” he asks, his eyes piercing into me. I feel as though we are suddenly the only two people in the room.

I clear my throat again, more boldly, then tilt my chin up and lock eyes with him. Show no fear. Business is about confidence.

“No, carry on,” I say, calm and clear.

He smirks. “Thanks.” Turning back to Leon he asks, “how many trucks do you have? Is there perhaps one you could park in my warehouse for me to use as needed?”

Leon turns to Oleg, “Do we have enough trucks to leave one with Rodion?”

Oleg shakes his head. “We can easily lend you one for Friday, but until the two that were taken down in the shootout a month ago are replaced, we don’t have enough to spare permanently. It might take another few weeks and then we can come back to that request.”

Rodion nods, his mouth tight, but he doesn’t say anything more.

He is so present and so controlled in everything that he does. He seems to be aware and alert to every little thing around him.

His eyes drift to the side again, towards me.

I quickly look away.

Since we allied with the Kuznetsovs, Rodion has been a bit of a thorn in my brothers' sides. He doesn’t play nice with others and tends to make things more complicated than they need to be. This meeting is going smoothly from what I can tell—but I’ve heard my brothers talking about how difficult he has been in past meetings.

You’d think that for his sister's sake, he would want to put an effort in to make life easier for our alliance.

Maybe he’s just too arrogant. His family is not as strong as ours. My brothers have helped his business a huge amount, but he doesn’t seem grateful in the least bit.

I wish I could figure out what would make him more of a team player so that my family didn’t have to suffer his annoying attitude.

“Alright, so stock is good. We do have a big order arriving in two weeks. Rodion you also have goods on that shipment, sowe’ll have them sent to your warehouse. We’re saving a lot by putting our deliveries in one boat.”

Everyone nods in agreement. Yefim lifts a piece of paper. “What about the client who got the wrong order?”

Oleg lifts his chin. “It was sorted out already. He’s happy. He wasn’t a difficult client, so it got settled quickly. We did lose a bit on that deal, but in the long run, we keep the client, and the business will grow with him.”

“Good. That’s good to hear.”

Everyone is silent for a moment and I close my notebook, sensing that the meeting is coming to an end.

“Anya? Did you have any questions?” Leon asks, including me, which I’m grateful for. “Nothing yet. Just getting the hang of things and learning. I’m sure I’ll have questions soon and then you can find a way for me to be more involved so that I can contribute.”

“You and I can meet later this week to chat about what you might be interested in doing.” He nods, “I think that’s everything then. Guys? Rodion? Anything to add before we close off?”

Rodion shifts, flexing his shoulders back. His jaw clenches for a second and I watch the muscle ripple across his skin. “There was one more thing.”

His eyes lock with me for a moment, causing me to take a sharp breath in, then he looks at Leon.

Rodion speaks a little louder than before. His voice holds weight.

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