Page 30 of Beautiful Deception

“Uh…” I clear my throat. More people turn in my direction. It’s intimidating to be looked at by this many people. “Dinner is ready.”

“Wonderful.” Viktor smiles at the man next to him. “You’re going to have a great meal, Samuel. Inessa is a wonderful cook.”

“I bet she is,” Samuel says, looking at me like I’m a piece of meat he wants to devour.

“Let’s eat,” Viktor says in a sharp tone, making Samuel avert his gaze from me. What is that about?

Viktor shows all of his guest to the huge dining table. Knowing I have to serve drinks, I quickly pour everyone water.

“The wine,” Viktor tells me as he begins to cut the ham.

“Of course. Red or white?”

“White.”

I hurry back into the kitchen and stop dead in my tracks.

The cake – the cake I worked so hard on for hours today – is a mess on the floor. Natasha is no longer in the kitchen.

I know exactly what happened. She pushed it to the floor. My chest constricts. Oh my god. I don’t have time to make a new one. That cake took me around three hours to make. I don’t have three more hours to spare. The guests will be expecting the cake within the hour.

I fall to my knees before the cake and try to pick up what’s left but it’s pointless. The cake is ruined. I have to accept that fact.

Oh no. Viktor will be so mad. He told me this party was for his business associate. Whatever business they’re celebrating, I do not know, nor do I care. All I cared about was making Viktor happy.

And now I can’t even do that.

Tears spill down my eyes. I know Natasha did this to the cake. Who else would have done it? There was no way this cake fell off the counter by itself.

The wine. I have to serve the wine. The guests will be waiting.

Quickly, I wash my hands and wipe my tears away before grabbing the Chardonnay and hurrying into the dining room. I’m moving so fast, my foot catches on the rug and I stumble forward.

The conversation stops as everyone turns to look at me.

“Apologies,” I murmur. Viktor tilts his head, staring at me with an intensity that makes me sweat. I look away. The last thing I can do is cry right now and the longer I’ll look at him, the more I’m going to cry.

The conversation resumes as I pour the wine.

“You have such a cute little maid, Viktor,” one of the women says. She looks to be in her forties with very large breasts that are barely contained by her dress. I notice a few of the men looking right at them.

“Thank you, Giselle. Inessa is new. Just started two weeks ago. But she’s being doing a great job.”

“This food is delicious,” a man comments, pointing his fork at the ham.

“Thank you,” I say but the words get caught in my throat. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. You can do this.

There’s no dessert I can make in enough time. I’m going to disappoint everyone.

Unless…

Maybe I can buy a cake really quick from a store. Surely that would be the solution,

But I can’t just leave the party. What if Viktor asks for me? I would get in more trouble if I just left. That means I would have to tell him about the cake and ask him if I should go buy a new one real quick.

“Uh, Mr. Smirnov?” I ask, making everyone look at me again. It’s so disconcerting.

“Yes?”

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