Page 1 of Nikolai Petrov

Chapter One

Nikolai

Istaresointenselyat him, small beads of sweat pearl on his temples and slide down his quivering jaw.

“You are testing my patience, Mr. Dawson. Will the permits be ready in time, or not?” Pushing my leather seat back from the ornate confines of my desk, my steps are slow as I circle to stand directly in front of him.

The snap of the lid of my cigar box is the only sound in the room besides his uncomfortable panting.

“I’m sorry, sir. The last of the environmental assessment studies haven’t been completed yet.” His bloodshot eyes bounce between me and the door.

“Hmm.” The sound carries from deep within my chest as I fight to hide my frustrations. “It is too bad that your little girl, what was her name? Ah, yes. Your little girl Stacy—”

His Adam’s apple bobs in his fervent swallowing and his fingers dig into the stiff arms of his chair.

“—she will be so disappointed to learn that her daddy was the reason she misses school.”

The flame of my lighter dances in his tear-filled eyes.

Smoke plumes from my nostrils in a charade of how heated my ire burns within me.

“I-I, um, I’ll do my best, sir.” He shifts on his seat in a poor attempt to hide the small stain of urine darkening his trousers. It seems my reputation precedes me.

“I, too, am a father. I know I would doanythingto keep my children safe. That is why these permits need to be finished so I can add the guest houses for their visit.”

My cigar becomes a pointer which I push near his trembling chin for emphasis. “Would you do anything to keep your children safe? Stacy and little Liam?”

Naming his family hurries the dampening mark and the smell of his fear forms a puddle near his shoe.

“Y-yes. I would.” A flash of red forms on the inside of his lips when he speaks. The pussy has bitten through his own lip.

“Then do it. I’m sure there are many places that children run off to hide that are never discovered. It would be a shame if yours found one of those places.” My desk creaks as I lean back against it. My suit jacket tightens over my arms as I cross them. I take a languid draw on the expensive cigar before pursing my lips as if in thought. “Maybe it’s that beautiful wife of yours that would like to play hide and seek instead, Mr. Dawson? Do you think a woman of that caliber would stay with a man who cannot protect his own?”

I reach behind me and flip through a small stack of papers before finding the one that had caught my eye earlier today. A photograph of a blue eyed brunette hugging two young children as they play in the park.

His face pales as I hand it to him. “They are quite lovely, are they not? Take it. I have more. A memento of our conversation.”

The paper wilts in his grasp.

“Now go. Call my secretary once everything is ready.”

The thin man scrambles to get up without touching me. His hand slips on the door in his rush to leave.

“Tell Vicky to send the cleaning crew.”

The fucking dog. Pissing on my floor like a whipped pup.

Sitting back in my chair, I bite the cigar between my teeth to help fight the smell he left behind.

Perhaps next time, I’ll wipe his face in it.

My schedule app pops up on my cell phone. Ah, yes. Meeting with the committee tonight. We will have it in my study instead of the conference room. Nearly half the members are out of town. My boys. My sons are out of town.

It seems so empty without them here. They’re off in each corner of the country keeping the family business running. Each in their specialty, building our reputation and reach.

I’m proud of them. And, I can’t wait to see them again this Christmas.

Which is why that vermin Dawson better get his shit together. I want this year to be perfect.

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