Page 46 of The Bratva's Arranged Virgin Bride
Chapter 25 - Kolya
The week leading up to the first art sale went by in a flash. I had thought I enjoyed working with Nat the first time we did this scheme together, but now it was a thousand times better. While I had little hope for the success of the place based on what a mess it was after the break-in, she really worked her magic.
In Milan, she had been tentative, deferring to me since I was the one who knew the ropes. Now, she was in her element, getting things done faster than I could have imagined, bossing everyone around, including me.
It was hot.
And this time, it was so much better because as much as I wanted her then, now she was mine. In Milan, I could barely bring myself to kiss the enemy Bratva princess for fear of retribution, but now we were all over each other at the end of each day. Fully in sync. Talk about a bonus.
All the problems with both of our families faded into the background. Still there, but faint and quiet. Arkadi continued to ignore me, and Nat’s uncles and cousins didn’t seem to be plotting my demise, if my intel was correct. Everything was going so well, and I was in such a good mood, that I even put some of my plans to infiltrate a few of their businesses on hold.
Best of all, I had managed to convince Vissarion that Nat actually was my employee and not one special to me. I was just looking for an opportunity to punch him that night, which he believed, because he knew me well enough to know I’d never miss out on a shot at his weathered face. Once he was assured that everything was under control and saw with his own eyes how well the place was coming together, he stayed away.
With Nat on board, it became a little more high-profile than I would have liked. With her name and the fledgling reputation in the art world that she had begun to make for herself, important, and more importantly, rich, people were more curious than ever about our opening night event. The buzz was everywhere. Even a few celebrities shouted to me at the club that they couldn’t wait.
This shouldn’t have been ideal, but with Vissarion set up to take the fall at the end of it, I decided, why not have a few high-profile victims in the mix?
The night of the opening finally arrived, and when Nat walked down the stairs where I impatiently waited, my mouth dropped open in stunned silence. She was a vision of fine art herself in a long, red, and gold beaded dress that clung to every rich curve of her body.
“I always think you’re beautiful,” I told her, pulling her close. “But tonight, you’re on fire.”
“I figured I better make a statement for once,” she said begrudgingly.
“Do you think we can be late?” I asked, sliding my hand to the zipper at the back.
Laughing, she swatted my hand away. “You look pretty amazing yourself, and no, we can’t be late, but believe me, I’ll be happy to get out of this dress later.”
“I’ll be more than happy to help you with that.”
She was much more comfortable in jeans or a simple sundress, but she blushed with happiness at my compliments.
I loved seeing it there on her face, as well as pride, when we arrived to find a line already waiting to get in. We exchangeda glance. Neither of us had expected anything even remotely that successful. But would anything actually sell?
There was no need to worry. Once the champagne was flowing and the string quartet was strumming in the background, people were eager to get their hands on our masterpieces. Nat was truly on fire. I loved watching her, how knowledgeable she was, but also how ruthless she was in spinning our made-up tales to work the buyers into a frenzy. How could I ever forget she was Bratva through and through beneath her sweet exterior?
It was incredibly hot.
The only tiny dark cloud was Vissarion showing up about halfway through, blustering around, and trying to ingratiate himself. It was for the best that people remembered him, but I didn’t like it when he sidled up to Nat and began telling her what a great job she did, or how much she glowed under the praise.
I couldn’t exactly deck him with all those people around, and simply made up an excuse that someone had questions for her about our most expensive painting to get her out of his way. Then I told him to get lost.
“She’s very talented. I can see why you keep her around,” he said, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing server. Making no move to get lost. “That’s quite a gown she’s wearing. You must be paying her a fortune.”
“It’s probably rented. But she’s being well compensated,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Is she?” he asked. “Not another partner? Without speaking to me about it?”
I led him through to the back, where I shoved him toward the exit. “She’s an employee, nothing more. Now get lost before you do something stupid and raise suspicions.”
“But I was going to put a bid on one of the auction items to lift the price,” he said, thinking this was a brilliant idea.
“See, something stupid like that. We don’t need any phony bids; the prices are soaring. Who’s done this a dozen times, me or you? Just go and wait until I send you the final numbers tomorrow morning. You’ll be satisfied.”
“I hope so,” he grumbled, but deferred to my expertise and finally got the hell out.
Now, I could enjoy watching my wife shine in peace.
By the end of the night, almost every painting and pottery piece had sold. It was Nat’s brilliant idea to have the pottery made and “certified” as authentic by a professor who owed one of her uncles money. The live auction was a roaring success, with the crowd falling over themselves to bid for the few finest pieces we set aside.
