Page 8 of Pretty Evil
Women who are faced with wealth on this grand scale soon lose their modesty and any fears they may hold. I have ruined many women in this room and all of them are grateful for it. She will be no different, and that almost saddens me. Iwanther to be different. Unexpected even. If she lies back and takes my shit, I will lose the growing respect I have for her. Her reaction to this room saddens me because it’s just like all the others before her and so, with an inward sigh, I turn and say abruptly, “One hour. Enjoy your solitude while you can.”
As I leave, it’s in silence because she appears to have forgotten I’m here at all as she wanders deeper into the room and runs her hand over the silk edges and wallows in the delights my money can buy.
I close the door and head to meet my assistant with a growing sense of impatience. I thought she was a challenge. It appears I was wrong.
* * *
I findmy assistant in the office where I usually spend a great deal of my flight. He is working on the computer and glances up as I enter.
“Alexei.”
I sink down into the seat opposite the desk, motioning him to stay in my usual one and say darkly, “What have you got?”
“She was a last-minute replacement for a crew member who went sick last night. Standard procedure.”
I’m not buying it and growl, “Who is her target?”
He types on the screen and the passenger manifest comes up, and he has highlighted several names already. He turns the screen to me, and I note mine is highlighted, along with a few other names in first class and a few in business.
“Any ideas?”
He shakes his head. “There is no word from our contacts, and her bank account in Switzerland is business as usual.”
He brings up another screen and I read the entries on a bank statement in her name. He points to one that he highlighted dated two days ago for three hundred thousand dollars.
“This one is a ghost which tells me it’s what we’re looking for. An unknown number that traces into oblivion. Whoever is paying her doesn’t want to be identified, which leaves us only one course of action.”
“Is it arranged?” I’m asking a question I already know the answer to because Gleb is always ten steps ahead of me.
“Your brother Mikhail has promised to deal with it. She won’t make it out of her hotel room.”
“Anything else I should know?”
He shakes his head.
“The engineering problem has been dealt with and passed all the checks. Your meeting is on schedule in Sydney, and your itinerary is unchanged.”
“What about my guest? Is there any news about her identity?”
I’m mildly interested, even though it means nothing, and Gleb nods. “Mae Grayson. An heiress from San Diego heading to Australia to her mother’s house in Vaucluse.”
I hear his words, but something about them isn’t ringing true. I expected more than this and I lean forward and growl, “Dig deeper. I’m not buying it.”
“Why?” He stares at me in surprise, and I shake my head. “I don’t ignore my instincts. I want a full background check ran on this Mae Grayson and if she is who her passport says she is, I’m not worthy of my family name.”
Gleb smiles softly. “Understood.”
“Is everything set for the meeting with Stoner?” I say as an aside, and he nods. “He won’t know what hit him, the arrogant prick.”
It makes me laugh because Gleb has a burning hatred for that man. Mainly because he dismisses him as the hired help and refuses to deal with anyone but me. Little does he know that Gleb is the oil that runs my machine and without him, it would grind to a halt. You anger my main man at your peril because he will do you no favors and Joseph Stoner needs us far more than we need him, and he knows it.
I try not to dwell on the man who irritates the shit out of me, but he has contacts in Australia I can only get to through him. He is the front man for a shit load of diamonds and the supply is limitless and a very good price. Stoner takes his cut as the middleman, which drives up the price. I am impatient to cut him out because Gleb is right to be irritated by him.
Stoner wallows in his own self-importance and treats anybody who meets with him as an imbecile. He knows that his contacts rely on him and prefer to conduct their business this way. Subsequently, he calls the shots and I fucking hate doing business with him, but I need his diamonds more than I need him put in his place.
Gleb’s attention returns to his screen, and it amuses me how he disregards my presence, as if I’m merely an irritant. He is a workaholic with no private life to speak of, allowing only enough time to sleep, shower and eat and then he is back to running my empire and providing me with the information I need. He has no time for hierarchy, it only gets in the way of his work, and I am happy to let him. I don’t stand on ceremony anyway and I never have.
I make to head back to my guest but decide to settle in first. I could use a shower and a change of clothes and so I head to my own room instead.