Page 16 of Ash
“You idiot! Look what you have done!” she screamed.
I groaned.Oh my god! Not again!
“I’m sorry about your dress, ma’am, but it wasn’t my fault; someone pinched me and made me jump,” I said.
“You need to watch where you are going, young lady!” she huffed.
Derrick ran over with a cloth.
“Ma’am, I am very sorry for this unfortunate incident; let me help you get cleaned up,” he said as he dabbed at the front of her dress.
“My dress is ruined, and this insolent girl doesn’t seem to care! What are you going to do about it?” she shouted loudly.
I noticed that people were staring at us in amusement as we were fast becoming the night’s entertainment.
“I’m very sorry, but it wasn’t my fault!” I cried.
The attention was making me embarrassed and annoyed.
“Why, you insolent little madam,” she huffed angrily.
“I am sure it was an accident, and Gracie didn’t mean to make a mess of your dress,” Derrick said.
He pushed me behind him while trying valiantly to placate the irate woman who, instead of listening, was continuing to berate me over my so-called clumsiness.
It was unfair, and I fisted my hands in temper. I needed to stand up for myself, but I didn’t want to make things worse.
“Now, Mitzie,” the man with her, whom I assumed was her husband, said, “I am sure the young lady didn’t mean to do it.”
He looked at me apologetically.
“It’s getting late, and we were just leaving anyway so you can get cleaned up properly at home,” he said, attempting to take her arm.
“I want to know what they are going to do about my dress!” she practically screamed at him.
She appeared irate, but I could tell by the gleam in her eye and the way she glanced around that she was thoroughly enjoying the attention from the scene she was causing.
Her eyes lit up further as a male voice drawled, “Mrs Peacock, let me be of assistance.”
Oh no, it was him, Mr Sexy Voice!
I never noticed how sexy the Russian accent could be, or maybe it wasn’t, and it was just his voice with the slight hint of the accent underpinning his English? Either way, it was making me feel things all the way down to my core, and my face was no longer the only thing that felt hot.
I knew he hadn’t looked at me yet, but when he did, he would definitely notice my embarrassment this time. I cringed and tried to hide behind Derrick, wishing for the millionth time in my life that I was not shy with men. I couldn’t look at him, but I was aware he was standing to my right side, and someone else was just behind me.
“Why don’t you let my cousin Romi here escort you and Mr Peacock home,” the Russian gestured to the male behind me.
I peeked over my shoulder and recognised the male as the man who’d been standing with the Russian’s sister earlier. In fact, she was standing beside him again, and she grinned at me when she saw me looking. Great, she would be a witness to another embarrassing incident of mine.
“Then you can send me a bill for the cleaning of your beautiful dress. Also, as a special compensation, on Monday evening, if you are free, you and Mr Peacock can enjoy a meal at Tribeca as my guests, of course,” the Russian continued speaking to the woman, not taking any notice of me.
I frowned when I realised that instead of being pleased about that, I was actually quite annoyed. Heck, did I want the sexy Russian to notice me?
“Oh, how kind of you, Mr Rominov. That would be lovely, wouldn’t it, John?” the woman said, smiling at last. She directed the question at her husband, but I noticed that her gaze never left the sexy Russian as her eyes flickered over him in an appraising manner.
Mr Rominov? Oh dear, the Rominov family were the owners of this club. This guy was obviously one of them. I hoped I wouldn’t get in too much trouble over this.
“Indeed, it would be very kind of you, Mr Rominov,” Mr Peacock said, smiling broadly, seeming oblivious to his wife’s apparent interest in the other male.