Charlie
“So.Are you going to tell me who your friend is over there?” Silvia gestures with her thumb toward the corner booth where Viktor has remained positioned since this morning. I’m beginning to think he’s not even human. He hasn’t so much as had a glass of water all day.
“Nope.” I drop the roll of pennies into the register drawer and shut it.
“Something’s going on,” she says, following me through the kitchen. “You spent the night with some guy and then bring this one back with you to sit in the deli all day like he’s some undercover FBI agent ready to fight crime?”
I pause when I get into the small stockroom that I’ve turned into an office space off the kitchen.
“I assure you, Viktor is not an FBI agent.”
“Then who is he?” Silvia is probably the closest thing I have to a friend. She never would have known I had come straight from Nikolai’s place except her car broke down and her husband had to drop her off early on his way to work.
“He dropped me off this morning.” It’s a non-answer, and Silvia glares at me from the doorway. She wants the dirt and I’m not giving it up.
“You’re an adult,” she starts.
“Yep. I am.” I drop into the fifteen-year-old rolling chair and lift the lid of my laptop.
“And if you wanted to spend more time with this guy, you should. Even if he sends a bodyguard with you. I mean that’s a little weird, and actually kinda concerning, but you deserve it.”
I turn my confused stare up at her.
“What?”
She shrugs. “You deserve a personal life, Charlie. You work your ass off here.”
“You’re concerned about Viktor, but you think I should go for it anyway with Nikolai?” I need clarification here because I think I’ve lost track of the conversation.
“Yes. Be a twenty-six-year-old woman with every right to have a personal life. Yes.” She nods, and from the firmness of her jaw I can tell she’s serious.
Has Nikolai gotten to her?
“Well, you might be getting your wish. I think I’m going to see that guy a lot more for a while.” I stop when she looks hungry for more information than I’m willing to divulge.
“Good. That’s good. Should we be concerned that he sends a bodyguard home with you?” she grins.
“He’s giving me a ride after work. I’m not sure what made him stick around all day.” It’s the worst excuse I could possibly come up with, and from the look on her face, she knows it too. Thankfully, she backs off.
“Have you seen Oliver? I had a customer today ask about him.”
“No.” And I probably won’t. He left me with having to deal with the Romanovs on his behalf and now he’s disappeared. The coward probably won’t resurface again until he’s certain his ass is safe. Which I could tell him it is, if he would just answer my calls.
“Did he say what he wanted with Oliver?” If he has more debts owed, I’m not sure I can pay it. And if he’s gotten mixed up with other men like Nikolai, the deli could be at risk.
“No, he just commented that he hadn’t seen Oliver around and asked if he was still working here,” she shrugs.
Well, that’s not so scary. I hope.
“If you’re going to be seeing this guy more, maybe I’ll see if Joey will rework the schedules to make sure there’s enough staff in the evenings, so you don’t feel obligated to stick around,” she grins, then hurries off to do exactly that.
I jump up from my chair, following her. She can move pretty fast when she really wants to.
“Silvia, you don’t have to do that.” I stop short after moving through the swinging door into the restaurant.
Nikolai stands at the register, staring up at the menu. Joey waits patiently for his order and Viktor is still sitting like a statue in the corner.
My movement must have caught Nikolai’s attention; he turns his head toward me, and a smirk wiggles onto his lips.