“Oh, you have a true gentleman.” His mother smiled sweetly. She lifted her empty martini glass and smiled at James as he approached the table. “This is my husband, James. He’s American, but I love him anyway.”
The waiter showed up with another martini and took away the empty glass.
“How many martinis have you had today, my dear?” The sarcastic drawl of his father’s question couldn’t be missed.
Nadia lifted an eyebrow. “Obviously, not enough.” She turned back to Val. “As I was saying, my youngest daughter married very well to a businessman in Moscow. My oldest daughter is married to the chairman of the State Duma.”
“The chairman? Isn’t he … older?” Val truly looked confused.
“A price one pays to be in the correct family.” Nadia waved Val off and turned her attention to Smith. “Ivan, what is it that you do?”
The slight slur in his mother’s question indicated her martinis were just as important now as they had been when he was growing up. “I don’t do anything.” Smith lifted his finger for the server.
His mother blinked. And looked at him. “You know, you look like …” She turned her head to her husband. “He looks a little like Smith, doesn’t he?”
“I thought so, yes.” James nodded.
“Family money on my mother’s side allows me to invest, and I do quite well in the Asian markets.” He interrupted their conversation and ordered a glass of Scotch for himself and a Chardonnay for Val.
“Ah, so we meet again.” Komal, flanked by Sam and Blanton, strode up to the table.
His mother muttered something under her breath, and his father gave her a sharp look. “We didn’t meet earlier. I’m Melvin, this is Vosser, and this is Sam.” Melvin introduced himself to Val.
“We were just discussing Ivan’s lack of work,” James said and laughed.
“Oh?” Melvin said as he draped his napkin over his lap.
“He’s an investor in the Asian market.” James continued.
Melvin smiled and nodded. “Capitalism makes the world go around.”
“I disagree. Powerful men make the world go around, but capitalism does assist in purchasing comforts for us,” Smith corrected the man. Everyone except Komal laughed. Val smiled at Smith, and a knowing look passed between them. Smith had put himself above Komal. It was a calculated slight and one, as Val had reminded him, Komal wouldn’t tolerate. Komal’s eyes slid to Val, who was now chatting with his mother.
Smith took his drink off the server’s silver tray after Val reached for hers and listened to the banal conversations in the room and at the table. If Val had guessed correctly, Komal would want to take him down a notch to prove his delusions of grandeur. Val believed she would be the way Komal would do it. Smith took another sip of his scotch and slid his gaze to Komal, who was staring at him. Smith dismissed him with a roll of his eyes and scanned the rail car as if he were a king and the passengers his minions.
16
If she could have stood up and cheered, she would have. Smith had baited Komal with the aplomb of a seasoned veteran in her profession. She didn’t doubt he’d handed the man other subtle snubs while they were playing cards. The stare-down she’d witnessed when she floated through the railroad car and displayed all her assets to the crowd was intense, and Smith had won. His story about his mother’s assets and the Asian market was perfect. Although the more Nadia drank, the more she stared at Smith. Val kept redirecting her attention until the first course arrived.
Val looked up while eating her soup to catch Komal staring at her. She blinked and flashed him a friendly smile, acting oblivious to the game being played between the two men. He returned her smile and nodded. “Have you ever worked as a model?” He asked across the table.
She laughed. “Goodness, no, I like to eat.”
Smith leaned back and put his arm on the back of her chair possessively. She smiled at him and then looked back at Komal. “What do you do?”
Every person at the table stopped eating. Val looked from person to person. “Did I put my foot in it? Are you famous?”
Komal chuckled, and the tension at the table seemed to melt a bit. “Famous? No,” he demurred. “I am just a man.” He spread his hands out and smiled.
Nadia snorted and tossed off the rest of her martini. She lifted the glass and caught the attention of the server. “Are you enjoying the train ride?” Komal asked Val.
“I am! It’s so exciting. Ivan thinks I’m silly, but I adore trains. I always have. He didn’t want to be so far from his markets and internet, but I love the beauty of the countryside.” She animated her talk and had everyone’s attention. “Oh, Ivan, Daria said she’d see if I could get permission to go farther up and see the other cars.”
“You shouldn’t bother the staff.” Smith reprimanded her and took another drink of his scotch.
“Oh. I’m sorry,” Val said, shrinking in on herself.
“I could take you on a tour. I have access to whatever I want,” Komal suggested.