Chapter 34 Episode 34

Yulian shakes his head. “Classic Anton. Only he can be an asshole and still get whatever he wants.” “He’s not getting me,” I snap defensively. Yulian just laughs. “From what I hear, he already has.” Then the bastard has the audacity to saunter away. I’m halfway to walking after him, just to defend myself, when I get a faceful of Douglas. “Jesus!” I cry out, narrowly avoiding a collision with my boss. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demands with so much calm that it actually unnerves me. If we weren’t in front of the guests, he’d be screaming. “It’s one thing to have a conversation with a guest. But to get into a confrontation with—” “I’d hardly call that a confrontation.” “I am still speaking,” he hisses, cutting me off. “You will do your rounds and refrain from speaking to anybody else. Is that understood?” “What if they speak to me? Which is what Yulian was—” “You answer. You offer them a beverage or a canape. Then you leave.” He glares at me until I nod. Then the angry mask vanishes, replaced with the pleasant serenity that makes him so freakishly good at his job. He nods back and pivots away. “Ass,” I mutter under my breath when he’s out of hearing range. I look up and realize that Yulian is observing me from a few feet away. He gives me a knowing wink and turns back to an older gentleman with a bad combover. Feeling deflated, I continue my rounds. When dinner is served, I am forced to watch as Anton sits at one of the tables, Princess Jhené and Queen Jasmine situated happily on either side of him. I don’t have to turn to see who the clipped voice belongs to. “Yes, Douglas?” “You’re assigned to table one.” I don’t need to check to see which table that is. After everything that has happened tonight, I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. “What was that?” Douglas snaps. He purses his lips. “Mhmm. So I thought.” He whisks away again. I have no choice but to take my assigned cart and head to table one. Everyone is already deep in conversation, barely paying me any attention as I approach. “You can’t remain single forever, Anton,” Queen Jasmine says. “You’re far too young.” “And far too handsome,” Jhené adds with a little giggle. She’s been knocking back the champagne pretty hard tonight. I personally served her two glasses. And I’ve seen her hijack several other waiters in between. Yulian is slumped in his chair opposite them with that knowing smirk on his face. He meets my gaze, but I turn away quickly and serve the table. “Thank you,” Queen Jasmine says. Her eyes linger on my face. Jhené doesn’t even notice when I put the first appetizer down on her plate. She’s staring right at Anton, caressing his bicep as though she’s forgotten they’re in public. For a moment, I feel heat along the back of my neck and I know he’s watching me. I turn slowly to the table and announce the food I’ve just served. “Lobster, beetroot, and Beluga caviar with a crayfish emulsion and cauliflower foam.” I make the mistake of looking up when I’m finished reciting. Anton’s eyes are locked on me. His pearly grays carve off a piece of my soul before I drag my gaze away. Self-preservation. That’s all I can think of as I roll the cart away with relief. By the grace of God, I make it through the entire dinner service. And by the time dessert is served, I actually feel proud. I got off to a rocky start, but I was the perfect waitress for the whole meal. Even Jhené thanked me as I cleared away her dessert plate. The music picks up again, announcing the end of service. More champagne is brought out, but before I grab a tray, I decide to take my fifteen-minute break to use the restroom. Even Douglas gives me an approving nod as I duck through the main doors. I refrain from giving him the middle finger in return. Staff bathrooms are outside The Gilded Room to the right. I sigh when I step into the quiet little oasis. This night feels like it has stretched on forever. And it’s still not over. I look at myself in the clear oval mirror above the sink. I look tired, but no worse than I’d look if I’d spent the night in the kitchen like I was supposed to. The heat and steam always curls my hair and melts my makeup off. It’s why I usually don’t wear any while I work. I splash some water on my face and shake off the tension in my shoulders. Before I head out, I decide to check my phone. I have a couple of missed texts from Freya wishing me luck tonight. And two missed calls from my boss. Not Douglas, but my manager at Starlight Caterers. I call immediately, my heart thudding unceremoniously against my rib cage. “Melissa? Hello?” “Jessa,” Melissa says, sounding distracted. “Thanks for calling back.” “I would have called sooner, but I’m on the job.” She has never called me in the middle of a job, particularly not one this important to the company. “What’s going on?” “I understand this is highly irregular, Jessa…” I shudder. That’s the second time tonight someone has said as much to me. “What is?” She continues on as if I hadn’t spoken up. “But the unfortunate truth is… we’re going to have to let you go.” I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. “Excuse me? I’m not sure I heard you correctly.” “I’m afraid you heard me right,” Melissa says regretfully. “We’re going to have to terminate your contract with Starlight Caterers, effective immediately. Of course you’ll receive a generous severance package and a glowing recommendation letter—” “What’s the reason for termination?” I demand. Melissa stops short. “Um, well…” “You need a legitimate reason for terminating my contract, Melissa. What is it?” “That’s bullshit,” I say instantly. I’m not an angry person and I’ve certainly never talked back to Melissa. I like her, for Christ’s sake! We’ve gotten drinks after work before, and she’s always been a good boss to me. But if I’m being fired, Melissa isn’t my boss anymore. I’m tired and I’m pissed and I’ll talk to her however I damn well please. “I was promised a promotion next year. You were gonna make me head chef, remember?” I hiss. “I was going to be the head freaking chef for all catering gigs. You don’t go from that to being fired in a matter of seconds. I want the real reason, Melissa. You owe me that.” She’s silent for a long time. I wonder if she’s just going to hang up on me. “Oh, hon,” she says. “I don’t know the real reason either. I got a call from Mr. Mandelson.” “As in… the Mr. Mandelson? The owner?” “Yes. He’s the one who gave me the directive,” Melissa says. “All I can say is you pissed off someone powerful. He called me after hours and said to let you know right away.” I look up and catch my reflection in the mirror. My face is a mask of disbelief, but I’ve never looked more alive. My cheeks are flushed with color and my eyes are bright. Fighting fit. But my fight isn’t with Melissa. “Thanks for telling me, Mel. You’ve been a great boss.” Before she can say anything, I hang up. Then I march out of the bathroom and back into The Gilded Room. Douglas sees me first. He must sense the change in my demeanor, because he starts shaking his head, trying to cut me off at the pass. But I don’t listen. I don’t f*****g care anymore. All I care about is screaming at the man who has repeatedly ruined my life from the moment he walked into it. Of course, I have to wade through a crowd of women to get to him. They’re all chattering, trying to get his attention. When Anton looks at me instead, they finally take notice. The conversation stops and all eyes find me. I pin him with a glare. “We need to talk, asshole.” It’s almost twelve midnight and that limp old f**k still isn’t here. Lev and Yulian keep shooting me glances. I know what they’re thinking, because I’m thinking the same thing. It’s gonna look bad if he doesn’t show. As if there aren’t enough whispers going around already. A break in the alliance will cause problems before we’re ready to deal with them. But I ignore my two right-hand men. I know my enemy perfectly well. People sometimes thought Otets forced me to be at every meeting with him. Wrong—I wanted to be there. I understood that one day, knowing my enemy would save my Bratva. And even at eighteen, I knew that Rodion Ivanov’s friendship only ran surface-deep. I knew marrying the bastard’s daughter was a bad idea. But Otets was blinded by his desire to take the Ivanov Bratva under his wing. He thought it would all be so simple, so neat. But nothing in this life is simple. Everything comes with a bloody, ragged edge. “You’re distracted tonight, darling,” Jasmine says, shooting me a sexy smile. “Any particular reason?” “I would have believed you… if I hadn’t met the pretty blonde with the killer side-eye,” she says slyly. “What blonde?” Jhené butts in immediately.