“I fired him.”
“What? Why?” Alex scowled at him. “I interviewed two dozen people to find him for you.”
“He was scared of me.”
“That means he was smart.”
“I can’t have someone around all the time who’s scared of me.” Dimitri gestured around the bistro. “No one atKrasis scared of me. Sometimes I wish they were, but it’s easier to work with people who aren’t stuttering and shaking when they talk to me. The assistant you hired did that.”
It just hit him. Natasha had never done that. Maybe it was because she’d known who he was from the movie, but even from their first meeting, she’d never cowered before him. She was quiet, and she followed his lead, but it wasn’t out of fear. She’d seen him yell and slam things, and she responded as Alex did, completely unfazed. And she still wanted to be around him.
Alex just shook his head. “We’re going to have to hire some people, if we’re going to get this going before my kid is born.”
“Right. My godchild. How’s Marina?”
“She’s good. Not much in the way of morning sickness anymore, which is why I felt okay flying out here. Her sister is staying with her while I’m gone.”
Good. Marina was good for Alex, who tended toward more serious moods, although his sarcastic side came out with Dimitri. Marina brought out a softer side of him, with her bright laughter and sweet demeanor. She teased Alex, pulled him out of his shell. They would make good parents.
It got Dimitri thinking. What did others see when he and Natasha were together? There weren’t many people he could ask. Hardly anyone had seen them together. But his brother and theKrasavitsastaff seemed to think they’d be good together. They saw something even he hadn’t been able to see for too long.
Natasha was right for him. He’d known it from the moment he first danced with her, first held her in his arms and moved with her in a silent rehearsal space.
Maybe he was right for her, too. He’d have to show her how right they could be together.
But she was probably still at home packing. Real life had intruded on the bubble they’d created over the last few weeks, and she was fleeing like a scared rabbit. Again.
Alex was typing with one hand while flipping through the Idea Book pages with the other.
“You really think we can do this?” Dimitri asked.
His cousin stared at him over the laptop screen, eyes dark and intense like they got when he was working. “Yes. Don’t be stupid.” He went back to typing.
“I just mean—”
“Mitya, cut it out. We’re doing the show. It’s brilliant.”
“Really?”
“I’m not going to sit here inflating your ego. It’s too big as it is. And if you make a ‘that’s what she said’ joke, I’ll murder you right here in your own restaurant and then Nik will be my child’s godfather.”
“But don’t you think—”
Alex rolled his eyes and shut the laptop. “Stop making excuses. What the hell is wrong with you? None of the things that stood in our way before are there now. This is the best idea you’ve ever had, and you’re more famous than you’ve ever been, thanks to that dumb show. What’s the problem?”
Dimitri sucked his teeth. Maybe if he told Alex the problem, his cousin would have a solution. “It’s that dumb show. That’s what’s in the way.”
“Why?” Alex frowned. “Didn’t you turn in your contract? I looked it over for you weeks ago. It’s good to go.”
“I haven’t turned it in yet.”
“For god’s sake, why?”
Because it felt like failure? Because they couldn’t do what they were about to do without it, and he hated to admit how much he needed it?
Those had been the reasons before, but now, he had a whole new reason that outweighed all the others.
And Alex’s faith scared him. What if they failed again? What if they couldn’t do it before Marina gave birth, and he lost his biggest supporter? It would all fall apart without Alex. Dimitri came up with the ideas, but Alex worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make them happen.
