“As the person who brought you together, a small percentage wouldn’t be remiss. I want to be included in this deal. It’s going to be lucrative for all of us. Also, I want Leo to be the main point of contact when the deal goes through.”
Not if, when. Viktor was already getting ahead of himself. Not surprising. He saw dollar signs, not the issue of multiple partners and a span of the United States. So many things could go wrong with this deal.
There was also the concerning factor of requesting Leo to be head of the deal. Why? Leo had been wanting to strike out on his own, but this would be a big acquisition for him. Too much in fact. Zoe only knew Diego by reputation. He would eat Leo alive if he didn’t have his father behind him. Maybe that was what Viktor was hoping for; Leo to go off on his own and need a helping hand. Viktor would be standing in the wings to guide him. Push him where he wanted.
Leo may be ruthless like his father, but he was easily led. No one took him seriously yet or gave him a real purpose. Leo was too eager to prove himself without thinking of all the angles. Viktor must be counting on that.
“So why not go to Maxim directly; why me?”
“Maxim is an old, dear friend,” he said, sounding genuine as he touched his chest over his heart. “He is my brother in many ways. We came from the mother country together. Only a handful of dollars to our name.” He held up his empty hand to emphasize his point. “I built an empire from nothing.”
Yeah, she’d heard this story a hundred times from Viktor. Maxim didn’t talk about Russia. He preferred to leave that part of his life behind.
“But Maxim is how you say, old school. Very set in his ways. He won’t agree so easily to a partnership. I was hoping you could convince him.”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I said to Leo last night; arrange a meeting and we’ll talk. But,” she said before he could crow in victory, “I won’t allow the family to sign off on anything that will compromise their own business.”
“Of course, Zoe.” Viktor slithered closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist again. “So loyal, I’ve always admired that about you. Would you ever consider coming back to me?”
“I’m quite happy where I am; thank you though.”
“If you ever change your mind… Who knows, if all goes well, maybe Diego Fuentes will try and steal you away.” Yeah, no thanks. She had it up to her ears with mob bosses.
“He can try, but I like where I am.” Zoe checked her watch. “I’m afraid I’m running behind. The package, please.”
Viktor snapped his fingers and someone took the case out of the vehicle and handed it to her. It felt the right weight. Viktor would be foolish to try and steal from Maxim, but she wouldn’t put anything past him. It was usually those closest to you one had to watch out for, not from a distance.
“Zoe, always a pleasure.” Viktor didn’t wait for her to take his hand and shake it. He reached forward and brought the back of her hand to his lips again.
She pasted on a smile. “Mr. Popov, why don’t you come to the house for dinner tomorrow? Maxim would love to visit with you before meeting Diego. Or perhaps at one of the clubs.”
“His house would be wonderful. I’ll call Diego and make arrangements tonight. Until tomorrow,???????.” He leered at her, making her skin crawl.
He’d been calling her that since the day she’d met him. She’d finally looked it up one day, wondering what he was always calling her. Kitten. As far as nicknames went, it wasn’t the worst, but couldn’t she have been a lioness at least? Kitten sounded so weak. She was far from weak.
Zoe retracted her hand from his tentacle grip and walked back to the car. Logan kept pace right next to her until they reached the back of the car and went to their own sides.
“We can head back to the mansion now.” Zoe kept her focus straight ahead. She could see Logan looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored him.
She didn’t have to explain Viktor to him. He was just the driver. It wasn’t his business anyway.
Logan fired up the engine and backed out of his space. Zoe didn’t relax until they started going back down the ramp to the city below.
“How many drops do you usually do?”
Zoe thought about making a snide comment about his being nosy again, but he’d already explained that he asked a lot of questions. Either she would have to get used to it or tell Maxim to get her a mute driver.
For some reason she liked him. Nosy and all. It also took her mind off of Viktor and what his angle really was. He wanted something, but she didn’t know what. Yet. She needed to talk to Aleksei. He was good at snooping. Which sounded like an oxymoron given his size. But the kid could be incognito when he wanted to be, and he was good at getting intel.
“It depends on the day. I don’t keep a set schedule.” She didn’t do all of the runs, but certain jobs she liked to oversee herself.
Zoe noticed Logan wasn’t moving from the exit of the parking garage. His gaze was across the street.
“What is it?” She didn’t see anything that would hold his interest.
“Across the street.” He tilted his chin toward where he was speaking.
Zoe looked harder and that’s when she noticed it. How had she missed that? “It’s the same car from earlier.”
