“It’s aspecialnight,” Vitali repeated slowly, giving the man a meaningful look.
And that was the end of the conversation.
As it turned out, it was indeed a special night.
A very special night.
29
ASpecial Night
No part of my unofficial Saturday evening birthday went as I expected. And at this point, I should have accepted that to be the rest of my life, but there were a lot of things to accept all at once, and it hadn’t been long enough for me to truly know and understand Vitali Konstantinov.
He received a call and left shortly after we got back from the spa outing. I finished getting ready by myself to the tune of Maybeth’s ‘Promises.’
Don’t let your heart play dangerous games,she sang while I secured the straps on my absurdly expensive shoes.You’ll end up broken…
Misha rang, and I hurried downstairs. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed he didn’t get outfitted like a chauffeur, but I probably would have popped a stitch laughing if he had. Nevertheless, he looked nice in slacks and a dress shirt, but when I mentioned that, he politely told me to get my behind in the car. Maybe not in those words.
We didn’t speak much on the drive, and when I asked him where we were going, he only told me it was called‘the Imperial,’and that there would be dinner and dancing.
I’d never heard of‘the Imperial,’ but it didn’t take long to realize why.
When the car slowed, it was in front ofElit.
I stared at it, mouth agape. New letters had been put up to emphasize the rebranding, but the outline of old ones still remained.
“You’re not serious…” I said as he opened the door for me (I hadn’t even caught the fact that Misha was being gentlemanly).
He shrugged. “They have good food.”
“Mish… it’s only been a few months…”
“Listen,” he said irritably, “it’s difficult to get a reservation, so Kurov isn’t grieving that hard. Besides, it belongs to Sergei now.”
I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing the coat check, much less the rest of the club’s interior, so I kept my eyes tightly shut and took my initial step inside blind. Misha had me by the arm, and thankfully, talked me through the first little bit until I gained the bravery to look on.
It was… different.
There was no coat check; instead, the walls had been moved back to open a wide reception area with soft piano music coming from a walled-off space to the right. Everything appeared new and tastefully done.
“Where is Vitali?” I asked as the two of us continued through after he whispered back and forth with the receptionist. “Tell me the truth, is he planning something?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Don’t be an idiot—you think I’m going to tell you?”
I couldn’t argue with such a logical point.
We came around the corner, and the first thing I noticed was that they had moved the bar. The place was unrecognizable. This wasn’t adiscotecaanymore, but a high-end lounge. I still couldn’t believe Vitali would bring me here, of all places—
Then, I saw him, and the chatter around me dimmed.
Several tables had been set up in the far corner where a group of well-dressed people with undoubtedly expensive drinks hovered about in conversation. It wasn’t hard to spot Vitali, but it was hard to look away. I’d never seen him in a suit. No matter how elegantly he normally appeared, a suit transformed anyone into a different man. The perfectly tailored, off-black pants fit slightly tighter in all the right places, and I couldn’t help but remember what lay underneath. Of course, a shiny watch I could see from afar sat easily below the starched cuffs. Casually open, his jacket revealed a fashionable white shirt with the first few buttons undone…
Undone…
