Page 6 of Merciless Promise
“Hey!”
“I just wanted to check in and make sure everything’s set for tonight.”
“Stephen will be at the hotel to pick me up in a few hours. I’m about to grab my dress, then head there to wait.”
“Be safe out there. I’ll check back in with you later.”
I smiled as she hung up. Rebekah had been my roommate at the boarding school and the only person I had kept in touch with since first leaving this country. After my father had dropped the bombshell about Aram Grigoryan on me, she had been my only hope. She came through for me, and our friendship was stronger than ever. I’d never had any siblings, so she was like a sister.
A sibling...Bestie...Boss...She also ran a lucrative company that so many still looked down upon, including those who booked our services. I’d been hesitant when she’d first offered me a position because I’d heard horror stories about others in the industry. No one I knew grew up wanting this to be theirlife, but sometimes life didn’t always go according to plan. It certainly hadn’t for me.
I stuffed my cellphone back into my purse, then realized the rain had ended once more. After I looked both ways before crossing the street, I closed my umbrella. As I went to stuff it into my bag, I encountered resistance in the form of a wall of muscle.
Realizing it was a person, fear filled me. Jumping back, I quickly glanced up at a pair of emerald eyes. I faltered on my feet until the stranger grabbed both of my arms to steady me.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“That’s obvious,” he replied, and the bluntness shocked me momentarily. I glanced back up at him and was about to say something else, but he cleared his throat. “Your distraction turned out to be my good fortune. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. If you hadn’t been there, I likely would have faceplanted onto the sidewalk.”
“Then it must be your lucky day as well as mine.”
“I guess so,” I said before politely smiling. “Thank you for helping me.”
“It was no problem at all. I’ll let you get back to your day.”
And from there, he just walked off. Something was weird about the encounter, but I ignored that fleeting suspicion. I did have to finish getting ready because time was truly getting away from me. All I had to do before heading home was grab my dress from a local boutique. It had required an alteration to it, and they’d already left me a message to tell me it was done while I’d been busy with my manicure.
The dress boutique was a few doors down, and while the scent of coffee as I passed the small café called to me, I hadno time to stop and enjoy a cup. I dashed into the shop just as a few large drops of rain hit my bare arm. It was about to pour again, but with any luck, it would stop again before I got back outside.
The bell rang as the door closed behind me, and a woman stepped out from in front of a mannequin. She had a needle between her lips, and after she removed it from her mouth, she smiled at me. “May I help you?”
“I’d dropped off a dress yesterday, and Missy called to let me know it was finished.”
“Ahh, yes. Missy’s at lunch, but I’ll get it for you. Would you confirm your name for me?”
“Ekaterina Petrov,” I lied having used my mother’s maiden name instead of my own. Aram was looking for me, and I refused to make it easy for him.
“Thanks. It’ll be one minute.”
She set the needle and thread down, then disappeared into the back of the store. While I waited, I decided to glance at a few of the gowns on a nearby rack, especially the blue one, which happened to be my favorite color. These were much more formal than anything I’d ever wear on a date or for a night out. They were so intricate. It would be much more fitting for a wedding, and that was one event where I had no intention of starring.
As I moved the dresses across the rod, the hairs on my arms stood up. I turned, expecting to see someone there, but not finding anyone. I shook my head, then continued my perusal, but the same suspicious thoughts came creeping back in. This life was hard because I was always looking over my shoulder. Aram was a powerful and resourceful man, and one who wouldn’t give up the fantasy of me becoming his wife and bearing his children. As I continued to look toward the door and window, I still didn’t see anyone, so I began to assume it’d been some passerby.
“I found it,” the woman announced as she returned to the front of the store.
I stepped away from the rack of dresses and over to the counter. The alteration was to fix some stitching by the bodice. While I didn’t sleep with my clients as some of the girls did, it didn’t mean a client hadn’t tried to get handsy with me. The last time I’d worn this particular gown, the judge’s large hand had tried slipping into my dress, resulting in a tear to the delicate stitching.
I unzipped the dress bag to make sure that everything was fixed, and now that I had finally accomplished my last task, I only needed to pay for the alteration, then be on my way. I zipped the bag back up, then reached for my wallet.
“Is everything to your liking?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
I settled the tab, then tossed the dress bag over my arm. When I got back outside, it was now raining heavily again. I was thankful my gown was secure and would stay dry, even though my pastel pink heels would not. The satin material on them would stain with the dirty water from the street puddles, so I’d have to toss them out. A new pair of Louboutins would now go on my to-buy list.
Once the umbrella was up, I stepped out from under the awning. The streets that had been semi-crowded just a few minutes before were now scarce. With all of my morning errands on the same block, I hadn’t parked too far away. About ten minutes later, I pulled out onto the street. The luxury hotel I always booked for dates was a little over a mile away, but with the usual afternoon congestion now starting to build, it wouldn’t be as short a commute as I’d hoped. Still, it’d leave me just enough time to get ready for Daniro’s party. After, I’d return to the hotel alone and wait for the money to fully hit my bank account.
