She laughs, and it’s bitter as hell. “Oh, God, I don’t want your dick, you stupid man.” Then she sighs. “Do you know what they say about me? How did she land him? How did that plain, uninteresting woman land the great Konstantin Silvanov? They say Michael is yours, biologically, even though we’ve always been truthful that he isn’t. They say the only reason you’re with me is because of guilt. Now they will say even worse things. Your assistant, Konstantin?”
“Yulia, you know I love you like a sister, but come on. I’ve given you everything you have.”
She turns to me, her eyes flashing. “I upheld my end of the bargain too, Konstantin. Don’t you dare forget that. I went to all those boring functions and dinners and acted as if you were a good man, an honorable man, a family man, so you could get in amongst the old guard and slowly buy up their assets. I helped. I’m not a charity case.”
I should shut up because I’m in a shitty mood. It’s been building all day, and the last thing I need is a row with Yulia, but I don’t. Instead, I keep on with the argument. “Yeah, you did your bit, and you helped, but I built all of this.” I gesture around the room. “Me. With blood, sweat, and tears. You’re just a passenger.”
“Fuck you,” she screams at me.
This is not her. She doesn’t react this way, not ever. “Yulia, what the hell?”
She sighs, sags and sits back, her head hanging. “Michael has done something … terrible.”
“What?”
“He’s got a girl pregnant, and not just any girl; she’s the daughter of a very senior government dignitary.”
Ah shit. This is bad. Me being outed screwing my assistant isn’t great any day, but if it gets out that Michael has gotten some young woman pregnant, our family is going to look totally screwed up. As well as looking like shit, it could affect my business going forward; particularly as I’m moving more of my work over to the U.K. and building an empire there to rival the one I have here. I don’t want anything to get in the way of my future plans.
“Listen, I’ll get rid of the woman, permanently.”
Yulia stares at me as if I’ve grown another head. “No, you will not.”
“Honey, she can’t do this to us without reprisals, not in our world.”
“Kill her, and you won’t see Michael again.”
“I won’t kill her, but I’ll have her so scared she’ll never show her fucking face again. I’ll send Denis.”
“No, no you won’t. I don’t want her harmed, okay? Anything happens to her, and you won’t see Michael again.”
“Wow, okay, you’ve not used that particular threat before.”
“It’s not a threat. Things are … fucked.” Yulia shakes her head. “This isn’t working. This has to stop.”
“What?” I know Yulia; she doesn’t play games. We aren’t in love, so she’s not some rejected, angry wife. There’s no reason for her to say this unless she means it.
“I’ve been thinking things need to change for a while. Now, with the mess Michael has got himself in, it’s imperative. I want to move to England and take Michael, enroll him in university there, but I met someone, and she’s based here. She’s different to the other women, K, this is serious.”
Oh, nice. She has a go at me, but she’s also met someone. A moment of panic hits me. I don’t want to lose her and Michael. I might not be in love with her, but I love her, like family. I love Michael too.
“What are you saying?” I keep my tone neutral, even though I’m feeling anything but. “You want to take Michael and leave, go to England, and the only thing stopping you is some woman you’ve only just met; not me, not what we’ve had together for years?”
She gets up and walks through the lounge into the massive kitchen. Pouring some wine from the fridge, she offers me a glass, but I shake my head and instead grab the vodka. This calls for something stronger. Michael might not be mine by blood, but I care for him, and I don’t want to lose touch with him.
Sipping at her wine, Yulia regards me. “You are wanting to spread your empire, right? You have a lot of upcoming work in London, yes?”
“Yes,” I say cautiously.
“You’ve been saying for a long time, Britain is where it’s at for firms such as yours, and you’ve already bought out two companies. I know you’ve got a trip over there planned for next month.”
I sip at the chilled vodka and cross my ankles as I lean back against the counter. “Go on.”
“The girl doesn’t want to keep the baby; she wants to give it up for adoption. Her parents have agreed to this. They don’t want her to have an abortion as they’re deeply religious, but they don’t wish for their daughter to find her life over at seventeen either. She’s going away for a long break to a spa, and she’ll come back in around eight months, without the baby.”
“How … old-fashioned,” I comment.
“Maybe, but it’s what she desires, her parents too, and I’m relieved because I don’t want Michael to have to be a father so young. He’s only just turned eighteen. The life he’s leading here, though, it’s not a good one. He’s fallen in with a bad crowd, and he’s been drinking, doing drugs, and obviously, having sex. I want him to go to university in the UK, and I want him to have a base there … with you.”
She sips again and holds her hand up when I begin to speak. “You’re going there next month, and you’ll be renting somewhere for an extortionate fee.” She’s referring to the fact that I have a couple of months business to take care of in London. I’m increasingly busy over there. The British laws are so lax in some ways that fortunes can be made. “Can’t you buy?” she continues. “Buy a house near London, but in the suburbs, somewhere Michael won’t get into as much trouble, and base yourself there. Surrey is lovely. It’s an easy commute to London, and the university there is supposed to be excellent. I don’t want him in a big city like London, where he’ll go back to his ways.”
I don’t want to tell Yulia that Michael will go back to his ways wherever he is most likely.
“You can buy a house there, and instead of just going over for a month or two, go over for a longer period and get him settled. I’m sure you can put someone in charge over here for a while.”
So… I’m not about to lose Michael; in fact, Yulia is asking me to take over the care of him. It’s a relief, but it’s also a big decision. She’s right, I was planning on moving more of my operations into the UK. The legal ones at least. I can smell a bargain like a shark smells blood, and I can spot talent a mile away. I have an unerring ability to buy up ailing companies and either sell off their parts for a profit or turn them around.
My nickname amongst those who know me in our little illegal community is King K, but in wider Russia it is The Company Medic. Seriously. Some fucking journo commented that I was like a doctor for failing organizations in that I gave them the kiss of life, so The Company Medic became a thing. I hate it, but it sanitizes what I do and makes me less terrifying to the staff when they hear I’ve bought out the firm they work for.