Devil | A Solomons

SIX - THE POWDER ROOM

"Thank you for your time, Miss Zakharov."

Luca outstretched his hand and Irina placed her hand inside his, shaking it with a forced smile as he leant across her desk and whispered in her ear that he'd pick her up at eight o'clock that evening.

He walked out the door, not before tipping his hat in Arthur's direction as he passed him. Irina didn't know why Luca had asked which Shelby brother it was that had arrived at her office, or how he even knew the name Shelby at all, but she quickly dismissed the thought when Arthur approached her, closing the door behind him.

"Mr Shelby," the pair shook hands and Irina gestured to the empty chair opposite her, "Please, have a seat."

Arthur sat down with his legs apart, his hands clasped at his middle. Irina knew that Thomas had brothers that worked with him but she hadn't met them at the party the other week, in fact, she hadn't even set eyes on them the entire night. Thomas had an unsettling aura about him, but she hadn't expected Arthur to unsettle her even more.

"Thank you, and sorry for arriving out of the blue, I hope I'm not keeping you from anything?"

Irina cleared her throat, "Just all these orders," she mused, tapping her pen on the stack of papers before her, "What can I do for you, Mr Shelby?"

"Tommy was supposed to come here himself but he got caught up in some business, so he asked me to come instead. He'd like to take you to dinner tonight, at the Savoy."

Irina narrowed her eyes at Arthur, "And what might the pretence of his dinner be?"

She watched as he shifted awkwardly in his seat. Irina couldn't imagine that Thomas was asking her out on a date, he didn't come across as the type to date at all, actually.

"Just dinner with a friend, that's all."

There was a small smile on Arthur's lips that told her what he'd said was a lie. Irina was still set in her answer that she would not be selling her premises to anybody anytime soon, and a dinner at The Savoy would not change that.

"I have plans tonight, unfortunately."

"Plans with Luca Changretta?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Plans that are none of your business, Mr Shelby."

Arthur smirked, holding back a chuckle as he fixed his hair underneath his cap, adjusting it before pulling down the sleeves of his white dress shirt.

"How about tomorrow?"

Irina looked up at Arthur with dead eyes, "If your brother would like to take me to dinner, he can ask me himself. I'm sorry for wasting your time today, Mr Shelby. Now if you'd excuse me, I have a lot of work to be getting on with."

He rose to his feet and headed towards the door, pausing as his hand hovered over the brass handle.

"Be careful with Luca Changretta, people who play with fire tend to get burned, Miss Zakharov."

Irina said nothing. She simply stared at him for a moment until he gave her a small nod and disappeared from her office. His proposal on behalf of his brother had intrigued her, but she had no doubt that it was only Thomas doing everything he could to persuade her to sell her warehouse, which definitely wasn't going to happen.

The rest of the day ticked by slowly. Wind and rain howled on the windows from beyond the glass, haunting breezes making it difficult for Irina to concentrate on her work. By the end of the day, she was more than ready for a drink.

***

It was eleven thirty in the evening when Irina finished her glass of wine, glancing to the side and seeing that the bottle was empty.