𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑥 ✔︎ || 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑

37

~ ilya ~

"We should host a ball."

My head shot up towards Phoenix, who was lounging on the sofa in my office. She didn't meet my eyes, flicking absentmindedly through the stolen documents she was 'learning to read'.

"What?"

She glared accusingly at the papers, slapping them down on the sofa before strolling over to my desk until she was standing behind me. "I said," she repeated , pressing my shoulders to emphasise her words, "we should host a ball at Novgorod."

I returned my focus to the screen. Chevneshesky's daily report had just come in — there was no progress. My fingers itched to type the profanities I knew I shouldn't send. It didn't help that Aleksey had gone to Moscow to tie up some loose ends. There was an invoice for firearms that also needed chasing up. An adventure for later today...

"Ilya!" Phoenix chastised behind me. "Stop ignoring me!"

Paying her little heed, I began to formulate my response; Chevneshesky's two weeks were running out.

"That's it! I'm—"

With a sigh, I shut the laptop screen and turned to face her. My hands found her hips and pulled her in.

"Where did this come from?" I demanded.

A ball? We hadn't had one since my father's death. We'd never have one again. I despised those events, when I was forced to socialise with men who wanted my wealth and power. Not to mention, their invasive wives...

Phoenix cupped my cheeks with her palms, staring down at me intently. "It never 'came' from anywhere. It's just a thought—"

Having heard enough, I turned back to my laptop. My emails weren't going to send themselves.

"You're impossible," she complained. "You never listen to me! You think I'm stupid, don't you? Is that it? You think I'm incapable—"

This time, my sigh was loud and exasperated.

Reluctantly, I turned back to her wide eyes.

"I never said any of that," I muttered, leaning back in my chair.

Her gaze narrowed, pinning mine down. "You act like it! Just listen—"

"Fine."

"Good."

She moved to straddle me and I raised a brow.

"As I was saying," she continued with a little smirk, "we should have a ball at Novgorod—"

"They're pointless." I caught a glimpse of her thunderous expression and sighed, "Go on."

"The balls were to make new connections, right? And strengthen old ones? Well, we need connections. Clearly, you only trust your own men and as skilled as they are, it wouldn't hurt to have more resources." She finished with a triumphant grin.

Phoenix never failed to surprise me with how quickly she caught on to how things worked in my world. She was a natural.

"I listened to you," I began, "and we'll continue this conversation in the summer."

My hands found her hips to place her back on the ground but she clenched her fists on the lapels of my suit jacket.

"No, there's another thing!" she insisted, pushing herself down on my legs.

I tensed, tightening my grip around her waist.

"Uh-uh," she said, clicking her tongue, "we're having a civil conversation."

I rolled my eyes, releasing my hold. "What's the other thing, then?"

"Oh, I was thinking we should do the ball now," she revealed, gauging my reaction.

Furrowing my brows, I explained, "We do them in the summer."

Phoenix shook her head. "Your father did them in the summer," she countered. "I think you're so opposed to the idea because of him and his legacy. You don't have to live up to that, Ilya, you should be different, do your own thing. This is your Bratva, now. He did them in the summer. You do them in the winter."

I listened, actually listened. How could she unravel me so easily? The idea wasn't as horrific as one would expect but still...

"So, what do you think?" she grilled, impatiently. "Next week?"

I raised a brow. "They take months to prepare for, Phoenix."

"Why?" she demanded. "You just have to send people invitations and decorate Novgorod, right?"

My eyes flickered back to the laptop. "Invitations aren't that easy to send," I told her. "You have to be strategic with who you send them to and who you don't."

"I'll help!" she persisted.

For a moment, I stared at her. Why was she so determined to have this ball at such short notice? It didn't make sense, but neither could I think of an ulterior motive. Perhaps, she was bored. Or maybe she wanted to prove something.

"Please," she murmured, pressing her forehead against mine, "I want to do this with you, for you."

Her voice carried something heavy in it, like she was burdened. But with what?

Was it that she felt useless here?

"You don't need to do anything for me," I said and after a long moment, decided, "Fine, if you want this so much—"

"I adore you, Ilya!" Phoenix exclaimed, crushing my face against her chest.

I didn't mind the position, but I gently pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"You've already done so much for me," I told her, sincerely. "For the Bratva. You don't ever need to do anything."

She smiled softly, stroking my jaw with her thumb. "Just this last thing," she murmured, before adding, "before I have other things to deal with."

She grinned, glancing down at her stomach. I couldn't help but smile too, almost being able to picture her chasing after a little one. Would she scold the baby in Polish like she did when she was irritated with me? Or maybe her insults were specially reserved for me?

I inched closer and her lips met mine halfway.

A minute later, there was a knock at the door. I glared, unappreciatively at the wood and mentally cursed whoever was behind it. Phoenix laughed, moving to stand.

"Войдите," I barked. [Come in]

A red-haired woman peered around the room. "Вы назвали меня сэр?" [You asked for me, sir?]

Oh.

Clearing my throat, I fidgeted with my cufflinks. "Это она. Мне нужно, чтобы вы провели необходимые проверки, а затем отправили отчет в мой офис." [This is her. I need you to do the necessary check ups and then, send a report to my office]

After a little research, I found that it was indeed normal for a pregnant woman to have routine doctor's appointments. Initially, I was alarmed that Phoenix had missed so many until Dr Khorova assured me that she'd be fine.

Phoenix glanced at me, questioningly.

"Your appointment," I said, meeting her gaze. Just like she'd asked.

For a moment, she seemed confused and then, panicked. I reached for a hand, squeezing it.

With a nod, she leaned down to press a kiss to my cheek. Then, she followed the woman out.

A minute later, I found myself still staring at the door. Shaking my head, I opened the laptop again.

NOTE:
I don't really know how to write big party scenes... but that's fine because—
WELL YOU'LL FIND OUT WONT YOU?! Eek, I'm excited!!
xo, Rosavi