2|Where People Find Wives

"Oh, you do?" Nikolai arched his brows in amusement.

"Yes, I do!" Andrei retorted. It was all lies, of course. He didn't have a girlfriend. But his father didn't need to know this. "How am I supposed to explain Veronika to her?"

Nikolai shrugged carelessly, asking, "Why have I never met this mystery girlfriend?"

"You've never met any of my girlfriends," Andrei reminded him, suddenly glad he'd never made the mistake of bringing women home to meet his father. Who knew keeping his love life under wraps would work in his favour someday?

"Your PA is always your plus-one at company events, and you've never been photographed with a woman before. I find it strange that you've never mentioned a girlfriend."

"Strange or not, I'm not marrying Veronika. So call off this damn thing."

"Who is she?" Nikolai ignored his outburst, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "And how long has this thing been going on?"

Andrei took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, surprising himself with how easily the lies rolled off his tongue when he spoke. "We've been dating quietly for a few months now, and you haven't met her because she's out of the country a lot."

"I see," Nikolai nodded, but the suspicious look in his eyes told Andrei he didn't buy his tall tale one bit. "What does she do?"

"You can ask all your questions when you meet her," Andrei said, praying it would end the interrogation. 

It didn't. 

Instead, Nikolai pushed forward with his crazy demands, "Three months from now, I want you married and her belly swollen with my grandson." 

"Papa!" Andrei protested, unable to believe how quickly his little lie had spun out of control. "It's too soon. She's not ready to settle down. Her career's just taking off."

"She doesn't need a damn career!" Nikolai retorted. "The sooner she quits her job, the better. Three months is all you have. Marry her and fill her belly with an heir, or Veronika steps in!"

Andrei knew his father all too well. Once he committed to a particular course of action, it was impossible to convince him otherwise, so he didn't even try to change his mind. Instead, he negotiated, "Give me six months." 

He had no fucking clue where he'd find a wife in six months. Not after he'd burned his bridges with Dreams. He doubted Vivienne would want to send him a fake bride. 

Nikolai bluntly refused, shaking his head. "I want a daughter-in-law and a grandson on the way in exactly three months."

"What if it's a girl?" 

"Even better. I've been told women make the best leaders," Nikolai beamed. 

"Fine then!" Andrei sighed with resignation, feeling utterly defeated as he headed for the door, amazed at how quickly things changed. An hour ago, he was ready to jump on a plane and leave Rock Castle behind for good. But now…now he had to find a wife.

"Andrei!" Nikolai yelled after him just as he was about to disappear from view.

"What?"

"You forgot Veronika's résumé"

Andrei turned around and asked, "Why do I need Veronika's résumé when I have a girlfriend?"

"Well, just in case things don't work out with your mystery girlfriend?" Nikolai replied, his smug smile matching the shrewd look in his eyes.

Wordlessly, Andrei crossed the room again, snatched the offending envelope from the desk and tucked it under his arm. 

The housekeeping staff bid him farewell in the hallway as Pavel saw him off, "Good night, young Ivanov."

"There's nothing good about this night, Pavel!" Andrei growled over his shoulder, not bothering to wait for the butler's response as he slammed the front door behind him. 

His lieutenants, Igor and Ivan, were waiting in the car. Several bodyguards occupied the other two cars parked behind them.

"I'm guessing the last supper didn't go well?" said Igor as soon as Andrei slid in the back. 

"There was no last supper. We're staying," he announced, his tone oozing annoyance as he quickly filled them in on his meeting with his father. 

He pulled out his phone and called his assistant. They spent ten minutes sorting out the logistical nightmare of cancelling his flight and putting the brakes on his transfer to the Moscow office.

"True off my chest, I'm glad we're staying," confessed Ivan when Andrei finally hung up the phone. "I mean, I can't even stand the winters here. How the hell would I have survived the Russian cold?"

"You did just fine for four years," Andrei reminded him.

Igor cleared his throat, putting an end to their back and forth. He shifted the car into gear and pulled away, carefully navigating his way down the long, winding driveway.

"Straight to the penthouse then, Boss?" he asked when they sped through the gates and down the quiet street.

"No! Take me where people find wives," Andrei retorted as he pulled out Veronika's résumé.

"And where might that be?" Both men guffawed, their booming laughter practically rattling the walls of the car. 

"It's not fucking funny. I have three months to find a wife and nut her, or I'll have to marry Veronika Petrov over here just to get what's rightfully mine!" Andrei growled with distaste as he stared at his future wife's photo. 

Veronika was stunning, in that ice-maiden—no—in that Russian assassin kind of way. There was no way she'd be the mother of his child. She looked a little too trigger-happy and had what Andrei called the 'mad eye', hinting at her propensity for violence and destruction.

"Here," he said, handing the document to Ivan. "Get me everything on Veronika. The last time I saw her was two years ago. I need to know what she's been up to since."

"So you are marrying her then?" Igor asked, his eyes still on the road.

"Do I look insane to you?" Andrei snorted. He had no intention of marrying Veronika willingly. But if push came to shove, and he didn't find a wife in three months, there was a real possibility he'd end up with her. And while their families were well acquainted, Andrei knew very little about her. He had to know who he was getting into bed with. 

"Do it quietly; I don't want my father to know about this," he added.

"Sure thing, Boss," Ivan said as he paged through the document. "And there's a solution to your little dilemma."

Andrei instantly perked up at this. He liked solutions. So he wedged himself in the space between the two front seats, "I'm all ears. Tell me more."

"Online dating," Ivan announced.

"There are tons of apps," added Igor. "I use a few myself."

Other than Dreams—not that it qualified as a dating app—Andrei had never tried online dating. He was old school and preferred meeting his women the good old conventional way. The idea of chatting up random strangers online didn't sound appealing to him. But since he wasn't looking for a real wife, what harm could it do?

"Are you in or what?" Ivan demanded, brushing a lock of unruly black hair from his forehead as he turned slightly in the passenger seat to look at Andrei.

Igor, too, took his eyes off the road long enough to promote Hot Connexions and all its perks. 

Andrei was still not sold after his sales pitch, but since he had no other options, he relented.

"Okay, create a profile for me," he said, handing over his phone to Igor. 

He glanced at his wristwatch, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Now that he didn't have to finish packing up his life, he had plenty of time on his hands, so he instructed his men to head to the Mirage.

"I thought you hated ballet," said Ivan.

"I do," Andrei replied.

"Then why are we going to there again?"

"Because I didn't see the ending last night, and you know I hate leaving stuff unfinished."

"It's Romeo and Juliet!" Igor rolled his eyes. "It always ends the same way. They off themselves!'

"That's because they are star-crossed, dummy!" said Ivan. 

"Star-crossed my foot! They were just plain dumb kids who had no business falling in love, that's all, especially when their families were sworn enemies and all—"

"Guys!" Andrei groaned. He really wasn't in the mood for an in-depth analysis of the play. "It's entertainment. Don't overthink this!"

"And you know what else is entertainment?" asked Igor. 

"What?" Andrei mumbled.

"Finding you a wife!" Igor smiled wryly, threw Andrei's phone at Ivan, and told him to do the honours, "Make the boss look irresistible."

Andrei opened his eyes and sat up, shaking his head vehemently, "No, tell them no lies. Tell them exactly the asshole that I am. I want them to know what they're getting themselves into."

"Sure thing, Boss." Ivan chuckled and got down to work. Within minutes, Andrei's dating profile on Hot Connexions was live. But he had zero matches.

"Ivan! Where's my new wife?" he asked.

"I don't think they like you, Boss."

"Excuse me, what does that mean?" Andrei demanded. "I'm handsome, and I have a shit ton of money. What's there not to like?"

"Well, everyone knows you have close ties to the mob."

"So? There must be someone out there for me. Someone that's not Veronika."

And so Igor and Ivan spent the rest of their drive to the Mirage trying to find a bride for Andrei.