Don't Let Random People Approach Me

 Merri woke up in the morning and stretched her arms above her head. Yawning, she reached over and grabbed the phone from the nightstand. She laid on the pillow and called a wealthy woman whose daughter was her student.

The woman went out of town a few days and canceled, with losing her job at the wine bar she needed the money. "Mrs. Shaw, do you want me to come to your house today for a piano lesson?"

Mrs. Shaw had a look of disgust on her heavily made up face when she saw the caller. She had been avoiding Merri hoping the girl would get the hint she was no longer needed.

Getting in the back of a silver Mercedes she responded, "No. I won't be using you anymore."

Merri sat up and knitted her delicate eyebrows, "Is there a particular reason?"

 "If you must know, I don't think you would be a good influence on my daughter. I hired you because I took pity on you, believing you were a poor University student. It came to my attention that you well…work in a wine bar as a hostess."

 "What? I'm not a hostess!"

 "You don't work at The Black Swan Club?"

 "Ah..well I did..but I no longer work there. I played the piano…I was never a hostess!"

The woman was looking at her fingernails thinking about which color she should have her nails painted. The arrogant woman didn't want to have this unpleasant conversation but after her best friend complained to her she had no choice. "You admit you worked there?"

 "Well yes."

 "Then what I heard is true. You tried to seduce my good friend's daughter, Bella Fremont's fiance, Alexi Baranov."

That was the first time she heard the perverted man's name and she trembled. No wonder he possessed such a dangerous and intimidating aura. Alexi Baranov…he is one of the most powerful men in the city.

 Merri's face turned bright red from embarrassment mixed with anger. "Mrs. Shaw that is slander! I never did such a thing!" That terrible man forced me! I didn't want to have anything to do with him! Should I mention what the haughty girl you are defending was doing?!

 "I don't know why I am bothering to explain to you." She stared at her manicured red fingernails, "Whether you did or didn't… you admit you worked at a club. I don't want my daughter tainted by you. I will have my assistant mail your final check. Don't contact me again."

 After she hung up Merri was furious, knowing that gossipy woman… she will spread this rumor and no one will hire me as a piano teacher! She threw down her phone and clenched her fists, if I ever see that man again I will …I will…she sighs, "I will what? I am helpless to fight back" Why did Bella blame me? Couldn't she see I was unwilling and he was abusing me!

 She picked up the phone and looked at her bank balance. Well…I have enough for the rent anyway but I need a job.

Glancing at the compensation check on her dresser she decided to call the Black Swan. Although she wanted to rip the check up and throw it in Ivan's's face she reconsidered, I will call and ask them to reissue the check in the correct amount. No one would be there now, I will have to call later.

 Merri got out of bed and hugged the coat belonging to Nikolai to her chest and smiled. I will return the coat before class. Seeing that handsome man will definitely brighten my mood!

Nikolai was at a construction site checking on the progress. Half of the industrial complex was finished but there have been several delays in finishing the project.

The man in charge was sweating, "Mr. Rushkin, this is bad." He pointed to a giant stack of metal pipes, "I know we should have checked when the shipment was delivered, but the pipes in the front were the correct size. The building supply company refuses to accept their return. The manager said they were custom made for the order."

 Nikolai had a crease between his eyebrows, New Leaf Construction Company was under his name and not affiliated on paper with Alexi. If he could use Alexi's name no one would dare refuse the request.

He pursed his lips as he looked at the invoice, "Rimbaldi Building Supply?" His piercing gaze landed on the man's face and he growled, " Weren't you told not to use them?"

 "Boss..no one told me shit! For the project two years ago we got most of the supplies from them. They were ten per cent cheaper than the other guys." He didn't deal with Nikolai very often only when he needed him to sign documents. He had never seen his quiet boss emitting such a suffocating aura.

Nikolai is a very steady and reasonable man, he calmed down. "I will take care of it when I get back to the office." I can't blame Sammy, I never took the time to get involved, I left all the details to the people Alexi hired. This man is diligent and a hard worker.

 Sammy took off his yellow hard hat then scratched his head. He put the helmet back on and thought of his cousin. "Boss, if they won't return the pipes…well..it might be at a loss but I could probably resell them."

 "I will keep that in mind."

 An attractive woman walked over to the two men. She was wearing a blue plaid coat and carrying an Ipad. She exuded a confident air as she greeted them, "Mr. Rushkin, I am Laura Da.."

 Sammy frowned and interrupted her, "Miss Davis, where is your hard hat?"

 She intentionally took the ugly hat off when she saw Nikolai and tossed it onto a cart. Excited when Sammy told her the boss was coming this morning she wore a short designer coat and a pair of slim fitting black pants. 

 "I am going back to the office so I took it off."

 "You need to wear a hard hat the entire time you are on site."

 Being reprimanded, Laura Davis was embarrassed but remained calm on the surface, "I will keep that in mind next time. Mr. Rushkin, I wanted to introduce myself, I am one of the architects on this project. I came to the site when I heard there was a problem with the size of the pipes. I think I have a solution."

She held up the Ipad and Nikolai had a cold and indifferent expression. "I will handle the situation. Stay here and check the other supplies from Rimaldi to see if they meet the specs."

 "But..but.."

 Viktor ignored her and walked towards the parking lot. He handed a worker the hard hat he had been wearing. Noticing that the man was limping he questioned him. "What happened?"

 The man straighted his back and waved his hand. "It is nothing...nothing. The scaffolding gave way a couple days ago and I fell. I am reporting back to work today."

 Nikolai motioned for Sammy to come over, he didn't like an injured man on the job. 

 Sammy knew the injured man, "Didn't l tell you to stay home. You will be paid for the days you miss."

 "I'm good. I can work."

 Patting him on the shoulder Sammy reassured him. "It won't affect your job. Go home."

After the man left, Nikolai confronted Sammy, "If I didn't see that man were you going to tell me about the accident?"

 Sammy takes off the yellow hard hat and scratches his head. "I didn't think it needed mentioning. It was a minor accident. He was sent to the hospital and treated for his injuries. My secretary filed the paperwork for him so he could receive Workman's compensation. I don't know why he was so stubborn to return to work today. I clearly told him he wouldn't lose his job and I had his shifts covered."

 Nikolai suspected the collapse wasn't an accident and his eyes narrowed, "You need to be more vigilant. Run a safety inspection. This time it was a minor injury, next time it could be a fatality."

He had a serious expression and his voice was deeper than usual. "If that were to happen the project would be further delayed and the negative publicity detrimental to the company. I don't want to go into detail but I think someone might be targeting this project. I will send some extra men for security."

 Sammy did think the scaffolding collapsing was strange but since the worker only suffered minor injuries he wasn't overly concerned. He was more afraid of the consequences for accepting the wrong sized pipes. "Will do."

"And in the future I don't want random people allowed to approach me." He didn't like the woman's obvious attempt to get his attention. She was wearing a strong fragrance that repulsed him.

"You mean Miss Davis?"

"Anyone who is not relevant."