"How's Sparky going?" Rose asked as soon as Lissa picked up her cell. Despite Vasilisa hating the epithet, it was a given for when Rose mentioned Christian, so she just let it slide.
"Um… OK?" Lissa said, finding it hard to put into words how Christian's demeanor was worrying her. "He seems to be OK with the whole thing. He is cooking, cleaning, going to classes… All the usual stuff."
Knowing Lissa so well, Rose could read between the lines. "But…..?"
"He's too normal," Lissa admitted, relieved that her bestie had coaxed it out of her. "It's like he is pretending nothing's happened," she explained.
Sitting alone in the living room of the hotel suite in Seattle, Rose nodded. Right now, 'situation normal' might be precisely what Sparky needed to do to cope.
"He might need time to process," she counseled. Heaven knows she was no expert, but losing your last close family member—especially being it was the third to pass in ignominious circumstances—would have to be hard. Normality, especially in the human world where no-one was aware of what had occurred, might be the kindest thing for him?
"If we can do anything—anything at all—please let me know," Rose said, appreciating that, right now, their distance was probably the kindest gift she and Dimitri could deliver. Yes, Tasha had been out of her mind. Yes, she had killed their former queen and framed Rose. But, at the end of the day, it had all been for her obsessional love of Dimitri. The same Guardian who was unashamedly devoted to Rose. Christian had seemed fine about their love during the visit to Abe's home in Russia, but there was no need to rub it in his face. Especially given his loss.
"Thank you," Lissa murmured. "I worry for him… He has no family left…"
"You're his family, now," Rose said, stating what, to her, was obvious. Lissa had been her best friend since kindergarten. Yes, Christian was much more recent to them—but she knew her bestie well enough to appreciate one day she'd be getting an invitation to Lord Christian Ozera and Princess Vasilisa Dragomir's wedding. Like she and Dimitri, they were meant to be.
"Good day, darling?" Janine asked innocently, regarding her daughter as she sat on a sofa in the suite's main salon. As she walked into the room, Janine was disarmingly at ease.
"So so," Rose replied, peering around her mother and relieved to see her love trailing in behind. When Janine had announced she wanted a 'mother and boyfriend' day with Dimitri, Rose had been concerned. Her mother had never been much of one, but apparently, she now intended to make up for lost time with a vengeance. If Janine had decided to be mother bear, Rose was now a very reluctant cub! And poor Dimitri…
"Did you have a good day, baby?" Rose asked, standing up and sauntering toward her man, kissing the underside of his jaw before pressing her lips to his.
"Fine," Dimitri muttered, knowing Rose would wheedle every threat her mother had made to him out later. That her mother looked decidedly smug was enough to clue Rose in that she'd been brutal.
In fact, she was just about to interrogate her mother when Dimitri's cell phone rang. Since, basically, only she, Janine, Baba, and Pavel knew the number, anyone who called needed to be answered. Holding a finger up to indicate silence, Dimitri answered the phone in his usual greeting.
"Belikov."
Unable to hear the other end of the conversation, Rose and Janine were acutely listening to what Dimitri said. From the sounds of it, they'd had an employment offer, and—even without consulting her—Dimitri appeared to be accepting it. Given they'd had three interviews, one they liked, one that seemed keen, but they did not want to accept, and a third that seemed very ho hum, for Dimitri to accept immediately suggested it was the honeymoon gig they'd interviewed for. And that turned out to be the case. After ringing off, Dimitri turned to the Hathaway women.
"That was Taylor, Grey's head of security. They've engaged us for the honeymoon in Europe, but before then to do general guarding duties at their penthouse and while out and about here in Seattle." Dimitri continued with details about how and where they'd be expected to work, their hours, living situation and other pertinent details. "The pay is very generous, and all expenses are covered, too. Taylor warned me Grey is almost obsessively protective of his fiancée. He trusts her absolutely, but he mistrusts most other men around her. It is something to be aware of."
Rose rolled her eyes. If a person wanted to cheat, they would. While from their admittedly brief encounter, she had no sense that Ana was a cheater, she was grateful Taylor had made them aware of Grey's fears. Privately, she thought Grey needed to put on his big-boy boxer-briefs and appreciate a good woman would not cheat without reason, she still heeded the warning. While not explicitly stated, Grey obviously needed the reassurance of a sexually disinterested person accompanying his girl—thus why he'd engaged a hetro and romantically committed woman as her CPO, and a committed man as a far guard.
She was not prepared to be a snitch, or report on the soon-to-be Mrs. Grey's every move, Rose could nonetheless be a constant, and hopefully friendly, presence in Ana's life—able to vouch for her constancy. And if she wasn't? Ana, that is. Well. She and Dimitri would deal with that if it came to it.
It was honestly a relief that Grey (via Taylor) wanted them to start ASAP. Janine was literally driving Rose up the wall. And she was even worse with Dimitri! That the two could escape into a two-bedroom apartment in a high-rise called Escala was a blessing.
"Kiz?" Abe said, calling his daughter and using his fond name for her. "I heard you and what's-his-name have an allocation?"
Rose rolled her eyes. If Janine was bad, in some ways her father was worse! Abe knew Dimitri's name! Hell—knowing her father, he probably knew the last time Dimitri took a shit! But there was no point arguing with him.
"Yeah, we have. Europe," Rose said, appreciating her father was almost certainly already across all the details. "A honeymoon guarding gig."
"A honeymoon, eh?" Abe said, his voice leading. "Not giving you any ideas?"
Rose chuckled to herself. Her father was anything but subtle.
"Last time I checked, old man, the guy does the asking," she said with a smile on her lips. She knew that one day she'd be Rose Belikov, not Rose Hathaway, but hell—there was no hurry!
"He'd better ask me first," Abe growled, sounding fiercer than Rose had ever heard him. And yet again, Rose felt sorry for the man who'd given her his heart.
"I'm sure we're a long way away from that," Rose said to her father drolly, a small part of her hoping she was wrong. As far as she was concerned, she was already Dimitri's and he was hers. They did not need a marriage to prove it. The last few weeks had gone a long way to restoring her love and trust in him, so if he asked her right now, the only word she'd say would be yes. That said, there really was no hurry.
Explaining to her father that they were due to start their new allocation first thing tomorrow—and thus needed to pack—she could cut short the conversation with her male parental unit. Sadly, Janine was still in situ, so Rose had to deal with her, too. For two previously absent parents, they were irritatingly involved as hell right now!
"Do you have everything you need?" Janine asked, sounding a little worried. She was sitting on the bed in Rose and Dimitri's room as her daughter packed her clothes, ready to start tomorrow's allocation. "Being a human gig, you won't be in uniform, and depending on your hours, you might not get a lot of time to do your washing. You do know how to use a washing machine, don't you?!"
Suppressing an eye-roll, Rose replied, "Yes, Mom. I know how to use a washing machine. I've been doing my own laundry since grade school." It was a not so gentle reminder of just how little Janine knew her daughter and how absent she'd been during her formative years.
"Still—you might need extra clothing. Make sure your father gives you a credit card so you can stock up on anything you need."
Rose smirked. While Janine was still a long way from forgiving her former partner for his role in spiriting her away, it was amusing that Janine had no issue accepting his largesse. For example, she doubted a Guardian wage was paying for the luxury suite of rooms she, Dimitri, Pavel, and Mom currently occupied!
"Shall do, Mom," Rose promised, determined to do nothing of the sort. However, Janine must have had a word in Abe's ear, because not half an hour later, Pavel appeared at the door to their room, brandishing two credit cards. One for her and one for Dimitri. Issued by the Turkish İşbank, Pavel promised them they were good to go pretty much worldwide. Looking at Dimitri's face, Rose suppressed a giggle. If she was loath to use any of Abe's money once she started earning her own, then Dimitri would rather walk over hot coals.
With Janine and Pavel finally out of their room, Dimitri strode over to the door and locked it. If there'd been a conveniently placed chair, he looked as though he'd consider putting it under the handle, too!
"Alone at last," he murmured, snaking his arms around Rose and pulling her to him. "Are you nervous about tomorrow?"
"A little," Rose admitted. "This is my first job in the human world. I don't want to stuff it up."
"You'll do fine Roza. We'll do fine. It should be a fairly easy gig as far as guarding goes. Human shifts are shorter, but being a honeymoon, I expect some flexibility will be required. Taylor said tomorrow he will show us to our apartment, then familiarize us with Grey's apartment, their workplaces, appraise us of all known threats and introduce us to the other principal members of the security team. We'll likely start guarding the day after that."
With that said, there was nothing else left to discuss, so picking Rose up Dimitri took the three or four strides to the bed before placing her down in the middle of it, determined to distract her from any worries or fears. He was just starting in kissing her neck when it occurred to him that this is what he needed. He needed to guard and feel useful again. He was already feeling more like his old self, and he was honestly looking forward to getting back into the field, even if it was in the human world.
"Good morning, Belikov. Ms. Hathaway," Taylor said, greeting them in the underground carpark of Escala.
"Rose or Hathaway is fine," Rose said with a smile. If everyone else went solely by their surname, damned if she'd be 'Ms. Hathaway'!
Taylor nodded. "This part of the carpark is for Mr. Grey, Miss Steele's, and the fleet cars. When you get time, familiarize yourself with them."
Rose could see her man almost dribbling looking at the Audi R8, and also the Bugatti. Obviously, Taylor could, too. He chuckled. "I got to drive the R8 the other day. She handles like a dream!"
Moving on, Taylor discussed security protocols for the basement carpark and transit up to the Penthouse, explaining Grey was fine traveling in the elevator car with security, unless he was with Ms. Steele. In those instances, security staff were to use the elevator around the corner.
"I'd prefer at least one security staff attend with them in the elevator, but Mr. Grey has forbidden it." Taylor's lips were pursed, suggesting he disagreed with this edict. Taking them around to the service elevator. "Only the left one on the main bank and this one can travel to the Penthouse," he explained, "and even then, you will require a swipe card or to enter the pin code. When you do so, it will not stop at any other levels unless you authorize it to."
Stepping into the carriage, they were soon swept directly up to the twenty-eighth floor. Two levels below the Penthouse.
"There are three apartments on this level," Taylor said. "Yours, a spare Mr. Grey uses for visiting or newly relocated employees, and the third is used by other security operatives when necessary. Until now, only Mrs. Jones, Mr. Grey's housekeeper, and I have lived on-site full time. We share an apartment on the Penthouse level."
Dimitri noticed a slight crinkling of Taylor's eyes when he mentioned Mrs. Jones, and he was willing to bet something was going on between those two. A quick glance at Rose was enough to tell him she'd spotted it, too. Being able to pick up on those very subtle tells was a Guardian strength, and would certainly make life easier as they negotiated their way through this new endeavor.
Taylor opened the door to the apartment Rose and Dimitri would share. While Rose would have loved to have raced in and looked around, she contented herself with looking around the well-appointed living room, and placing her over-sized duffle next to the door beside Dimitri's. There'd be time to explore, later.
"You two sure travel light," Taylor remarked.
"Part and parcel of the job," Rose replied. "We never know where we'll end up, so it makes sense to pack only what's necessary."
Taylor nodded. "You were recently employed by Abe Mazur, is that right? You must have seen some interesting things?" Apparently, even in the human world, Abe had a certain reputation.
"Yes," Dimitri said, his tone indicating that was the only comment he'd make on the matter.
Returning to the service elevator, they were soon whisked up to the top floor and along a hallway to the security office where they met Reynolds, another member of the security team, and were further briefed on operational matters, duties, anticipated hours and the like before discussing 'household norms'. According to Taylor, Miss. Steele was consideration itself, and other than occasionally rebelling against the constant security was pleasant and easy to work with. Mr. Grey, though, could be another kettle of fish. Taylor described him as obsessed by Miss. Steele's safety, and convinced that since he loved and desired her so much, almost every other man out there must, too.
"That must be trying," Dimitri murmured, although understanding Grey's point. At the Academy, before he was taken, he'd regularly have to push aside unpleasant thoughts when he'd see the young Novices and Moroi flirting with his Roza. And while he'd been unable to recognize it at the time, those weeks after his return where Rose was officially 'dating' his rakish cousin had also grated on him.
"It can be. But Miss. Steele knows how to handle him. Still, it will be great to have another female operative on the team. Miss. Steele is regularly attended by Belinda Prescott," Taylor said, flicking the binder in front of him open to a photo of a stately looking African-American woman wearing bright lipstick. "It took them a while to warm up to one-another, but they're good now."
The more Rose heard about Miss. Steele the more she thought they'd get along just fine.
"Mr. Grey is at work at the moment, but Miss. Steele is in the kitchen with Mrs. Jones. Perhaps you'd like to be formally introduced?" Without pausing, Taylor opened the door to the security suite, gesturing for Dimitri and Rose to exit before instructing Reynolds to continue on with his task monitoring the security cameras which overlooked the balconies, elevator vestibule, service elevator, and emergency stairwells.
At the end of a short corridor, they emerged into the front entryway, then headed into the apartment proper. Hearing giggling, the trio turned to see Miss. Steele in the kitchen with an older blonde woman.
"Hathaway? Belikov? May I present Miss. Steele and Mrs. Jones." There was definitely a note of tenderness in Taylor's tone when he voiced the lattermost name.
Even Rose had to admit Miss. Steele looked adorable when she looked up from her task. She had a little bit of flour on the side of her nose, but did not seem to be aware of it.
"Hello," the lady of the house said, only a little shyly. "We've just been baking. And please—when it's just us, I prefer Ana." She spoke to both of them, but was primarily addressing Rose.
"Thanks, Ana. I prefer Rose. It's actually Rosemarie, but I'll drop anyone other than my mother who calls me that," she said with a grin. "Just call him Belikov. He's so used to it, I doubt he'd answer to anything else!" Dimitri responded with a respectful nod to the ladies behind the kitchen counter.
"Belikov? I'll take you upstairs to show you the roof. Mr. Grey sometimes lands his helicopter there, so we regularly include it in the security sweep. Hathaway, perhaps you'd like to join the ladies baking?" It was a kind attempt to give Rose a chance to get to know Ana, and Mrs. Jones, a little better. As one, Rose and Dimitri started laughing, before Rose replied.
"I doubt I'll be any use in the baking department. I could literally burn water. But I promise to excel in the eating area!"
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With or Without You - VA Fanfiction
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