Chapter Eleven- Two Months Later

"I'm not ready."

"Of course you are!"

"I am not!"

Nadya's head moved back and forth between Oksana and Oskar as they argued back and forth. She finally rolled her eyes and forced them to focus on her knitting. They'd been going at it for a while, and every time Oskar thought he was making headway, Oksana would start all over.

"We have been going through this very same thing for two months, Oksana." Oskar said slowly, trying to be patient with her. This was something new for him, but he was trying very hard. One night, in their bedroom, Nadya had admonished a sheepish Oskar for his lack of patience with their granddaughter.

He had never realized how hard he always came down on the young woman until his wife had pointed it out. He glanced over at Nadya, who smiled encouragingly. "You know what every division in the corporation does, down to the last minute detail, Oksana."

"That doesn't mean that I can run the company." Oksana argued, pacing back and forth in front of his desk. "We're talking about billions, for Cripes sake!"

"You do not give yourself enough credit. You are smarter than you ever let on, a genius with the numbers, young, energetic, passionate."

It was hard for Oksana to accept his praise. It just felt strange coming from him. When she'd first moved into Ivanov Estate at the age of six, Oskar had been so busy running the company and mourning his son that he'd hardly spent time at home. When he was home, he either spent it with Nadya, or playing chess with Ekaterina Gorky. They never became close and that always bothered Oksana. He never praised her, or expressed much love, though he made sure that she had everything she wanted. She stopped thinking, and caring, about it during her third year in college.

"You can use that passion towards your work," Oskar was saying, a proud gleam in his eyes.

Oksana swallowed hard and said: "Why can't someone else do this, papa? Some one more capable; I'm hardly capable." Her heart felt like a stampede was running over it, and she felt the panic setting in.

Oskar frowned at his granddaughter's stubbornness. "You are my heir." He said firmly. "No one else but you should be in that position."

She knew there was no avoiding responsibility, the survival of her grandfather's dynasty depended on her. If she didn't assume the captain's position, the ship that was her grandfather's company would eventually sink. She'd be damned if she let Gustav take over the reins.

She was very aware that she'd once thought she could run the company, but as the weeks passed, and more and more facets of Ivanov were revealed to her, she realized that she'd be undertaking a huge operation. And then comes marriage. Shit.

"Papa…" She whispered, on the verge of pouting.

Oskar's heart softened once again at the expression of pure panic on Oksana's face. "Your father would have wanted this." She said simply, his voice soft.

My father… Oksana thought, turning away from her grandparents as soon as she felt tears fill her eyes. He was destined to run Ivanov. She thought bitterly. "If my father hadn't died, we wouldn't be having this conversation." She said thickly, striding quickly out of the study.