~ Can't Buy My Love ~
by Katia N. Ruiz
passionatetyger@aol.com
Copyright 2004
Disclaimers: see part one.
THIS IS A LITTLE OF WHAT WENT ON LAST WEEK…
Millie rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Oksana in a chaste kiss. She stepped back quickly, aware of the pounding in her chest. "You can come whenever you want," She said with a tiny grin. "To talk."
Oksana drew a deep calming breath, shivering slightly. "You're an evil woman," She said, grinning back. Upon getting home, she'd be taking good care of herself. "And thank you, so much."
Millie watched her go, smiling to herself. She'd wanted to test Oksana when she kissed her, and was almost disappointed that her new friend was able to walk away. Oksana passed her little test with flying colors.
And this week…
Chapter Fifteen
Kat squinted her eyes as she spied a familiar figure walking up Settler Street, Sanford's main road. "What's she doing?" She asked herself, honking her horn and pulling up ahead of the woman.
Oksana squinted against the sunset, recognizing Kat's car. She walked up to the passenger side door and bent down.
"Heading home?" Kat asked.
Oksana nodded. "Yeah."
Kat reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed her bag, throwing it on the back seat. "Come on." After Oksana settled herself on the seat, Kat pulled back out. "So what are you doing out without your car?" Kat asked after a while.
Oksana, though she felt much better after speaking with Millie, didn't want to talk. She shrugged and said: "Went out with papa to get some suits."
Kat's eyebrows rose slightly at the terseness of the reply. "Oh," She stole a quick glance at Oksana, taking note of her pensive profile. Something had happened, and it had obviously made Oksana withdraw. She was pulling up to the house when Oksana finally spoke.
"Thanks," Oksana said quietly, and climbed out of the car.
Kat watched Oksana walk into the house, curiosity nudging at her conscience. It's so out of character for her to be so quiet. She thought, reaching down into the back seat for her jacket and briefcase. She entered the kitchen cautiously, relieved to find it empty. She quickly walked down the hallway towards her room, thinking: I hope they're done with the house soon. I need go get away from Mary. She stepped into her room, closing and locking her door.
She turned to rest her back against the door, only to find that Mary had beaten her. Oh God!
"Hey, baby." Mary said seductively, stretching her nude body across the bed. She turned onto her side and smiled sexily, crinkling the corners of smoky brown eyes.
Kat swallowed hard, pressing her back hard against the door. "Where's my mother?"
"She's tending to the Mr. and Mrs.." Mary said casually, lifting a hand and gesturing for Kat to come closer to the bed.
Despite herself, Kat stepped closer to the bed, her eyes on the other woman's sexy body. "Mary, I don't think this is such a good idea." She said slowly, licking her lips. "Won't my mother be looking for you?"
"I have the whole evening off, and she has know that I'm the house." Mary chuckled low in her throat, lifting an arm to run her fingers through her hair, the motion making her back arch.
"I don't think…"
"Come on, your eyes tell me a different story. What's a little fun between friends?"
Ha, friends my ass. Kat thought. Friendly was the last thing she wanted to be with Mary. Aside from their sex, she couldn't stand the other woman. It was too bad she couldn't resist her attractiveness though. Kat's eyes focused on the large perky breasts as they jiggled from side to side. She stepped up to the bed, unable to tear her eyes away.
Mary sat up, spreading her legs and reaching out to pull Kat closer. She slowly unbuttoned Kat's shirt, and looked up at Kat's face, satisfied with the desire she saw there.
Of their own volition, Kat's hands rose to massage the sides of the other woman's breasts, groaning softly as a jolt of desire shot between her legs. A little voice in her head screamed at her. You're such a weakling! You can't even say no!
The little sex fiend in Kat snorted smugly. What can I say; I'm a weakling.
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Oksana stepped out onto the back porch, shivering as the unexpectedly cool air hit her bare arms and face. Fall was coming soon, and with it, new responsibilities and burdens. I hope I can keep Ivanov going the way it has been going for all these years. She thought worriedly.
Ivanov Enterprises had once been a Vodka producing company. As time had gone by, and its popularity surpassing Absolute and Ketel One, Oskar's vision had broadened. He began his expansion by sponsoring an airplane builder whose ambition had been to reach space. When the builder's "special" plane won a contest for the greatest ability to maintain in space, and NASA expressed interest in a contract with the builder, Oskar partnered with the builder to add an Aerospace branch to Ivanov Enterprises. It had been a lucrative deal and Ivanov's value had skyrocketed, along with its acquisitions.
Oksana had learned the ins and outs of Ivanov's many companies very quickly, and Oskar had made sure that they were thorough. She just wasn't prepared for the first thing she had to do Monday morning. She had to do her first termination. Her grandfather had had the suspects investigated, their bank accounts looked into, and other departments secretly audited. Only Office Administration brought up a red flag. Oksana had never been one who thought too much, so she had never cared when her grandfather had had to fire more than a few of the people she had antagonized. Now she knew how he felt when she'd put him in that position, and she didn't like it. She stared blindly up at the darkening sky.
Nadya's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She hadn't noticed her grandmother's presence. "Hey," she said.
"Hello." Nadya replied, smiling at her granddaughter. "Can you sit with me for a while?"
Oksana nodded, hastening to offer her grandmother her arm and walking with her towards the swing.
Nadya hid her surprise. Oksana had never offered her help like this before; she had never been courteous. Nadya glanced over at the young woman, and was happy to note that Oksana didn't seem to be aware of her actions. Oksana was changing, and she was completely unaware, which made Nadya glad. Oksana would fight the changes to the death. Once sitting, Oksana sitting beside her and staring out at the darkened yard, Nadya asked: "What happened today?"
Oksana sighed, frowning. "I just want to put it behind me." She said.
Nadya reached over and patted her granddaughter's clenched fist. "I know it is hard for you to express yourself, it always has been," She paused to see if Oksana was listening. She was glad to see that wasn't tuning her out. "I think it is our fault, we were never good with emotions after Owen died."
Oksana's eyes snapped to her grandmother, conveying her surprise. It was the first time Oksana heard her grandmother mention her father in her presence.
Nadya continued before Oksana could speak. "We were in so much pain when you came to live with us." She sighed, the tone of her voice expressing the deep sadness she still felt. She glanced at Oksana, who was staring at her own lap as her jaw clenched rhythmically. "You looked so much like him, and the circumstances of your parents' deaths were so tragic, so horrible, it tore Oskar apart. It tore us both inside."
"It wasn't my fault!" Oksana croaked, horrified to feel her eyes filling with tears. It felt like an old wound had been reopened, and she once again felt the pain of being ignored by her grandfather when she needed him the most.
"Of course it was not." Nadya said with conviction, rubbing her hand along Oksana's arm. "Oskar knew that. He actually blamed himself for a long time. He felt that if he had not sent Owen and Marissa as Ivanov representatives for that meeting in Cantor-Fitzgerald, then would have been alive. Every time he looked at you it reminded him of what he thought was his mistake."
"He couldn't have known." Oksana defended him.
"I know, and he knew that, but it was hard for his mind and heart to reconcile with that. It look a lot of psychiatric help for him to work through that, and by then, you had grown so detached, that it as difficult for even me to relate with you."
Oksana knew Nadya spoke the truth. By the time she was a teenager, she had been sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night to hang out around the town. She was getting in trouble in school and any place that she showed up in. She had spent more than one night in a jail cell waiting for her grandfather to bail her out. She had been an absolute terror.
"Oskar did not know how to deal with your rebelliousness, neither one of us knew, and it only made his relationship with you worse."
"So he adopted the ever-saintly Kat as his granddaughter." Oksana said bitterly, remembering how she had spied on them on many occasions as they talked, played chess, or looked through his vast amount of books.
Nadya didn't reply, knowing that Oskar's friendship with Ekaterina had been part of the reason that Oksana and Kat's friendship had soured. She knew something else had happened, but Ekaterina had never wanted to talk about it. "You went away to University and came back worse. You were sleeping with girls before you left, but when you came back, you were different." She studied Oksana's expression, which was now suspiciously blank. "What happened to you in University?"
"Nothing," Oksana said through clenched teeth. She refused to think about that nightmare.
It was said so quickly, so tersely, that Nadya knew Oksana was lying. "You can tell me whenever you want, Oksana." Nadya said gently, touching her granddaughter's hair, wary of being rebuffed. She was surprised when Oksana leaned into the touch, allowing her eyes to close. Nadya's eyes filled with tears as she whispered: "I love you so much."
"I love you too." Oksana whispered back, nearly sobbing when her grandmother wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly to her bosom.
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Kat pulled on a t-shirt, watching Mary pull on her clothes. She winced at the pleasantly sore twinge at her shoulders as she lifted her arms. While it had been a very enjoyable respite, Kat wanted to call it quits with Mary. Kat really disliked the other woman as a person, and it tore her up to feel so unable to resist her charms. "Mary, seriously," She said determinedly, reaching for her sweat pants and slipping into them. "I'm done with this."
Mary was sitting at the dresser, looking herself over in the mirror. Her reflection made eye contact with Kat for a long moment, her face expressionless. "I wonder," She began slowly. "What your parents would say if they found out that their daughter is a dyke."
Kat clenched her jaw, feeling her temper flare. Goddamn bitch! "If you're trying to blackmail me," She said through clenched teeth. "I have bad news for you. You'll be getting nothing out of me; I can't afford it."
Mary smirked, running slender fingers through her hair. "So lets just continue having fun. We're not hurting anyone." She really liked spending time with Kat, even when their mutual dislike made their sex almost confrontational.
Kat rolled her eyes. "Mary, I can't stand you." She said simply. "I can hardly speak to you without wanting to spit at you. I don't like having sex with people I hate."
Mary seemed unfazed by Kat's revelation; she was grinning from ear to ear. "That's what makes it fun for me." She said gleefully. "You're so attracted to me, and it drives you nuts."
"You ever heard the saying 'Out of sight, out of mind?'" Kat retorted, pleased to note that Mary's eyes narrowed slightly. "The only way you affect me is when you're naked, and trust me, that power you have over me is fading very quickly."
Mary's eyes narrowed even more. "I'll tell your parents," She threatened with a sneer. "The boss' lesbian granddaughter is one thing. How will they take their daughter the lesbian?"
Kat felt a twinge of fear in her gut, but she'd be damned if she showed any fear. "Go ahead." She said, feigning calm. She sat on her bed and leaned back onto her hand. She glanced out the window and noticed Oksana walking along slowly, her hands shoved deep in her pockets and her blonde head turned up towards the sky. She looks a little down, I wonder if she's all right. She thought distractedly absently. "You'll get fired within minutes. I happen to be good friends with the boss."
Mary frowned. She knew that the minute she opened her mouth, she'd be out of a job, and that Oskar Ivanov would probably make it very hard for her to ever find another job. She stood up and walked towards the door. "We're not done," She said over her shoulder, opening the door slowly and peeking out into the hallway. "Not by a long shot."
Shit, Kat thought nervously. I'm going to have to tell mama and papa before she tells them.
CONTINUED…
(NOTE: Remember, this is a first draft, and I'm posting as I go, so if something doesn't jive or it seems a little awkward, bear with me. I'm going back to fix things. Now, if you see something, point it out to me anyway.)
Don't forget to send your comments…