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     » 𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜  𝚘𝚏  𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚗  𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝  𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎  𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑  𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚗  𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚊 ,  𝚋𝚞𝚝  nikolai  feels  them  all  the  same .  leaning  against  the  bar ,  elbows  outstretched  from  his  bent  form ,  knees  pressed  against  the  underside  of  the  counter ,  the  mob  enforcer  looks  over  his  shoulder .          “ you  know ,  one  thing  i  miss  about  home .  real  cold  weather . ”

LEANING BACK IN HER SEAT, she noticed their waitress moving around the cafe absentmindedly, while washing the tables. she wondered how long it would take until their food would get there because honestly, she was a little hungry. tilting her head a little to the side, the raven-haired female let her dark-brown eyes lock with her friend. i was... and just as he was about to say something, the food arrived at the table and harper’s smile widened at the sight in front of her. ❛ god, this looks AMAZING, ❜ she said and giggled softly, and she gave the waitress a soft smile as she left the two. i was thinking about a career change. it might not happen, and there’s a lot of limiting reasons for that. ❛ a career change, huh? wow, that is pretty…. that is a pretty big change, niko, ❜ she said and took her fork and knife. first of all, there’s you. ❛ ahhh! aren’t you CHARMING, ❜ harper spoke and rolled her eyes a little bit at the words coming from nikolai’s mouth. ❛ i have to say, i would really miss you –– but, you know, if a change of career is something you feel like would help whatever you’re going through, then… i would understand. you need to think of yourself, no one else. ❜

      » 𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜  𝚊𝚛𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚎  𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚜  𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚏𝚘𝚛 ,  𝚋𝚞𝚝  they  still  don’t  make  him  feel  better  about  his  plan .  it’s  less  of  a  plan  anyhow ,  more  of  a  desperate  attempt  to  think  before  simply  acting  on  blind  impulse .          “ i  do  my  best , ”  he  replies  with  a  wink .  yet  her  words  make  his  slight  smile  drop .          “ it’s  not  set  in  stone ,  i’d  have  to  find  somewhere  to  hire  me ,  but  i  wouldn’t  leave  you  with  no  protection . ”  that  much  is  true .          “ and  you  could  always  come  find  me  if  you  had  any  trouble . ” 

had this all not been so dark naomi likely could have thanked him. thanked him for the task at hand and the distraction that came along with it. if she could do this maybe it would pull her out of this slump that she was in. not only that, but she’d be giving nikolai peace of mind, which only made her want to find this guy that much more.

naomi’s features softened as soon as he began speaking, understanding almost immediately. she wasn’t going to push it. that was more than enough information she needed to agree to it. of course, if she hadn’t already. “okay,” she let out with a small nod. “i’ll find this guy.” naomi sounded sure as ever of herself. “do you have any leads at all?”

      » 𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎  𝚒𝚗  𝚊  𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 ,  𝚗𝚒𝚔𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚒  𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜  𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 .  a  genuine  grin  breaks  across  his  face ,  knowing  that  naomi  would  do  the  best  she  could .  naomi’s  best  gets  results ,  and  that’s  all  he  could  ask  for .          “ i  don’t  have  much  else .  i  would  guess  that  my  parents  would  have  gone  after  him ,  at   some  point .  but  i’m  not  on  speaking  terms  with  them ,  but ... sokolov  holdings  might  be  something  to  check .  but  i  don’t  recommend  it .  they’re  not  quite  how  we  are  but ... i’d  just  be  careful ,  is  all . ”  truth  be  told ,  he  has  no  idea  where  the  family  business  stands  now .  he  was  supposed  to  take  it  over  and  he’s  an  enforcer  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent  now .  who  else  would  be  in  charge ? 

HARPER KNEW NIKOLAI pretty well by now and she knew him well enough to pick up on the small details in his expression. it was pretty obvious that something was going on with him. that obvious, huh? ❛ yeah, ❜ she said and laughed softly, ❛ just a little bit, not gonna lie, ❜ she spoke and sank her teeth into her bottom lip carefully. i’m… things need to change, a little, you know? i’ve been, i dunno, i just feel kind of stuck, i guess. might have some moves to change things up. harper blinked and looked at him anxiously, leaning forward on the table. ❛ you feel stuck? and what kind of changes are you thinking about? ❜ 

       » 𝚑𝚎  𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝  𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎  𝚝𝚘𝚘  𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑  𝚘𝚏  𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 .  for  two  main  reasons :  number  one ,  she  doesn’t  know  what  he  actually  does ;  number  two ,  it  might  not  even  be  actually  happening .  most  of  this  seems  to  be  in  his  head ,  but  he  thinks  it’s  only  practical  for  him  to  envision  it  as  a  reality .  the  last  time  he  had  allowed  himself  to  relax  and  not  observe  his  surroundings ,  he  lost  too  much .          “ i  was ... ”

the  food  arrives  at  that  moment ,  and  nikolai  is  a  little  grateful  for  the  additional  time .  once  their  waitress  leaves ,  nikolai  looks  back  to  harper .          “ i  was  thinking  about  a  career  change .  it  might  not  happen ,  and  there’s  a  lot  of  limiting  reasons  for  that . ”  here ,  he  looks  up  at  her  with  a  smile .          “ first  of  all ,  there’s  you . ” 

❛ –– YOU DON’T? ❜ josephine questioned and looked at the male sitting next to him. ❛ there’s nothing wrong with that, by the way, ❜ she spoke and smiled softly towards him, shrugging her shoulders in the process. ❛ i’m sure you will find someone some day. a girl who will love you for everything that you are, ❜ she said and smiled at him warmly. ❛ and then you can start a family and live happily ever after, ❜ josephine spoke and she tilted her head a little to the side, while looking at the man. ❛ anyway, tell me a little bit more about yourself? are you, uh… what do you work as? ❜ she questioned curiously. 

        » 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜  𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎  𝚘𝚏  𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗  𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝  high  on  nikolai’s  to  do  list ,  but  she  needs  a  conversation  and  nikolai  isn’t  going  to  leave  her  high  and  dry .          “ maybe .  or  maybe  that’s  not  in  the  future . ”  he  shrugs ,  and shakes  his  head .          “ well ,  i’ve  lived  here  for  about  eight  years  now .  i  work  in  security . ” it’s  not  technically  a  lie ,  but  not  close  enough  to  the  truth  that  he’ll  get  into  trouble .          “ what  about  you ? ”

HARPER WATCHED AS NIKOLAI LEANED forward with his arms on the table, mimicking her position. well, go out there and start something. i’m sure you can find ways to entertain yourself. harper laughed and rolled her eyes a little bit at the words coming from the male’s mouth. i’m supposed to be the boring old one here, but if we’re sharing… the smile on her lips softened and she raised an eyebrow at the words coming from him. ❛ uh, we are indeed sharing, ❜ she spoke and laughed softly as she leaned forward. i got nothing. sorry, птичка. she rolled her eyes and laughed, keeping her eyes on the other before lifting the hot drink to her lips and taking a sip of it. ❛ are you sure you’re okay? ❜ she questioned curiously. 

         » 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚙𝚎𝚛  𝚒𝚜  𝚘𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚝 ,  𝚘𝚛  𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚜  𝚒𝚝'𝚜  𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢  that  she  knows  him  well  enough  to  pick  up  on  the  smaller  details  in  his  expression .  he  sighs ,  looking  down  at  the  grey  lacquered  table .  he  doesn’t  want  to  lie  to  her ,  but  he  doesn’t  want  to  stress  her  out  over  what  could  possibly  be  nothing .          “ that  obvious , huh ? ”  he  questions ,  a  hand running  down  his  face .          “ i’m  ...  things  need  to  change ,  a  little ,  you  know ?  i’ve  been ,  i  dunno  ...  i  just  feel  kind  of  stuck ,  i  guess .  might  make  some  moves  to  change  things  up . ”

“ I—WELL, yes, but i had no idea anyone lived here. i hadn’t gotten to the house yet. ” gracelyn nodded slightly, fingers slowly letting go of the camera and letting it hang from her neck. “ i’ll delete them if you really don’t want me to have them. i was just scoping. ” the blonde smiled a bit, shoulders shrugging lightly. “ i had this vision that’s—well, it’s hard to really put it into words. everything in town is so… perfect. i wanted something natural and beautiful in its own way. the wild flowers here are gorgeous and i thought they would just add a certain je ne sais quoi if that makes any sense.”

         » 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔  𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜  𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠  𝚊𝚜  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚜 ,  though  he’s  placated  by  the  offer  to  delete  the  footage .  she  doesn’t  seem  to  be  working  for  anyone  else ,  or  else  nikolai  assumes  she  would  have  mentioned  some  sort  of  project  or  class  requirement .  what  is  it  with  these  young ,  enthusiastic  artsy  types  lately ?          “ if  you  got  nothing  of  the  house ,  then  there’s  no  reason  to  delete  them . ”  he  pauses ,  then  —  out  of  a  desire  to  be  left  alone ,  nothing  more  —  continues ,  “  the  ranch  is  also  good ,  if  animals  are  your  thing .  but  i  would  ask  them ,  just  in  case . ”