The cold war 17

A few hours later, standing in an upstairs room of a rented out nightclub, Irina stood next to Ben feeling rather exposed in her own bunny costume,

Having reluctantly given up her coat, Irina was now regretting the choice of costume, it had seemed like such a funny idea when she'd first come up with the idea but having not realised quite how revealing and uncomfortable the costume actually was, she now knew, that she would be fighting off the advances of their guests for the rest of the evening.

On the other hand, looking around the room, she felt pleased with the evening's preparations, everything looked professional and elegant, she had to hand it to Ben, he had done a wonderful job and was very good at following instructions.

The room itself decorated in a purply pink theme wasn’t a particularly large room but would be perfect for the fifty or so guests arriving later that evening. The way the room had been set up also helped to make it appear larger than it actually was. as long drapes hanging from the walls served to separate it into smaller closed-off areas, perfect for closing a business deal.

In the centre of the room, a DJ was setting up, performing a last-minute sound check, and testing his equipment. He had been instructed to keep the volume to a level where people could talk but to also keep the songs lively enough were people could dance and have a good time.

Behind the DJ box, stretching out along the far wall was the bar. Drinks for the evening, as well as the snack like food, to be walked around by the hired sexy waitresses, was all free.

Having a free bar was always one of the largest expenses at an event like this one but as Irina knew from experience, allowing the guests to drink as much as they pleased, made for drunk and happy people, and drunk and happy people were much more likely to agree to more favourable terms in any business deal they concluded, especially as she would be sober as a judge the entire evening.

Turning to her right, she looked Ben up and down. He looked a little wobbly on his feet and he was stood pouting with his arms covering his chest, “you are going to smile when the guests arrive, aren’t you”?

She watched as Ben turned to look face her, “I thought you said Russian people don’t smile just for the sake of it”? He replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Irina laughed, “that is true, I did say that didn't I? Just try not to look too unhappy, tonight's an important night”.

Ben nodded, “I know, you've told me a million times, and don’t worry, after the last few weeks, I’m a master of hiding my true feelings, I can turn them on and off like a tap”, he said giving her a big cheerful grin.

“Good to know”, Irina replied, “but you know, I don’t think you are as unhappy as you make out, I’ve seen you having fun, and it was only the other day that you said you wanted to keep this up for another month, are you sure you’re not enjoying being me”?

Ben’s mouth dropped open in surprise, “No way”, he announced, “of course I’m not enjoying this, I… I… just couldn’t say no to the money, I’ve already done the hard work, right? and like it or not, I’ll need to wait for my eyebrows to grow back in”.

“If you say so, Malyshka", Irina replied and not wanting to push him decided to change the subject., "so who do we need to sign up tonight”?

Ben sighed, “do we really need to go through this again, I know who we need to impress”.

“Come on, Bunny, you know this is important, it’s the whole reason we’re here tonight doing all this, these potential clients are how we make money”, Irina announced sternly, “now tell me, who are they”?

“Ok, fine”, Ben replied, “well there's Igor Kutznekov, a long-time client, he's rich, likes his drink and loves it when you laugh at his terrible jokes”.

“Good, and the other”? Irina said nodding.

“Oleg Turgenev, always places big orders, quiet and reserved but livens up after a few vodka’s, keep serving him drinks and compliment him, playing up to his ego”, Ben replied, “see I’ve got this, you don't need to worry”.

Irina was impressed with his answers, again he was performing at a level well above what she had expected when all this had first started, he was a natural at the job and looking at him at that moment, it would have taken a brave person to call him anything other than a natural woman, “ok, she announced, “mingle, be friendly, flirt a little, and remember if you get into trouble, don’t freak out, just come and find me, ok”?

“Trouble, what kind of trouble”? Ben asked suddenly looking a little worried.

“Well… maybe trouble was the wrong word, but this is a party, Bunny, and most of our guests will be drunk men, especially as the evening goes on, they could get a bit hands-on, you need to be prepared to have a few wandering hands come your way and your bottom squeezed”.

“What!”, Ben exclaimed loudly, “you didn't mention this before”.

“You’ll be fine, really”, Irina said squeezing his hand, “it’s an unfortunate part of being a woman in this industry, just smile and tell them to keep their hands to themselves, no one will push it any further, and if they do, security is on hand to throw them out, potential customer or not”.

Irina watched as Ben gulped before looking down at his feminized body, “I wonder how he will get on tonight”, she thought, “I hope he doesn’t do anything crazy”.

===================================================================

It was late into the early hours of the morning when Irina finally got the chance to take a break, with her feet throbbing in pain, and her mouth dry, she hobbled over to the bar, where she pulled up a stool next to her mother and sat down, " give me a glass of water", she told the woman behind the bar to tired and uncomfortable for pleasantries.

“It has been a very successful evening, Irina”, Elena said, turning to look at her daughter, “four new clients and almost all of our previous ones have renewed their contracts, with better terms for us, you have done well”.

“Thank you”, Irina replied after receiving her water and gulping down half the glass in one go, “but I’m afraid, as much as I want to, I can’t take the credit for this one, it’s mostly down to Bunny, she arranged all of this, and she's been extremely popular with all our guests, they all seem to love her and were fighting all evening just to talk to her”.

“Yes”, Elena replied, “I had noticed, I still can’t quite believe the change in the last month, perhaps I should prepare myself to have two daughters from now on”.

Elena nodded, downing the rest of her water before suddenly looking around the room, she could now see the room much clearer as most of the guests had already left, “Mamulya, speaking of, Bunny, have you seen her recently”?

Elena turned to survey the room herself, as Irina saw a puzzled look appear on her mother’s face, “you know I haven’t, not for a while”, she replied, “come, let’s look for her”?

Irina suddenly got a bad feeling as she quickly climbed down from the stool back onto her aching feet, before followed her mother across the room, to look behind the draped curtains, stopping occasionally to greet a customer.

It didn't take long to find Ben, given the size of the room, but when they did, Irina noticed a look of fear on her mother's face, like nothing she had ever seen before.

“Irina, you stupid girl, why did you invite him? He shouldn’t be here”, Elena said, panic-stricken but still quiet enough so she wouldn't be heard.

Irina was confused and a little frightened, it was incredibly rare to see her mother this animated, “I didn’t, Bunny must have” she replied, “I’ve never seen that man before in my life, who is he”?

Elena’s face was now as white as a sheet, as she inhaled deeply, “his name is Danila Abramov, he was a client of ours a long time ago, but not anymore, he’s a dangerous man, Irina, promise me”, Elena said turning and grabbing her daughter by the shoulders, “whatever you do, do not get involved with that man!”.

(See image 9.2)