fight date

“What about the shipments from Hong Kong?” Juliette Cai asked, still on her phone. Her secretary turned around for a moment, but then focused her attention back on the road. It was already evening, and in the bluish darkness the headlights were like lanterns in a forest, and even through the closed windows the honks of drivers stuck in traffic could be heard. “There was no change in the shipping information, everything should arrive at the port next week.” Juliette nodded languidly. She should be sitting in her parents’ office right now, not babysitting another rich asshole who’d only dream of merging Cais’ company with his. No matter how hard she tried to cancel, her mother threatened to cancel all of her long-planned trips and deprive her of the freedom that had nearly eluded her. Her parents turned a blind eye to the way she dressed, what she said in public, and how she behaved, but their daughter’s declaration that she would rather throw herself into Huangpu than marry, caused them to clamp down on her. But Juliette had something to gain from it, except that she could finally change her closet. As long as she was dating other men, the rival company wouldn’t go near her for fear that their partners she was dating might get hurt. Especially their main heir can’t get near her. As they stood at the intersection, waiting for the traffic jam of cars to move, she gazed up at the big screen on the skyscraper. It seemed to be the cosmetics commercial again, the one she’d seen a thousand times. Even though the commercial seemed absurd to her, even if their products were really high quality, the music they chose at least pleased her ears. Juliette opened the window and heard the familiar melody again, as if it was spilling over the street and the neighboring alleys, becoming haunting. That rhythm was still rattling in her ears when the receptionist announced that they had arrived and opened Cai’s door for her. Juliette had been more than right to think that the road wasn’t exactly smooth in these parts, and so to stumble in the high heels she adored so much would be a cakewalk. Her low platform shoes were still tapping with each step as she made her way into the lobby. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked around the marble floor, staring at her reflection. She seemed to be a bright red stain in the midst of all the white, casting various muted colors as she drew attention to herself like a scarlet rose standing in a vase of snowdrops. Juliette had to find a jacket of the same color as her dress, for the ubiquitous Lady Cai had nearly torn her arms off, saying that she would not let her even lie in a coffin with bare shoulders. “Miss, you are expected on the twenty-sixth floor,” the secretary tilted her head slightly as a sign of deference. Juliette nodded. “Good. Wait for me here. Or you could grab a bite to eat. I don’t think I’m gonna be there long. “ The secretary seemed to bow her head. Juliette turned and strode toward the elevator, her earrings bouncing off her cheeks with every movement. She stopped halfway down. “You know what,” she said loud enough for her words to echo off the walls. “You’d better get us a table at some place nearby. I feel like I’m not going to eat at all tonight.” As the doors slammed shut behind her, Juliette allowed herself to relax her shoulders slightly, grieving a little. As she stepped out of the elevator, she would have to put a smile back on her face, a smile that would have to mean something heartier between I hope you die and I’m so happy to see you. Last time she’d gotten an eye twitch, and he’d been the first one to notice it, to which she’d been told that it sometimes happened and that she was just tired and her nerve knots were acting up. With her lips pressed together so tightly that they became a single reddish streak across her face, Cai stepped out of the elevator. Her shoulders squared again, her posture straightened to be exactly who she was supposed to be and aspire to be in the eyes of others — the heiress to an entire weapons manufacturing circle. Her gaze must be cruel, her hands merciless, and her words cut like a knife. The place of the date this time was a restaurant, but it was clear from the interior that it was not Chinese cuisine. There was nothing red, which Juliette had hoped for, wearing an outfit of the same color, deciding to blend in. Everything here was green, brown, dark colors. The waiter recognized her, standing near the entrance, looking around the room in confusion. He jumped up to her at once. “Welcome, Miss Cai, are you alone?” Well, judging from his English speech, she had indeed entered something more foreign than she expected. She wonders if this man is a Westerner, or if he just couldn’t find a better place among the more traditional establishments. “Actually, I’m looking for someone who probably made a reservation for two but came alone. Anyone?” The waiter nodded. “Oh, yes, I saw someone like that. Let me show you. “ As she made her way between the tables, she glanced at the fireplace burning in the center, the lamps also burning with natural flames, it was warm. As she approached the panoramic windows, it was colder, but the candles on the tables and warm food still warmed. Staring at it all, she didn’t notice anything. When she realized that they had come, she turned her head to meet the one whose tedious conversation she would have to support and froze. “This is the only person who fits your description. Can I get you a menu?” The waiter left, not waiting for her to answer, but apparently seeing some sort of recognition in her eyes. However, this was obviously not the kind of person she wanted to recognize. “Oh, what are you doing here?” Roma Montagov rose from his chair when he saw her. She clutched at the strap of her bag, digging her nails deep into the leather. Her lips, instead of the smile she’d carefully thought out, folded into her own indeterminate O. What the hell had happened that her parents had sent her on a blind date with the heir to a rival company? All her surprise would pass in time if she’d been warned ahead of time and told to find out something from him, for example. She would have let her feelings sink in, maybe taken a sedative before coming here, but she wouldn’t have frozen in a stupor right in front of him. Juliette swallowed. To run away now was like showing her fear, to sit down at the table was to surrender to him willingly and take his word that no food or drink was poisoned or that he didn’t have a gun hidden in his pocket. “Damn it,” Roma chuckled a little, though his face didn’t look like he was laughing. “It looks like our parents had decided to surprise us with a reunion years later.” Juliette forced herself to hum. She pushed herself up first and pushed back the chair, then sat down comfortably, as if it didn’t bother her that the man who might want to shoot her in the skull should be sitting right in front of her. She settled her bag on her lap, checking that her own gun was in place and the ammunition loaded. Roma followed suit, sitting back down but watching her every move. She didn’t know what else to say, and neither did he. Dial the number of one of the parents and try to solve this problem in a cultural way? But it’s likely someone will be called here and those who get here sooner don’t bode well for the opposing side. Juliette didn’t want Roma to get hurt. Not at the hands of people she seemed to see every day and knew so well. Unfortunately her parents didn’t know how to distinguish between business and family, it became one, something called the family business, which they decided to incorporate their children into. “I could only assume that today’s meeting would be with you,” Juliette said, stretching her words, deciding to switch from Chinese to Russian so as not to distort the meaning of the sentence with pronunciation. She had learned this language only to correspond with him secretly and to talk on the phone, so that if someone tried to look through her phone, they wouldn’t understand anything. She used to write him notes in his native language to cheer him up. Now it seemed alien, long forgotten, dusty to her. Something worth forgetting and not even thinking about. Roma hummed. “Glad I wasn’t the only one who’d fallen victim to something not particularly funny. What do we plan to do about it?” Juliette looked up from her contemplation of the most amazing napkin she’d ever seen and glanced at him. “Obviously go separate ways, if they’re checking us out, we’re better off,” Juliette said, but didn’t move. Neither did he. Seeing him without such a state of affect, she thought he had really changed. For better or worse, she’ll only know if she stays here and explores it better. He hadn’t changed much in appearance, though his face was a little gaunt, the shadows under his eyes that had been rare on his ever-fresh face now deeper. He had grown, Juliette was sure he would have been taller than her even if she had come in high heels. Now they both looked as if the entire empire of guns was behind them, though no one had yet passed on the power. “Has anyone ever told you that skipping out on a date that hasn’t even started is a little rude?” “Would you consider it rude? The others didn’t mind so much when I left after ten minutes, having barely taken a sip from my coffee cup.” “You were kind enough not to leave them with a huge bill to pay?” “Only if the espresso is made of solid gold.” Roma smiled weakly, but the corners of his lips rose. Juliette, on the contrary, tightened them again. As soon as they started talking, all the resentment, all the hatred, dissolved into thin air like a haze-covered memory that flew high into the sky. She rose from her seat, adjusting the edges of her crumpled dress, about to leave. “I’m sorry I’m late, here’s your menu,” the waiter seemed to pop out of nowhere. “Are you leaving already?” Juliette froze with her mouth hanging open. But her gaze instantly went behind his back, looking at the two people who had entered the restaurant and were standing at the entrance. She recognized them immediately. The two men who were always hanging around her parents' house and in charge of the company. She shushed herself and hurried to sit down, to the strange joy of Roma watching her. It was nothing, she smiled sweetly at the waiter. Only when he quickly left did Juliette move her chair and leaned closer to the table, beckoning Montagov to do the same. “See the ones in the gray suits next to the, uh, is it a manager? They’re right out front,” she whispered to him. Roma straightened, craning his neck for a moment and then ducking again. “I see.” “These are my parents’ people. yǎ bā, she hissed. “You can’t leave either. You’re not someone whose figure wouldn’t be invisible to them. “ He only nodded and leaned back in his chair. “They sat down almost directly in the middle of the hall, apparently to observe. What are they doing here?” “Watching me,” Juliette repeated Roma’s movement. “What else would they be doing here.” He didn’t say anything to that, continuing to stare at that table. Cai almost reached out to turn his head back. “You want to make eye contact with them so you can get pierced by bullets sooner?” Roma shook his head and turned fully toward her, taking the menu in his hands. “Since you’re here for a while, why don’t you see something for yourself? There’s nothing here you’ll like, but you’ll like Western food too, don’t worry.” Juliette snorted softly. “You make it sound like I’d be burned from the inside out if I ate something that wasn’t Chinese.” “It’s not like that?” Roma raised his eyebrows in surprise and received a slap on the arm from Juliette, who couldn’t take it anymore. She jerked her hand away from the electric shock and put it back on her skirt. She ducked down to study something to eat, keeping her head down. After a couple minutes down, she still had to move, not fall asleep in one position. Juliette frowned, stretched her neck, and took out her phone and began converting dollars to yuan through the calculator. Who knew she would one day visit a place in this city that accepted a different currency? “I had to see how much the dollar had risen or fallen before going to a restaurant. It’s horrible. What if the price had changed right at the time of payment? What would I do?” Juliette muttered to herself. It was strange, everything seemed strange and surreal, as if someone was about to destroy all the decorations and say it was all just an act. This morning she hadn’t dared to think that she’d soon be sitting next to someone she cared for so much, someone she could let herself mutter to herself, something she didn’t allow even her parents to do in front of her in an informal setting. “So when did you get back? You were gone a while ago, but you're back again. Juliette slowly raised her head back up, looking at Roma. tā wéihé rúcǐ bùkān? “I was already here a week ago. I know no one posted anything about it, but I thought you knew.” There was a faint wistfulness in his gaze. “I probably should have. I stopped following your family around, wondering what they were up to. Maybe that’s why I missed your return. Although, you know, if your cousins tell you that someone sent them birthday presents again, don’t be alarmed. I hope they enjoyed it.” Juliette squinted unkindly at him. If he hadn’t started on that note, she might even have told him about traveling around the United States, what she’d tried, and the people she’d met. Her life wasn’t divided between America. and China; it had always been one. As she walked through New York, she thought of Roma. Lying on the floor of her room in Shanghai, she thought of him again. That tiny thread that never wanted to break was with her wherever she went. “So what will it be?” The waiter came out of nowhere again, making Juliette flinch. Roma’s face copied her own expression, disgruntled and angry. Juliette tried to calm down. They didn’t need to fight over something like this. Like damn children. “I don’t think we’ve made up our minds yet,” she tried to put on a friendly smile. “Can I get a cup of coffee?” “Two,” Roma added. The waiter scratched the back of his head. “What kind of coffee?” “Whatever you want.” He left, still puzzled, but one of the pluses Juliette could point out to herself was that most of them didn’t ask her many questions, deciding to find out for themselves and then come to her, as if bragging. She turned back to Roma. “And yet you didn’t gloat? Weren’t you so happy when I left town because of you, because I couldn’t stand it? You must have imagined me in agony, hitting a wall in some backwater. Unfortunately for you, I was quite happy and didn’t think about the bad.” “I,” Roma began. “Oh, let’s finally talk about you,” Juliette’s words poured out of her as if she had been preparing these speeches for days and nights, dreaming of hissing them in his face. “How did you live with betraying me? I’m sure you’ll laugh for a long time at how stupid I was to believe you, won’t you? So, did your father give you what you wanted? You’ve become his heir, at last the other half of the weapons in the whole country will be yours. There it is, your power.” “No power is worth you,” Roma cut her off. “No gun my family has ever sold is worth you. I’d drop explosives on our own warehouses if it meant you’d just be safe. I prayed you’d be all right and move on, cut off from me. Even though I knew you’d be back sooner or later, I thought I could prepare myself for it. That I could find some explanation that would make things right between us, but alas, I couldn’t.” “An explanation for your betrayal?” Juliette almost laughed out loud. “Do you think I would listen to you? If we hadn’t been in these circumstances, and you’d just come up to me in the street, I’m sure you’d be lying face down on the pavement. Where’s your explanation? Oh, pardon, you haven’t come up with it yet. “ “Juliette.” “Don’t call me that!” Her voice rose in pitch. “You wanted me to be nothing to you, so forget my name. I’m Miss Cai, or, if you want, heartless bitch. Look at me through strangers’ eyes, call me names like we’ve never met. I know you can.” Roma stopped talking, and just in time, because they were getting coffee. Hot, warming Juliette’s suddenly cold hands. She clutched the mug so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She wanted to throw it in his face, to make him stop trying to tell her anything. To everyone around them, they probably seemed like a couple who were just arguing, which they were, but it would turn into a fight if someone didn’t shut one of them up. “My father threatened me,” Roma said quietly, taking a sip of coffee. “He was going to kill you, and all I wanted to do was keep you safe. I knew I probably damn well shouldn’t have even tried because you weren’t some girl off the street, but a person from a family of the same power as mine. But this worry was gnawing at me. How was I supposed to go to sleep every night without thinking you’d be dead the next morning? “ Juliette set the cup down on the saucer with a clatter. “So I did what I did. To make my father believe me, I had to betray you. I know you were hurt and lonely and sad. It’s my fault. I’m the one who couldn’t handle what you once entrusted to me. I’m not sure if anything he gave me mattered because of what I did. I got something that in another life I wouldn’t have traded for you.” She remained silent, running her eyes over his face, which was staring at his reflection in the cup. Roma reached for her, and his palms, also warmed with heat, encircled her shoulders, rocking her from side to side. She didn’t mind. “I don’t know how long you’ve been at this. How much pain you’ve been in. And I’d like to find out. You’ll be sure to tell me. I’m just asking you, let’s not be what our parents always want us to be,” he pressed her forehead against his. “You’re not a bad person. You’re not who you pretend to be.” Juliette tried to smile. The last time he’d hugged her like that, he’d whispered words in her ear. She reached out her arms too, wrapping them around his wrists. A single tear rolled down her chin, leading a barely visible black trail of mascara. She sat somewhere in a brightly sunlit field, slowly gluing her heart with tar. The clouds seemed to be gone, giving way to a bright sky. The wind carried with it a light sea breeze from somewhere. “Now, for God’s sake, Juliette, shoot. We’re not getting out of here any other way.” Juliette reached for her bag. She shifted the gun in one hand and pointed the muzzle straight at his shoulder. And fired. He went wide-eyed as he watched her throw off his hands and jump up from her seat. Dark eyes blinked, scrutinizing her. Juliette only bit her lip, hiding her pistol and barely turned and wrapped herself behind a nearby chair. Just in time, because Roma almost shot her in the back. The noise in the room was deafening, someone jumped up from their seats, someone else went under the table. Juliette covered her head with her hands and began to crawl toward the exit corner. Roma grabbed her leg, knocking her to the floor for good. He put the gun to her temple, and only whisper: “You’re a terrific actress.” Juliette kicked him with all her might and lunged forward, trying not to think about the bleeding wound on him. The bullet had gone through, his bone was broken because she hadn’t been looking at what she was shooting at, hoping it wouldn’t be a joint, which it had hit. He didn’t owe her a favor, though. While she was climbing up, Roma took aim and shot her in the leg. Juliette caught on one of the tables and hid behind it, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She took off both shoes and, breathing heavily, grabbed cloth napkins from the tabletop. She didn’t know if he was overreacting or if she’d misunderstood a little about what was required of her, but the sound of his footsteps, even with such panic in the background, echoed in her ears. She hastily tried to stop the bleeding by draping a cloth over her leg. One of Cais’ men reached them and instantly pointed a gun at Roma. Juliette knew this without looking up. She drew her gun again and suddenly jumped out from under her hiding place, making the man flinch, but by the time he recognized her, she had managed to bring him down, hitting him with the barrel. Roma only barely held her up, helping her to stand up and move forward, limping. “You’re also a terrific fighter.” “Did you doubt me or have you forgotten who I am?” He hummed faintly. “Never, dorogaya.” He reached closer and kissed her cheek before pushing her toward the exit. “Survive if you want more,” Roma turned toward another man, chalking somewhere in the corner. Juliett’s cheek reddened, but she picked up her bag and raced as far as she could in her condition toward the door. She slipped between a couple of people rushing out and leaned against the wall outside. The cold burned her back in the fairly light fabric, despite the two layers of clothing. With side vision, she saw her secretary running out of the elevator and heading toward her. “Miss, what’s wrong? I heard gunshots…” Juliette unclenched her fingers, trying to stop the blood along with the fabric, which had all turned into a solid scarlet stain. The secretary crouched beside her and unwrapped the cloth. “You need a doctor,” she said seriously. Then she looked at Juliette’s tattered hair, the absence of shoes, and the torn dress she’d snagged on the same unfortunate table. “Actually, I’d said something different from the beginning. The address was wrong, I don’t know who, but someone got the names of the restaurants mixed up. So you’re in the wrong place. I’m so sorry.” Juliette shook her head. “I’ve already sorted it out. I saw a first aid kit in the car, better bring it than wait for a doctor. I’ll bleed to death before anyone gets here. Please.” The secretary nodded and hurried to turn and leave, but Juliette stopped her with a slight movement of her hand. “And tell bàbà that he will soon have a new Russian partner. Ask him to cut all deals with companies in Moscow. I have a better offer than that.”