Chapter 4

Hope

I woke up to a beautiful view of the sunrise from the bedroom of my apartment on 220 Central Park South. I descended to the living room of my four story apartment. There are 3 balconies in the living room with 3 sets of full glass double doors that allow for abundant natural light while discreetly balancing that blend in with the wall color. There’s also a place for curtains to hang subtly whenever I don’t want the light streaming in.

The apartment itself has 70 linear feet of views looking over Central Park. You don’t have to be a New Yorker to appreciate the address 220 Central Park South which of course is on the southern end of the city’s iconic park so the penthouse looks over the entire 2.5 miles of green to the north with Manhattan stretching out to the south

I went to the kitchen and found Natasha preparing my breakfast. The kitchen comes with marble counter tops, 2 sinks, 2 ovens, 2 dishwashers, a sub-zero fridge, and meal appliances including a special wok burner on the stove and crystal fleece silverware. Natasha is my housekeeper, although she looks more like a supermodel who found her domain in the kitchen. She taught me how to cook but her meals are still the best.

“I prepared some soup for you. Since I knew you like to eat lightly in the morning.” She said. Natasha has the best borscht recipe I’ve ever tasted. I’ve been all over the world but nothing beats hers. It’s a traditional beet soup from Ukraine and loved all over Russia and many other Eastern European counties. This rich and delicious soup is made with cabbage, beef, and many other vegetables. Beets give this borscht a beautiful color and a beautiful flavor.

“Spasibo. (Thank you.)” I said, eating it on the counter. This cabbage soup is a staple in every Russian household, and it’s one of the first recipes that I learn how to make. It was definitely one of the very first recipes that I learned.

“Just watching you eat it so well makes my heart full, my dear.” I can say the same, this classic Borscht recipe is healthy, nutritious, and comforting

“How old are you again? You sound like an old woman.” I joked. She’s still in her mid thirties but she’s already too sentimental. Well, I could say the same for me. I don’t know if I got it from her or I was just born this way.

“Hurry up and go take a shower.” She says, evading my question. “I’ll prepare your clothes.”

“Jeez, what will I do without you.” I teased her. It’s true though. I can’t live without Natasha by my side. Natasha is young, but she acts like a mother to me. She oversees everything, from the food that I eat to the clothes I wear. Everything goes through her.

I went back to the master bedroom which has a dressing room in addition to the two walk in closet. The bathroom has an enclosed steam shower, a Jacob Delafon tub with a scalloped marble surround double sinks and enclosed Toto Neorest toilet and radiant heated floors. All the bathrooms have heated floors.

My outfit was waiting for me when I got out of the bath. It’s a OiOi Collection Lace Line Onepiece dress and an Dr. Martens Adaira Temperley Sandals.

“Like it?” I asked, doing a 360 turn in front of Natasha.

She nods approvingly, admiring her handiwork. I’m not sure if she’s liking me wearing the dress or my pirouette. She used to be a ballerina and moves as graceful as a swan.

“Where’s Ivan?” I asked.

“Ivanovich is getting the car ready. He’ll be here shortly.” Natasha replied.

Ivan is my head of security. He’s also my all around bodyguard and driver.

“Lady,” Ivan says, when he finally appeared in front of us.

He doesn’t really talk much, but he’s really nice.

“I’ll go ahead Natasha.” I kissed her goodbye.

“Have a good day, dear.” She says as I followed Ivan to the motor court. 

While most people are stuck circling blocks to look for a coveted parking space, we have a secured motor court away from the street hidden by an arbor of trees for additional privacy.

Ivan switches cars every now and then. I eventually turn it into a game guessing which car he’s using for the day.

“Let’s see, is it the Audi S8?” I asked.

Ivan gave me a small smile as he opened the door of the Porsche Panamera.

How does he even pick the cars? Through a spin wheel?

**

It is currently 11:05. I’ve been up since 8 working on our group research projects due today. I’m supposed to have class at 11 but I don’t go to that class because our professor just reads up the PowerPoint and I can do that on my own damn time. So technically my first class of the day is at 12:30. I’m meeting Casper and Jane for lunch in a bit.

Jane and I became friends when I went to Berlin on my freshman year studying Global Liberal Studies. I met Casper when I went back to the States. Casper is beautiful and gay. He’s got this blonde hair just long enough to tie into a half tail and green eyes. Jane is brunette. She’s from the Dominican Republic. We move to New York City for sophomore year and are required to study at one of NYU's fourteen global academic centers next year.

It’s already 12:15 when we finished but Jim, our professor, usually starts class a few minutes late so no point in trying to hurry.

“Where are we going?” I asked, grabbing my bag.

“We’re going to the big sale.” Casper replied as we were leaving our Power & Politics Class. It’s a huge lecture.

To be honest, I’m not really interested in politics. In fact, I hate it. But surprisingly, I’m very good at it.

“Ouch,” Jane complained as she sprained her wrist when it got caught in the elevator. “I’m suing NYU for this.”

“Yeah, girl. Go get that LV bag.” Casper says as we all bought a pizza and a cupcake when we passed by the Planned Parenthood booth.

We all had History of the Universe class next. Casper is yawning beside me. Thank god we got out of class a little early. It was just 3:15.

“Gosh, I just spent the whole class working on my resume.” Jane says. “My Linked In got that whole summer internship application grind going on right now.”

I gave her a ‘Don’t ask me’ look. I never bothered with those stuff. They’re just too tedious and I don’t have the patience to do such things.

“By the way, why aren’t you in class this morning?” Casper asked. We almost had the same schedule and always sits together in our shared classes.

“I skipped it.” I grinned.

“Geez, if I do that, I’d have to say goodbye to getting an A.” Jane says, whining.

“Well, Nikolai always tell me not to push myself.” I shrugged. No pressure. I think he’s afraid I’ll turn into a diamond.

“Lucky. My parents would have killed me if I don’t get a 4.0 GPA. What did you do in your past life? Saved a nation.”

“Nah, just sucked it all up until god granted me a new life.” I said. “Come on, let’s have some snack. My treat.”

“At least we still have Hope to feed us.” Casper said, and they both enclosed me in a group hug.

“Anyway, I need a new Linked In picture because I looked mad horny in the one I have now.” Jane said, so we’re gonna try and take one real quick on my phone.

How to take a professional Linked In photo using an I phone.

1. Have a friend
2. Have an I phone
3. Don’t be ugly
4. Fake laugh

And by that point you should have a half decent Linked In photo that won’t get you hired anyway.

We got out of Kimmel and I was just about to call Nikolai when I bumped into Casper. It’s pretty much like hitting a wall, or a tree.

“Oh, my god! What is a Rolls-Royce Phantom doing here?” He gasped.

“Holy molly, I thought I’ll never see a more luxurious car than Hope’s Maybach.” Jane added.

I can’t help but be amused by their reactions. The first time they saw me got out of the S-Class Mercedes, they begged me to go back in and give them a ride. Which I happily obliged.

Nikolai got out and their gaze instantly shifted from the car to him. I can’t blame them. Standing at six feet, he’ll easily attract anyone’s attention. Not to mention his good looks. Plus, those three piece suits always suited him.

“Girl, you ride the car, I’ll ride the owner.” Casper says. I did say that he’s gay. But did I mention he’s a promiscuous gay. He looked like he’s ready to devour Nikolai anytime soon.

“Ugh, no way bitch!” Jane says. “Would you care to share? How about you, Hope?”

It’s rare to see Jane drooling over a guy but oh well, it’s Nikolai. He’s not just any other guy.

“No, thanks.” I smiled awkwardly at her. At least she’s thoughtful enough to ask.

Nikolai looked at our direction and smiled when he saw me. I instantly covered my ears but not fast enough not to hear Casper’s shriek. Jane fell into a puddle on the ground.

“NIkki!” I finally called.

Casper and Jane looked at me wild eyed.

“Nadia,” Nikolai says in a thick Russian accent. He does call me using my Russian name sometimes.

“ty chut' ne ustroil moim druz'yam serdechnyy pristup (You almost gave my friends a heart attack),” I told him.

I lightly chuckled at his confused face, looking at my friends who are still staring at him.

“This is my brother Nikolai.” I told them.

“Will you marry me?” Jane says, still in a daze.

“Will you fuck me?” Casper says, brazenly.

I buried my face in Nikolai’s chest to keep myself from laughing.

“Uh, no.” Nikolai says to them. I laughed even harder.

“ty vsegda takoy ser'yeznyy, rasslab'sya (You are always so serious, loosen up)” I tell him, gently patting his chest.

“I came to pick you up.”

“my idem domoy k Clyde? (Are we going home to Clyde?)” I asked him.

“Da. (Yes)” he replies.

“Uhm, guys. I’ll go ahead.” I tell them.

“Oh, okay, sure, yeah.”

“Bye, tell your brother to pick you up again next time.” Casper called.

“do svidaniya (Bye)” I waved at them as I got into the car.

Nikolai was getting some shut eye on our ride. I can’t help but stare at his sleeping face. He is a scary mafia boss even with that sculpted face. Almost all – women and men – would fall for that face.

But for me, it was a face of a new beginning.

“What? Is something on my face?” He says, opening his eyes.

“Nah,” I shook my head. “Just thinking how lucky I am to have you as my brother.” I say as I hugged his arm and put my head on his shoulder.