Thirty Days with Stavros Rozanov

Vanessa stood by her door way, a lit cigarette in between her fingers as she stared at the test result in her right hand. "Hmmph" She let out. Sniffing, she took a long drag, she already had a bad day today and was fresh out of tears, sorrow, sadness and any form of willingness to live. She was barely hanging by a thread. She blinked, lifting her eyes to the sky to find the moon. Ah, there it was, an equal moon lit up in the sky, she found a smile in her loneliness, inhaled another drag before refocusing her attention on test result one last time, she squeezed it inbetween her palms. She'd been diagnosed with a stage four aggressive endometrial cancer and had a month to live. She flicked the blunt in between her fingers uninterestedly. It was two days to Christmas and her mother's death anniversary. She brought the cigar to her mouth to take another drag. She couldn't deal with this, with everything- a cough escaped her, and another. She turned back into the house with a scowl, it was cold as hell outside. Vanessa walked into her room, stopping in front of the large mirror she'd ordered in days ago to admire herself. She stared blankly at the mirror, noting her dry skin, she hadn't moisturized in days. God, she needed a drink badly, or cocaine, some sort of dopamine or she was going to go insane. Blinking, she turned to her cabinet, yanking it open to reach for the jar of shea butter- one of the only ways she could keep her mother with her always, her mother was obsessed with the butter, opened it up and applied it onto her skin, her face, arms legs and thighs. She was going to the club and she was going to be a slut. Define a slut. Vanessa arrived at the nearest club in town dressed in her sleepwear, a standard Women's Striped Pajamas Set Button Up Boyfriend Shirt, Long Pants Sleep Set Loungewear Nightwear right off of sss. She turned off her car ignition, hands on the wheels without a thought behind her eyes. She was getting drunk tonight. She reached for the coat she'd tossed in the driver's seat earlier, put it on and got out of the car. She made her way towards the entrance, past the long line of people that were waiting for their turn and past the body guard. "Simon" she greeted briefly as she entered the club. She was greeted by the usual blinding disco lights that constantly caused her a headache. She dove past the swarm of people heading straight for the bar. "Vanessa, hey. Merry Christmas" Jon, the bar man greeted with a big smile on his face. "Same" "You look like s**t" He yelled over the music. "You look like one too" She smiled back at him. Pulling a stool as she shrugged off her coat with the other hand. "Two shots of raw vodka please" "Raw?" Jon leaned forward. "Who broke your heart?" Cancer? She tried for a smile but ended up looking like she was about to have a stroke. She ran a hasty hand though her braids instead averting her gaze to a couple of women tongue deep in each other's throat. "Thank you." She said to Jon as he slid the shots to her. She hesitated, staring at the glass filled with alcohol that physically repulsed her. She took a deep breath and without a second thought downed both in one go. The burn in her throat physically made her recoil and it dawned on her that she'd barely eaten all day except for the plantain dips she had in the morning. "f**k" She ran a hand over her face "I need water" Jon nodded and handed her a bottle. She uncorked the cap, and downed it all in a go. She'd barely had time to collect herself before a man walked over to her. Don. "Hi Vanessa" "Hey" She could start to feel the alcohol running through her veins "Um... There's a man in the private room, he's f*****g pissed and he wants to see the manager." "Call Clarion then. I'm not here to handle silly problems like this." "Please. He's gonna call Cider." "Who is he?" She asked, folding and tossing her coat over to Jon to keep safe while she got up from her chair. "He's a client, highly influential...... Um... Yes, Rozanov? I believe that's his name" Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You should get fired for not remembering a client's name. That's your f*****g job" She bit out. She still was very much in her head. Her phone vibrated in her pockets just then and she kissed her teeth. Who the hell was calling? She reached for the phone as Don led her through a small corner away from the club's overcrowded and loud space, coming to a stop in front of a door. "You can leave" She said, glancing at the name on her screen. It was Cider. "Yeah?" She asked bringing the phone to her ear "Vanessa?" "What is it?" She drawled "I need you to be at the club, there's an issue going on. Apparently a girl tired to come onto Rozanov and tried to rob him? I'm not exactly sure of the details but can you hurry?" "Hurry? What if I'm dead?" "What?" "I can't help you." "Vanessa" Cider groaned over the line. "Bye, You owe me one. No, you know what, book me a ticket right now to Italy and have a car arranged for me at the airport to take me to foligno tomorrow. I'm outta here. I'll handle whatever" She slurred, ending the call as soon as he started to speak, tucked it into her pocket and opened the door. "Pardon my manners, I forgot to knock." She walked over, towards the man dressed in a suit and a scowl on his face like a second skin. He stared at her, with a mix of confusion on his face. "What is it?" Vanessa asked plainly, staring up at him with her brown beady eyes. It was hard to tell what color his eyes were with the dark lightning in the room. "Where's Cider?" His thick voice tickled something in her oblongata. "I am representing cider for now. You can direct your complains to me-" "I want to speak with Cider" Vanessa snorted. "Would it tickle your balls to know that I am the owner of this place? Act right or I'll have you f*****g kicked out of my club." His shoulders seemed to drop, not out of shame but relief. "Now what the hell did you call me for?" "One of your employees robbed me. She stole my wallet." He said softly. "Okay...." She threw her hands in the air. "What was she wearing? Can you describe what she looks like?" She asked, whipping her phone out of her pocket, holding up her index finger to stop him before he could speak."Hold on" She dialed Brian's number. "Brian, um, someone is about to describe one of our employees. I need you to pull up the security footage of the break room and find the person for me" "Yes ma'am" She handed Rozanov her phone as she inspected the room. It's been a while since she visited the club. She'd been so caught up in her other job that she hadn't been here in a year. It was quite ironic that she owned a club and hated it. Now she was here, few days to her death. God, she couldn't even think about it.. She pressed her fingers to her temple, trying to suppress the overwhelming feeling in her head. "Here" She turned slowly, the room turning with her as she did. "Thanks." "I'll have Cider contact you, and we'll get your belongings back to you in a day or two" "I need it tonight" Vanessa c****d her head slightly. Her eyes caught the glint in his eyes and the clench in his jaw. He was hot. Her eyes slipped to his shoulders, his arms and finally his fingers. Damn, she thought. His fingers looked looked like a mini engine. "Hmm" A mischievous smile spreading across her face. She stepped closer to him, lifting her fingers to trace an imaginary line right in the middle of chest. Her fingers trembled at the realization of what she was getting to. What did Jon put in her vodka? "You're gonna have to do something for me to get whatever you're looking for" She could feel him tense under her touch, and she herself did. She watched his nose flare, pretending not to notice c****d her head and placed both of her hands on his chest. A small smile splayed across her face, she leaned forward, inhaling his sweet scent. "You smell good" She let out before she could stop herself. She slowly encircled her hands around his neck, stood on her toe, pouted her lips and kissed him.