The Mistress(19)

Theo stepped out on a deck high up in the boat and saw an enormous bar, and a woman seated on a couch in shorts and a T-shirt. Her long blond hair was piled on top of her head, informally, and Vladimir was nowhere to be seen, as Natasha stood up and walked toward him on bare feet.

“Thank you for bringing the painting.” She smiled easily at him, and recognized him from the restaurant the night before, even without his suit. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt too, and had left his shoes downstairs in a basket when he came aboard the boat. “Vladimir said someone would deliver it. It was nice of you to come.” He noticed her Russian accent again, but her French was excellent. She had no idea what Vladimir had paid for it, and how normal it was that someone would carry it to the boat. She assumed Theo was the ma?tre d’ at the restaurant, acting as messenger and delivery boy now. She took the painting from him officially, handed it to the security guard, and told him to lock it in Mr. Stanislas’s office, per Vladimir’s instructions. He had sent an email advising them of delivery instructions. She was polite to Theo, and turned to him with a warm smile. “I guess Vladimir was right when he said that everything has a price,” she said with a shy glance at Theo. “He usually is.”

“Not everything. But in this case, selling it was the right thing to do for all concerned,” Theo said seriously. Vladimir hadn’t bested them, or taken advantage of them, he had offered a fantastic price and a very good deal, and Theo was cognizant of it, whether he liked the man or not.

“He’s very pleased,” she said quietly. “And the painting is beautiful.” She remembered it perfectly from the night before, and had known which one Vladimir wanted.

“Where will you hang it?” Theo asked her, wondering if they would take it to Russia, London, or somewhere else. He liked knowing where his father’s paintings went, the rare times they were sold. The one purchased at Christie’s seven years before had gone to an important collector in Brazil.

“Probably on the boat,” she answered. “All our favorite art is here. The apartment in Moscow is very modern and stark. We have some Jackson Pollocks there, and Calders. And Old Masters in London. We don’t have much in the house in St. Jean Cap-Ferrat yet, and we seldom use it. We keep the art we love best on the boat, so we see it more often.” And it was more secure there under constant surveillance.

And then she thought of something, and guessed it might be nice for him. “Would you like a tour of the boat, as long as you’re here?” If it meant leaving her presence, and roaming the huge yacht with a deckhand or even an officer, he didn’t want to. He would rather talk to her for a few more minutes, especially since Vladimir was obviously not there, or he would have received the painting himself. He was about to decline the offer, when she suggested taking him around herself. She looked like a young girl as she led him inside the boat, and down the grand staircase. Theo followed her in fascination. She was far more intriguing than the boat, and completely unaware of how taken with her he was.

He couldn’t keep his eyes off her as she took him through the engine room, the galley, the food-freezing units, the spa, the enormous gym fully equipped with every kind of machine, and the ballet studio with an exercise barre. There was a hair salon, a racquetball court, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a huge hot tub, a bar in some form on every floor, a dining room that would seat forty people, and an outdoor dining room just as large that they used every day. There were leather floors and walls that had been installed by Hermès, incredible wood paneling, gorgeous furniture, and mind-boggling art. He counted six Picassos on their tour, and now his father’s work would be part of their permanent collection, and Theo was proud of that.

Theo noticed at least a dozen staterooms, and living quarters for the seventy-five crew members she said lived and worked onboard. Four full-time chefs, and twenty sous-chefs. He was startled to see an entire cold room where a full-time florist worked, making arrangements for every room on the boat. They had their own fire department, a huge room for all the security guards, a gigantic laundry and dry cleaning facility, a luggage room for all their bags, and another where all the uniforms for the crew were kept and dispensed, with three attendants. There were different uniforms for every job and rank.

She showed him a movie theater that could accommodate fifty, with large comfortable chairs that swiveled, and several locked rooms she didn’t explain to him. He wondered if weaponry was involved since one was next to the security guards’ position. It seemed obvious to him that a man as rich and powerful as Vladimir would have arms on the boat to protect him. And they ended up at the wheelhouse, where the captain and several officers were talking amiably in front of radar screens and state-of-the-art computers and electronic equipment. The captain was British, as were most of the officers, but Theo had noticed that there were many Russian crew members too, and all the security guards were Russian. There were deckhands from Russia, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand. The kitchen staff was all Italian. And he heard a veritable United Nations of languages spoken, from French to Chinese, as they walked through, though mostly Russian.

Natasha greeted all of them as though she knew them, and they were polite and respectful to her. She clearly had an important position. She wasn’t just some bimbo or pretty face brought on to entertain Vladimir. He was the lord and master here, but she was the lady of the house, and it was obvious that they liked her, with her gentle ways. She didn’t show off as she took him around, or put on airs. She was simple and casual, and acted like an ordinary person. When they got back to the outdoor bar where the tour had started, she offered him champagne. He accepted but didn’t know what to say. He had never seen anything like it, and it had taken them nearly an hour to tour the gigantic boat. It was as intricate and complete as a cruise ship, but so much more beautiful. And every single thing in it was of the finest quality, from the art to the fabrics, the furniture, and the priceless objects scattered around as part of the décor. Vladimir had an eye for beauty in all things. And Natasha was proof of that as well. Theo couldn’t help wondering what it was like to live in his exalted world and be part of such a dazzling machine.