Chapter 1: The Meeting

They had decided to celebrate Nastya’s birthday at the country house. A minor hitch came up when Liza, Nastya’s best friend, was almost stuck at the office for an urgent meeting with an overseas supplier, but it ended up being resolved in an unexpected way: the supplier’s warehouse happened to be close to Anastasia’s parents’ estate, so the meeting was moved to the villa. Liza protested at first and even said she might not arrive until late in the evening, but, first, that would’ve forced everyone else to take one car, and second, her bosses figured it was better to meet their key partnerin an informal setting than drag him to a half-furnished office after the recent move.

“There’s five minutes of work at most, just sign the papers and look over a few samples,” her manager told her yesterday, then added, “You’ve got this.”

In truth, Elizabeth had never handled a supplier meeting on her own before. There had always been either a translator or her direct supervisor at her side and both had a much better command of the language than she did. Still, in the past few meetings she had carried most of the conversation while colleagues backed her up, and deep down, she knew she could handle it. If not, Nastya was close by, working a similar role at another company, always ready to help.

There was one more issue though: picking the right outfit. The plan was a women-only party, not counting Liza’s and Alina’s husbands, who were expected to head out in the evening to play PS4 or poker and leave the women to it. The original dress code called for something festive, then later a change into anything comfortable for dancing. However, Liza’s company insisted that foreign suppliers be greeted with the hosts dressed to the nines. After nearly an hour of back and forth, they settled on this: Liza, Nastya and their other best friend Alina would put on proper dresses for the meeting and make the right impression, then immediately change into comfy loungewear. If the meeting was really going to take only a few minutes, a bit of discomfort seemed a small price to pay.

So it was decided. They arrived at the dacha with a big group, everyone busying themselves with pre-party tasks, and a few minutes before the supplier pulled in, the women changed and came downstairs as an elegant trio. Alina wore a short black dress with bare shoulders which didn’t fit perfectly but still flattered her figure. Nastya had chosen a light brown dress that ended exactly where her thigh-high nude stockings began,.framing her shapely legs perfectly. Liza stepped out in a lilac spaghetti-strap dress that highlighted her lush curves and the firm curve of her breasts so well, it was hard to look away.

“Maybe we should all dress like that,” Ira giggled, the elder sister of Liza’s husband. Still in her travel clothes, she suddenly felt frumpy next to the glamorous trio

“Wear whatever you plan to congratulate me in,” Anastasia winked at Ira and at Sonya, Viktor’s other sister, who had just come down from upstairs. “We’ll go charm our foreign guests for a minute.”

“Deal,” Ira laughed, grabbed Sonya by the hand and tugged her off to change.

Right then, music blared from the yard and tires crunched over the gravel.

“They’re here,” Liza blurted. “I’m a little nervous.”

“Nothing to it, we’ve got you,” Alina said, squeezing her arm. Nastya nodded with easy confidence and gave Liza a swat on her springy backside.

“Go get them, girl.”

The foreign suppliers turned out to be Black men, pulling up in a bright yellow Hummer. There were five of them, and the moment they stepped out, it was obvious the women had overdressed. The visitors—or rather, the young men, since only one looked even slightly over thirty — were dressed in tanks, T-shirts, and track pants. One look made it clear they were here to relax in the countryside, not deal with paperwork. The women hovered awkwardly on the threshold as the five of them piled out of the enormous SUV. The South Africans, as Liza had described them, looked strikingly alike, differing mostly in height. All were athletic and broad-shouldered, except for one who was noticeably heavyset.