Read Online Gold Digger by Aleksandr Voinov - Free Book Online

methods and ideology in place. The danger is that you begin to think that’s actually you.” Henri leaned back when the waiter returned with half a dozen small plates of assorted bites and tiny dishes. “And here’s the food, in time before I admit I think you shouldn’t do it. You’re not the corporate type, Nikolai, and I don’t think it would give you anything.”
    Nikolai nodded. “You’re possibly right.”
    “So, tell me about your involvement with Cybele.”
    Would he be giving Henri ammunition for the upcoming battle? Would he share this with his uncle? Maybe yes, despite the noticeable friction between them.
    He’d have to be careful with what he shared. He couldn’t let Ruslan down. “I knew Ruslan from the rigs. He was high up on the food chain, well, high from the point of view of a driller. He was a Soviet-era petrochemical engineer, specialized in the trickier drills. Then he’s gone and the next thing I hear is that he’s started from scratch in gold exploration, got enough private backers and his own money riding on it, so I was in touch and he offered to let me come on board. I told him I have no clue about gold, but he wouldn’t hear it. He said all I needed was frontier spirit. A few years later, we took the company public, and he gave me a chunk of it. I’m not a big shareholder, but yes, that’s my pension plan. At least once we can start paying dividends.”
    “You’re not selling?”
    “No. I’m attached to that business. I got involved when Cybele was nothing but fancy letterhead and a one-page website. It would feel like selling my friends and a piece of myself.”
    “And if somebody offered you a nicer job?”
    “As an owner, I have flexibility. I can travel, visit my friends and family, or take some time out. As long as I’m on email and Ruslan knows where I am, I’m pretty much free to do what I want.”
    “So you’re not drawing a salary?”
    “I don’t need to. I made excellent money in oil. I have some dividend stocks, and I’m not living an extravagant lifestyle. What I need fits into two suitcases, and the second only because of the laptop.”
    Henri shook his head. “Damn, I envy you.”
    Nikolai laughed. “The main things that separate us are that MBA and the drugs.” Though he’d tried them and hated the loss of control. He wasn’t a control freak by any means, but he’d always preferred to be sober, certainly when other oil guys were involved and things became raucous. He’d heard the stories from the previous generation, who had been completely crazy, but the oil business had cleaned up a great deal since those days. The old-timers never tired of telling him it was now boring and strict and many had gotten out while the going was still good.
    “I have nothing like that,” Henri said. “I’m just getting groomed to be a replacement.”
    Nikolai reached over and touched his hand, and Henri glanced up and into his eyes. It was a weird moment, like recognition, just with a tightening of his balls. “Your uncle has to trust you, that’s worth something. I mean, there are big stakes, tens of thousands of workers, lots of shareholders, pensioners who rely on the dividends . . . it’s a huge amount of responsibility.”
    Henri closed his fingers around Nikolai’s hand and studied it. “Ever wonder if something’s really you ?”
    “All the time.” Nikolai squeezed his hand and pulled back—to eat, not because he was worried about witnesses or about touching Henri. After what they’d done together, touching in public wasn’t a big deal. He’d do the same with a straight mate (unless he had a suspicion that the guy might try to punch him for it). Well, maybe less touchy-feely, at least until there was enough alcohol to act as a social lubricant—
    Oh, the places his mind went.
    The last mezze course consisted of dates filled with foie gras and goat cheese, drizzled in honey. The combination felt odd at first and then unfolded to be divine, the