I nodded dejectedly, belatedly feeling guilty. Maybe I should have gone through my notebooks and found the supervisor's phone number. There are records of all the employees!
" I just… didn't know your phone number… or the staff's…" I started to justify myself
" What are you mumbling about?"
I stammered and squeezed inwardly.
" Remember, I can't be distracted in negotiations. No matter who comes and no matter what they demand. Unless it's not OBOP in half with the tax came to gut our documents. Then you can let me know."
At the end of that sentence, he got a little funny. I realized it was a joke. Although with such things and structures, jokes are bad. He's probably sure that his company's documents and law are in order and he won't be visited.
" Encrypted? " I asked in a tone of voice.
" That would be very kind of you."
I allowed myself a smile, managing not to laugh. The boss's sense of humor was on the level. More importantly, he managed to lighten the mood.
" Can I go now?"
" Go ahead," I was told.
As I stepped out into the reception area, I managed to dodge in some unimaginable way. Camille was back, ready to tear me down and walk across the carpet of the secretary's body. I belatedly jerked back to follow and tried to stop her.
" I have to report to you!"
I was ignored. I had to run after her back to the office.
" Andrew , I…!"
" Honey! Fire her!"
The blonde reached the owner of the office, passionately kissed him and, climbing on the table, capriciously pouted her lips.
" Why should she? " surprised interrogated the "sweetheart".
" She was rude to me, and did not want to call you! I'm your fiancée! She must obey me."
From despair and resentment, I was speechless, and did not even try to defend myself. The blonde fiancée was lying through her teeth. I didn't even say a rude word to her.
" She was following my orders and not connecting me to anyone."
" You don't want to see me?! Have you fallen out of love?!"
The girl's eyes immediately filled with tears and her lips trembled. I couldn't help but wince. She's obviously overplaying it. A look of annoyance appeared on Andrew 's face for a moment.
" Can I get you anything? " I asked, just to remind myself.
They seemed to have forgotten about me. I didn't want to witness their stormy reconciliation.
The blonde jumped up, but the boss was ahead of her:
" No need for anything. Go to work."
I happily walked out the door and, closing it tightly, leaned back and exhaled in relief. It seems that no one is not going to fire me, which I can not be happy. But the blonde wouldn't stop there and would try to make my life a living hell.
Work in general was not difficult. Andrew had few visitors. He himself turned out to be very active and preferred to meet outside the office. The only thing is that there were a lot of calls in the afternoon. Everyone wanted something, either to sign documents or to schedule a meeting. So the organizer had to be dealt with urgently. There weren't many time overlaps. Just two. And the last one was due to a changed meeting place. After calling the secretaries, I easily rescheduled them.
However, the schedule for two weeks in advance turned out to be so tight that other people who wanted to meet had to either refuse or make arrangements to meet in two weeks. Plus, I put meetings on the schedule. And remembering the latter, I dug into the Internet in search of a decent company willing to organize a buffet in the office.
Camille left about an hour later, absolutely pleased with herself. She didn't even look at me, which pleased me greatly. So the first day, you could say, went smoothly.
As I headed out of the office, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the supermarket. Ramila had bought all the groceries before. She also cooked. Today, however, I got off around seven o'clock. That's very early for work in Moscow! When I ran down the stairs and turned the corner, I immediately turned back. Dimitri stood at the gatehouse, wearing a beautiful light colored coat. He was cooing softly with someone on the phone and promised not to stay anywhere.
My first impulse was to turn around and run to the toilet. Where I could lock myself in a stall and cry. The ex-lover looked like he'd just stepped off the cover of a magazine.
The second impulse was to crack him on the head, scratch his face and make an ugly scandal. Anger demanded an outlet. I managed to restrain myself and clenched my fists to the point of pain.
Dimitri smiled at the world, or rather, at the invisible interlocutor and looked happy. He used to smile at me like that. He spoke with the same intonation, and I believed that I was loved. And worst of all, I realized I was ready to go back to him. To be happy again.
Sighing, I adjusted my dress, tossed back my hair. I didn't want to hide from him anymore. On the contrary, I was going to walk over and look him in the eye.
Encouraging myself, I headed toward him. Dimitri finished the conversation, put the phone in his other hand and brought it to my ear again.
" Yes, yes! I'll be there in about ten minutes. But I can't stay today, I have a lot of work, so I'll have to go back to the office."
I froze, not believing my own ears, immediately suspecting him of another adultery.
" I'm ready to fly to you even to the end of the world!"
Dimitri, without turning around, jumped out into the street and took the wheel of a luxury foreign car, which immediately started off in an unknown direction. I waddled back to the subway. The day was ruined. It turns out I'm not ready to meet him. As soon as he smiled at me and said a few words, I'd believe him. Even though my mind knows that all beautiful words are lies, I can't order my heart.
And yet I was sure that both times he talked to women. Different ones, moreover. He couldn't have told his wife he had to go back to work. As I pondered this thought from every angle, I was once again immersed in a survival quest called, "The Road Home at Rush Hour!"
Chapter 3
Ramila's phrase after I told her about my meeting with Dimitri was vivid and nerve-wracking. However, it could only be repeated in decent society with prepositions and interjections.
I sat in the kitchen, climbing on a chair with my legs, and mindlessly chattering with a spoon in my tea. I felt like a rag doll.
“ You know, it's probably a good thing that everything turned out this way," she said calmly.
I looked up at her in bewilderment. What could be good in what happened? The man I love turned out to be a pig. And I found out about it, when nothing can be fixed.
“ Are you laughing?” I asked in a shaky voice.
For the first time all evening I wanted to cry.
“ Imagine if you had given birth to a child by him," Ramila suggested.
I immediately did what she told me to do, and tears ran down my cheeks.
“Maybe that's the reason? I wanted to wait.”
“ Don't talk nonsense!” Ramilya burst out.” No man has ever managed to bind anyone with this. Yes, maybe he would have gotten married. But then he would mock her all his life. You bet, the calculating predator had bound him hand and foot. Ruined his life! And a wedding is no indicator of fidelity and happiness. He would've kept on going.”
" Listen to you, there are no good men in this world."
" There are a lot of good men. But women love assholes."
Having stamped on both men and women at once, Ramila grabbed my glass and threw the cooled tea into