Lera, with her bright red curls turquoise eyes, struck customers on the spot. Alissa was so petite and feminine that everyone fussed over her like a delicate crystal vase. Sveta simply charmed everyone with her warm tenderness, and clients usually looked at her, rather than the contracts.
Inessa, full-blooded, was so all roundly beautiful that men hardly looked above her cleavage, but since she specialized in Arabic, clients – due to their national preferences – permanently salivated over her exceeded "thirty-three inches" and strictly kept "twenty-four".
As soon as Inessa lowered her thick silver braids that played around her coccyx when she walked, they signed documents without looking, confusing Arabic script for Cyrillic when writing their own names. In general, Inessa's non-standard appearance was absolutely appropriate, Irina Konstantinovna had her advantages here too.
Lera waved off annoying thoughts about Inessa's admirers out of her head and plopped down in her usual spot opposite the boss. Irina Konstantinovna quickly rifled through a stack of employment contracts and handed Lera a pile of papers. The girl quickly scanned them and signed both copies. There wasn't much to review.
“Well, now tell me more about your secret Santa”, Irina Konstantinovna said sternly, placing the contracts in a separate folder.
“Well… I don't even know where to begin…” Lera hesitated.
“At the beginning!”
Lera jumped slightly at her sharp voice, but when she looked into the woman's eyes, she saw genuine concern and worry in them. Overall, despite all her flaws, Irina Konstiantinovna took care of her employees like a mother hen.
“I often receive small gifts from someone at work. It came today”, Lera blurted out.
“And you have no idea who it is from?” The boss asked in disbelief.
Lera vigorously shook her head, making her red hair even more messy.
“What about a signature?” the boss pressed.
“Firstly, I thought it was one of my coworkers, but no one admitted to it. The packages were always delivered by a courier, according to the girls…”
“A courier? According the girls?” Irina Konstantinova's eyes narrowed. “So, do you mean the presents have never been delivered to you personally?”
“Well… Y-yes…” Lera stammered.
She suddenly realized this simple fact too. True, for over a year and a half, the courier had never delivered gifts to her in person. All that while, the box had either magically appeared on her desk or been passed on by one of the employees.
“What about any notes?”
“There were always stickers on the boxes with my name printed on them. That’s all.”
“Hmm…” Irina Konstantinovna tapped her manicured fingers on the table. "How long has it been going on?" she asked almost without interest.
“For about a year and a half.”
The woman jumped up, "Anonymous, fabulously expensive gifts have been arriving for a year and half, and you aren't surprised? Are you crazy? Russia isn’t a habitat for any Robin Hoods!"
“Until today, it has been just worthless things!” Lera interrupted her again, "Cheap flowers, I don’t know, a box of chocolates, a little key chain with an angel on it. Really, it’s never been anything so expensive!"
The woman slumped slightly in her chair and bit her lip. "Have you told anyone?" she asked more calmly.
"Yes," said the girl sadly. "To my mom."
"And?"
"She said, 'Don't worry about it! What’s the problem? They give, you take.'"
The boss chuckled dejectedly, rolling her eyes slightly. Leaning towards Lera, Irina Konstantinovna began to speak in an admonishing tone. "Normal men don't send flowers without a note for a year. Courting openly for a year is something I can understand. There are some men who act like unbelievably stubborn screw-horned sheep. But doing it quietly? I don't believe it. What if it's some kind of maniac, have you considered that?"
"But no one kills for a box of chocolates." Lera said spreading her hands.
“Actually, I don't know. I didn't communicate with maniacs much. But, please note, there isn't merely a box of chocolates on the table right now!” Irina Konstantinovna pointed her finger at the door of the conference room. “Can you imagine how much these earrings cost?"
Lera shook her head and bit her lower lip. It felt like she was being scolded for something that wasn't her fault.
“Red gold, diamonds, fluorite of the exact colour of your eyes’. I would say they are worth five thousand dollars.” Lera looked at her boss, hiccupping. And then Irina Konstantinovna nodded and said, "Maybe even more."
Lera sat there, mouth open, not knowing what to say. She had only ever seen those sums in movies. The boss chewed her lips and casually asked, "What are you doing this weekend?"
Lera felt scared. This is it… Now she will offer some kind of work in such a way that it will be impossible to dodge… Poor Sveta's fate has caught up with Lera right on the very edge of her vacation! Lera started babbling confusedly in fright:
“Irina Konstantinovna, I have plans! I very very much have plans! I can't work!”
The woman suddenly laughed genuinely, and Lera paused. “Don't worry about it!” The boss said with a smile. “That's not why I'm asking. Are you going to leave the city, by any chance?”
“I am going to!” Lera blurted out. “Tomorrow! To a very distant place! The phone will not work there, it is in the middle of nowhere!”
The woman continued to look at her subordinate with amusement, then slammed her hand on the table and said sharply: "Great! Firstly, bring the box here, I will hide it in the safe. Then, sit in the office motionlessly until I let Marat go. He will escort you home. Thirdly… How will you get there, in your middle of nowhere?”
“B-by p-plane” Lera stuttered, pinned down by the commanding voice. “From Domodedovo.”
“That’s even better! It's nice to realise that Russian airlines have developed to the point where planes from Domodedovo fly to the middle of nowhere.”
At these words, Lera flushed and looked away.
“So, I will ask Kostya to pick you up at home and meet you upon your return. Don’t argue!” The boss growled, raising her eyebrows when Lera tried to object. “He will not just take you to the airport, he will meet you at your apartment and take you back! Door-to-door! No arguments!”
Lera's face fell.
“And finally, while you are in your "middle of nowhere," I will make a request to the security company. They must be keeping the CCTV recordings for a while. Can you roughly tell me when the other presents arrived?”
"Uh-huh" Lera replied meekly, apparently resigned to her fate.
“That's good to be “uh-huh”. Here you are the paper, write the dates and approximate times. After you come back, we will watch the videos and, if we recognise your admirer, we can take him over his boll… humm… we’ll talk anyway… If not, we should go to the police.”
“To the police?!” Lera became nervous.
“Of course! It's pointless to apply now anyway. The earrings will be taken, but policemen still won't start moving until after the holidays. That's right, Larina! Write down now!”
The boss thrust a piece of paper in front of the girl, got up abruptly, and went to call the next person over. Lera, meanwhile, buried her head in the blank paper and started writing…
Chapter