A week later, I stood at the bus stop and stared in horror at the business center building. Ramilya made one revenge plan after another, and even managed to infect me with her enthusiasm at one point.
The plan changed every time, but they all started the same way: I had to get a job at the same company as Dimitri.
"Media Help is a pretty big company. They were in the investment business. But I didn't understand where. However, there was only one position in the firm – a secretary. And he doesn't need to know how to invest money correctly, the main thing is to serve coffee on time and not to let unnecessary visitors to the boss. However, I was afraid to go in there, fully confident of rejection.
A phone call brought me out of my thoughts. I shuddered and almost dropped it. But I had to pick it up. Ramila was very persistent and could call for hours without stopping. So it was easier to answer right away.
" Let me guess, you're standing a few meters away from the business center and you want to escape? " Ramila said confidently.
" No, I… Okay. They won't hire me! And what will I gain by it? I'll only wear out my nerves!”
" Don't be silly. Go. Or do you want that bastard to live and enjoy himself? How many times has he called you this week? How many letters? And in the middle of the month, nothing! Payday's coming and you haven't dropped the money.”
My friend knew me better than anyone and hit me at the most painful point, causing a healthy anger.
Ramila's right. Dimitri wrote, as usual, about love and our plans. Only now I was paying attention to something else, in between he reminded me about paying the mortgage. He made a fool of me and used me as he wanted. I wrote a hundred term papers for him in college. I even wrote his thesis. Without me, he'd have been expelled in his third year!
I shook myself up and walked towards the entrance, cheering myself up. At the institute I studied English and French. But after Dimitri's departure, I studied Chinese to have some fun. And since excellent command of languages was the main condition, though they didn't specify which ones, I had every chance.
Having gone up to the fourth floor and having clarified the number of the office from the guard, I joined the queue of those who wanted to get this place. The girls were just like a selection, as if they came off the cover of a magazine. I nervously pulled up the sleeves of my jacket. Though it was already too big for me. Ramila was taller than me and a little bigger in important strategic places, but she wouldn't let me wear hers. I didn't have any new or unwashed clothes. Unless you count jeans and sweatshirts.
" Go, get outta here!”
The blonde girl jumped out of the office and, snorting, ran down the hall. She was followed by a tall, overweight middle-aged woman with a short haircut.
" Who's language level is based on: "I can hardly read and don't understand", you are free to go! " she said.
No one moved. I got discouraged. If such beauties want to get a place, it means the salary is decent. Besides, bosses prefer legs to brains.
" And knowledge of what language is required? " I ventured to ask.
Indeed, if they need Spanish or some Portuguese. And I do not know them. Then it turns out I'm standing here for nothing.
" Come in," the recruiter told me.
" I'm the last one in.”
" If you keep mumbling like that, you'll be the last one in. Come on in.”
I ducked inside the office, to the angry stares of the crowd. And handed over the folder with diplomas.
" Ms.Clarke. And Ms. Adams . Well, very good. Here, read it.”
Ms. Adams handed me a sheet of English text. I exhaled with relief and read it. It was about launching an application on a smartphone. Then there was a description of what it did.
" Ms. Adams! Did you find it? He's already asking! And tell me what to do with it!?!”
A pleasant young woman flew into the office. She stumbled with excessive emotion, catching her heels on the threshold.
" There's the applicant.”
" And this?”
The girl shook the papers.
" Julia, calm down and show me.”
The blonde, nervously waving the crumpled sheets, collapsed on the chair next to me and put them on the table. I glimpsed it, noting the familiar hieroglyphics.
" The partners sent it. He asked: "What's this?" What should I say? Why start a business without knowing the language? I don't even understand what they want!”
" They don't want to, they announce their arrival in a month," I intervened.
" Do you know Chinese? " Ms.Adams was surprised.
" Just a little bit. I am self-taught.”
" You are accepted! " Julia blurted out. " Translate the letter to the end!”
" First I'll formalize her. And tell Mr.Roberts about the arrival. And that the letter will be fully translated tomorrow.”
I clapped my eyes shut. I didn't expect it to be so mundane.
__________
* All coincidences are coincidental!
The house Ramila got was on the Leningradskoe highway between Khimki and Zelenograd. She took a bus to the right stop and headed for the house along the broken road.
Honestly, when my friend told me that the house was in the suburbs, I expected it to be much worse, and further away. In fact, it turned out that there is a small gap between Moscow and Moscow suburbs.
The house, too, was much better than one could assume: one floor, four rooms with a veranda and a bathhouse.
And what pleased me most of all was the neighboring street from the road. And to go not far and nothing in the room from the rushing past trucks does not bounce.
" How was it? " Ramilya asked, leaning out of the window up to her waist.
" They got me.”
" Yes! " Ramilya jumped up, almost falling out of the window. " Ours won!”
I didn't say anything and went into the house. Personally, I wasn't at all sure of victory. Tomorrow is the first day of work, and I will meet with him. How will our meeting go? What will he say to me?
"You've been hired, so why are you so glum? " Ramila asked.
" I don't want to see him," I confessed.
" He doesn't want to see you… Or rather, he doesn't expect to see you. I can imagine him coming into the waiting room and seeing you… God, why can't I see his face at that moment?!”
Ramila laughed and disappeared into the kitchen again. I took off my clothes and changed into an old laundered robe. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and slipped into my trampled slippers. It took about ten minutes, along with removing my makeup, and the whole time I regretted that I'd given in to my friend's entreaties.
I wish I'd just turned over a new leaf. Erased Dimitri's phone number or blocked it. I should have done that a week ago. But every time I was going to "dot the dots" saw his last messages, in which he said he loved me, and I couldn't. If I can't even decide to do something so small, how am I going to look him in the eye tomorrow?
" I'm not going anywhere tomorrow," I said, walking into the kitchen.
Ramila turned to me and belligerently displayed a bust covered with red synthetic fabric. Having got rid of parental control, her friend has revised her closet a little, betting on emphasizing her bright appearance.
" That's right. You'll go back to Samara. I'll even take you a ticket.”
I was glad and sank down on a chair. I didn't expect Ramilya to understand and support me. I won't be able to look at him calmly tomorrow. I'm going to cry and let him put new noodles on my ears.
" The walls are closer to home in my own town. Well, don't worry about the job. I've always sensed in you a path of self-sacrifice… You'll go to school as an English teacher. It was offered.”
Ramila finished her speech and, frowning, sat down next to me. In my mind I knew she was right. I should have left back then… insisted on my own way… and maybe Dimitri and I would have gotten married and would be together now.
" Ir, don't be silly. Your Dimitri won't do anything to you. But it's good to get a proper employment record. Honestly, I didn't think you'd get a job at all.”
" Supported, " I grinned.
" What's the big deal? You went to see where your frustrated husband pretends to work. Maybe you'd run into him and spit in his face!”
I silently took an apple from the package and bit into it. Ramila knew where to hit and, as always, hit the target. I didn't have much money. Well, actually, I had some, just from a failed payment. But I had to work. I'm tired of running around with students. And worst of all, my parents… I never told them the truth. They think I've gone to my future husband and we're getting married soon. I've talked about it so much. But when they find out the truth… And then it'll be known to all the relatives. I've been told. Warned me.
" Ramil, borrow a dress, " I suddenly said. " That black, classic.”
" You can take the boat shoes too," my friend smiled triumphantly.
A woman's shriek kicked me out of the dream. I jerked upward, then downward as well, collapsing from the narrow bed to the floor, my elbows hitting the floor painfully.
" Are you crazy?!”
Ramila flew in and shook the rolling pin at me belligerently. I was impressed by the look on my friend's face: a stretched T-shirt, disheveled black hair, and a dazed look, and I hurried to deny it:
" It's not me!”
" And who? " Ramila didn't believe her.
" Ah-ah-ah! " I heard a confirmation of my honesty from the yard.
We leaned against the window and looked at a pudgy aunt, dressed in a chintz nightgown that looked like a ghost's shroud, plain-haired and barefoot. She was darting around the garden with the agility of a hippopotamus, running away from a skinny man in a striped alcoholic shirt.
" Get out! " Ramila shouted angrily.
She had an interview in the morning at a salon on Tverskaya Street. The visitors there were wealthy, and the prices were correspondingly high. The stackable salary – just a dream. So to the appearance of the masters requirements were appropriate. And to go there with black eyes – mauveton!
The participants of the race did not pay attention to the owner of the plot. The man continued to chase the "ghost", shaking a metal meter spoon for shoes. Enraged, Ramilya threw a rolling pin at the aggressor. Frenzy corrected her eyesight, and she hit.
Wounded in the remnants of his brain, the man fell to the ground, staring at us dumbfounded. He had no time to say anything. The "victim" flew up to him and put an old iron bucket on his head with a swing. Then, emitting a battle cry, ran away like a racehorse, swinging over the fence. The man, spreading his arms, stretched out on the ground. We looked at each other.
" It's crazy," Ramilya shared her thoughts with me.
" Did she kill him?”
" I hope not. The only thing we need is a corpse in the yard!”
Without wasting time, my friend climbed out the window and went to the defeated, on the way again armed with a rolling pin. Stopping half a meter away, she hesitantly stomped. I, figuring that it would be easier to escape through the door than through the window, rushed out into the hallway. Having jumped out into the street and turned on the lantern over the visor, I asked:
" Well, what is it?”
" I didn't understand yet.”
She decided to achieve mutual understanding in the simplest way – by kicking the man under the ribs. He let out an inarticulate wheeze. I grabbed a five-liter water bottle, which had been living in the hallway since the last owner's time, and ordered:
" Take off the bucket!”
Ramilya took off the bucket, and I immediately threw the water that had long bloomed and had already managed to rot in his face. I don't know whether it was the smell or the effect of surprise. " The man sat up jerkily. We jumped away from him.”
" Who are you? " he asked in a clear voice.
" I am a guardian of Valhalla, Viking, and now we're going to cast you back to Earth! " Ramila snorted and swung the bucket at him.
" Ivan! How long will I wait for you?! Go home now!"
The man jumped up from his sitting position and skipped like a goat toward the fence, behind which the same woman in the same nightgown was looming. When we saw how easily the couple overcame our one-meter fence, we looked at each other again. "The ghost gave us a look of contempt and walked away.
" High relationship," I muttered.
" What do you think about replacing the fence with a two-meter high, solid fence?"
I vividly pictured the two of them hopping the cement fence like monkeys, and I shook my head.
" It wouldn't work. The circus talents of the participants can attract the attention of the audience."
The expression: "I wish I could relive it under anesthesia" became closer and clearer to me than ever. Moscow in the morning was no longer friendly and beautiful. There were so many people in the subway. " And in order not to fall under the wheels of the train, I had to hold on to a column, otherwise they would tear it down."
People glared at each other unhappily. The phrases "here we are!" and "why don't you sit at home?" were heard more and more often. However, there was still some order. The general flow brought and carried people into the cars. It was only necessary to get in at the right time. Only I didn't have such talent and could only get into the third train and then, with difficulty, fall out of it. During the trip I had been stomped on all my feet and elbowed in the stomach.
Feeling as if I had survived the unequal struggle, the first thing I did was hop into the restroom and try to clean myself up. Turns out I wasn't the only one. So while I was wiping my shoes with wet wipes, I got to know half the office.
When I learned that I was Andrew's new secretary, people rejoiced, but they wished me good luck in my new job. No one seemed to believe that I would stay for long.
Deciding not to pay attention to them, I went to Ms.Adams 's office. Since yesterday I forgot to specify where I should sit, but on the way I met Julia. The blonde, rushing somewhere down the stairs, seeing me, happily splashed her hands and immediately grabbed me under the elbow.
" Hi! I'm glad you came. Come on, I'll take you to the reception!"
" Hi," I said carefully, not thinking of objecting.
" You're good, you got it right. There's hardly any makeup, and the dress is modest. And that before you was a whole circle of secretaries, with battle coloring and skirt belt!"
Julia spoke contemptuously, which was strange. The blonde herself had plump bright red lips. And she was dressed in a white blouse and a narrow blue pencil skirt. And the heel was so high that if you stumble, you are guaranteed a fracture. And a concussion on top of that. A fall from that height is not without consequences.
" Andrew… the office is separate from the deputies. He doesn't like to be around a lot of people. Look: coffee maker, cups, and this is your desk."
I looked around, the room was small. The secretary's desk was against the wall, and there was a corner leather sofa for visitors. The table with the coffee maker, cups and all, was hidden behind a sprawling ornamental palm tree.
" Don't forget to water it," Julia nodded at the flower. " When he comes, wait fifteen minutes and bring coffee. He drinks black without sugar. Don't forget yesterday's letter, it's on your desk. Submit the translation with the original. There's a folder for him to sign. He'll tell you what he wants from here. Oh, I forgot! When he comes in, go up and introduce yourself!"
Julia gave me another approving glance and took off. I, dumbfounded by the instructions and "valuable information", did not have time to say a word. Deciding not to waste time, I turned on the dictionary on my phone and started translating. The working day started at nine in the morning, and half an hour should be enough for me. However, I couldn't concentrate. People would look in the reception area and see me, snickering and whispering questions:
" Did his come?"
I shook my head negatively. And once again leaned over the text. Judging by the excitement, Andrew was a tyrant. So my first task should be done quickly and well. You can get acquainted with your colleagues afterwards. In time I stopped paying attention to them, having realized that they come to look at me only. And animals in a zoo don't have to pay attention to the audience.
The man's hum was the only thing I reacted to. I looked up to see a man in his thirties. He was dressed in a blue suit, a white shirt with a carelessly unbuttoned collar, slightly disheveled hair, and a brutal daytime unshavenness.
" Ms.Adams told me she'd found someone suitable."
" Hello," I said, rising.
" I'll be waiting for you in fifteen minutes."
The man took wide steps and disappeared behind the director's door. I blinked, it seems " it is Andrew . Well, it instantly became clear to me why Ms.Adams chose me among the flock of beauties. The chief was handsome, young and rich. Even the odor of cologne he left in the reception smelled expensive. All of which made him the perfect patron. I doubt my predecessors cared whether he was married or not.
As I watched the door close behind him, I remembered that I'd forgotten to introduce myself and rushed to examine the coffee maker. Not forgetting to look at her watch. Punctuality, when working with such a man, is a necessary quality. Even if I didn't want to work here, if I got fired on the first day… Dimitri would laugh!
Putting the letter and the translation in a folder and making coffee, I froze in front of the door. It was still a minute before the time. It was better to wait and not barge in on him. I wondered how he'd react. He seems to have a temper.
True, the boss got tired of waiting first, so he decided to go out. When he opened the door, the boss looked at me in surprise. I was confused, not knowing whether to hand him the cup or stand aside.
" Did you decide to sink into the floor? " he asked.
" I'm sorry," I stepped aside.
" Come in," Andrew told me.
Waiting for him to move away, I stepped into the office. Andrew settled at the table and looked at me expectantly. Putting a cup in front of him and putting the folder, stepped back in anticipation of orders.
" I am Rina Korotkova, " I introduced myself,
" Rina. In two hours I'll leave and come back after lunch. Don't let anyone see me yet. Let them leave all the documents with you. On Friday we'll have a board of directors, order catering. Do I need to explain what that is?"
" Waiters in the office"
" That's great. Afterward, I'll tell you who I can and can't be connected to. Now go get the paperwork. I'll have the courier take it to the departments."
" I will."
Taking the stack of papers from his desk, I went out to the reception area and closed the door tightly behind me. It was as if the celestial had stopped talking to a mere mortal. It felt as if he had been doused in slop. I had never encountered such people before.
Putting the documents on the edge of the table, I looked through the notebooks left by my predecessors. One of them, to my relief, contained internal phone numbers. Finding the cell phone of a courier named Stepan, I informed him of the task and began to look through the book more carefully.
Whoever compiled it had acted competently. The pages were divided into sections, where there were: the name of the department, first name, last name of the employee, internal number, cell phone number, and e-mail address. When I reached the sales department, I found a line – Dmitry Serebryakov. But the phone number and email were unfamiliar to me. Without knowing why, I took a sticker and, having rewritten it, hid everything in my purse.
" Did you get used to it?"
Ms.Adams came into the waiting room. She looked at me with a keen eye and smiled.
" Andrew is busy and no one accepts anyone, " I told her.
" And I'm not here to see him, but to see you. You look frightened. Don't be afraid of him, he's not an evil man. He just doesn't like it when people are late and forget about work."
" Force majeure happens to everyone," I replied.
I didn't have to say anything about not liking to be late. I've never seen people who liked it.
" There's force majeure, and then there's just slackness. Well, it's okay, you're a responsible girl. The main thing is not to get involved in the fight and don't talk too much."
I nodded in agreement. I had no idea to get involved with my slippers in the local shithouse.
" If you have any questions, come on in."
" Thank you."
I wondered if I looked so pathetic from the outside, or if they needed to close the job so badly that they cared about me so much. Sighing, I made myself a coffee and returned to my desk to continue looking through my contacts. There were several visits to the reception area, and all the visitors were quite satisfied with the offer to leave their documents with me. Only once one of the girls gave me a strange look.
Andrew turned out to be a terribly punctual man. Exactly two hours later he left his office and left silently. I was glad to have a temporary respite, so I went on the Internet and looked for an inexpensive cafe nearby. I didn't dare to go to the local canteen on the first floor. Most likely, Dimitri would be down there in the company of his colleagues. I wouldn't want to meet him in front of the whole office. In fact, it would be better to postpone our meeting a little.
After hesitating a bit, I opened WhatsApp and looked at his last message.
"Babe, has something happened? Where did you disappear to?"
Suddenly I felt cold and lonely. And really wanting to cry to switch gears, texted Ramila, asking how she was doing. I got a lot of smiles and raptures in response. Glad that at least someone was doing well, I headed for the exit. I need to eat lunch, preferably something tasty and sweet. I also need to buy sugar. There was hardly any left in my locker.