Chapter 5

If there was one thing I could respect my boss for (with all his other flaws temporarily forgiven), it was his sharp mind, impeccable punctuality, and sense of responsibility. Thank God, I wasn't in danger of freezing to death.

No, of course I understood that now that reception had emptied out and Voronov was alone in his office with little Nelly, she would do everything she could to keep him there and finally make him happy with her "generous gift." But I hoped my boss hadn't forgotten that he'd told me to wait for him by the car. Otherwise, I would be completely disappointed in him!

Eight minutes passed, and through the grand glass entrance doors, which opened onto the brightly lit lobby of Sezam, I saw Voronov and Prigozheva step out of the elevator and head for the exit. They passed the security turnstile, pushed through the door, and emerged outside.

I froze, sensing the Man-Eater's disappointment in my bones. A smile still sat on her face, but it was so crooked and pathetic that the brunette practically deserved to be pitied.

Snow was falling, and the wind was blowing it along the ground, so she had to wrap her expensive fur coat tightly across her chest. She kept giggling and running her hand over the tall man, but his tense posture and grim face made it clear that he had no intention of staying with his analyst a minute longer.

Which meant Voronov had believed me! He definitely had! Very few men could resist little Nelly's beauty. And apparently he wasn't planning to get worked up over "strong coffee" anymore.

Ugh, goblin! Look at what he put me through! I nearly went gray!

The pair came down the steps arm in arm and stopped. The younger grandson of Matvey Ivanovich wore a dark gray cashmere coat that fit his sturdy frame perfectly and suited him beautifully. That, in particular, seemed to excite the woman, because she simply couldn't let go of Voronov. She kept stroking his broad shoulder, and the man had to remove his subordinate's hand himself. He stepped aside, said a brief goodbye, turned, and walked away.

I shivered too, watching my boss pull up his coat collar to hide his neck from the snow blowing against his back as he strode toward the path leading to the parking lot. And watching little Nelly stare after him, silent and intent, her expression changing all at once—as if she were thinking something over.

Unlike the acting CEO, whose car was still in the distant parking lot, she had already finished work and brought her own car around. Now her squat red Volvo stood across from the central office building, at the curb. The brunette headed toward it, irritably opening her purse.

If I had stepped out from behind the corner then, she would certainly have seen me, so I stayed in the shadows, shifting my briefcase and purse from one hand to the other and tamping down the loose snow with my boots. I decided to wait until she drove away and only then follow Voronov.

But before she got into the car, Prigozheva managed to pull out her phone and make a call—a short but obviously important one, because whatever she heard sent her flying into her car and slamming the door. Then she started the engine, turned on the headlights… and suddenly flashed them twice. A second later, she repeated the signal.

Maybe I wouldn't have paid attention—who knew what had gotten into her—if an unknown driver in one of the dark cars parked farther down the street hadn't suddenly flashed his lights back at her in exactly the same way. Right in the direction the goblin had gone…

Ugh—my boss, I mean! But… oh, God! What difference did it make now that this was happening?!

A crime in the making!

I felt myself go taut as a bowstring and rise onto my toes.

Meanwhile, Voronov was moving farther down the path, and the headlights went out. Without turning them back on, the car with the unknown driver pulled away, made a U-turn… and I didn't wait another second.

Sezam's building had one major advantage over the other major companies. It was imposing and modern, stood in the central part of the city, and faced the embankment directly. It also had one enormous drawback: the parking lot shared by its many employees was behind the neighboring buildings, about three hundred meters away, around the corner. You had to walk there.

Lately, the city authorities had been fiercely enforcing the rule that the waterside section of the embankment remain clear for pedestrians and cars. So Matvey Ivanovich's driver usually waited for him by the main entrance after work, while his grandson preferred to make his own way.

Late evening, an office district, and a half-empty parking lot. Voronov simply wouldn't make it to his car in time! Even if he were three times the man and not some little boy, he still couldn't handle an entire gang alone!

Oh, how I wished I had his personal cell number! And how I wished the police could materialize at a crime scene with a snap of their fingers!

Without stopping to consider that I might have imagined the whole thing, I grabbed my purse and the heavy briefcase (with the decanter, cup, and personal belongings inside, the weight tugging noticeably at my arm), turned, and raced along the wall toward the back of the building. I planned to run around it and intercept Voronov at the very end of the path, when he turned onto the side street.

I hurried as fast as I could. Ice had formed beneath the snow, and my feet kept slipping… But I still miscalculated.

When I finally burst onto the path like a devil jumping out of a jack-in-the-box, I realized Voronov's long stride had already carried him to the parking lot ahead of me.

As he headed toward the impressive car standing alone off to the side, the young man slowed and looked back. I suddenly heard my name clearly. And just as I was about to answer (yes, I remembered that I couldn't stand him and that he'd hurt me, but this was an emergency! I'd remember everything else later!), a stocky shadow darted toward Voronov from behind one of the tall fir trees planted in a row along the edge of the lot.

Some shaggy man in a wide coat suddenly emerged from the cover of the trees, crept up silently behind my boss, and raised an arm over him… In the light of the side lamps, a thin knife blade flashed between his fingers…

Help! Somebody help! It was an assassin! He was about to bump Voronov off right here and now!

Aaaaah!

The shock closed my throat with such terror that my voice vanished and I couldn't scream. And, most interestingly, I couldn't stop either.

I threw my purse aside, grabbed the briefcase with both hands, raised my weapon of retribution over my head, and ran. When I want to, I can be very quick and nimble. I could think afterward!

And now I charged forward, determined to knock the thug out…

I absolutely would have succeeded, too, I'm telling you. He never would have gotten away from me if it hadn't been for a huge black cat.

Its fur standing on end and its eyes glowing yellow, it burst out from under the fir with a loud shriek and darted beneath the killer's feet. He tripped, cried out, and went down in a snowdrift in an instant, tangled up with the cat.