Chapter 3

“Angelina, are you there already?!” came a voice that sounded impatient and relieved at the same time. “Well, finally!”

The door to the department flew open, and tall, skinny Merzlyaev came in, wearing a business suit and tie. On his way to work, he had managed to stop by the hairdresser for styling, and now Arnold’s thin hair stuck up over his forehead as if he’d survived an encounter with a gale-force wind. His sharp features suggested not the businesslike severity he always aimed for, but rather surprise.

Crossing the office, Merzlyaev stopped by my desk and lowered his hand onto the tabletop. He drummed his fingers impatiently against it, making it perfectly clear he was displeased.

Usually my boyfriend avoided showing feelings for me in public, having made it clear from the very beginning that it was unprofessional and stirred up unhealthy interest among the team. Which meant personal matters were better moved outside the office. But today was a special day, and leaning down, he gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

“Hi, Lina.”

“Hi, Arnold.”

“You’re late.”

I smiled. It came out strained. At the sight of Merzlyaev, I immediately remembered the nightmare I’d had that night and the taste of dirty leaves in my mouth.

And also the words I had said to Zhenka. I don’t know, maybe the broom really was to blame, but the pictures before my eyes had suddenly arranged themselves into a not very pleasant reality. The prospect of a future with Arnold now felt depressing, and all at once I wanted to have a heart-to-heart with him.

What was all this for? These cheek kisses, as if they’d been stolen. These rare meetings squeezed into an insane work schedule. Enough playing at a cardboard relationship. We had always understood there were no “special” feelings between us.

Could there be, between two “lovers” who didn’t even wish each other good night?

My mood was strange today, and Arnold’s reproach stung. So my answer came out dry and restrained:

“Yes, I’m late. It happened. You’re always late, or you don’t show up at the office at all, and so what? The planet hasn’t fallen out of orbit.”

Merzlyaev had not expected that answer, especially after the kiss, and froze.

“But Mom…” he began uncertainly, then corrected his tone in time. “Ahem!” He coughed low in his throat. “Regina is worried. She asked me to find out whether the presentation talking points are ready in case the client wants to go over everything again. The lawyer has already prepared the necessary documents, and in general… we can’t allow any mistakes.”

“I understand.”

Turning away from Arnold, I opened my email and cloud drive.

“Yes, they’re ready. Wait a couple of minutes. Everything is on the drive; I’ll pull it up and print it now.”

“Why isn’t your phone answering?” my boyfriend grumbled while I transferred the file to the work computer’s memory, leaving his outfit without comment. “Are you aware the Koreans pushed the meeting back an hour?”

“Pushed it back?” Now that was unexpected, and I looked up at him. “Why? Did they explain it somehow?”

“No.” Arnold grew more severe. “They just canceled the meeting at the restaurant and moved it to Astoria’s conference hall at one o’clock.”

“Strange,” I said, surprised. “The clients struck me as punctual and responsible people.”

“Exactly, Angelina! Plans change, and I can’t reach you! And on top of that, you’re late without warning. Don’t you think that’s not normal?”

Everything that had happened to me that morning was not normal, but who cared about other people’s problems? Arnold was staring straight at me but did not see me. Not my pale face, not my mood. To him, I remained the shell of his family’s success, and nothing more.

“My phone is answering now,” I replied quietly. “I… forgot to charge it.”

“You forgot?” Arnold’s thin eyebrows shot upward, and he puffed out his cheeks in displeasure. “What a time to do it. Very shortsighted, Angelina!”

Nearby, Marik cleared his throat and gave a nervous cough, and I wondered whether I was letting Merzlyaev get away with too much.

Marik coughed again, lower and louder.

Too much.

And why had I never wanted to admit it to myself before? That I looked like a doormat.

I stood up. Merzlyaev and I were speaking quietly, but when tension appears between people, it doesn’t need sound. It resonates in invisible waves and is always noticeable to other eyes. Sure enough, the girls at their desks had gone quiet.

“Arnold, have you decided to dress me down in front of my department?” I asked him directly, lowering my voice. “Maybe we should discuss my shortsightedness in private? And by the way, we can talk about personal things too. I think it’s time.”

Going over to the printer, I printed the sheet with the talking points and turned back to Arnold.

“Here, take this,” I said, holding out the paper. “Give it to Regina and Alla. Tell them to pay attention to the table; it will make things easier to follow. And tell them I’ll come down to the conference hall right after you. Just call me, okay?”

I knew that for all my involvement in the agency’s affairs, its owner, Mrs. Merzlyaeva, could not stand it when any of her subordinates tried to hog the spotlight, so she and Allochka always appeared first at every important meeting.

But forget the table! Arnold stood there staring at my feet in shock.

And not at all the way he looked when they were bare and I was in the mood to show them to him.

“Lina!” Arnold’s eyebrows flew even higher than before. “Why are you wearing sneakers?!”

Yes, everyone here was used to seeing me differently, but everyone has crisis days in every possible sense!

I got angry. Still quietly, but seriously.

“Because they’re comfortable,” I answered vaguely, considering the girls were still listening to my every word and I had no intention of telling anyone else about the black cat. “Sorry, but I’m not capable of wearing heels today.”

For me, it was already good news that I wasn’t limping, and that thanks to the nerve-block injection, I could appear at the meeting with the Koreans without raising unnecessary questions.

“But you’re the face of the agency, Vetrova!”

“And nevertheless, today that face will be wearing sneakers.”

Arnold turned around and left. The door slammed. The girls worked hard to pretend they were working, but someone still blurted out:

“Well, that’s it! Get the fire extinguisher ready. He ran to complain to Mommy!”

“Why jump straight to complaining?” Marik observed seriously into the silence that had formed. “What if our chief brand manager finally remembered he’s a man and decided to take responsibility for the meeting himself?”

This time I couldn’t reach Subbota with a folder, so I launched paper napkins at Marik.

I missed. Only strained my arm and scattered everything.

Even in this, I was out of luck today!

***

Arnold called three minutes before one and said that he, Regina, and Alla had already gone down to the second floor of the Galaktika Business Center and were heading for the conference hall.

“All right, understood. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

“And bring a couple of advertising brochures with you. We need to justify your lateness somehow.”