Chapter 5

The important call came when I was already home. I’d just picked the kids up from preschool and walked into the apartment, with Leshka and Dashka chattering away about their day, jostling around me as usual and arguing, when my phone rang inside my bag.

An unknown number. I hate answering calls like that, but a thought popped into my head: what if it was someone from my old job? No, you never know. What if it was someone important? What if it was urgent? What if someone was dying while I stood there wondering whether to answer?

It turned out to be work calling, all right—just not my old job. My future one.

“Maria Berry? Is this a good time to talk?”

I pulled off my hat and set it aside.

“Yes.”

“This is the HR secretary at GBG-Project,” the woman said, clearing her throat and introducing herself grandly. “We’re calling to let you know that you successfully completed your interview today, and our company is prepared to offer you a position as an engineer in…

“Huh?”

I couldn’t hear the rest very well.

“…the… procurement… department… on a… probationary…”

Of course I was listening, but I didn’t hear half of what the HR secretary was saying. My heart was pounding so hard and my head was swimming.

What had she just said? They were hiring me? Me?! Was this a dream?

“Maria, can you come to Human Resources tomorrow with your documents and health-insurance policy, if you have one? We’d like to get you involved in a work project as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re coming through poorly.”

“Yes, of course! I’m sorry, but are you sure you haven’t mixed me up with someone else?”

You never know.

***

“Hello! Natasha?! You’re going to die!”

Fairy gave a skeptical snort on the other end.

“Not a chance, Berry! I’ve heard that line before. Please tell me this isn’t about Director Yakin and Gagra.”

“What?” I wasn’t processing reality very well at the moment, and Fairy’s friendly sarcasm least of all. I wanted to scream and jump up and down.

“Natasha, they hired me! I got a job at GBG-Project! Me, can you believe it? As an engineer in some new department. I didn’t really understand anything.”

“Why are you surprised, Marusya? So they’re not as stupid as we thought. You’re a genius! Congratulations, girlfriend! Woo-hoo!”

“Woo-hoo!!”

“Oh, listen! Do you think Gordeev will be surprised when he finds out?” Natasha giggled cheerfully. “Serves him right! I’d stick my tongue out at Dimka if I got the chance!”

“Are you kidding? We probably won’t even see each other. The building has eight floors and a ton of departments! And if we do run into each other—fine by me! I couldn’t care less! As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know him anymore, and I won’t even say hello! Like I need him. Web-footed goose!”

It turned out the technical director hadn’t been joking, and four people from our old company were hired: me, Shlyapkin, Valya Galanina, and Zhanna Arnoldovna Devyatko. Devyatko, naturally, went to the main design department—her experience qualified her for the position—while the three of us were assigned to a new department, created only six months earlier: the Equipment Procurement Department, “OKO No. 2”…

“You’ll be working under a highly promising young engineer with an excellent education and an internship abroad!” the sweetest woman in Human Resources proudly told us, then added, “Our company selects young, promising people for this department, too! So don’t let us down, guys!”

Oh, we wouldn’t let them down! We’d work so hard they’d never know what hit them! Firefighters, douse the flames—the fire starters are coming! And so on.

And now the three of us stood shoulder to shoulder in a beautiful office, and I was deeply embarrassed by the fact that the expensive ashwood door bore an equally impressive plaque reading: “Department Head Dmitry Alexandrovich Gordeev.”

The very same Dimka Gordeev I’d hoped never to see, meet, or even notice again for the rest of my life! What a setup!

It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t, period! Five minutes earlier, I’d been so happy I could practically skip into the bright office of my dreams. Now I stood there looking everywhere except at my former classmate.

Oh, crap!

“Hello, everyone. I’m Dmitry Alexandrovich, your new department head and acting lead engineer. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Gordeev, dressed in a white shirt and pants, rose from behind the desk where he’d been sitting and came to meet us. He held out his hand to Yurka, who shook it enthusiastically.

“Hi! I’m Yury Shlyapkin! Technical engineer! Wow!” Yurka looked around and gave a thumbs-up as he took in the office. “This place is great! Are those discus fish and angelfish?” He nodded toward a fairly large aquarium—about a meter and a half long—where bright red and silvery blue fish the size of a child’s palm swam around. “I bred fish in school, too. Not such beautiful ones, though. Ha!”

“Valentina Galanina.” At the sight of the young boss, Valya rolled her shoulders and smiled demurely. She coquettishly shook Gordeev’s hand, batting her eyelashes as he towered over her. With a deep breath that lifted her ample chest, she touched her fingers to her ever-present cleavage. “Oh, I’m so happy! This is such an opportunity! It’s so flattering that you chose me. Dmitry Alexandrovich, you can’t imagine what an honor it is to work as an engineer for your company!”

And she was right. We were all genuinely happy to have gotten the job, especially once we heard about the salaries we could expect and the prospect of decent bonuses.

Gordeev coughed into his fist and, of course, answered condescendingly…

Actually, no—more like he answered coolly. I don’t even remember whether I ever told you that this guy rarely smiled, even in school.

“This isn’t my doing, Valentina. You should thank Vadim Spiridonovich alone for being here. He was the one who believed in you. He rarely makes mistakes when evaluating personnel, so I’m expecting good results from you too. The department has serious goals and plans ahead of it, and the competition is fierce. I need a strong, close-knit team. People who can breathe the same air I do and share my goals. Is that clear? If not, we’re not going to work well together.”

“Of course, Dmitry Alexandrovich! Crystal clear!” Valya snapped to attention, thrusting her formidable “rack” toward the new boss. The heels of her boots clicked like a soldier’s on a parade ground as she saluted her general.

It was accidental, of course, but Gordeev knew how to motivate people—that much was a fact.

Wow. Had he always had that calm, confident voice, the kind that sent a prickling sensation up the back of your neck and made you uneasy? Even I shivered now. At school, Gordeev had spoken to everyone as if he stood one step above them, but back then it had been much easier to write it off as arrogance and make fun of him when the opportunity arose.

But now… Look, even Yurka straightened up. At first, he’d probably assumed that a young boss meant a new buddy. Someone you could chat with about fish, then girls and booze. Or whatever young men talked about.

Yes, yes, I still remembered that Gordeev was only eight months older than me—I’d been the youngest in our class—even though that was hard to believe at the moment.