Chapter 1

The woman crushing the carpet pile under her high heels was magnificent, and she knew it.

Tall and slim, a brunette with a panther's dark, predatory stare, she moved slowly around the office of Sezam Construction Corporation's head and smiled at the young man with lips the Almighty had surely created for carnal love. The kind of love that, when men go looking for it, is happy to sell itself—but at a steep price, one not every man can afford.

Blue-eyed, dark-haired Andrey Voronov, principal heir to Sezam Corporation's assets and the family account in a Swiss bank, could definitely afford that price tag. Which was why Nelly the Man-Eater stopped beside the tall chair opposite the boss's desk and, fluttering her heavy lashes, arched one sumptuous hip. She lifted her luxurious breasts languidly and breathed, running a palm over the fabric of her tight skirt:

"Oh, Andrey, you know how badly I want this! Believe me, just as badly as you!"

I could practically hear, in the charged silence, the exact moment Voronov's little heart fluttered, then started pounding. Thump-thump-thump. His tanned hand rose to the collar of his expensive shirt, loosening his tie, and his breathing stopped…

Uh-oh. One more second of that erotic onslaught and the fool would fold! He'd get tangled up with this shark, just as she wanted, and then it would be goodbye, heir! He'd disappear, and in a month no one would even remember him!

Oh, damn it, what was happening? Who was I supposed to yell at to turn on the siren?

Actually, even though I was currently in the same office as the happy couple (on my hands and knees under the desk, admittedly), two weeks ago I wouldn't have cared about this scene in the slightest. About as much as anyone cares about a boss's little affairs when she's more concerned with keeping her job and earning a decent salary—by secretary standards, of course. Love each other all you want, just keep paying my bonus! But three days ago, everything changed. That was when, completely by accident and with my very own ears, I overheard a conversation between this Man-Eater and her lover, who happened to be my goblin's cousin… Ugh! My boss's cousin, of course. And I learned that they were planning to… bump off young Voronov!

Not at some vague point in the foreseeable future, either, but within the next few days!

Horrible! The moment I found out, I lost sleep, and he couldn't have cared less!

Honestly, how can one man be so thick-skulled and stubborn, no matter how handsome and important he is? I can't stand him! What do the girls in our office even see in him? Aside from his looks… Fine, aside from his very attractive looks, he has so much arrogance and starched self-importance that you just want to lovingly whack him on the top of the head with something heavy, so he'd come down to earth and soften up around people!

The moment he came back from his precious Germany, he started barking orders and lining us all up like soldiers. He got into the habit of changing suits every day, as if this weren't an office—even a fancy one—but some kind of runway! In three months, I'd already lost count of them! I wore my feet out running back and forth to the dry cleaner with his shirts.

But what good are his looks to us, his obedient subordinates, when he's as warm as a stale cracker? I've never seen him smile. It's always: "Grrr, grrr, get it done! And make it quick! Documents on my desk in five minutes!"

All I can do is sigh and remember my former boss, Matvey Ivanovich. He was a joy to work for!

The elder Voronov was respected for good reason. He knew how to listen, and he could make his subordinates feel valued with a kind word. Even when he scolded someone, he did it tactfully, despite his position—anyone would tell you that! Until one day he ended up in a coma in a clinic in Switzerland.

He would have believed me at once if I had decided to tell him about the assassination attempt being prepared against his beloved grandson. But this goblin merely snorted nervously in my face when I told him, then got angry, slammed the office door, called me Roosterova, and ordered me to keep my mouth shut.

Otherwise, he said, he'd grab me by the scruff of the neck and kick me out of the company. I was apparently supposed to stop spouting nonsense and wasting time on absurdities when I had nothing better to do. He even loomed over me, flashing those icy eyes:

"…Did I make myself clear?

Oh, he couldn't have been clearer. My cheeks were still flushed from the insult.

"Me? Nothing better to do?! Well, really, Andrey Igorevich! It's not my fault you're behaving like… like a complete idiot!

"One more word, Roosterova, and I'll be done with you once and for all. You can be sure of that!

"I am not Roosterova, I am Rooster! And you can't fire me without Matvey Ivanovich's permission. It says so in my contract!

"Contracts can be rewritten!

"Just try it! You're not the director here yet. You're acting director!

"Then I won't fire you. I'll exile you!

"Where exactly, I'd love to know? I can't leave town!

"To the far end of nowhere, as long as I don't have to look at you! March back to reception, and in two minutes I want coffee—strong! And don't even think about dripping your venom into it! Ugh, cobra! I'll demote you to maintenance! That much I can do!

"Wh-what? How d-dare you?

"So far? I haven't dared anything!

"Look who's talking, python!

"Out, I said!"

Yep, that was exactly how he threw me out—the blue-eyed bastard!

Why did I even have to worry about him? Like I cared! I ought to climb the tallest stepladder in the office and sneeze from up there with all the feeling and foaming outrage of a camel spitting. Let Voronov wash himself head to toe in his own smugness! Believe me, I wouldn't regret it one bit!…

I wouldn't have regretted it… if not for my gratitude and simple human affection for his grandfather. He was the one I owed everything to! After that man's kindness, I simply couldn't turn my back on his grandson, even if the grandson was a boor. Especially when said grandson's life was hanging by a thread…

Ah, Matvey Ivanovich, that heart of gold! Three years of knowing him, and so many warm memories and so much gratitude! If I were beside him right now, I would absolutely ask the boss: how could you do this to us, our dear man? Who were you planning to leave your loyal team to?

After all, my life had only just started coming together when he took on one clueless intern… And then, just like that, a stroke and a coma.

And I remember, when I first appeared at Sezam's head office—a nobody no one had ever heard of—the rumors about us started spreading so fast you could not count them all! There were more than enough women working in the corporation's high-rise building (planning department, accounting, designers, engineers), and here the director suddenly had a new secretary—who else were they supposed to gossip about? And not just any director, but a rich widower!

So what if he was seventy-four? Obviously, the perfect time to feel young for the third time! Why else would his secretary be a redhead, which meant shameless and brazen? A girl like that would go far!