Chapter 3

Measuring my new subordinate with an icy look from her slim legs to her head, I stepped closer and decisively took the carafe from her. Returning it to the desk, I turned to the girl again.

"Tell me, Roosterova, while we are alone: is there anything I should hear personally from you and possibly keep secret? This is important. I prefer to know all about hidden reefs in my path before I sail the fairway."

We stood one step apart, but she held my gaze. As for me, I found myself wondering whether it was the flowers that smelled so pleasantly of summer bellflowers and irises, or… Rooster herself?

Hmm, what thoughts. I had clearly gone too long without a woman if my brain was asking questions like that at the worst possible time. I should not have refused to stop by Anna's before my flight, though she had been waiting. Things between us had already been going wrong lately, and now it was completely unclear when I would be able to return to Germany.

Although perhaps it was for the best. It would be a reason to figure out with my business partner where our meetings had brought us: to a dead end, or to a fork in the road.

"No, Andrey Igorevich. I have no information 'personally for you,'" the Redhead enunciated dutifully, confidence returning to her face. "As for Sezam directly, I will be glad to share any information with you. I await your instructions!"

"And if I try to figure things out myself? Without your help?"

"Well, then I do not envy you," Rooster breathed calmly.

"Why is that?"

"Because you will waste a great deal of time, and you still won't be able to fire me!" Well, at least there her voice trembled.

"I told you I have not decided anything yet!"

"But your grandfather has! Matvey Ivanovich hired me himself, personally, and he is the only one who can fire me from the company too!"

"Oh, is that so?" I repeated the Redhead's surprised words back to her, narrowing my eyes. Waiting to see what else she would say now.

But she answered much more calmly:

"Yes, it is. Whether you like it or not. So… make yourself comfortable, Andrey Igorevich. If you need the safe code, ask. I will be in reception."

She said it without unnecessary arrogance, turned on her low heels, and headed for the door.

"Hey, Roosterova? Bring me coffee! I like it black and bitter!"

"I am Rooster!"

"And after that, do not disturb me!"

"Fine. As you say." But before the office door slammed shut, I managed to hear: "…damn it!"

I had to turn toward the mirror and run a hand over my cheek, studying myself critically:

Did I really look like a goblin?

My further dealings with Rooster confirmed that apparently, yes, I did. Because time passed, and I still could not find common ground with my new secretary. She continued to irritate me, distract me from work, and, the moment she crossed my line of sight, provoke thoughts in my head that were completely inappropriate just then. And entirely unnecessary!

How had she and Granddad met? What had happened in this office before me?

Had Matvey Voronov needed his secretary as badly as, after only a month, I began to need her?

And why, damn it, did the irritation never go away, only roll in stronger the moment Rooster was nearby, playing attentive and eager to help?

I should have been thinking about managing the corporation Granddad had placed on my shoulders, not about such nonsense. About assets, investments, and plans. About signed agreements with partners and the large scale of the work Sezam carried out both in the city and far beyond it. About the people who worked for the firm, the expensive equipment, and the contracts.

At first, when the information and new faces made my head spin, it seemed my head would fly right off my shoulders under the weight of responsibility piled on them.

It was a genuine surprise to me how deftly Rooster scheduled meetings, negotiations, and planned briefings in my calendar. How she managed to let the right people in to see me and not distract me with problems the junior directors' staff was perfectly capable of solving.

And although I ground my teeth, I still accepted the strange rules governing the relationship between the general director and his personal secretary when I discovered that some documents were already being signed on her desk, and seals appeared on them even in my absence.

"If you object, Andrey Igorevich, I will gladly bring this stack of documents to you for signature! Of course, it will take another two hours of your time, but if you insist… Here, look, these are reports from accounting; these are requests from HR; this little stack is letters. I always put the most important ones on your desk! And this is technical documentation. The technical director always approves it, and you receive the approval sheet. But it would still be better for you to review it right away so as not to create unnecessary delays in production. And these are regulatory acts and…"

"What is your education, Roosterova?"

"University degree."

"Major?"

"Business and economics."

"Let me guess: you were an honors student and won a competition to get into Sezam. Am I right?"

"No."

"Impossible. Where was I wrong?"

"In everything. But I don't make mistakes, and I take my work seriously. You are wrong to doubt me, Andrey Igorevich. So should I leave the documents with you? They really ought to be signed today; people are waiting."

"Do it, Roosterova! Can't you see I am dealing with these damned contracts?"

"I see. But I am Rooster…"

"Are you still here? Go already. I do not have time for you right now!"

"All right."

"And do not let anyone in to see me. I am working with confidential information!"

"Of course, Andrey Igorevich."

"And do not hover around me yourself. What kind of habit is this, yanking me over every little question? You are keeping me from concentrating!"

"But you called me in here yourself!"

"And now go."

"As you say…"

"Where are you going, Roosterova? Come back! I asked for black coffee. No sugar! And don't drag your feet out there. I cannot stand drinking it cold…"

As much as I wanted to doubt it, I had to admit Rooster was in her place at the company, and Granddad had kept her beside him for a reason.

When discrepancies were found in the accounts and documents, and later the first suspicions arose that a group of people close to management were involved in fraud inside Sezam, I canceled salary bonuses for half the staff. Including stripping the directors and their circles of generous bonuses because I wanted to figure out which of them was the main shadow operator.

In the grand scheme of things, a small thing, but as I expected, the hornet's nest began to buzz and to take me seriously, which was exactly what I wanted.

As for my secretary, I was in no hurry to trust her. She was a person close to my grandfather, and despite all her efficiency, she continued to raise many questions. I still did not know how she had ended up in Voronov's own reception office and who had had a hand in it. As for why, there were plenty of assumptions, and I intended to find out everything.