Chapter 3
“We were so close to success. Imperial-CUBE had two days to beat us to it, and they did. And you knew all about it. That’s exactly why you were late today and weren’t answering your calls.”
“Of course not!” I was sincerely outraged. “What nonsense! I simply wasn’t feeling well.”
“What an amazing coincidence for someone who is punctual and diligent down to the smallest detail! Was. Tell me, what stopped you from responding to Mr. Song’s attention? You couldn’t have failed to notice his interest in you.”
“Alla kept him entertained with conversation.”
“He wanted you, Lina. All those dinners at the restaurant and expensive desserts… You could have spent those two days with him, and the contract would have been ours. Don’t pretend you didn’t understand the obvious.”
“Listen… No!” I answered honestly. “I’m a creative director. An idea engineer and an advertising professional, not a man’s companion for the evening. And Mr. Song never hinted at anything like that. What kind of nonsense is this?”
Smoke struck my face like a slap, making me recoil from the trio. Regina practically barked, releasing her anger:
“There could have been hints! There could have! If you’d been quicker on the uptake!”
“But, Regina…”
I was stunned, losing all my eloquence at once.
It was a lie—that I was ungrateful. For the last several years, all I had done was educate myself and work for the good of the agency. Create advertising that had made us several times more successful. It was thanks to my work, among other things, that the Koreans had found us…
“I trusted you with everything, even my son…” the woman said coldly, “and you let me down. Do you have any idea how badly I needed that money? And now…”
Regina stubbed out her cigarette and adjusted the expensive necklace at her throat, which today had failed to impress anyone.
“…Now I need a director who will understand me without words,” she exhaled decisively. “And yes, if necessary, who will secure a contract by any means. Any means! I intend to get into that circle! Or do you think, girl, everything in the business world is fair and pretty? No, I will not allow Orlov to make a laughingstock of us. I won’t allow anyone to do it! Least of all you!”
At that moment, the elastic at the back of my head snapped from the tension, and the fair hair I always wore strictly gathered into a bun or a straight ponytail, as Merzlyaeva required (her own hair being thin), spilled over my shoulders in a thick wave.
“You’re fired.”
What?
“What?!” I gasped helplessly. Everything kept happening as if in a dream.
Regina turned away.
“You’ll go upstairs now and collect your things. You’ll receive your final pay tomorrow through Maryan. We don’t want to see you anymore.”
“Alla?”
“Angelina, don’t start,” the girl replied. “You heard everything.”
“Arnold, what is happening?”
But my boyfriend, now my ex, chewed his lips and said nothing. And judging by the way his chin tucked in, he felt terribly wronged too.
Unbelievable. I turned and ran out of the conference hall as if I’d been swept out of it with a broom. Slamming the door behind me, I cried out in pain when I stepped awkwardly on my bad leg, and fell.
What on earth was happening to me today?!
Getting up, I rushed toward the escalator, but bad luck continued to pursue me even there, because I ran straight into Max Orlov as he was coming up.
I recognized him even through the tears blurring my eyes. Confident and broad-shouldered. Born believing the world of success had been created only for people like him.
“Lina?” The man stepped off the escalator and moved toward me. “May I have a minute?”
No.
“Lina? Are you all right?”
His fingers touched my elbow, and unexpectedly I did something I would never have allowed myself at any other moment.
“I hate you!” I blurted into the man’s face, rushed onto the escalator, and rode down.