On payday, which Valya had been eagerly awaiting, the CEO himself, who owned a whole network of companies, came into the office. Everyone trembled before him, except for the fearless Marianna. The boss, a former soldier, highly appreciated the girl’s sharp mind, predatory beauty, courage and audacity.
When the bosses toured their property, the boss did not fail to look into the department of his favorite.
Seeing her, Marianne got up from her seat and hurried to him, resting her elbow on the armrest of a massive computer chair, catching the unfinished coffee. The remains of the coffee spilled out of the paper cup, which silently fell to the floor. Marianne quickly pushed the dirty cup under the table with her foot, then, smiling, walked up to her boss.
– Good morning, Nikolai Ivanovich. Why haven’t you come for so long? I missed you. – Marianne pursed her beautifully shaped lips as if she wanted to kiss the boss. Then she cast a vengeful glance at Valya, who was wiping the copier with a napkin, and continued: – Although, you know, we don’t get bored here. The personnel officer hires the wrong person for the job.
The new cleaning lady is cleaning the office like hell. I have to sit in a pigsty.
Marianne gently took the boss under her arm and led him to his workplace. Pointing with her finger to the stain left by the spilled coffee, Marianne nodded at Valya with mock anger.
– Do you see this? No, do you see how our cleaning lady cleans my workplace? She doesn’t pay attention to it! She doesn’t clean at all. Now I’m always dusty and dirty.
Nikolai Ivanovich frowned. He wasn’t an old man yet, he was imposing, bespectacled, with a military bearing. Marianne knew perfectly well that the pedantic boss didn’t like mess, so she decided to put a rising star, whom she considered a rival, on the spot.
“Come into my office,” she said, and the boss tossed her dryly to Vale.
Her tone did not promise much good.
“Why is the office messy? Why are you so bad at your job?”
The boss studied the embarrassed girl’s flaming face.
“They cleaned it up well,” Valya managed with difficulty. “They just don’t like me in the office. Marianne always teases me. I saw her spill that coffee when she arrived. She wants to get me fired…”
The director hesitated and tapped his finger on the table.
“You seem like a nice girl. Why don’t they like you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who are you? Introduce yourself!”
Valya gave her first and last name. Hearing Valentina’s rather rare and unusual last name, the boss began to worry.
“What is your middle name? What is your father’s name?”
Valya lowered her head, but proudly raised it again.
“My father’s name was Yuri. He died…”
But the boss interrupted the girl and continued for her:
“…in the North Caucasus. He was my friend. He died after the captain was mortally wounded, and he saved me by pulling me out of the line of fire.”
Nikolai Ivanovich was lost in his own thoughts. Valya was afraid to move, standing in front of him more quietly than grass. He paused.
“So Marianne is here doing her homework? It was not in order. Now go, do your job, tomorrow we will hire a new cleaning lady. No hero’s daughter should scrub the floor with rags. Then you go to school. Is his mother alive?
Valentina shook her head in the negative.
“For a long time?”
The girl nodded approvingly.
“He was an orphan, so… Does he have a place to live?”
Valya shrugged.
“I used to live with my aunt. Now I’m renting a room.”
The boss clenched his fist on the table so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“We’ll take care of it.”
That day Valya ran to the rented apartment so fast that she couldn’t feel her legs from happiness. Wow, the first salary and the most generous bonus! She ran to a pet store and bought Martin cat pâté. When she saw a toy for kittens, she bought one.
She was very proud of herself that day. It was even better that she had become a real breadwinner! She knew how to feed herself and the kitten. And the most important happiness, the boss that very day fired the ugly Maria, who had ruined Valya’s life so much. Now no one will humiliate and mock her old and ugly clothes, although now she can afford to buy herself something new.
Having fed Martin, the girl ran away for new clothes. But the next day was even more wonderful. Arriving at the office, Valya was surprised to see that an unfamiliar old woman was washing the floors. In an unusually flattering and ingratiating manner, the personnel officer approached Valya. In the new employment contract, Valya was offered the position of operator – to communicate with clients!
And after lunch, Nikolai Ivanovich came to the office. He called Valentina to him and handed her a bunch of keys:
– These are from my second apartment. I once bought this apartment for my future children, but there are no children yet. They live there. It’s not right that my friend’s daughter lives in an apartment.
“Oh, I have a cat. Can I bring my cat in there? I don’t go anywhere without Martin,” Valya said.
Nikolai laughed cheerfully.
“You can bring an alligator in. The apartment has been empty for a long time.”
