On payday, which Valya eagerly awaited, the CEO himself—who owned a whole network of companies—came to the office. Everyone trembled before him, except for the fearless Marianna. The boss, a former military man, appreciated her sharp mind, predatory beauty, courage, and audacity.
As the management toured their properties, the boss made sure to visit his favorite’s department. Seeing him, Marianna stood up and hurried to meet him, accidentally knocking over her unfinished coffee with her elbow on the armrest of a massive computer chair. The remnants of the coffee spilled from the silently fallen paper cup. Quickly kicking the dirty cup under the table, Marianna smiled warmly and approached the boss.
«Hello, Nikolai Ivanovich. Why haven’t you visited us for so long? We’ve missed you,» Marianna cooed, her lips pursed as if she wanted to kiss the boss. Then she threw a vengeful glance at Valya, who was wiping the copier with a napkin, and continued: «Although, you know, it’s never dull here. The HR hires who knows who. The new cleaner does such a poor job. It’s like sitting in a pigsty.»
Marianna gently took the boss’s arm and led him to her workstation. Pointing at the coffee stain she had left, with feigned anger, she nodded towards Valya.
«Do you see? Do you see how our cleaner takes care of my workspace? Completely ignores it! It’s always dusty and dirty here.»
Nikolai Ivanovich frowned. He was still a young man, imposing and upright with a military bearing. Knowing the boss’s penchant for order, Marianna decided to set up the upstart she considered her rival.
«Come to my office,» the boss said dryly to Valya as he left.
His tone boded ill.
«Why is the office messy? Why are you performing your duties so poorly?»
The boss scrutinized the blushing girl’s face.
«It was cleaned well,» Valya managed to say. «I’m just not liked in the office. Marianna always picks on me. I saw her spill that coffee when you arrived. She’s trying to get you to fire me…»
The director pondered, tapping his finger on the table.
«You seem like a decent girl. Why are you disliked?»
«I don’t know.»
«And who are you to me? Introduce yourself.»
Valya gave her name and surname. Hearing her rather unusual and rare surname, the boss became anxious.
«And your patronymic? What was your father’s name?»
Valya lowered her head but then proudly raised it again.
«My father’s name was Yuri. He died…»
But the boss interrupted her and continued for her:
«…in the North Caucasus. He was my friend. The captain died from a fatal wound, but he saved me, pulling me out of the line of fire.»
Nikolai Ivanovich was lost in thought. Valya dared not move, standing still as a statue. A pause lingered.
«So, Marianna is bullying here? That’s not right. Go back to work now, and tomorrow we’ll hire a new cleaner. No need for a hero’s daughter to mop the floor. You should go to school. Is your mother alive?»
Valentina shook her head no.
«How long ago?»
She nodded affirmatively.
«Left an orphan, then… Do you have a place to live?»
Valya shrugged.
«Lived with my aunt. Now I rent a room.»
The boss clenched his hand on the table into a fist so tight that his knuckles whitened.
«We’ll sort this out.»
That day Valya ran to her rental apartment, her legs numb with happiness. Imagine, her first paycheck and more than a generous bonus! Rushing into a pet store, she bought a bunch of cat pâtés for Martin. Seeing a toy for kittens, she bought that too.
That day she was very proud of herself. Indeed, she had become a real provider! Able to support both herself and her kitty. And the best part, the boss fired the nasty Maryashka, who had made Valya’s life miserable. Now no one would humiliate and mock her old and ugly clothes, though she could now afford something new.
After feeding Martin, the girl rushed out to shop for new clothes. But the next day was even more wonderful. Coming to the office, Valya was surprised to see that some unfamiliar old woman was cleaning the floors. Awkwardly bowing and fawning, the HR approached Valya. The new employment contract offered her a position as an operator—communicating with customers!
And after lunch, Nikolai Ivanovich arrived. Calling Valentina to his office, he handed her a bunch of keys:
«This is from my second apartment. I bought it for future children, but no children have happened yet. Live there. It’s not right for my friend’s daughter to bounce between rentals.»
«Oh, but I have a kitty. Can I take the kitty there? I can’t go anywhere without Martin,» Valya declared.
Nikolai Ivanovich laughed heartily.
«You can even move in with an alligator. The apartment has been empty for a while—you’ll run the place together with your kitty.»
After packing up her things and Martin, Valya warmly said goodbye to the old lady from whom she had rented a room, and moved into a spacious three-room apartment. After the move, Valya didn’t run to work—she flew. Although she held the position of operator, she hardly made any calls. The boss treated the daughter of his friend as his own. He bought new clothes, bought household appliances for the apartment where she lived, and began to introduce her to the business of the firm.
The childless soldier saw Valentina as his successor. He wished that, should anything happen to him, Valya could replace him in all areas concerning the network of offices and enterprises. Aunt Klava always insisted there was no money for education. The friend of Valentina’s deceased father insisted on her enrollment in university in the economics faculty.
Surprised by the transformations in the former cleaner’s appearance and behavior, and by the management’s attitude towards her, Igor immediately found the courage to tell Marianna that their relationship was over. He didn’t hurt Marianna with this statement. She had long considered him a no-hoper, trying to court the son of her boss at her new job.
Freed from the former office queen, the opportunist tried to mend relations with Valya, but the girl already knew his worth, so she responded with a brief and cold refusal to his proposal for a weekend outing. Valya refused him briefly and coldly, surprised at how she could have ever liked such a wretch.
The sly opportunist was left with nothing. He was unwanted by either Marianna or Valentina. How could she have ever suffered for him, cried over his betrayal, when he lured her and then switched to Marianna?
«Where were my eyes? What could be likable about someone like Igor? Perhaps only his cloyingly cute baby face. And I even suffered from unrequited love, even cried,» Valya chided herself for her past lack of foresight.
One day, while buying cat food at the pet store, Valya knocked a can of pâté off the shelf. Skillfully caught by a strong hand, the can didn’t hit the floor.
«Don’t skimp on cats? You pick good food,» said a tall stranger, nodding approvingly at the bag of cat food in Valya’s hands as he put the can back on the shelf.
«I try. I just love him.»
Struck by the young man’s agility and quick reaction, Valya was a bit flustered.
«And I love my cat too. He’s a Savannah. What breed is your cat?» the young man asked.
«Mine’s a pedigreed one too. Breed—Russian street aristocrat. From the nobles,» joked the girl in response. «He sneaked into our office, I picked him up so that some evil witch wouldn’t throw him out the window. So the kitty stayed with me. I named him Martin,» Valya suddenly confided.
It took less than ten minutes after meeting for the young man and the girl to talk as if they were old acquaintances. Archip understood Valya’s jokes, and Valentina liked his openness and views on life, which he willingly shared with her.
Unnoticed by Valya, Archip walked her home. They stood by the entrance for a long time, talking about everything under the sun. They didn’t want to part, but it was getting too dark outside. Valya thought it indecent to show such obvious sympathy on the first day they met. But Archip preempted her, saying he didn’t want to leave, but decorum demanded it. He seemed to have read her mind.
Climbing the steps, Valentina thought in amazement that it was all true about impulses, about the union of souls, about finding your person. She spent the whole night awake, replaying scenarios from her well-worn romance novels, where heroes met their other half.
In the morning, utterly sleepless, Valya got ready for work. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t want to go. She wanted to run to the pet store to try to find Archip. In their conversation, they had even forgotten to exchange phone numbers. Imagine her surprise when, leaving the building, she saw him there.
«You know, I couldn’t leave you. Just ran home to feed the cat and came right back to your house. I spent all night watching your window,» the young man pointed at the second-floor windows where Valya lived. «And you didn’t sleep either. I saw that the light was on in your bedroom all night. It’s fate, you see? It was preordained. You’re mine, and I’m yours. Period,» said Archip, drawing the girl close and inhaling the scent of her hair.
