The day at the office began as usual. Some were drinking coffee, some were anxiously checking the clock, counting how much time was left before they could leave, while others got to work to stand out in front of the boss. By the way, the company was led by Yuri Timofeevich, a young and cocky guy who was openly disliked by his subordinates, who behind his back invented new insulting nicknames for him.
«Well, has our little boy already made a couple of million today?»
«Where would he? He’d better not squander what he has!» — the girls from the office laughed in the smoking room.
This attitude toward him was caused not only by his behavior but also by the fact that he had gotten his position through marriage to the daughter of the company’s owner. His father-in-law had to employ his son-in-law, although at first, he was completely against him marrying his daughter.
Although everyone in the company knew how Yuri’s career had been built, they remained silent, as everyone valued their own position and stable salary. Moreover, objections against the boss never led to anything good, and the young man, even though he had indeed caught a lucky break, was goal-oriented, clever, and shrewd. He tried to find a benefit in everything. For example, he sought to sign contracts under the most profitable terms for the company, but for some unknown reason, this did not lead to an increase in profit.
Yuri understood why this was happening. After all, he had taken on a managerial role «through connections,» whereas before, he had only been following orders. He didn’t have any business management skills. He had thought, while his father-in-law was alive, that it was simpler than it turned out to be.
Leonid Davidovich had created the company many years ago but lost his health building the business from scratch, and a few years ago, he died, having given his all to his creation. While his father-in-law was alive, Yuri had behaved inconspicuously and obeyed the orders of the management, but after Leonid Davidovich passed away, he had gained confidence and started to act differently. And when he took over the position of company leader as a relative, the new position went to his head. If only his father-in-law had known into whose hands he was passing his business, which he had built from scratch in the turbulent ’90s…
The old man had sacrificed his life for prosperity. Everything was running smoothly in the company; the system was working excellently, while Yuri had accumulated wage arrears, reduced profitability, but didn’t seem too concerned about it. The generous inheritance came to him too easily.
Yuri turned out to be an unreliable successor, not only in business. In his personal life, he also played an unfair game, regularly cheating on his wife. Dasha knew nothing about this, but a woman’s heart could feel that something was wrong. Yuri, however, was not in a hurry to listen to her words. He clouded his wife’s mind with excuses about constant meetings and lots of work.
One day, a new cleaning lady named Zinaida appeared in the office. Usually, people at this level go unnoticed. Cleaners are the invisible workers who do the dirty work. But Zina was not like that. Life had been harsh on this young woman, and it was impossible to look at her without sympathy. Half of her face was covered with burns, which were shocking.
Sometimes, someone’s gaze lingered on the girl too long, which caused a general awkwardness. Office workers would leave their rooms in disgust when Zina came to clean. Some of the pretty girls seemed to be shy about their beauty in Zina’s presence, some pitied her, while others openly despised her. Moreover, the girl was mute.
The HR manager, upon hiring her, approved her candidacy without a second glance, as Dasha, Yuri’s wife, had called and asked to hire her. Fortunately, there was an available position. And so Zina began her modest career in the company, where she was often openly mocked. She never answered back. She simply worked, keeping her head down and her gaze lowered.
For Yuri Timofeevich, such people were nothing. One day, his gaze fell on Zina’s unremarkable figure.
«Another ugly girl,» he thought.
Over time, rumors began to spread in the company that the cleaning lady stayed late, literally polishing the director’s office. At first, Yuri was flattered by this. He thought the girl was secretly in love with him. After all, he was a handsome guy, and young new employees often ogled him. Knowing that he was a big boss, some of them tried to get closer to Yuri, dreaming of a higher position. And he indeed promised these beauties everything, but once they got what they wanted, he simply fired them. Yuri sometimes had the desire to have some fun with the cleaner.
«Such a strange one in my collection,» he would smirk to himself.
However, Zina, although she spent more time in the boss’s office than required by her duties, never asked for a raise. The office didn’t want to drop the topic. Along with the rumors about the cleaner spending a lot of time in Yuri’s office, discussions followed about where Zina’s enthusiasm came from and whether she was trying to win favor.
«Look, she’s working hard! Doesn’t she know that our Yuri doesn’t give out raises…»
«Yeah, the business is struggling right now,» said the gossiping tongues in the office.
To clear up the situation, Yuri Timofeevich decided to have a talk with the cleaner, but he couldn’t get anything out of her. He shrugged it off and soon forgot about it.
One morning, he noticed that the papers on his desk were not in the same position he had left them the evening before. This made Yuri suspicious. Without much thought, he decided to run a small test, placing an object — an ashtray — on top of a stack of documents and memorizing how it was positioned. The next morning, everything was confirmed — someone had been rummaging through the papers, and the ashtray had been moved.
