Past imperfect - страница 5

The woman suddenly laughed genuinely, and Lera paused. “Don't worry about it!” The boss said with a smile. “That's not why I'm asking. Are you going to leave the city, by any chance?”

“I am going to!” Lera blurted out. “Tomorrow! To a very distant place! The phone will not work there, it is in the middle of nowhere!”

The woman continued to look at her subordinate with amusement, then slammed her hand on the table and said sharply: "Great! Firstly, bring the box here, I will hide it in the safe. Then, sit in the office motionlessly until I let Marat go. He will escort you home. Thirdly… How will you get there, in your middle of nowhere?”

“B-by p-plane” Lera stuttered, pinned down by the commanding voice. “From Domodedovo.”

“That’s even better! It's nice to realise that Russian airlines have developed to the point where planes from Domodedovo fly to the middle of nowhere.”

At these words, Lera flushed and looked away.

“So, I will ask Kostya to pick you up at home and meet you upon your return. Don’t argue!” The boss growled, raising her eyebrows when Lera tried to object. “He will not just take you to the airport, he will meet you at your apartment and take you back! Door-to-door! No arguments!”

Lera's face fell.

“And finally, while you are in your "middle of nowhere," I will make a request to the security company. They must be keeping the CCTV recordings for a while. Can you roughly tell me when the other presents arrived?”

"Uh-huh" Lera replied meekly, apparently resigned to her fate.

“That's good to be “uh-huh”. Here you are the paper, write the dates and approximate times. After you come back, we will watch the videos and, if we recognise your admirer, we can take him over his boll… humm… we’ll talk anyway… If not, we should go to the police.”

“To the police?!” Lera became nervous.

“Of course! It's pointless to apply now anyway. The earrings will be taken, but policemen still won't start moving until after the holidays. That's right, Larina! Write down now!”

The boss thrust a piece of paper in front of the girl, got up abruptly, and went to call the next person over. Lera, meanwhile, buried her head in the blank paper and started writing…

Lera was spinning around in front of the mirror, smiling at her reflection. Her blue-green eyes were shining with amusement today. The girl had already been dressed and was ready to go a long time ago, and while waiting for her escort, she enjoyed picking out a scarf to match her coat.

After all, Irina Konstantinovna's idea of a voluntary-compulsory escort was a good one, although Lera initially still tried to protest. Hearing the combat mission "the beautiful lady is in danger" announced, Marat, as a true son of his nation, activated knight mode and joined forces with the boss to press Lera.

Upon hearing Lera's confused objections, Marat threatened to ensure her compliance by force if necessary. Specifically, by immobilizing her with swaddling. He vowed to bring immediately his entire brood of brothers to protect his beloved colleague, one brother for guarding each of Lera’s limbs. At this point, Lera babbled even more desperate. When Marat, stern faced, reached for the phone to call for help, Lera realized it was pointless to resist. She gave in with a sigh. Marat smiled with satisfaction looking at Lera with his hazel eyes and put the phone down.