Chapter 1 .Introduction

No wonder they say that if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. While I was riding in a minibus, thinking about celebrating my birthday, I did not yet know that fate had already found me and pointed me in the right direction. Finger. Fate has a finger, who does not suddenly know.Until a completely insignificant date, twenty-nine years, another month and a half, but close friends of Nelya and Sveta were already in full swing with travel agencies for vouchers.A year ago, having traveled to Turkey during the velvet season and celebrating my holiday there, everyone liked that vacation so much that a unanimous decision was made - to repeat it! It would seem, why worry? But anxiety gnawed at my heart with nasty claws.The thing is that the country club “Sofitel Resort & SPA”, where I worked, recently changed the owner and in the light of these events, all the staff were in suspense. Rumors about layoffs, layoffs, wage cuts, fines and other repressions of the new leadership have been the main topic of conversation among our team for the past two weeks.I am not one of the nervous or suspicious people, but, you know, there is such a thing as the “crowd effect”. The general mood radiated general excitement, fueled daily by new gossip and speculation.Of course, there was no reason to believe everything that they say, and by and large, it is stupid to torment yourself with fears. But. I was lucky to see the new owner up close and even overcome the numbness of all four limbs with a brief communication, and therefore seditious thoughts began to visit me too.He, along with the mistress and a couple of strangers, walked around the future investment, considering everything around.Having gone through a general inventory the day before, during which we barely counted the flies, rewriting everything, right down to the computer mouse pad in my tiny office, Lyudmila, our waiter, dragged me into the light of day.- Sash! They're coming!Startled, I grabbed myself, hitting the papers and dumping them on the floor.- Run! I will collect! Luda rushed down, waving her hand towards the door.Thanks to her help, I managed to find myself at the guest reception desk in advance. Even before the unforgettable Sophia Albertovna, surrounded by unknown people, came out from behind the turn and slowly walked towards us, telling, showing and explaining something on the go."Lady Se" - as they called her behind her eyes, meaning not the first letter of her name, but a female dog - looked stunning. The cost of a beige dress was probably equal to the salary fund of employees of one of the club's locations.Entering the pavilion, they continued their inspection, paying absolutely no attention to the staff. I have long been accustomed to the fact that the powers that be of this world do not see everyone around, and therefore I did not particularly bother because they walked past us without even saying hello.servant. Regardless of the position held. So it was and always will be.Three years ago, when I first got a job in this hotel complex, the bestial attitude of some individuals greatly hurt ego and hurt pride, but with time you get used to everything.And at that moment, putting on a mask of benevolence on her face, she stood looking in front of her. Then the information that the hostess was selling the club had not yet leaked to the masses, and therefore, I was quite surprised when one of the men, looking around, and on the move, looking at me at some point, again looked in my direction and approached , looking down at my badge.- Alexandra, can I have the menu?- Oh sure. - She held out one of the leather folders in response, barely sticking her lips.If we draw an analogy between people and animals, then there was a bison in front of me. Huge, shaggy, with neglected stubble on his face and indifferently direct and dull look of black eyes.That day I was lucky and unlucky at the same time.The luck was that the whole company decided to dine at our location. It was a kind of exam, as it turned out later, and we passed it with excellent marks. Well, failure is a trillion burnt nerve cells. Serving the hostess is a pleasure.In addition to the trembling caused by adrenaline due to the eternally dissatisfied Sofia Albertovna, one of those who came with her added tension. He sat facing me, and twice I had the "pleasure" to feel the tenacious gaze. Nonsense, you say? It's like yes. But no.What does a person do when they are caught at such moments? At the very least, he lowers his eyes. It turned out that not everyone is subject to constraint. The comrade was armor-piercing. Not only was he not embarrassed, but moreover, he continued to look straight ahead.A woman usually feels the interest of a man immediately. I will not go into these subtle matters now, I will only say one thing - there was no sympathy or flirting in his message. With such a look, a man says that he is interested in what you are like naked and whether you are good at sucking. No more, no less. Rough, but true. This look offered no love - pure fuck. Sex is too weak a word.His appearance added to the entourage. For all the time he only once smiled a wry smile at some phrase "bison". And if a huge man evoked a desire to step aside so as not to be accidentally smeared on the wall, then this one inspired unaccountable fear. A kind of wolf with a distorted face and dead soulless eyes.And with the same thing: a beautiful fashionable haircut, gray hair showing through on the sides, a sharp nose, eyebrows with a slight hump, high cheekbones. And in addition, a fashionable three-day unshaven, clearly maintained artificially, and not neglected; broad shoulders, lazy gait in the waddle. From a distance - a very interesting man.But something was wrong with his face. I could take a better look when the whole company, having rested, headed for the exit. The left half is like a frozen mask. The upper eyelid half hid the eye, as if someone was pulling it down, distorting the beautiful face and touching the lips, because of this it seemed that he contemptuously curled up. "Consequences of a stroke?" - thought flashed and disappeared, giving way to relief.I managed to exhale, suddenly thinking that, apparently, I could easily participate in the breath-holding competition underwater, since, in my opinion, I didn’t really breathe all the time these people spent at dinner.And now, a couple of weeks later, I had to get acquainted with the new leadership. What the changes will bring is not known, and this made me nervous. In the morning on the agenda - a meeting of the leadership and everyone was asked to arrive half an hour earlier.Entering the conference room, she looked around and sat down next to Yana Sakura. Sakura is the name of her location in the complex. For example, I am Sasha Milan. There were also: Katya Alpy, Roma Texas, Vasya Konyushnya, Lena Kindergarten, Oleg Timofeich SPA and Luda Tennis. Yana and I were among the first to come.- Anna Dmitrievna was turned around along the way. They say that we have a new director now. We will get acquainted. She whispered in my ear.- Damn ... - Frustratedly held out to her in response. Our current headmistress, though distinguished by a strict disposition, perfectly performed the functions of a buffer between us and "Lady Se".- Yeah. They also say that the accounting department is waiting for an audit. Varvara "Persen" throws herself in the morning. I saw it myself.- I understand that we are waiting for an unscheduled inventory with reports. How I love it. Rolling her eyes, she chuckled.- Well, that would be fine. There are rumors that we are all going to be fired and hire new admins. New broom…- Sweeping in a new way. I finished and greeted the marketer with a nod. - Why change us? We already know our business, the work has been established ...- Dmitrievna also knows and also did a great job. - Yana voiced not an argument, but a thought that made her think.About ten minutes later, thirty people gathered in the hall. In addition to location administrators, accounting, managers of various areas and other involved persons, in the corner I even noticed the head of security with the supply manager.- Well, girls, are you ready? breathed a voice from behind between us, spreading the frosty freshness of menthol.- Diana, did you smoke?! - she hissed indignantly, involuntarily including the "big sister", even though at work she tried to abstract herself and not let go of such comments.She did not have time to answer, as several people entered the hall, apparently from the new leadership, and everyone froze in anticipation, stopping to communicate. Looking from one to the other and further, she suppressed an inexplicable internal flash ...The bison's name was Vyacheslav Bogdanovich Bortnich, and he really became the new owner of the Sofitel hotel complex. The man greeted, introduced himself, said that in the near future no cardinal changes in the work plan and job descriptions are expected, wished everyone good luck and introduced the new director. Well, you already got it, right?Wolf Mark Yanovich. Hearing the name, she chuckled nervously. My definition, as it turned out, had confirmation in the form of a surname. He is a wolf and in Africa - a wolf. And it does not matter in the German manner or Russian.The manager looked around everyone with his “affectionate” look and briefly said that the reorganization would still take place, but gradually, and it was planned from the beginning of the next quarter. Great news! It's not for nothing that my dad called me a witch. The fact that a vacation in the company of girlfriends and dark-haired handsome men with frizzy hair is waving goodbye with his hand - I had a premonition since the morning.At the end of his speech to the frozen mass, Comrade Wolf promised that in the near future he would hold separate conversations with each department and recreation area. "Another good news," she thought, grimacing.When the meeting ended and everyone rushed to the exit, I heard the comment of my unlucky sister:“Mark my word: this Gwynplaine will get us all out of here.Someone chuckled with laughter, someone shook his head in condemnation, someone signed frustratedly - no one began to comment on her words. Seizing the moment, she grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her aside.- Dinka, are you a complete fool, or half? she hissed, lowering her tone.- What?- Mind is in the head at least a little bit? Do you understand that your words will easily convey to him the desire to curry favor? If you want to get out of this job, it’s better to write a statement silently right away!- Come on, you're all yours. - She mumbled, trying to seem serene, but judging by the expression in her eyes, my stick hit the target.- Go to work and keep your mouth shut. - Advised gloomily.Feeling someone's eyes on her back, she turned sharply and shuddered. The new leadership came out of the conference room together with Anna Dmitrievna. The latter was pale, but she carried herself well - her back was even, her hair was pulled together strand to strand.At the meeting, we were told that she would temporarily act as deputy manager. Such a demotion from scratch would have unsettled anyone, and therefore her detached appearance did not cause bewilderment.Taking a back seat, she pushed her sister in the direction of the body, and she herself quickly walked towards her.The day passed relatively calmly, and I even perked up a little towards the end. But the next one was full of all sorts of troubles.It all started in the kitchen. From the very morning, it turned out that our chef was taken away by an ambulance at night, and he was urgently operated on. Just appendicitis, but that meant he wouldn't be at work the next week.I had to call the sous chef and beg to get out of vacation, promising to get a convenient time for a winter holiday in the future.Then the faucet in the men's room broke. While I was dealing with the supply manager and solving this problem, a surprise surfaced. Yesterday the girls missed a damaged tablecloth on one of the tables on the summer terrace. One of the visitors apparently dropped the ashes from a cigarette and made a hole. This meant that in the future its cost would be deducted from our salaries.To top it off, after lunch one of the regulars of our location appeared - a very unpleasant type who had been bullying me for more than a month. He gave flowers, pestered with questions, made hints and did not take his lustful eyes off, choosing the same place near the entrance so that he could watch me.As soon as I left, in an attempt to get rid of annoying attention, I always found an excuse to call. And then the torture called "flirting" continued with redoubled zeal.