On that day in our zone called "Milan" it was supposed to hold a buffet for forty people. Artists of some kind were holding a conference in one of the halls, and their secretary had already visited the pavilion twice to make sure that everything was going according to plan and there would be no overlap.

The waitress Masha looked into my closet with a guilty look.

- Sash, there is this ... the great Don Juan demands you ...

- What's again? She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she slowly got up from her chair. Another attempt to escape failed miserably.

- I have already approached him twice, with a request to transfer, but he did not...

- It's clear. I'm going. Suppressing a flare of dislike, she stood up and straightened her uniform. Went out into the hall.

Slug sat in his usual place, sipping cognac.

- Sergey Valentinovich, hello again.

- Alexandra. Saluted with a glass. Are you hiding from me again?

- Sorry. We are getting ready for the buffet. Could you move to another table? - nodded to the side, where there were several empty places on the street, which helped us out a lot at such moments.

He clearly did not want to change seats, since the review would be closed, and sitting alone was not part of his plans.

- Why are you so prickly, eh, Sashenka? - drawled in an unpleasant tone. - I would like to ask...

He tried to take my hand, but did not have time, as I pulled it back literally half a second before. In response, I saw an unkind squint.

- That the restaurant will be closed for visitors at four o'clock, you were warned at the very beginning. Please choose any other place outside of this room so that we can do our job. - She spoke affectionately, with a smile, trying to resolve the situation.

- Nobody warned me about it. - He answered, looking cynically into his eyes, entering the second phase of intoxication, when he ceased to be correct and began to splash out anger.

- You are wrong. - She replied calmly. - Maria accurately informed you and I am a witness to that.

- Bring me the complaint book.

He practiced the stick and carrot method regularly, and therefore such a request did not come as a surprise. Unfolding the magazine given by the waitress, Sergei Valentinovich took out a fountain pen, removed the cap and raised his brown eyes to me. He always did this, as if asking: “So should I write? Or will you bend?"

Without reacting, she turned around and walked to the counter. There was no point in leaving. This individual handed the book of complaints personally to me and to no one else.

As a result, after sitting exactly until sixteen zero zero, he got up and headed towards me. He put the magazine on the rack and asked:

- Sashenka, tell me, what do you want? – managed to grab my wrist and raised his hand to his lips. Kissed, leaving a sticky unpleasant mark. - So I'll do it...

- Sergey Valentinovich, I do not need anything. Thank you.

- Stop breaking, you try, and there you will like it so much that you won’t pull it by the ears. - He said with a sickening smile.

Pulling my hand away, I definitely walked around him and went to the toilet. "Freak. Smelly old freak, ”- beat in my head, while carrying a slobbered limb to the washbasin.

When she returned, she found the girls in a cheerful mood. They, of course, heard our conversation and now they were having fun with might and main, making preparations in the hall.

- Alexandra, what kind of men do you like? - trying to copy the tone of voice of Sergei Valentinovich, Luda asked, fussing around the tables lined up in a row.

- What? - not understanding the question, she picked up the order menu and ran her eyes over it. - Mash, do not forget to put flowers on empty tables and remove them from the third one. She nodded at the single glass.

- Your Don Juan asked if you have anyone and what kind of men you like.

- When?

- As soon as you left. - Luda was torn from a smile.

- Oh my God. Why won't he calm down? - Remembering the kiss with a shudder, she nervously rubbed the back of her hand on her skirt. Ugh!

- So that? Which?

- Various. - Infected with fun from her, she also smiled and went to cover the windows.

- Here I am, for example - affectionate. Preferably brunettes with black eyes. - Lyudmila, after thinking for a second, added: - Well, so that he was reliable. As my mother says: "I really want such a man, so as not to be a woman."

- It's true. - I agreed, straightening the curtains and tulle. - In general, a brunette or a blond is not the main thing, girls. I have other criteria. To get my attention, a man must be: neat, not rude and with a sense of humor. And if he is a pervert in bed, then he has no price. - Turning around, she picked up a lying napkin from the floor, and just froze.

Leaning on the reception desk with his forearm, stood the new director, listening to our sweet conversation. Yes, yes, the same one. With a face half mummy half human.

Oh, my. God.

Do you know what embarrassment is? So I'll tell you now!

To lend a hand when an unknown young lady, sitting in front of the minibus, asks: “Who needs chewing gum?”, And as it turned out later, her acquaintances were located around - me. Hang in the store in front of a rack with washing powders, and mix up the ass of your own boyfriend, who hesitated somewhere and squeeze it with the palm of an unknown man, asking: “Which one is better to take?” - me too. Falling asleep on the shoulder of an unfamiliar grandfather while sitting in the subway - me again. To tell my stepmother in a hurry running out of the house instead of “The store will now have a chic sale” - “The store will now have chic sex” - me again!

And there are a thousand such blunders. And therefore, about embarrassment, she could easily write a book or defend a doctoral dissertation, setting out the points and degrees of awkwardness.

But all of them were not worth even a gram of what I experienced looking into the eyes of "Mr. Wolfe." It seemed to me that this was just the moment when I hit the bottom, but I was wrong.

- It's a pity, Alexandra Anatolyevna, that I don't suit you. I only agree on three points out of four. I'm not sure about one of them, I'll have to ask …

Do you remember the children's game "The sea worries once"? Where: "Sea figure freeze"? That's about how I looked from the outside - as if frozen in a freeze frame. How long I was in this state - I don’t know, as for me, a whole eternity passed before I was able to unhook my jaws, which were convulsed by a cramp:

- Good afternoon, Mark Yanovich.

- Kind. He chuckled with the right side of his face. - Are you ready? He nodded towards the scurrying waitresses.

- Yes. Practically.

The manager looked around, his eyes fell on the book of complaints and suggestions, lying next to him. As if in slow motion, he reached out and took it. Revealed. Ran through the eyes. Stared at me and said:

- Can I take it for a while? Read? And without waiting for an answer, he left.

Everyone's good mood was blown away by the wind. The situation with a client named Sergey Valentinovich Ryleev - the old management knew and did not react to the records, but no one could predict what they could turn into in the light of current events.

Anxiety about this tormented me until the end of the day and all the next morning. Involuntarily, I came up with phrases and whole dialogues in order to defend my girls and at the same time not tell them about the situation as it really is. I don't know why, I was embarrassed.

Courtship of an elderly man with forever greasy hair and yellowed whites of the eyes, perceived as a punishment. This lowered my self-esteem, and, as it seemed, the assessment of me by others. Like, I'm still lonely because only such handsome men pay attention. At that time, it was not thought about why Mark Yanovich's opinion suddenly matted, since worries about a well-coordinated mini-team took precedence.

The director showed up at our pavilion ten minutes before work began. He walked forward, his eyes obviously looking for me. Without hesitation, she walked towards him, trying to calm her pounding heart. For the first time ever, I was so close to him. For some reason, I immediately noticed that despite the high heels, I had to raise my head up when talking.

- Good afternoon.

- Kind. He looked straight ahead, which was rather discouraging. For some reason, his gaze turned to the numb half of his face. - Alexandra Anatolyevna, I will be gone for two days. Please do an unscheduled inventory and send me two reports. previous and new.

- Oh sure. - Confused. The man was talking, so to speak, with his “right side” and restraining himself so as not to look the other way - there was no strength.

- Here. He held out the ill-fated book of complaints. - Interesting reading for the night you provided me, as it turned out.

- Sorry, that's not good...

He did not let me agree.

- I wanted to discuss the vacation plan with you.

- I'm listening. She looked inquiringly, anticipating something bad and was not mistaken.

- Gather employees and review the schedule. It is not desirable that the rest coincide with the season. Shift all vacations to winter and spring. Preferably between January and April. Those who, according to the law, can choose a convenient time themselves - write it out in a separate list.

- Yes. Good. - Mentally saying goodbye to the hot black-haired Turks, she nodded in response. Of course, there was logic in his demand, but a rebellion began in his soul. I have never encountered such arbitrariness within the framework of legal norms.

The thing is that our work is divided into two periods: the season and the off-season. As in a resort town in the south. The cold season is a constant preparation for the warm season. And so in a circle. Of course, the club brings the main income when the temperature outside is not below zero. In winter, only Oleg Timofeich SPA flourishes with us. The so-called "Wellness & Spa" services, but in simple terms - fishing, baths and girls as ancient as the world of the profession.

Everyone else smoked bamboo, doing whatever. As a rule, during these months, the necessary repairs were made in the halls, the furniture was upholstered and other organizational issues were decided. We worked half-heartedly, serving mainly corporate parties and anniversaries. Less often - receiving delegations or providing services for the reception and organization of leisure of conferences and other congresses.

Apparently, the new authorities did not want to lose even a penny, and therefore decided to bend the servants in their own interests, neglecting in a sense the constitutional right. The schedule was approved at the beginning of the year. Of course, I listened, then from my bunch of indignations and lamentations, but no one was in a hurry to quit because of this. The level of salary is everything, and in our hotel complex it was decent.

- If you have any questions - call or contact Anna Dmitrievna.

- Of course, yes.

After that, he left and appeared with us only by the end of the week, four days later. I saw him briefly a couple of times from afar, but there were no reasons for communication, and considering that I fulfilled all his requests on time, I concluded that he was satisfied with the results.

Mark Yanovich entered the pavilion and sat down at a free table not far from the entrance. He said hello and went deep into the phone. Instantly orienting myself, I gave a sign to Masha to come up to me. She handed her the menu, glancing at the manager.

Oh, how unfortunate he came to us! The thing is that about ten minutes before that, Ryleev had come to our restaurant and now he was sitting, examining my figure and waiting for his order - a glass of cognac with lemon. My insides clenched with tension.