Chapter 6 - Clem
After floating in the clouds for two weeks on the high of finding Koboyashi Corp and both owners loving my presentation, I got dashed back to the ground at my latest findings.
I had been digging into the Japanese company, finding information that would help us impress them, and now I’d found something that could sink the whole deal.
My stomach flipped over as I cross-referenced all the information again and came to the same conclusion.
Damn. After all my hard work, we might not get the contract to import Koboyashi’s game system after all. Here I was hoping I might get another bonus one minute, and the next minute, once again fearing for my job. This was pretty big.
Rurik rushed in as if he was late when I had already been almost an hour early to try to beat him for once. He tossed a stack of papers as thick as my wrist onto my desk. “I need you to read and sign these, then get them notarized before lunch.”
It looked like it would take me a week to read all those contracts, but I nodded along as he reeled off a slew of other things he needed done before his ten o’clock meeting, where I was supposed to take notes.
“Okay,” I said, mustering the nerve to tell him we probably needed to get the silent partner on a call.
But he was already heading into his office and closing the door, bellowing for his coffee as he shut it.
His tyrannical behavior was the least of my worries for once, and by that time, I was used to his abrupt manner. Honestly, it saved time, and whenever I got miffed, I remembered that juicy, unexpected bonus that was letting me finally move into a building that had a gate.
“Too much sugar again,” he said, after taking a long sip and closing his eyes like he’d just had a taste of heaven. I was beginning to think he had a very odd sense of humor and was just messing with me.
“I’ll bring you a new one,” I said.
“Do you have time for that? Don’t bother.”
I bit back a smile at my small victory and started powering through his task list, calling the main trucking company we used to try to track down a huge shipment that never made it to its final destination.
I had no idea what was in the shipment, and didn’t have time to care.
I was normally busy, but I was beginning to feel a bit ragged by the time the midmorning meeting rolled around, and I wasn’t halfway through the pile of his documents I was supposed to sign.
Thankfully, the meeting was short, and I grabbed the stack on my way to get Rurik’s dry cleaning, which he assured me was absolutely an emergency since he was meeting a local clothing designer who was branching out into furniture, and who might want us to bring her pieces over from Italy.
So, of course, he had to wear one of the designer shirts, which was a gift from his cousin Mila.
I would have sworn he was trying to waste my time by telling me the convoluted story instead of just barking for me to get to the dry cleaners before lunch.
Once I had the all-important shirt, I was only a couple of blocks from the notary we used, so I skimmed through the remaining documents as fast as I could and bounced around impatiently while she stamped them all.
Rurik was tapping his toe and looking at his watch when I made it back ten minutes before his deadline. “Sorry,” I said, anyway.
“Did the papers get sent off?”
“Not yet, but they’re signed and notarized.” If he dared to give me grief, I was prepared to fight back because he hadn’t told me to get the documents in the mail before the lunchtime deadline.
“See that they go out today,” he said, silencing any retort by whipping his shirt off.
I could have run from the office while he changed into the designer’s shirt, but I was frozen to the spot.
The man was ripped, all abs and pecs and biceps, smooth skin and a smattering of manly chest hair.
My eyes were flying all over the place of their own accord to take it all in, finally landing on his smug face as he began to button up.
“Boxing gym,” he said, flexing and making my eyes pop even more. “Nothing like throwing punches at a heavy bag to keep in shape.”
I had no answer, still stunned by all that flagrant manhood on full display.
I kept my head down when he strode past me to go to his lunch meeting.
A gust of air flew out of my mouth, and when I sank into my chair, I lay my head on my arms for a minute, trying to catch my breath.
Partly because of those gleaming muscles I wasn’t expecting, but also because I didn’t have much left on my schedule for the day.
Up until this morning, Rurik had been urging me to use as much time as possible to look into Koboyashi.
Remembering I had bad news to share when he got back, my appetite dwindled, but I forced myself to eat a sandwich with someone on the design team, letting him go on and on about his new baby while I tried to fortify my strength and courage.
“How did it go?” I asked when my boss returned with a stormy look on his face.
“Not great. She’s very demanding and wants too much from us.” He forced a smile. “Not to worry when we have Koboyashi on the horizon.”
“About that,” I said. “I think we should get Mr. Bocharov on a call. I have some news.”
“Your face doesn’t scream good news,” he said, motioning for me to go into his office.
“Not good news, no,” I admitted.
Mr. Bocharov didn’t answer right away, and Rurik left a message. “Get your ass on a video call, this is an emergency.”
Great. I didn’t quite get their odd relationship.
They were related by marriage somehow, and sometimes they got along well, agreeing on everything.
Sometimes it seemed like both had a reason to want to kill the other.
I hoped they didn’t team up to fire me instantly when I told them our hopes for a contract with Koboyashi were pretty much dashed.
If only I could have found out that crucial bit of information before I pitched the game system and got everyone’s hopes up, mine most of all. Well, maybe not most of all. I got that sweet bonus, but they were going to lose millions, maybe more, if the product took off the way I thought it would.
By the time Mr. Bocharov made it to a video call, I felt sick, fighting to keep my sandwich down.
“What’s the emergency?” he asked. Rurik nodded for me to fill them both in.
“The Koboyashi Corp is a very conservative, family-run company. While I was researching every possible way to make sure we came out ahead in the bidding war for their system, I just figured out that they seem to only do business with other family-owned and run companies.”
I kept my hands in my lap despite wanting to wipe away the sweat that had popped up at my hairline.
“What’s the problem?” Mr. Bocharov asked. “We’re a family-owned and run company.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t explain properly. I’ve looked back on every company they’ve ever worked with, down to small plastic parts, and all the owners are married. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
“Of course it’s not,” interjected Rurik. “And it’s not something we should overlook with this much money at stake. You’ll have to be the face of this deal, Gavril.”
Mr. Bocharov looked skyward, then exploded. “Do you think I just sit around all day waiting for updates? I agreed to be a silent partner in this, and that means I’m staying silent.”
I bit my lip to keep from telling him he was making plenty of noise right now. Rurik jumped in and did it for me, and we exchanged a brief, tight smile. He was clearly as stressed by the news as his partner, but thankfully, he was keeping it together.
“I don’t have the time, and you know why, Rurik,” Mr. Bocharov snapped. “You’ll have to hope it is just a coincidence.”
“With hundreds of millions riding on this?” Rurik asked
They both fell silent, at an impasse. Rurik wasn’t smiling anymore. So much for that new apartment that didn’t have drug dealers in the courtyard at all hours of the day and night. So much for this job I loved.
“Rurik could hire someone to act as his wife for the meetings,” I blurted before my brain caught up to my mouth. “It’s not dishonest, not really. Gavrik Imports is the best company and deserves that contract.”
“Figure it out,” Mr. Bocharov said, ending the call.
Gavril looked at me appraisingly for a long time. “It’s a good idea,” he said before motioning for me to leave his office. “I need to think.”
Since I was done with my truckload of work and didn’t want to bother him if he was brainstorming better solutions than mine, I left for the day.
It was still daylight, so I walked, feeling guilty about the taxis Rurik encouraged me to charge on the company account if I left the office after dark.
My car had finally refused to start for the last time, and I’d been informed it would cost more to tow it than it was worth as scrap metal.
I couldn’t afford the fee to get it to the metal yard since I needed every penny for the move.
And I did need to move, and as soon as possible, since the same burly guy who pretended he wasn’t staking out the apartment complex was casually leaning against the wall a half a block away, talking on his phone.
He wasn’t one of the dealers, and he definitely wasn’t a resident, but he’d been there every time I happened to look out my front window before going to sleep at night.
Was it paranoia, or should I be worried? I had no choice but to be worried. It would have been nice if I could stop looking over my shoulder. Maybe I could use my bonus for a car that ran or just had a safety net for the first time in my life instead of moving again.
Was the constant running always going to be my life now?
The next morning, Rurik beat me to the office, and there was no giant pile of work to do on my desk. I brought him his coffee and braced myself for the worst.
“Too much sugar,” he said.
“I’ll bring you a new one. Is there anything else?”
He stood up, grinning. “Yes. Marry me.”
What the hell? I staggered back, but then it all clicked into place. This was my idea, after all. It was for the meetings with Koboyashi, nothing more. So why did my heart skip a beat there? There was no way I had developed a crush on my boss. No way.
“Yes,” I said instantly, grateful I still had a job.
Reading my thoughts, he said, “You did nothing wrong. No one could have foreseen such a prerequisite. Now take the company card and buy yourself some clothes.”
“What?” My head spun at the odd command.
He rolled his eyes. “We’re going to have meetings and dinners with the Koboyashis. You need to look like my wife, not my assistant.” Now his eyes moved up and down my body, making that odd fluttering feeling happen to my heart again. “Not that you don’t always look amazing.”
“I get it,” I said. “Better clothes.”
“Nothing on sale, nothing last season. Shoes and jewelry, too. No budget. I want you back here before the end of the day so I can approve what you’ve bought.”
So I spent the rest of the day on a crazy shopping spree, holding myself back from holding back and letting the saleswomen who were hungry for commissions go to town with expensive suggestions.
It was the most fun I’d had in ages, and I felt like Cinderella as I twirled in front of the three-way mirror in a cocktail dress that could have been made for a real princess.
“Your husband will drop dead, you’re so gorgeous,” the saleswoman cooed.
“Then I'd better buy it,” I told her, forcibly reining in my soaring mood when she took it to add to the pile. I was no princess. Not even a wife.
This was just business, nothing else. I wouldn’t get to keep these clothes, and I had no reason to want to. I wasn’t really marrying my boss.