They waited with bated breath for the further development of events. The chauffeur walked slowly around the car, before he courteously opened the back door. Then their new boss appeared before him.
They couldn't believe their eyes. An uncomfortable silence descended in the crowded room. None of them was able to comment on this. They thought that it was just their hallucination, the result of an overdose of percentages and a hangover from the last day’s party.
How can the new boss afford a jaguar and a chauffeur? What was up? So many questions were stuck in their heads.
They suspected that it was Nicolas' trick, who was unable to grasp the mess that had prevailed in the editorial office since the chief assistant had left the competition. They knew that he wanted to teach them a lesson but who was Alice? In addition, this luxury Jaguar haunted them.
The next day, Alice was the first to come to the editorial office. It would not be surprising, if not for the fact that it was almost nine o'clock and the place was empty. The editorial team just blew her off as she had thought.
She didn't worry too much about it; it was actually just fine for her. At nine o'clock, Nicolas arrived, who was not at all surprised to see Alice sitting alone behind her laptop at the huge collegiate table.
“Good morning, sweetheart! How are you feeling?” He smiled kindly.
“Hello, Master! I'm great! And you?”
“I am fine, sweetheart. As for the magazine, you can see it yourself!” He spread his hands helplessly. “Unpunished lawlessness.”
“I have already realized it, but don’t worry. You won’t be disappointed!”
Nicolas saw a gleam in her eyes. He knew that it was a good sign. He indicated that Alice had a perfect plan of action.
Knowing her for a long time, he assumed that she would use all possible means to accomplish the task entrusted to her to the best of her ability. He wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of any of his subordinates. He had no doubt that she wouldn't let them do too much. He knew it. He just wondered how long they would last with her and how long would it be until they would fold.
“I hear someone. I'll go to my office. I won’t disturb you.” Nicolas moved towards his office. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed, sweetheart!” He added before he went inside.
A moment later, Alex walked in, looking stunning as ever.
"Good morning!" he said.
The image of an empty editorial table did not surprise him either.
"Hello!" She replied.
"This image is commonplace here." He said, pointing to an empty room.
“Nothing new that I didn't know.” She smiled carelessly, as if the situation didn’t surprise her at all.
“While waiting for the rest, I suggest breakfast. On the way I bought fresh bread and fragrant croissants.” He pointed to a large plastic bag in his hand.
Alice nodded without taking her eyes off the monitor.
“Coffee with almond milk, no sugar and French croissants?” He asked, heading towards the kitchen.
“Just a strong one without any milk, please.”
At the sight of the lush unruly spiked hair with a cheeky smile and dark mischievous dark eyes, Alice pondered. Looking at the still childish face, it was impossible to think that Alex was one of the best journalists of the young generation that she has known.
A real, ruthless tough guy, who in an intelligent and sophisticated way was able to squeeze everything out of his interlocutor, even the most deeply hidden secrets from the world.
Within a few years, he had achieved more than many who have been in the industry for years. However, not everyone knew about it. It is a pity that he is wasting his talent, knowledge and skills in the newsroom, instead of writing reportages for some prestigious magazine.
Adam Davis came to the work just a moment later. He was not much older than Alex, no less attractive, but unlike his younger friend, she could see an unbreakable, tough character on his face.
She knew that he loved the sea and everything related to it. He infected half of the editorial team with his passion to such an extent that they went together on canoeing trips or multi-day cruises on the lakes. However, so far he hadn’t found anyone willing to go with him for a catamaran trip, his favorite means of sea transport.
Whenever there was an opportunity to write about important events, such as the celebrations of the Days of the Sea, regattas, and sea scientific expeditions, he would use it with pleasure, using the knowledge he gained over the years. Later, the editorial secretary would get into a fit of rage reading a piece of text which he understood very little of and had no clue of what to cut and what to keep in order to shorten it.
Alex and Adam joined the chief editor who was waiting patiently at the empty table. They were eating breakfast prepared by Alex. The atmosphere was casual and fun. Of course, they talked about cars, computers and technical news.
Adam tried to infect Alice with his passion. To his great joy, it turned out to be unnecessary, as the chief editor revealed that she sometimes sails, but didn’t want to talk about the details of her expeditions.
“Alice, do you like skydiving?” Alex suddenly blurted out. “In two weeks we'll be going jumping. It will be great fun.”
“We are just working hard on our physical condition at the moment.” Adam added.
“Will you jump with us?” Alex asked pleadingly.
"Sounds interesting, but I have at least three reasons why I should live for a few more years." As she said that, she smiled.
“Are you expecting twins?” Alex asked, not hiding his surprise.
“Where did that question come from?” She began to laugh. “I'm not expecting twins. I'm too old for children.”
“Too old?” Alex inquired inquisitively. “You look really great. You don't have a fifty on your neck to say that.”
“Maybe as part of the integration event, you will go to paintball with us?” Adam suggested, who didn't feel like talking about children at all.
“An interesting proposition, I can consider this one. I will think about an integration party, I promise.” As she said that, she smiled at the thought of the integration even though she had already prepared something for them.
“Thank you, gentlemen, for honouring me with your presence! We're starting!” She paused for a moment to give them time to think and analyze the meaning of the words she had spoken.There was no sign of reflection on the tired, sleepy faces. Thomas was yawning incessantly, every now and then covering his mouth with his hand.Michael, with almost navy blue horseshoes under his eyes and mournfully tousled hair, stretched all his muscles, disregarding everyone, especially the limits of decency, as if he had just woken up.Jack was sitting in a rumpled shirt, propping his head with his hands as if it weighed a ton. He tried his best to stay awake, but he kept closing his eyes every now and then, then shaking his head, straightening himself up and trying to keep his posture attentive again.Simon’s eyes were so red and swollen almost halfway down his cheeks that he looked like a panda or as if he had a boxing match the previous night with a he
Around one in the afternoon, the atmosphere turned hot again. Thomas returned to the editorial office with a flushed face and cloudy eyes. As if in a hypnotic trance, he took off his jacket, tossed it casually on the back of his chair, sat down at the computer and began typing.He didn’t take his eyes off the monitor. He looked like a mad scientist making a discovery of life that would revolutionize the views of all mankind.His friends tried to ask him about his impressions of the ride, but to no avail. He didn't answer. He didn’t even react to the taunts. The outside world did not exist for him. He was in another dimension, in a creative trance.After an hour, unusually beaming and still flushed, he got up from his desk and went to Nicolas' office. He only managed to close the door behind him, and Michael immediately appeared in front of them. Ignoring anyone, he tried to eavesdrop, but from what he heard, he understood very little.Concepts
Michael didn’t expect such a reaction. He knew perfectly well what Alex wanted to tell him and what he would inevitably hear. To avoid a controversial discussion on the sensitive topic of women, or rather his attitude towards them, he spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness.He hoped that this time Alex would let go and skip a lecture about his outrageous, even scandalous, rowdy lifestyle that he didn’t accept.“So what's going on?” He asked sincerely, hoping to finally find out the reason for his friend's strange behavior."If the chief editor reads my curriculum vitae, I'll end up in Alaska or the South Pole, so you'd better shut up." Alex said softly.“It won't be that bad! Don't worry! At most, she will send you to the Paris-Dakar race in a Trabant!Alex was in no mood to laugh. On his face, Michael could see a real sadness. He wondered what else he wrote in his resume? For sure, nothing he didn’t know.
“You talk nonsense, man!” Michael answered him. “We're damn good, why would they let go of us?"For insubordination, for anything!" Any reason could be good, wondered Adam. “Do you know how many unemployed journalists there are on the labor market?”Only silence answered him.“Would you like to look for a new job?” Adam turned to Michael with this question. But he didn't wait for an answer:“I don’t! I am quite well here. I have barely bought the apartment, I am going to dive the coral reefs on vacation, and I am paying off the loan. I have enough for me to pay the installments and for a decent life. I don't need anything more to be happy.” He paused for a moment to look at his friend. He could see the confusion painted on their faces.“Only a few of us can get a better job. Don't cheat yourself, gentlemen. I don't want to rot here until retirement, but I have no reason to comp
“And what's the use of this?” Jack asked, appalled.“You will get the money intended for painters!” She replied.“Okay, there were supposed to be three of them, and there are eight of us and three of our female friends.” Jack continued, irritated with the tone of her voice and the smile on the boss's face. Who cares about that money? What she is talking about?’“I'm not gonna fire you!” The chief editor announced with a stern expression on her face this time. “Enough?”They didn't know how to react to it. Their assumptions that the witch was planning to kick out the entire team turned out to be correct. She was just looking for an excuse. Maybe they should take their feet by the waist and run where the pepper grows? They considered themselves as ‘racial intellectuals’, preferred to work with their brains’ grey cells than to exercise their muscles.In the end,
“Damn! We're straight, man!” Jack drawled through clenched teeth.“Do we need to watch your shapely butt, man?” Simon asked, laughing. He was the complete opposite of his younger friend: about thirty centimeters shorter, stocky build, but he didn't care at all.A long time ago, he had accepted the fact that he has no chance of becoming a model. However, that didn’t diminish his sense of great humor. Even in the most dramatic moments of the editorial office's life, he was able to summon a bit of optimism, reach for a piece of paper, a pencil and draw a caricature of one of his colleagues.“Get out, Simon! I'm in no mood for jokes!” Alex said, offended. He didn’t tolerate discussions about his appearance. He considered taking care of his body and soul as a completely natural thing and conversations about it were unnecessary.“Alex, please!” Adam was begging, terrified. “In a moment we will ha
“We'll count next time!” Alex threatened Jack. “I'm going to eat!” He added calmly. "I won't sit here with this hypocrite."“And you? Are you holy?” Jack began to laugh. “Look, here we have a picture of a flawless narcissist!”“I have a clear conscience, unlike you... Show off to your friends, corrupt traitor, what photos you gave to Leo Walker.” Alex said calmly."You don't have the right to give a shit about who I'm meeting and what I'm doing!" He almost shouted, upset.“With who? Leo Walker? Jack, what’s going on?” Thomas asked, concerned about what he heard. “Alex, could you explain what you are talking about?”“What pictures?&
The next day, just before nine o’clock, the chief editor came to the office. She was surprised to see the editorial team sitting at the collegiate table on a Friday morning.Alex and Adam came right behind her.“Good morning, gentlemen!” She greeted them.“Not good morning, but bad morning…” Michael began to complain about sleeplessness. In addition, regardless of the presence of the editor, he stretched as if he was still in bed in his bedroom, not at work.“Shut up, Michael!” Thomas sitting next to him, also sleepy, tried to bring him to order. "Dude, you barely got up, you're already complaining. You were supposed to change! Shave! Brush up!”"Shh..." Michael put a finger to his lips. “I have a headache! Don't yell behind my ears!”“Gentlemen, I have a surprise!” The chief editor announced. "There's a package on my desk in my office. Can one of you bring it in,