“But I don’t know the first thing about construction!” exclaimed Nina.
“That’s not a problem; you can get the necessary assistance from…” He consulted the list of employees and said the name of Nikolai Nikolayevich. “The main thing now is competency in financial matters, and that’s what you have.” He nodded towards the papers that Nina had prepared. “So, the bottom line is this – the company is worth the money that you ask, if you take it over. But not otherwise.”
That was logical – as a good businessman, Konstantin identified precisely the right solution. There was only one ‘but’ – for Nina, becoming director of the company that had been snatched from her father was out of the question.
“That’s impossible,” said Nina.
Konstantin gazed at her silently for some time and then asked, “Is that your final word?”
“Yes,” Nina replied without hesitation.
Konstantin said, “I see.”
He lowered his eyes and started leafing through Nina’s papers again, stopping at particular fragments. On one of the pages, he pointed out something else to the accountant. Then Konstantin got up.
“If you’ll excuse us, we need to deliberate.”
Nina rose readily. “I can wait in the reception…”
“Absolutely not!” Konstantin checked her with a gesture as he and Revich were leaving the office. “Please stay here. We’ll be back soon.”
However, that was far from soon. Nina had to sit in the office of Gradstroiinvest’s leader for a good hour and a half trying to anticipate what arguments Konstantin was going to use to put pressure on her. Konstantin’s secretary looked in to ask if Nina wanted something to drink. To give herself an occupation, Nina asked for a coffee, but when the coffee was brought, she was unable to drink it – so great was her tension.
At last, the door opened and the men were back.
“You win,” said Konstantin. “We accept your terms without any reservations.”
Nina left the office walking on air. Victory! She accomplished what had seemed impossible – netted a sum on the sale of the company which hardly any buyer would have paid even before all those recent troubles. Her father was rescued from poverty. In fact, he had never had a fraction of the money that was going to be credited to his account now. Nina imagined him recovering completely from his illness and becoming a free man: he and Lydia Grigorievna could travel, pursue any hobbies – do whatever they liked. If he wished, her father could find an application for his professional skills, too, – such an experienced engineer would easily get employment on any project. Only he should not try starting his own business again…
She was flattered by the thought that she had fulfilled her duty. Once she had promised her mother not to leave her father but help him through the hard times. She lived up to her promise.
Nina called Lydia Grigorievna to break the big news and let the woman know that she was coming to the hospital the next day to tell everything to Yevgeniy Borisovich. Nina even started giving some details to Lydia Grigorievna on the phone but stopped short. Her father’s wife did not appear to share Nina’s joy – the woman did not display any great interest in the news at all, but said simply, “It’s just as well. I’ve always thought that we’d be better off without that company.”
On her way to the hospital, Nina was no longer in such high spirits. How was her father going to take the deal? It was not in Nina’s character to boast, neither was she going to put herself on a pedestal now, but after all, he had to understand that she had worked a miracle…
As on some previous occasions, Nina was intercepted in the hall by Lydia Grigorievna. This time the woman actually blocked Nina’s way.
“Sorry, Ninochka, you can’t see papa now.”
“What’s up?” asked Nina worriedly.
“Nothing, it’s simply… He’s just a bit tired and is having a rest now.”
Nina did not understand. “But, Lydia Grigorievna, I’m just going to drop in for a minute. I’ll give him the very gist of it – after all, he needs to know what…”
Still, her father’s wife did not budge.
“No, Ninochka, sorry. Some other time,” she said, averting her eyes.
It came home to Nina at last that her father did not wish to see her.
She was dumbfounded. After all that she had done for him he would not let her, his daughter, into his hospital room!
Nina had almost never cried – not even in her childhood – but this time two tears slid uncontrollably down her cheeks.
“There, there, Ninochka, don’t take it to heart so,” Lydia Grigorievna said hastily, trying to quiet her down. “You know what temper he has, and his condition doesn’t help either… Just give it time, and everything will sort out. I’ll call you.”
Lydia Grigorievna was not a bad woman and she meant well, but Nina had no use for her soothing talk.
“Here, give it to him.”
Nina shoved the documents into the woman’s hands, turned round and left.
Lydia Grigorievna did not call – either the next day, or the day after, or even after a month. Clearly, Nina’s father would not let her do that. So, after all the heroic deeds that Nina had worked he bore her a grudge – believed that she had done him wrong. What was her fault exactly? Saving him?
Nina was badly wounded by the injustice. But there was something else. Deep down she had another disturbing feeling which she could never quite figure out – being in the right by any reasonable judgment, she still felt a traitress. What exactly her treason was she could not define, but the feeling filled her with emptiness and cold.
Over the twenty-six years of her life, Nina had not had a blacker streak. Everything that had been her life before was over now. She had lost her only family. She was probably going to restore some contact with her father eventually, but their relationship would never be the same again – that much was clear.
Nina was taking a sad inventory of her life. She had no family of her own. She had no boyfriend, and all her experience with the other sex did not provide any reason for optimism. She had some achievements in her profession, but she did not have a decent job. She had a one-room apartment, a good computer with high-speed Internet, a case of work-related books, and a pile of English detective stories on the bedside table. There were some good clothes in her wardrobe. On the upper shelf of the closet were her tennis things and a pair of male trainers left behind by a former lover.
Also, she had hatred. She was full of hatred – not any longer towards Konstantin, who had finally proved to be a decent person, but towards the unattainable Gradbank and its director Samsonov who, while not being aware of the existence of her father or herself, had destroyed their life by one of his decisions. She hated the mean, heartless world of business which crushed people like ants.
Nina remained in a kind of permanent stupor, unable to do anything or plan anything. She hardly noticed the passing of days and quite often could not say how she had spent the previous day – whether she had gone to work or stayed at home.
So it was going on until destiny interfered in the most undisguised manner. In her prostration, Nina neglected everything – her work, her apartment, herself. Among other things, she forgot to empty her mailbox. The box got packed up with advertisement stuff so that new papers were sticking out and falling down onto the floor. One such paper landed at her feet just as she was passing by. Nina picked it up and scanned it absent-mindedly.
Gradbank! The word was printed in bold type. It took Nina some time to take in the message. It was a vacancy advertisement – the bank wanted an employee for its analytical department.