Rebeka – 7. chapter
“Would you like some coffee?” the young woman at reception asked as Rebeka collected her mail that morning.
“No, thank you.”
“You don’t drink coffee?”
“I do drink coffee. I just know how to make it myself. Assistants aren’t here to wait on me,” Rebeka explained calmly, still paying more attention to the envelopes and their senders.
“And friends are?” the creature didn’t back off.
Rebeka became alert. Without lifting her head, she raised only her eyes to that smile.
“…are you sleeping with any of the men I piss off?”
The smile vanished, and the woman snapped.
“No.” Then, in an even more arrogant tone, she added, “Ma’am.”
Rebeka smiled, hesitated, then straightened her head.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It was inappropriate.”
The smile returned. Rebeka reached her hand over the counter.
“Hi. I’m Rebeka.”
“Oh… Lenka.” Her hand trembled. “…I can’t be informal with you. No one in the company does.”
“I don’t see the logical connection,” Rebeka said, shaking her head in confusion. Then she shrugged.
“You can say we were classmates once. Age-wise, it roughly fits.”
She turned to leave.
“That’s unlikely,” Lenka said doubtfully. “I didn’t graduate at seventeen.”
Rebeka chuckled.
“That’s a rumor? Nonsense. I graduated at a normal age.”
“But with an above-average IQ.”
Rebeka winked at her warmly and walked away.
Erik felt uneasy all day. After last night’s secret conversation and the final promise from the other side, he knew this was the calm before the storm. And yet the storm refused to come. No shocking email. No new information. He caught glimpses of Rebeka a few times, but she behaved as she always did, calm and confident.
The message arrived the next morning, an email announcing a meeting of the board members and division directors. Today at four.
He exhaled deeply. He pictured Rebeka angry and smiled with satisfaction. He hoped no one had told her what the meeting would be about. He wanted to be there, to see her pretty face when she realized things wouldn’t go the way she wanted. That she would have to accept other people’s decisions. He didn’t even try to suppress the sense of vindication that took hold of him.
When Rebeka stopped by his office a little later, he waited tensely for what would come. She asked him a few unrelated questions and left.
She doesn’t know, he realized. The meeting is soon, and she’s completely calm. Perfect. I’m looking forward to your defeat, girl!
A few hours later, she had him called to her office. That sparked tension in him for a moment, but the first look at her face told him she wasn’t angry. Still composed and calm as an Englishman.
“Should I lock it?” he asked immediately.
“Yes,” she agreed.
He smiled and obeyed. When he turned back toward her, she had a box in her hands and tossed it to him. He caught it and didn’t even need to open it. The transparent lid revealed a luxury vibrator.
