If she had somehow got used to the jokes of her boss, then his care and ease next to her provoked emotions in the girl, which became more and more difficult to cope with.

The obscene dreams that had tormented her the previous night had practically become a reality! She saw her boss naked!

Correction: practically naked. But damn it! It was spectacular!

The girl slapped herself on the cheeks, "Okay, Hayes, work. You are at work." After taking a couple of slow breaths, Emily ran the key along the door and went into the department.

As expected, about a dozen eyes kept glancing in her direction as she walked to her desk.

Agh, let them think what they want! she decided. She could stand a month of sidelong glances and whispering without any problem.

She already had an unpleasant experience of gossip among colleagues. Only the last time they looked at her with pity. Now there was more surprise, interest and even a little envy in the eyes of the magazine staff.

Emily sat down at the table and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it was possible to work in peace. The girl opened the first article and began reading it.

"You are back! Thank God!" Catherine jumped to Hayes like a local-level tornado, sweeping away the whole working spirit.

"Something happened?" Emily came a bit late for quite objective reasons (which others do not need to know), but she was not a key player on the team to make a tragedy out of her absence.

"Ten more minutes and it will definitely happen! The guy from Gregor's office has looked for you twice!"

Gregor's office? Emily wondered. The mention of the name of the current editor-in-chief was hardly a good sign.

"Yes," Kat leaned over to the girl and added in a whisper, "He hates it when his orders are delayed. So you better hurry up. "

"Why hurry? Finish the article?"

"Article will wait! Go to him. He ordered you to come to his office," Joyce explained.

"Me?! What for?" After the morning news that she had broken the record for the views of this very Gregor, she wanted to meet with him even less.

"How should I know? In general, I do everything possible so that my paths do not intersect with him," Catherine twisted her face as if she had eaten a dozen lemons at once.

Emily didn't want to get to know this Gregor at all.

The male and female teams of the magazine worked separately and were separated by the programming department. The latter was responsible for the electronic layout of the magazine and the smooth operation of the Pharaoh application.

Emily walked through the programming department and noticed several people intently studying something on computers.

The far door led to the men's team section.

She swallowed. Of the entire group, the girl saw only two people - when they met her in the corridor at the entrance. And, another one in heels and in a dress, but she did not have time to see who that was.

Now she was to enter the holy of holies of the male world of the Pharaoh magazine. She felt like an envoy in the camp of the enemy, not knowing what she was preparing for - for an ordinary conversation or immediately for death.

The girl opened the door and went inside. To her surprise, it was quiet around. The long corridor and several doors leading to the offices were very different from the female section of the department.

Emily stepped carefully on the tiles, trying not to clatter her heels.

A lively discussion was taking place behind one of the half opened doors. The girl was not going to eavesdrop. But human curiosity was stronger.

"I bet a hundred that she is pregnant!" an unfamiliar male voice exclaimed, "You can even see her tummy!"

"Nah, there is no tummy there, and her butt is quite juicy," the second replied, "Although it is quite possible about pregnancy."

Just look at them! The truth is that men are even worse gossipers than women. Emily nodded to herself, having received confirmation of a long-known thesis.

In broad daylight they are discussing someone. Most likely from her colleagues.

"Have no doubt! Otherwise, why was she so easily recruited to the department? He just decided to keep his love doll close to keep an eye on her!"

For sure they are talking about one of the girls from her department.

"Did you see how she broke his lip? I heard she demanded that he give her the position of editor-in-chief or even a personal deputy, but he refused. So she punched him with all her might right in the face!"

What? Lip? Position? Stop! Who are they talking about now?!

"And today he called her to his office right after the planning meeting. This has never happened before. So I bet another hundred, this new one is pregnant!" someone concluded with gravity.

Whaaaaat?!

Emily froze with her mouth open. Are they talking about me?!

What the fuck?!

The girl pulled back her jacket, clenched her fists, and took a step forward.

Bams!

The door flew open with a bang.

"Hello, boys. Where can I find Gregor, can you tell me?" Emily's polite smile did not bode well.

The four men froze in their positions. Someone did not bring a cup of coffee to his mouth, someone simply forgot to close his mouth.

"Oh, you've got so much smoke here!" she coughed and pointedly put her hand on her stomach, "It's unhealthy to breathe that kind of air."

The men simultaneously put out their cigarettes on what was closest. One of them jumped up and flung open the window, letting in the fresh air.

"Gregor's office is the second door from the left," the one sitting closest to Emily squeezed out.

Oh, Mr. I-bet-a-hundred, the girl recognized his voice.

She looked at the man with an attentive glance, then slowly looked at everyone, as if she was trying to memorize them. The guys tensed noticeably. A couple of beads of sweat appeared on Mr. Betting-a-hundred's forehead.

"Thank you," Emily nodded, and left the room, leaving a dead silence behind her.