She Hid in the Storage Closet and Accidentally Overheard Her Boss’s Conversation
“Timofeeva, if that report isn’t on my desk today, I’ll throw you out to hell knows where—”
“Please don’t be angry, Elena Valeryevna. I’ll do everything,” Darya nodded, while thinking to herself that she would once again get scolded by her father.
The CEO had placed his daughter in an ordinary position so she could properly learn the business from the inside, because he was preparing her to become his successor. Her father often lamented that he had never had a son, while his daughter had shown no real interest in the family business. Darya did everything she could not to disappoint him. When the girl was five, her mother died, and her father raised her alone. He was a wonderful father. Despite how busy he was, he always tried to devote plenty of time to his daughter, explaining that one day she would sit in the CEO’s chair, which meant she had to study hard and then work hard to prove she deserved it.
However, it was difficult to work under such conditions, because everyone around her seemed to be conspiring against her and constantly putting obstacles in her way. From the very beginning, the manager under whose wing Ilya Igorevich had sent his precious daughter looked down on Dasha. The woman said that not everyone gets what they want with the snap of a finger, and she tried to overload her with work without even explaining what needed to be done. Darya coped, but each task became harder and harder. At the same time, Elena Valeryevna had never once said a kind word to Ilya Igorevich about his daughter—she only criticized her and called her useless. And now, if she failed to finish the report, her father would scold her. He might even throw her out and force her to marry so her husband could become his successor. But the girl had absolutely no desire to look for a husband out of convenience. She wasn’t in a hurry to tie her life to anyone so soon. If she married young, it would only be for love. And so far, she had not met that love.
Deciding that she might cheat a little, Darya went to the archive where old reports were kept. Since no one had properly explained how to do it, she could look through the old ones and figure it out. All the employees had gone to lunch, and no one would disturb her. However, the girl did not manage to do what she needed. When she went up to the third floor, where not everyone was allowed, she heard someone’s footsteps. There was nothing left to do but hide in a cramped storage closet where the cleaning lady kept some of her supplies. It was tight, but at least she could hope she would not be caught and accused of who-knew-what.
Judging by the footsteps, there were two people walking. As luck would have it, they stopped not far from the closet and opened the hallway window—Dasha realized this by the light breeze that slipped under the door.
“Elena Valeryevna, is everything ready?”
That voice belonged to Baryshev, the head of the department where Ilya Igorevich had sent his daughter.
To be caught by him and her immediate supervisor would be signing her own sentence. Darya shrank with fear. God forbid she misstep or sneeze. The closet was far too dusty, and from time to time her nose tingled unbearably. Holding back with all her strength, the girl tried to breathe more deeply without revealing her presence.
“Practically. I think the day is not far off when you will take the CEO’s chair. Although Ilya Igorevich owns such a large block of shares, still… lately he has begun to lose his grip. He no longer notices the obvious, and the shareholders will not like that. They will surely want to remove him, and you will be able to take his place, because it is you who will expose all his mistakes. Only…”
“Only what?” Baryshev hissed in an irritated tone.
“His daughter is creating certain difficulties. She sticks her nose where it doesn’t belong. The girl isn’t stupid. If the wrong documents fall into her hands, I’m afraid to even imagine what will happen.”
Darya felt her nails dig into the skin of her palms—she had clenched her fists too tightly. How dared these two start something behind her father’s back? She wanted to jump out and put them in their place, but first she had to find whatever it was they were trying so hard to hide. Feeling her own importance, Darya thought that maybe she wasn’t so useless after all. She could save her father from attempts to blacken his name. She only needed to understand exactly what these two were plotting—and what documents must not fall into her hands.
“Then do everything possible to send her packing. That girl is far too curious. No one must ruin our plan. I have endured a lot just to get close to the CEO’s chair.”
Darya almost blurted out that he shouldn’t count on it. She might not yet understand everything about how the company worked, but she knew for certain that one had to own a substantial block of shares to make a bid for the CEO’s place. Even if all the shareholders turned against her father, they were unlikely to trust Baryshev. The man who ran the financial department might have been smart, but the CEO’s position was too juicy a prize to simply hand over to him.
“Today I gave her an assignment. No matter how hard she tries, she won’t be able to finish the report in such a short time. So I will try to convince her father to temporarily remove his daughter, send her to some courses to study more… You needn’t worry. I hope you won’t forget about me when you take that long-desired position?”
“How could I forget you?” Baryshev chuckled.
Darya could barely hold herself together. In the tiny cramped space, she was already running catastrophically short of oxygen, and when the uninvited guests finally left, the girl hurried out. Now she was more certain than ever that she had to hold her ground and put in their place those who were up to no good. Taking a couple of reports from previous quarters, Darya returned to her desk. However, there was something she still could not understand. Remembering Matvey, the boy she had been friends with since childhood, she hurried to his department for help. She understood that it was against the rules, but she would never cope alone. Her father had been friends with Matvey’s family, and when the young man got his diploma, he immediately offered him a good position in his company. Though the two of them had hardly spoken after growing up, if there was anyone she could trust, it was him. Dasha did not hide the truth and told him everything she had overheard while hiding in the closet.
“They want to remove your father? Aren’t their ambitions a little too high?” Matvey frowned. “Of course I’ll help you. I also have some work of my own, but… I won’t let them get rid of you. And today I’ll stay late. We can check all the papers your supervisor keeps. Maybe we’ll be able to expose her faster than we think?”
Darya was delighted. Even though she and Matvey had not spoken much for years, he was still the same boy with a kind heart and a bright soul. People like him were worth their weight in gold.
Matvey did not just do the report for Darya—he explained everything to her, helped her prepare the summary, and in the end she managed to finish everything before the end of the day. The two agreed that they would stay late at work and, by closing time, hide somewhere so they could remain alone in the office. It was risky, but without proof Dasha could not turn to her father for help. He would still have nothing to accuse his employees of except his daughter’s words.
“Have you come to confess?” Elena Valeryevna asked in a contemptuous tone as soon as Dasha entered her office.
“Why would I? I brought the report. I finished it. You may review it.”
The woman accepted the folder of documents with a smirk on her face. She was certain the girl had failed, but she literally turned green with rage when she realized how badly mistaken she was.
“But how did you manage to finish everything if you always came running to me with every tiny question?”
“My father made you my mentor. Of course, I wanted to clarify with you everything I didn’t understand, but… you were not coping with your duties, so… I had to ask my father for help. Fortunately, he quickly laid everything out clearly, and I understood.”
Elena Valeryevna now flushed red like an overripe tomato. She looked ready to tear the place apart, and Darya was simply lying to her. Of course, she could not say right now who had really helped her, but she hoped that if they managed to find proof, she would tell her father everything immediately. Matvey certainly deserved a promotion…
To be continued just below in the first comment.
“Timofeeva, if that report isn’t on my desk today, I’ll throw you out with the rest of the—”
“Please don’t be angry, Elena Valeryevna. I’ll do everything,” Darya nodded quickly, while thinking to herself that her father would scold her again.
The general director had placed his daughter in an ordinary position so that she could properly learn the business from the inside, as he was preparing his successor. Her father often lamented that he had never had a son and that his daughter had shown no interest in the family business. Darya tried her best not to disappoint him. When she was five years old, her mother died, and her father raised her alone. He was a wonderful father. Despite how busy he was, he always tried to spend plenty of time with his daughter, explaining that one day she would take the general director’s chair, which meant she had to study hard and then work hard to prove that she deserved it.
However, it was difficult to work under such conditions, because everyone around her seemed to have conspired against her and kept putting obstacles in her way. From the very beginning, the manager under whose wing Ilya Igorevich had placed his precious daughter looked down on Dasha. The woman used to say that not everyone got what they wanted with the snap of a finger, and she loaded her with work without even explaining what it was about. Darya managed, but every time the tasks grew more difficult. At the same time, Elena Valeryevna never said a single kind word to Ilya Igorevich about his daughter; she only criticized her and called her useless. And now, if she failed to finish the report, her father would reprimand her. He might even throw her out and force her to marry so that her husband would become his successor. But the girl had no desire at all to look for a husband out of calculation. She was in no hurry to tie her life to someone so soon. If she married young, it would only be for love. And so far, she had not yet met the love of her life.
Deciding she could cheat a little, Darya went to the archive where old reports were stored. Since no one had properly explained how to do it, she could look through the previous ones and figure it out. All the employees had gone to lunch, so no one would disturb her. However, she did not manage to do what she needed. When she went up to the third floor, where not everyone was allowed, she heard footsteps. There was nothing left to do but hide in a cramped utility closet where the cleaning lady kept some of her supplies. It was tight, but at least she could hope no one would catch her and accuse her of who-knew-what.
From the sound of the steps, it was clear there were two people. As luck would have it, they stopped not far from the closet and opened a window in the corridor—Dasha understood this from the light draft that slipped under the door.
“Elena Valeryevna, is everything ready?” The voice belonged to Baryshev, the department head to whose department Ilya Igorevich had assigned his daughter.
To be caught by him and her immediate supervisor would be like signing her own sentence. Darya shrank in fear. God forbid she should stumble or sneeze. The closet was far too dusty, and every so often her nose started to itch. Holding herself back as best she could, the girl tried to breathe deeply without giving away her presence.
“Almost. I think the day is not far off when you’ll take the general director’s chair. Although Ilya Igorevich owns such a large block of shares, still… lately he’s been losing his grip. He no longer notices the obvious, and the shareholders won’t like that. They’ll surely want to remove him, and you’ll be able to take his place, because it will be you who exposes all his mistakes. Only…”
“Only what?” Baryshev hissed in an irritated tone.
“His daughter is causing certain difficulties. She sticks her nose where it doesn’t belong. The girl isn’t stupid. If the wrong papers fall into her hands, I’m afraid to imagine what will happen.”
Darya felt her nails digging into the skin of her palms—she had clenched her fists too tightly. How dared these two start something behind her father’s back? She wanted to jump out and put them in their place, but first she had to find what they were trying so hard to hide. Suddenly feeling her own importance, Darya thought that perhaps she wasn’t so useless after all. She could save her father from attempts to blacken his name. She only needed to understand exactly what the two of them were planning—and which documents must not fall into her hands.
“Then do everything possible to send her packing. That girl is far too curious. No one must ruin our plan. I’ve endured a lot to get close to the general director’s chair.”
Darya almost blurted out that he was dreaming. She might not yet understand everything about the company’s business, but she knew for sure that you had to own a considerable block of shares to make a bid for the general director’s seat. Even if all the shareholders turned against her father, they would hardly trust Baryshev. The man who ran the finance department might have been smart, but the general director’s position was too juicy a prize to hand over to him.
“Today I gave her an assignment. No matter how hard she tries, she won’t be able to complete that report in such a short time. So I’ll try to convince her father to suspend his daughter for a while, send her off to take some courses and learn more… You don’t need to worry. I hope you won’t forget about me when you take that long-desired position?”
“How could I forget you?” Baryshev chuckled.
Darya could barely hold herself together. In the tiny cramped space, she was already catastrophically short of air, and when the uninvited guests finally left, she hurried out. Now she was more certain than ever that she had to stand her ground and put in their place those who were plotting something vile. Taking a couple of reports from previous quarters, Darya returned to her workplace. However, there was something she still could not understand. Remembering Matvey, a guy she had been friends with since childhood, she hurried to his department for help. She understood that it was against the rules, but she definitely could not handle it alone. Her father had been friends with Matvey’s family, and when the young man got his diploma, he immediately offered him a good position in his company. They barely spoke anymore as adults, but if there was anyone she could trust, it was him.
Dasha did not hide the truth and told him everything she had heard while hiding in the closet.
“They want to remove your father? Aren’t they reaching a little too high?” Matvey frowned. “Of course I’ll help you. I have some work of my own too, but… I won’t let them get rid of you. And I’ll stay late today. We can check all the papers your supervisor keeps. Maybe we’ll be able to expose her faster than we think.”
Darya was delighted. They had not spoken much lately, but Matvey was still the same guy with a kind heart and a bright soul. People like him were worth their weight in gold. Matvey didn’t just do the report for Darya—he explained everything to her, helped her prepare the summary, and in the end she managed to finish everything by the end of the day. The two agreed they would stay late at work and, near closing time, hide somewhere so they could remain alone in the office. It was risky, but without evidence Dasha could not go to her father for help. He would have nothing to accuse his employees of except his daughter’s words.
“Have you come to confess?” Elena Valeryevna asked in a contemptuous tone as soon as Dasha entered her office.
“Why would I? I came with the report. I finished it. You may take a look.”
The woman accepted the folder of documents with a smirk on her face. She was sure the girl had failed, but she literally turned green with rage when she realized how badly mistaken she was.
“But how did you manage to do all this if you always came running to me with every tiny question?”
“My father appointed you as my mentor. Of course I wanted to clarify everything I didn’t understand with you, but… you weren’t coping with your duties, so… I had to ask my father for help. Luckily, he quickly laid everything out clearly, and I understood.”
Elena Valeryevna now flushed red like an overripe tomato. She was ready to explode, though Darya was simply lying to her. Of course, she could not say now who had helped her, but she hoped that as soon as they found evidence, she would tell her father everything. Matvey definitely deserved a promotion.
“Did I do everything correctly? Or will you argue with my father’s advice?” icy notes sounded in Darya’s voice.
She understood that her supervisor might find fault with the report, say something in it was wrong, just to spite her and try to get rid of her. But now she no longer had the slightest chance to argue—after all, she couldn’t very well claim the general director had explained something incorrectly, could she?
Darya left, and as closing time approached, she hurried to hide again, this time in a first-floor utility closet. It was a good thing her father had taken care of the cleaning staff, and the necessary supplies were kept on every floor. These closets were not used very often, since they were backups for emergencies, which meant it was easy to hide there.
After making sure everyone had left and the lights were off, Darya climbed out of her hiding place and went to her supervisor’s office, lighting the way with a flashlight. She did not know what she was looking for—she had never considered herself much of a detective—but she was determined to dig out the truth. When she saw Matvey, Darya was overjoyed. She was grateful to him for agreeing to help in spite of everything. He could be fired if nothing came of it and someone found out about what they were up to. And still he had agreed to take the risk. He had simply believed Darya’s words. That meant a lot.
“Thank you for staying with me.”
“It’s nothing. No need to thank me. I just hope we manage to find something, because otherwise I’ll have to hand in my resignation,” Matvey laughed softly.
He understood perfectly well the risks he had taken, and still he did it.
After spending several hours searching for who-knew-what, Darya had already begun to think that she had imagined the conversation between the department head and her supervisor. What if her imagination had run wild, and they had been talking about something completely different? Despair was slowly beginning to wrap itself around her like a tight cocoon, but then Matvey called out and beckoned her over. Their phone batteries were already dying, so they had to use only one in order to save the other, and the darkness pressed heavily on their eyes. Stumbling, Darya almost fell, but Matvey was right there and caught her. The moment of closeness embarrassed them both, but there was no time to get distracted. The young man pointed to the fake reports Elena Valeryevna had been preparing in order to accuse Ilya Igorevich of negligence.
“I don’t know how they planned to stage all this in the end. Did they really mean to forge his signature? Their incompetence is obvious here. Anyway, we have proof. True, there’s still no way to pin anything on Baryshev yet,” Matvey scratched the back of his head.
But Darya had already come up with a plan. Overjoyed that they had finally found proof of the corporate coup being prepared, the girl impulsively hugged Matvey. Only when she realized it was not entirely appropriate did he hug her back, and she blushed.
After spending the night in the dark, chilly office and hardly sleeping at all, Matvey and Darya went to Ilya Igorevich first thing in the morning and asked him to come in early. The man was upset that his daughter had not come home for the night, and when he learned the reason, he was furious that something like this had been attempted right under his nose.
Elena Valeryevna was shocked that so many people were gathered in her office, including the general director himself. She tried to justify herself as soon as she learned the reason for the unexpected inspection, but Darya stepped forward and declared that the department head had told them about her schemes.
“Baryshev told you? How dare he? I did all of this because he ordered me to. And now he wants to get away clean?” And once again the deception worked. Elena Valeryevna told them about all the fraudulent schemes she and the department head had been carrying out, about all the hidden traps they had inserted into documents so they could eventually accuse the general director of incompetence.
After thanking Dasha and Matvey for a job well done, Ilya Igorevich ordered them to go home and get some proper rest, while he himself called the police to deal with and punish the swindlers who had been working right under his nose.
Since Elena Valeryevna was fired and Dasha had proven herself well, she was appointed the new supervisor. Matvey promised that he would help her with everything and explain anything she did not understand about the company’s work. Ilya Igorevich saw that the childhood friends had grown close again. He appointed Matvey as his daughter’s mentor and watched as their relationship slowly grew into something more than simple friendship. The man understood that he would have a worthy successor, and that Matvey and Dasha would one day build a strong, loving family. They would take care not only of each other, but also of the family business. Ilya Igorevich was proud of his daughter and happy that fate had brought her together with a worthy man.
