The girl was smoking her fifth cigarette when two men looked in on her. One of them was a tanned, burning brunette with a small beard and a sly expression, the other was a stately, pale English aristocrat with short-cropped red hair.
"Eric, Edward, not a good morning," Elena turned to them, "are you aware of this yet?"
"The company is buzzing like a beehive. Everyone is in shock. Of course,
we've had our first clients stolen. And they could have sold us shares in leading French companies. And now we need to look for new sellers," Eric Welch, the head of security, spread his hands.
- Calm down, Eric, I've already found it. Well, almost, -
Nixon checked something on his phone again.
- Find out everything about the English stock market and report to me in the next two hours, Edward. Eric, find out everything about the director of "Nobu"
and his entourage. If they want a war. They will get it, - Elena sat down in the chair.
Welch nodded and left the office. And Nixon, taking a laptop from his briefcase, sat down opposite Lincoln and began to diligently type something.
- How was graduation? - Elena asked.
- Oh, great. Marie got her diploma and is going to Tokyo for an internship. Ginny is going with her, and I will work here so that they have money, - Edward smiled. - How are you? Have you found your King of the Bottom?
- No, and I didn't think so. Love is for fools, Edward and I won't be a fool because of some pretty boy. I'd rather be smart and smear these nobodies on the wall, - Elena grinned.
Unexpectedly, the phone on Lincoln's desk rang.
With a lazy, graceful gesture, the girl picked up the receiver.
- Ellie, hi. Listen, I'm here with Elliot two blocks away, come by. We're picking out a dress for me and we'll pick out one for you. And anyway, it's time to update your wardrobe, summer trends rule, - Mia blurted out everything she wanted to tell her niece in one gulp and Elena laughed. Mia Gray, Christian's younger sister, was known as a frivolous fashionista and a flirt. It was thanks to her that Elena learned all the latest fashion trends and show business news.
- Aunt Mia, as always, you come to the rescue in difficult times. Come in, of course, and take Elliot, and I'll order us lunch and more napkins. I can't go shopping yet. Work. But by Saturday,
we'll get out somewhere, - Elena smiled at Edward and he just shrugged.
- Great, we're already on our way. Hello Constance, Welch and Nixon too. Lelliot, tear yourself away from the display case with dishes, we're going to Elena's, she's treating us, - Elena heard the last phrase and hung up.
And 15 minutes later, Mia Gray fluttered into Elena's spacious and bright office. A miniature brunette with lively eyes, dark skin and an unchanging smile. It was she who was the first to soften little Elena, who was acting like a wild animal in the Grays' house when she got there. It was no secret to anyone in the Gray family circle that Elena was Christian and Anastasia's adopted daughter, whom they rescued from the clutches of slave traders who tortured Lincoln by putting her on display as a submissive at a BDSM show.
But the girl experienced more than that...
Torture, hunger, cold, a dark punishment cell for any offense - all of this was a nightmare for Elena from the age of 4 to 8, when her uncle, Thomas Lincoln, sold her for a good sum of money and a stake in Lincoln House. But the Grays saved her and gave the girl a chance at a normal life.
Elena's POV.
- Me! - I hug my aunt and laugh. Only she - my favorite woman in the Gray family after Anastasia could lift my mood with just her appearance.
Al, you're a hard worker, I missed you so much, Mia immediately loosens her embrace and reaches into her Chanel bag. My desk is filled with the entire summer collection of cosmetics from Lancome and Dior.
Mia, you're the same as always, I scold her.
No, damn, you'd only use foundation without me. And now you'll be a beauty, you'll knock down all the French, Mia sits down in an armchair by the fireplace.
I won't knock you down, they've gone to Nobu, I immediately grow gloomy.
Nobu? Wait, did you say Nobu? It's because of them that my restaurant in Berlin closed, I hear Elliot's voice. He comes in behind Mia and winks at me. Big, strong, with an unchanging smile and a red hedgehog on his head.
What do you mean? I feel uneasy.
If Elliot, the first chef in New York, couldn't do well because of these monsters, then what can we say about me?
- They arranged accidents for my employees, sometimes fatal, bribed investors, paid the media to write only negative reviews of my restaurant. Once they waited for me when I was returning from boxing and almost beat me up. Fortunately, I had been honing my self-defense techniques for five years. Their director knows no mercy, he is capable of anything, Elena. Behind his back they call him the Cannibal.
I shudder at the last word. In my childhood, I knew a man with similar habits and character. But if then I was a helpless victim, now I will give battle and win it, no matter what it costs me.