My seductive boss read online. My sweet boss

good boss is the dream of every person. But we all understand that a competent manager respects his subordinates, and also knows how to motivate people. This is necessary so that each member labor collective grew both as a professional and as a leader. However, if you are lucky with the boss from an emotional point of view, this does not mean that you are lucky in terms of professional development. In fact, a strict boss can be much more effective than a gentle manager who wants to please everyone and everyone.

Two opposite categories

Those who have worked in different companies have probably met different bosses. They generally fall into two main categories: Democrat bosses and autocrats. Some are ready to bring subordinates closer to themselves and are not too demanding on performance. Such a boss wants to please everyone, he only cares about the reputation of "his guy", a Democrat to the core. Often he asks the team members to address him as "you", thereby establishing an informal, friendly atmosphere.

Disadvantages of a Democrat Boss

However, the Democrat boss has its own big minus. He is afraid to set excessive goals for employees and introduce unpopular measures. It is worth challenging employees and putting them in a difficult situation, as he will immediately become unpopular. As a result, the Democrat boss unwittingly lowers the bar for his subordinates. Not surprisingly, in his working environment, production efficiency can limp on both legs.

Autocrat boss

The antipode of the democrat, the autocrat, on the contrary, does not care about his popularity in the team. He only cares about performance. And it is absolutely unimportant in what ways he will achieve results from his subordinates. He can punish with a ruble, shout and not reckon with anyone's opinion. However, there are many successful leaders among this category of managers. They come to work already focused on the final result, they appreciate every minute and do not tolerate delays. The decisions of the autocratic boss are non-negotiable, and every member of the team is well aware of this.

Based on a real example

As an illustrative example, let's refer to the experience of American real estate guru Bill Sanders. Here is what his longtime colleague, former Executive Director Verde Realty Ronald Blankenship: “Everyone knew that Bill demanded results. And if you were really going to work with him, you had to hit your ass, but achieve the main goal.

Great leaders are not afraid to make tough demands.

A good boss is not afraid to set a rigid set of requirements for his subordinates. He does not stand on ceremony with anyone and is not ready to play the role of a nanny. Paradoxically, his absolute desire for excellence and focus on results inspire more respect among the company's employees. And commitment to a common cause and a unique inspiring vision of the business adds points in the eyes of subordinates.

But where there is respect, there is loyalty. As a result, initially absolutely unpopular leaders earn more love and trust than Democrat bosses. Of course, by the phrase "tough boss" we do not mean a psychopathic boss. This person is not used to insulting and humiliating his subordinates or feeding on their negative energy. By demanding compliance with the rules, he wants the business of his company to prosper, which means that he wants well-being for each employee individually.

How not to become a victim of a Democrat boss?

To get started, answer our questions honestly and count the number of affirmative answers. During the past year, have you ever been punished for any missteps? Don't have clear and meaningful goals set for your team members? Are you given bonuses or compensation just for effort? Do you perceive your boss as too soft and welcoming person? Is he willing to mitigate negative feedback? Do your colleagues tend to stop there? If you have three or more yes answers, your boss is being too soft on you.

If you want to be successful in career ladder or achieve unprecedented heights in their industry, working under his leadership will not be the best solution. Only a tough manager can lead to the goal. Undoubtedly, he puts pressure on his subordinates, sometimes it is not entirely pleasant. But all these unpopular measures force people to do their best work.

Conclusion

A good boss is ambitious and quite aggressive. He clearly articulates his expectations and can make your current results public. However, transparency in the team contributes to the birth of healthy competition. A demanding boss would not think of lowering the bar of expectations just because one of his subordinates failed to cope with the task. At the same time, all members of the team do not stand still, together they learn and develop.

Shirley Rogers

MY AWESOME BOSS

Chapter first

The winner of this evening's final draw, winning bachelor number ten, is... Jennifer Cardone!

In surprise, Jennifer opened her mouth and stared at the host of the charity evening, where she came with her best friend Casey McDaniel. Deafening laughter, shouts and a flurry of applause broke out in a chic ballroom located in a hotel near the Elizabeth River, in downtown Norfolk.

Did she win? My God! Jennifer found it difficult to breathe - she paid for a date with a man!

From the moment she agreed to take part in the event, which hosts an auction of prominent bachelors, Jennifer wondered if she was all right in the head. And so she won.

When the excitement around died down, she gritted her teeth and looked with hatred at her friend sitting at the same table with her.

Casey, I'll kill you!

Will you kill me? It's the best thing that could happen to you," Casey smirked. - Congratulations!

I don’t understand how I let you drag me into this auction,” Jennifer said through her teeth, trying to squeeze out a smile.

You wanted a baby, - Casey reminded gruffly.

But not from a stranger!

As her thirtieth birthday loomed, Jennifer felt the ticking of the clock. She really really wanted a child. But there were no candidates, especially those with whom I would like to live the rest of my life, on the horizon. Desperate, she even began to consider the possibility of artificial insemination. When Casey found out about her plans, she offered to have a short-term affair with someone, and then give birth without his knowledge.

Unlike the reckless and promiscuous Casey, Jennifer never acted recklessly. However, she caught herself thinking that she was thinking about the auction - after all, this is a great opportunity to meet a man from whom she wants to give birth to a child.

What will I do if the office finds out about this? - Jennifer was the vice president of a thriving manufacturing company. computer programs. In addition to paying over a thousand dollars for a date, this will put her in an awkward position. Who cares that this is just a charity event? The main thing is a good reason to gossip.

Jennifer, have fun and be more talkative with this bachelor. What if he turns out to be the guy of your dreams?

Well, of course, - muttered Jennifer. The man of her dreams was Alex Dunnigan, her boss. He appreciated her business qualities, but in the five years that she worked with him, he never once looked at her as a woman.

Jennifer, get up on stage and join the rest of the winners, the presenter announced.

Jennifer sank into a chair and covered her face with her hands.

No, it just can't be.

Go, your name is, - Casey laughed.

I cant. she pleaded. - Casey, please go instead of me.

Casey grabbed her arm and pulled her off the chair.

Don't keep yourself waiting.

As soon as Jennifer stood up, the audience hummed excitedly. She looked around the room with a keen gaze, and her cheeks flushed.

Come on," Casey urged. Jennifer was on fire as she approached the stage, her steps became more and more uncertain. The host, a pleasant lady in her forties, smiled affably at her.

Jennifer looked around the hall for Mary Davis, her boss's aunt, the elderly woman who had persuaded Jennifer to come to this charity event and support her. Jennifer began to shake as she imagined how Alex would react to all this. In principle, the boss was indulgent about her silent adoration. Now he, along with other employees of the company, will probably tease her.

In truth, their platonic relationship suited Jennifer very well. Alex Dunnigan did not believe in a long-term serious relationship, and Jennifer did not like the role of another trophy.

As she approached the steps leading to the stage, her legs shook even more. A young man came out to meet her. Most likely, he was, like her brother, about twenty-eight. He smiled broadly and winked at Jennifer. The young man helped her up onto the stage and she took her place among the other women.

Jennifer was standing on the stage, her heart was beating so hard that it seemed that she was about to jump out, but she tried to smile and look pleased. You only have to hold out for a few minutes, and then she will find Mary and try to leave quickly. First, of course, she will thank her, give the money to charity and politely refuse a date with the bachelor she has won. Yes, that's exactly what she will do!

So, dear girls, it's time to see those with whom you will go on a date, - the presenter announced enthusiastically. The audience burst into applause. When the noise died down, the presenter continued: - Just don't turn around yet. The bachelors you won will stand behind you, but they will have blindfolds on their eyes, so that they will not be able to see you either. On command, you will turn around and remove these bandages.

Jennifer heard footsteps approaching, and then she felt someone stop behind her. The hall was filled with laughter and applause.

Jennifer took a deep breath. The stranger's perfume stirred the senses. The smell is amazing, intriguing and for some reason painfully familiar.

Jennifer missed the command to remove the bandages. She only turned because the women next to her had done so. The blood pounded in my temples so hard that it drowned out the noise of the audience and the excited whispers of the winners.

Alex! She couldn't believe her eyes. Her boss stood in front of her, wearing an impeccably tailored tuxedo that showed off his slender figure.

Jennifer's gaze involuntarily slid first over the black headband, then over the dark hair, and settled on the delicate features of her face. Alex's lips stretched into a smile, but the rapidly pulsing wreath around his neck betrayed him. He obviously didn't like the idea, and Jennifer could only guess at the expression on her boss's face when he saw who exactly won it.

Well, they both got into a stupid position. Jennifer's heart eased a little. If Alex, like her, is not enthusiastic about this idea, he will look for a way to get away faster. So maybe things will turn out for the best.

Looks like our latest winner is a little shy, commented Jennifer's lead hesitation. Laughter swept through the hall.

Everyone is waiting for you to remove the bandage from the man you won, ”the woman continued.

Jennifer was embarrassed - she was the only one who did not remove the bandage. Alex took her hands in his hands, and

BOOKSHELF OF A SUCCESSFUL EXECUTIVE

Superbosses. How great leaders lead and manage talent

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Find your Why. Practical guide to find a target

Famous motivational speaker Simon Sinek believes that people become successful only when they can answer the question “Why?”. In his book, he gives specific steps to discover your goal and helps you build your own concept of work and personal effectiveness.

Inspire with your speech. 23 storytelling rules from the best TED Talks speakers

Colleagues start to get bored and whispering already in the second minute of your speech with a presentation? What do you lack in order to captivate with your idea? In this book, Akash Karia analyzed the speeches of the outstanding speakers of the TED Talks and formulated 23 effective rules with which you can blow your audience away.

The Great Coach Manifesto: How to Go from a Good Athlete to a Great Champion

Legendary coach Tim Grover, mentor of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, shares for the first time his experience in managing a team and the rules of behavior in stressful situations. The psychological techniques used by him in coaching practice can be successfully used in any area of business and life. With a relentless serve, Grover can make a great champion not just from a budding basketball player, but from you as well!

Thanks

I thank God with all my heart for giving me the opportunity and strength to write this book.

My deep bow to Vladimir Konstantinovich Tarasov, director and founder of the Tallinn School of Managers (www.tarasov.ru). teacher, thanks to whom I I found my way and under whose good mentorship I took the first, most important steps along this path. The wisdom of his books, seminars, answers to questions and deep personal conversations became the basis and core of this book. Many of my thoughts in it are the recommendations of Vladimir Tarasov, passed through my own experience and the prism of perception. Separate verbal formulas are borrowed from his comments on "Managerial duels" and answers to questions during trainings. Where there is a direct quote, I I give links to the relevant books and audio courses of Vladimir Konstantinovich.

I express my deep gratitude to my friend and partner Igor Ryzov for his help, participation and constructive criticism. In the process of our joint creative and coaching work, the very idea of this book was born. And thanks to his inspiring energy and ability to find the right words of support, she was born on schedule.

I am grateful to all the participants of the evening Management Wrestling Club "Tandem", to all those who have ever attended my trainings, for questions and examples that made it possible to understand what exactly this book should be about, what chapters it needs. And your desire to develop your managerial and negotiation art was the most important motivator for writing it. I am grateful to my parents Irina Aleksandrovna and Petr Pavlovich, my brother Alexander for the values that formed the basis of my life and on which I based on the writing of the book.

Prologue

I, like many leaders, have always been worried about the question: how should the boss be - soft or hard? I spent years searching for an answer to it. These were the years of work as a commercial and general director, systematic business training, reading business literature, activities as a business coach and owner consulting company. Eventually, I realized that even professional community there is no consensus on this issue.

On the one hand, there are many arguments that tough leaders are more effective. As a rule, they keep discipline in the team better, uncompromisingly demand “fulfilment and observance” from subordinates, do not allow them to “sit on their necks”, manage money better, do not scatter the resources of the organization, resolve issues faster, spend less time talking and persuasion. Sometimes they are so afraid that their mere appearance or glance makes subordinates become more active and get to work without unnecessary wrangling.

However, this coin has a downside, and a tough management style has side effects. Initiative, full of ideas, creative, ready to take responsibility employees do not want to work under such leaders. And those who remain are getting used to the fact that “everything is decided by our boss”, that their opinion is unlikely to be taken into account when making decisions. And this not only demotivates subordinates, but also reduces the quality of the leader's decisions themselves. In addition, it automatically centralizes their acceptance, locking on the personality of the boss, making him a “bottleneck” in the company, making it difficult for him to get out of operational management.

Perhaps this is why soft bosses are often more successful when working in conditions that require collective decision-making, employee involvement, executive initiative, creativity, and proactivity. It is precisely with such, as they are called, “democratic” leaders that highly qualified subordinates prefer to work more often, whether they are experienced top managers, medical workers, teachers, programmers, designers, etc. They know that they will be heard, that their interests and opinions will be taken into account as much as possible. But many legendary leaders directly said that they considered it their task to select talented subordinates, create conditions for them, and then simply not interfere with work.

But still, excessive softness gives rise to many problems. Soft leaders find it harder to cope with assertive, wayward subordinates, as well as their unwillingness to change, lack of discipline and other deviations from the role of a subordinate. This hinders the speed of achieving the result, increases its cost, and some issues generally remain unresolved. In addition, other employees see softness with individual subordinates, which reduces the quality of their work and lowers the authority of the leader in their eyes.

What conclusion did I come to? Neither the hard boss nor the soft boss is the epitome of efficiency. Extremes are harmful. The leader should strive for the golden mean, and it is to be accurate. It is the accuracy in the performance of one's role that guarantees the achievement of results with the least resources, the growth of the boss's authority and the level of motivation of employees.

But here a problem arises. During routine daily work, a trained or just an experienced leader will easily act exactly in his role: set tasks, hold meetings, collect and communicate information, etc. Deviations in the direction of excessive softness or rigidity occur when a leader encounters a subordinate in complex negotiation situation: bargaining for wages, dealing with misdeeds, resistance to demands, unpleasant changes, the need to “tame the irreplaceable”, etc. It is in such and similar stressful moments that we tend to automatically return to familiar, but not very effective models Behaviors: Naturally soft bosses start to give way, naturally tough bosses start to push.

I realized that if you collect best scenarios actions in the most difficult management situations, this will allow each leader to always, no matter what happens, remain accurate, efficient, authoritative. And I devoted several years of my life to collecting all these difficult situations, systematizing them and finding best practics their permissions. I collected them from my consulting and management practice, from communication with thousands of managers at trainings and individual consultations. All these scenarios are born from practice and are collected so that you can apply them in your daily management activities.

This book is a guide to action for any leader in problem situations.

Introduction

✓ Negotiations with subordinates as an art

✓ Why was this book written?

✓ Where did the scenarios presented in the book come from?

✓ Who is this book for?

✓ How to use the book?

✓ Feedback

Negotiating with subordinates as an art

I think you will agree, dear reader, that the work of a leader largely consists of negotiations with subordinates. And the authority of the leader, the commitment of employees, and ultimately the profit of the company depend on the ability to conduct them.

If we look at the five basic components in the work of a leader that Peter Drucker identifies, we will see that each of them includes negotiations with subordinates.

1. Setting goals and communicating them to employees.

2. Organizational work. Selection of people for a specific job.

3. Communication with employees and their motivation.

4. Measurement of indicators and Feedback with employees based on the results of the measurement.

5. Development of your employees. Help them discover their abilities.

Thus, we see that negotiations with subordinates permeate all the work of the leader. Sometimes these negotiations become difficult or very difficult due to the nature or “indispensability” of the subordinate, a difficult situation, a hot topic, conflicts of interest, lack of resources, previous managerial mistakes, etc.

Negotiations with subordinates are further complicated by the fact that you need to win or at least not lose in such negotiations on three coordinates at once: 1) business interests; 2) relationships with people; 3) the power and authority of the leader.

Therefore, there are no simple solutions in negotiations with subordinates. For example, if you simply put pressure on a subordinate, this will lead to his demotivation, if you make concessions to him, the authority of the leader may suffer, etc.

Factors that increase the complexity of negotiations

1. The complexity of the situation.

2. Conflict of interests of the parties.

3. The need to at least not lose simultaneously on three coordinates: 1) business interests; 2) relationships with people; 3) the power and authority of the leader.

4. Conflict, emotionality, ambition, unwillingness or inability to negotiate at least one of the parties.

Both negotiation and managing subordinates are an art. And this means that non-standard moves are valued here, the creation of rules, and not following them, individual style, etc. In addition, it is impossible to become a master in any art only by reading books. Try to become a master in boxing, karate, art or even culinary arts by reading even very good literature. Without practice, there will be little sense.

There is no guarantee that according to the recipe book you will cook a tastier cake than your grandmother, who did not read such books. Even if you read an encyclopedia of self-defense techniques, it's not a fact that you won't be beaten by a non-martial arts hooligan who does have extensive practice in street fights. In the same way, there is no guarantee that, having read all the books on managing subordinates and negotiations, you will surpass in this art a leader who has not read books, but is able to get the desired action from a subordinate with one look without any negotiations.

Why was this book written?

Studying the topic of impact on people's behavior I I became interested at the age of 12, when, to prepare for a report at a city conference on physics, I read a book by Dale Carnegie about the art of public speaking. I read and managed to apply a lot of the book, which made the performance a success. I I realized that “it works”, and since then my interest in psychological, and then business and business literature began to grow. But most importantly, I I learned that a lot of what I read even in Western books, for example, on management, is quite applicable in practice.

In many ways, it was this habit of “learning and applying” that allowed me to become a leader quite early, and subsequently, together with each of the teams with which I was lucky enough to work, to achieve my goals. But no matter how much I read books on management, negotiations with my subordinates did not come easier from this ...

Often during these negotiations, I felt that I was not behaving very correctly and effectively when I was trying to “push through” a subordinate or, on the contrary, being afraid of his departure, I was making concessions to him. When I encounter resistance or dissatisfaction, I don’t know how to respond to an unexpected attack, I show unnecessary emotions, etc.

I really wanted to understand in each such episode what exactly I was doing wrong and how in general it was necessary to act in such cases. Making one mistake after another I I was looking for a book in which it would be written how to behave in a particular difficult situation with an employee.

As you can imagine, I never found such a book. However, in the process of searching, I was able to find answers to many of my questions and learned to avoid previous mistakes. I have accumulated knowledge and practical experience. And today I decided to summarize them, systematize them and write for my colleagues in the management shop the book that I myself have been looking for for so long, so that when faced with a difficult situation with a subordinate, you know that there is a book in which you can read what you have meaning to rely on, what you can build on and what you should not do.

Where did the scenarios presented in the book come from?

All scenarios in this book are based on practice and tested by practice.

Firstly, this is my personal managerial experience analyzed. This and more than 10 years of experience in the role of commercial and CEO in the sectors of trade, telecommunications, construction, public-private partnership, consulting services. And the experience of managing in situations of growth and crisis, a sharp recruitment and a sharp reduction in staff, the formation of one's own team and the arrival of a leader from outside the existing team. And experience in implementing project management and ISO standards 9001: 2000 in a company of up to 300 people. All of the above required putting into practice all the types of negotiations mentioned in the book and making most of the mistakes that I am now going to warn you against in the book.

Secondly, it is constant training and development of their managerial and negotiation skills. The objective result of this development can be called the 1st category in managerial wrestling and prizes in two Russian championships in managerial wrestling.

Thirdly, this is the conduct of more than 3,000 "Managerial duels" as a business coach according to the author's technology of Vladimir Tarasov, their analysis, analysis of managerial mistakes of the participants and development of scenarios for the effective behavior of the leader together with them.

Fourth, This is a personal consultation for managers.

Who is this book for?

The book is written for managers who are not indifferent to their subordinates, do not consider them consumable and easily replaceable resource. For leaders who:

Want to achieve the highest results together with their team;

Strive to ensure that as many subordinates as possible behave like committed employees in a wide variety of situations;

They want employees to be happy going from home to work.

This book is not a theoretical study. It is based on practice, rich in practice and designed to be applied in practice. It presents possible scenarios for negotiating with subordinates in acute and difficult situations that managers encounter most often. Thus, this book discusses in detail the negotiation of mistakes, misdeeds and punishments, resistance to tasks, control, increasing demands, etc., attention is also paid to negotiations with a disgruntled, belligerent, unmotivated, feeling like an indispensable employee, salary negotiations, dismissal and etc.

The book is primarily about negotiation, but also about managing subordinates in a broader sense - accepting management decisions, the use of various management mechanisms: creating conditions, encouraging, punishing, delegating, setting a task, etc. This was done exactly to the extent that was necessary to disclose a particular topic of negotiations.

How to use the book?

To be successful in any art, you need a skill that does not require reading a book, but regular practice. Therefore, at the end of each chapter are placed Practical tasks, compiled on the basis of situations for "Managerial duels".

Of course, the described scenarios are not the only effective ones in any given situation. They do not claim to be infallible and universal. But if you still liked some scripts, then you should not memorize them and try to apply them verbatim. The following will be more efficient.

1. Understand the principles on which any of the described scenarios is based.

2. Tailor the script to suit your style, language, situation, and personality of the subordinate. After all, all situations are different, and people are different - we have different character, willpower, psychological type, etc.

3. Based on what you read, create your own unique and original scripts and test their effectiveness in negotiations. So you will be unpredictable and gain very useful experience.

Moreover, there are managers who perfectly feel both the situation and the subordinate, they know how to find the right approach and the right words to him at the right time. In my opinion, with subordinates, you should strive to be just that: develop your intuition, empathy and understanding of employees, and not think only with diagrams, tables and instructions - after all, we are talking about people.

In other words, I I urge you to approach the scenarios you see critically and apply them not mechanically, but meaningfully, developing the skill of creating your own scenarios.

The first chapter is devoted to the "three whales", without which it is difficult for a leader to even negotiate with subordinates, not to mention how to achieve success in such negotiations. Based on these "three pillars", the leader will be firm, self-confident, able to control his emotions and achieve the desired result.

The second chapter is about error negotiation. Employees, like everyone else, make mistakes. But only the most successful differ in the ability to draw conclusions from mistakes. In "From Good to Great. Why some companies make breakthroughs and others don't." Jim Collins calls right attitude to mistakes is one of the most important secrets of success.

This chapter is about how to negotiate a bug effectively with different types subordinates. Properly conducted negotiations will help not only to avoid repeating a specific mistake, but also to develop a useful habit in an employee - to draw conclusions from their mistakes and develop.

The third chapter is devoted to negotiating the misconduct of a subordinate. Misdemeanors and violations of varying severity occur in almost every subordinate. And it is certainly every leader who has to disassemble them, to carry out punishments. In addition to scenarios, this chapter contains a description of the role of the subordinate - a kind of code of conduct for the subordinate. You can download it at in electronic format and adapt to your company or division. Relying on it will help you greatly increase your effectiveness in negotiating wrongdoing and issuing adequate punishment.

At the beginning of the book, I placed chapters on negotiating in situations of error and misconduct of a subordinate, because I consider these topics relevant to any leader and at the same time very difficult. In addition, the authority of the leader strongly depends on the ability to conduct such negotiations. The one who possesses this skill is respected by subordinates, considered fair, trust him more.

Chapters four through eight describe negotiation scenarios for various complex situations that you may encounter in your managerial work.

By the address www.co-pilot.ru you can see video applications for this book - examples of practical tasks performed by the author. What are they written for?

First, to make it easier for you to understand how to adapt the scenarios presented in the book to a specific management situation. Second, to see more and how speak, not just read in a book, what talk. In negotiations how may be more important than what. And thirdly, to see that the author is not infallible, because, like any leader, I am also only on the path to improving my managerial and negotiation art.

Collins J. Good to Great. Why some companies make breakthroughs and others don't. Ch. 2 Leaders of the 5th level (paragraph "Window and mirror"). Moscow: Mann, Ivanov i Ferber, 2013.

Tatiana Vvedenskaya

My awesome boss

Part one

GREAT AND TERRIBLE

Fairy tale with a bad ending

My husband decided to come back to me. He, you know, decided! It was like I begged him for it. I snorted in indignation, turning over his words in my head. He said it as if before that he had been thinking for a long time, making up his mind, figuring out what was what. I didn’t sleep at night, I kept breaking my head: to return or not? And now he calls me at dawn, knocking me off my usual morning schedule. Usually by this moment I managed to oversleep the alarm clock, get ready for a run in five minutes, put on makeup already in the car, standing in a traffic jam at a traffic light, etc. And then, instead of all this, he calls to tell this long-awaited news. He is coming back! What!

However, we must give him his due, the moment was chosen the most correct. Still, he was a good strategist, although this does not mean that he was not mistaken. Only those who do nothing are not mistaken, but he did. And, as a result, he was wrong. But now is not about that. And about his morning call to a lonely woman who lives in constant contradiction with her biological rhythm. By nature, I am a night owl. If I listened only to my body, I would not get up until eleven. But for many years now I’ve been getting up at dawn, so early in the morning I practically don’t understand anything. Naturally, my husband was well aware of this, and while I was coming to my senses, crouching on the phone, he managed to tell me everything he wanted.

- Nadia, I am guilty before you. But I'm sure we need to be together. I have to get back to you!

- What? Who is this? I muttered, opening my eyes. In vain, of course, I did not look who was calling. At any other hour, I would have hung up right away. Whatever, I wouldn't take it at all. And then I was not myself, and he, as always, took advantage of this.

- This is your husband, Cyril! Sonya you are mine, wake up. I say that we need to be together.

- Mitrofanov, are you out of your mind? What time is it? Yawning, I protested. The meaning of his words only began to reach the addressee - my sleeping consciousness.

“You have to go to work,” said the ex-husband. - So wake up. And think about why you have to suffer alone. I'm sure you want me back.

- What's the matter with you, are you sick? I remarked sarcastically. “Or is your mother not feeding you well?” Just don't tell me about your eternal love!

I understand that this is a complete surprise for you. But I speak from the bottom of my heart! Kirill said tenderly in the voice of an angel.

This is where I really woke up.

- What are you talking about! I threw up my hands. - Is it from the bottom of my heart?

“Just don’t start,” the husband was worried.

And not in vain, because I was already wound up anyway. Good job, the week has begun. That looks like a headache! All one to one. I forced myself to take a deep breath and exhale, trying not to break down. But, as always, this did not work out with my husband. It took me:

Do you know what a surprise is? This is when you come home, and there your husband with a naked woman lies in your bed and smiles senselessly. This is, yes, a complete surprise. And your call is just stupid!

I spoke up and dropped the phone on the bed. Then I took it with two fingers, because I had a strange feeling that the phone was saturated with poison. And turned it off. Because my Kiryushka is stubborn and not lazy, when he needs something, he will definitely call back. Lord, why can't I live in peace? A year ago, I stood in my own apartment and gasped for air. This poignant picture appeared before my eyes - my dearly beloved husband and a blond cashier from a supermarket near our house. I went through all this very hard. The hardest part was learning to fall asleep alone. It turns out that what matters is not quality sex or tender feelings, but habit. I had adapted so well to his snoring that in the unaccustomed silence I could not close my eyes for a long time. And trips to friends, their sympathetic looks? And digging a garden without strong male hands?! Yeah, his innocent fascination with the cashier got me in so many troubles! Why didn't I call him earlier that day? I should have warned that I was going home from lunch. And now - I still buy groceries three blocks from home, which also creates a lot of inconvenience for me. And certainly, since I was able to survive all this, I hoped that I would never hear about Kirill again. And here you are, please - he decided to return!

“Mom, we have to go,” Nika, my fifteen-year-old daughter, a girl with a very rational mind, stuck her nose into my room. I twitched and looked around. In the cycle of thoughts, I was completely lost and did not notice that time was slipping away like sand through my fingers.

Tatiana Vvedenskaya

My awesome boss

Part one

GREAT AND TERRIBLE

Fairy tale with a bad ending

- Nadia, I am guilty before you. But I'm sure we need to be together. I have to get back to you!

- This is your husband, Cyril! Sonya you are mine, wake up. I say that we need to be together.

- Mitrofanov, are you out of your mind? What time is it? Yawning, I protested. The meaning of his words only began to reach the addressee - my sleeping consciousness.

“You have to go to work,” said the ex-husband. - So wake up. And think about why you have to suffer alone. I'm sure you want me back.

- What's the matter with you, are you sick? I remarked sarcastically. “Or is your mother not feeding you well?” Just don't tell me about your eternal love!

I understand that this is a complete surprise for you. But I speak from the bottom of my heart! Kirill said tenderly in the voice of an angel.

This is where I really woke up.

- What are you talking about! I threw up my hands. - Is it from the bottom of my heart?

“Just don’t start,” the husband was worried.

I spoke up and dropped the phone on the bed. Then I took it with two fingers, because I had a strange feeling that the phone was saturated with poison. And turned it off. Because my Kiryushka is stubborn and not lazy, when he needs something, he will definitely call back. Lord, why can't I live in peace? A year ago, I stood in my own apartment and gasped for air. This poignant picture appeared before my eyes - my dearly beloved husband and a blond cashier from a supermarket near our house. I went through all this very hard. The hardest part was learning to fall asleep alone. It turns out that what matters is not quality sex or tender feelings, but habit. I had adapted so well to his snoring that in the unaccustomed silence I could not close my eyes for a long time. And trips to friends, their sympathetic looks? And digging up a garden without strong male hands?! Yeah, his innocent fascination with the cashier got me in so many troubles! Why didn't I call him earlier that day? I should have warned that I was going home from lunch. And now - I still buy groceries three blocks from home, which also creates a lot of inconvenience for me. And certainly, since I was able to survive all this, I hoped that I would never hear about Kirill again. And here you are, please - he decided to return!

- What time is it?

- Well, in general! Nick waved his hands. “It's almost eight and you're in your pajamas. Anyway, I'll be late for school again. How much can I lie that your car won't start?!

“Tell me you got stuck in a traffic jam,” I waved my daughter away and ran to the bathroom. The peppy morning marathon, cut in half because of this stupid call, wiped out all unnecessary thoughts from my head for a while, I only had time to brush my teeth, comb my hair, rip off my pajamas and put on underwear at the same time. Of course, I didn’t have time to drink coffee, and Nika sat in the hallway fully dressed, with a briefcase in her hands and monotonously lamented: “Mom, let's go, mom, let's go, mom, let's hurry ...”

- I'm going! I breathed out, already near the elevator, zipping up my boots. Of course, in the spring you want to put on something lighter, shoes, for example, but our Moscow spring has recently become so cloudy and damp that it was like going to Paris before the shoes.

- So, yes. I have six lessons today, but I will come later because we have an additional rehearsal in the circle, she habitually instructed me.

- Okay. Do I need to buy something on the way? I asked. Nika monitored the contents of the refrigerator, and I made up for the losses incurred. This was our distribution.

“You know, sometimes I feel like it’s somehow wrong,” I complained. “I should have said that.

- Yeah. Just don't eat Chinese noodles, - her daughter added as if nothing had happened, slamming the door. And after she shouted: - And do not smoke a lot!

“Okay,” I nodded doomedly and waved goodbye to her.

Still, children are already born with a certain character, otherwise, with such upbringing, a completely different girl would have to grow up. Well, I'm very glad that she is the way she is. I must be lucky in some way, after all!

I smiled and entered the turtle race. There were still a few traffic lights to the office. And one very difficult turn on the Moscow Ring Road.

Although I live closest to our business center, I arrived last at the finish line, about twenty minutes late. Not as bad as it could be. Such delays can always be attributed to traffic. True, everyone rides in it, but mostly only I linger. So what? But I am a very valuable worker, because I can cut sausage, tomatoes and cucumbers into even thin circles, which makes them a very convenient snack.

I left the car in our underground parking (here it is, a tangible plus of modern business centers!), got into the elevator and went to our seventh floor. A sleepy, disheveled red-haired woman with sad blue eyes looked at me from the mirror. Someone, maybe, is thinness, but it makes me look like a beaten kitten. Well, a beaten cat, because I have long grown out of the age of a kitten.

“You’re late,” our security guard Grishka smiled at me predatorily, “sign.

- Traffic jams! I shrugged and scribbled my signature on the journal.

Grishka's work is sedentary, and his only entertainment is spying on the moral character of the staff, with the help of a video surveillance screen divided into six sectors. If you managed to peep how our founder picks his nose at the entrance, Grishka was happy.