- “Come on,s. take your hands off it! You treat dough like a paving stone!” Galina Mikhailovna’s shrill voice rang through the kitchen, assaulting everyone’s ears. “My little Bogdan likes light, fluffy cakes, not shoe soles. A successful man needs comfort and proper nutrition, not those lumps you’ve made!”
- Oksana slowly wiped her hands on a waffle-textured kitchen towel and looked at her mother-in-law with interest. Galina Mikhailovna wielded the rolling pin with such fury that it seemed she wasn’t rolling out pastry but punishing her daughter-in-law for all her personal shortcomings.
- As usual, Saturday morning in their apartment began with her mother-in-law taking over the entire place. She had arrived early, jingling the keys that once required permission from every security guard, and immediately set about being irredeemably helpful.
- Meanwhile, Bogdan was sprawled on the living-room sofa.
- He resembled an overfed seal during shedding season. His limbs were spread across the cushions, his face buried in his phone, and every now and then he let out an approving grunt when his mother brought him another cup of freshly brewed herbal tea.
- “Mom, put more meat in there,” came his voice from somewhere among the sofa pillows. “I’m exhausted at work and need my energy. I’m the one carrying everything on my shoulders!”
- Oksana merely sighed, quietly placing the cutting board in the sink.
- Carrying everything on his shoulders? That was how Bogdan described his new position at work.
- They both worked for a large company called Smart Baker, which specialized in wholesale supplies of confectionery ingredients and equipment for bakeries. Oksana was the company’s chief accountant. Her office was on the second floor, behind a heavy oak door, and five employees worked under her supervision.
- Bogdan worked in the sales department.
- Two weeks earlier, management had decided to reorganize several departments to impress the company’s investors from the capital. As a result, Bogdan had gone from being an ordinary sales manager to a customer relations specialist.
- His salary remained exactly the same. Management hadn’t even given him a symbolic raise. His desk, which stood beside a humming water cooler, remained exactly where it had always been.
- Nevertheless, his newly acquired title had become a source of endless pride.
- “My Bogdanchik is a big shot now!” Galina Mikhailovna declared proudly, sliding the baking tray into the oven.
- She straightened up, adjusted her brightly patterned apron, and looked at Oksana with barely concealed superiority.
- “Look at you, Oksana. Sitting behind your paperwork all day, never seeing the light of day! What a dull existence. Meanwhile, my son is the face of the company!”
- At that very moment, Oksana’s phone vibrated briefly.
- A banking notification appeared on the screen.
- Debit from your account: 4,500. Auto shop. Additional card…
-
Oksana raised her eyebrow. An additional plastic card tied to her personal salary account was peacefully lying in the company’s face trousers pocket. Bogdan’s own salary, consisting of a very modest salary, on the day of receiving a clean one went to repay a car loan taken on a huge shiny SUV, which he bought a year ago to match the status.
The husband laughed with her mother until one bank notice changed the mood of both
