From the author - all the events described in the story are fictional, and any coincidences with real people and places are accidental and are only the fruit of his sick imagination.

Snezhnogorsk is one of the many 10-thousand-thousand cities built in Soviet times to serve city-forming enterprises. The center of the city’s industry was the Nerpa ship repair yard, which deals with the disposal of nuclear submarines. This year the plant was fifty years old, on the occasion of which the management decided to celebrate this solemn event.

Considering the predominantly male age group of the company, only women whose name was widely known were considered as the leading event. Anastasia Zavorotnyuk, Yulia Menshova, Lolita Milyavskaya ... In the end, the choice fell on Ekaterina Strizhenova, whose candidacy received the most approval from the company's employees.

Negotiations with the manager, concurrently being her spouse, took several days. Alexander initially treated the venue with great skepticism. After all, it was not even the regional center of the province, but a small industrial town located on the outskirts of civilization. However, if earlier he did not even consider such proposals that adversely affect the reputation of his wife, now the shaky financial situation forced to take on any job. In addition, the amount of the contract was very attractive ...

This year has turned out for Catherine what is called “lean”. Yes, of course she was still invited to the television, to take part in the next TV show, occasionally there were invitations to secular parties, but there were less and less lucrative offers. The steadily aging celebrities of the past years were replaced by a new shift - young and beautiful actresses with model looks and a bulldog grip, who were difficult to compete with. In order to remain “in the subject” at least, one had to lower the price tag and take on less prestigious orders, which the picky Catherine used to know herself, never allowed herself.

So this time, the proposal to hold a corporate party in some god-forgotten industrial town was perceived by her, though without enthusiasm, but with readiness. Fortunately, the customer paid for the flight, room and board, promising decent conditions and quite reasonable payment. Catherine had a well-founded skepticism about “decent living conditions”, but the organizer who led the negotiations calmed her - they were not planning to settle in a hotel, where they usually stayed, if traveling experts, but in a private house owned by someone from the management. So after discussing the conditions and receiving an advance, Catherine already a couple of days sat in an airplane heading north to Snezhnogorsk.

The flight from Moscow to Murmansk took about two and a half hours. At the airport, a deputy general was waiting for the woman, holding the name of the company in her hands. He recognized the television star immediately, despite the fact that she obviously tried not to attract too much attention to herself. However, in the elegant fur coat of expensive fur, screaming about the financial well-being of its owner, this was clearly possible with difficulty.

- Ekaterina Vladimirovna, hello! Welcome to us! How did you fly? - spreading into a wide smile, the man said when the TV presenter approached him. He was tall, slim build, her age, although he looked older than his years. He is dressed in a gray suit, over which a half-fastened coat was thrown over.

“And in life you are even more beautiful than on TV,” having weighed the most banal compliment in this situation, the man smoothed his silver-gray hair without taking his admiring glance from the woman.

- Oh, yes ... I completely forgot to introduce myself, my name is Oleg Mikhailovich. For you, just Oleg. Let me help you, - taking the suitcase by the handle, the man took Catherine to the exit from the airport.

In the parking lot, an old service Mercedes was waiting for them from the nineties, judging by the faded paint and faded chrome details. Helpfully, he opened the door, Oleg helped Catherine to sit in the back wide couch, put the suitcase in the trunk, and he sat forward next to the young guy - the driver. Inside, everything was also sad. Faded beige leather, which has been cracked in places during its operation, persistent tobacco smell, ingrained in the upholstery, the ceiling darkened from cigarette smoke.

The road to Sneznogorsk took about an hour. Almost all this time, Oleg, sitting in a half-turn, gently entertained the guest with mostly empty conversations, thereby showing hospitality. The guy behind the wheel was silent, only occasionally glancing in the rearview mirror at the celebrity.

A kilometer from the city, the car turned off the road onto a dirt road leading deep into the forest, which could certainly cause concern. Oleg paused, turning the radio up. Every minute the tension was growing ... Soon on the horizon, through the dense rows of pine trees, a huge suburban two-story house appeared. The car drove into its territory and stopped at the porch.

- We are on the spot! This is the dacha of Alexei Sergeevich, our general ... Here are the keys, hold. For the next few days, it is at your complete disposal, ”said Oleg.

- The event will begin at seven in the evening. I'll send the driver in an hour. Rest ... If you need anything, call, you have my phone number. The man helped bring the suitcase into the house and, having said goodbye, left.

Saying farewell to Oleg, who helped her bring things to the house, Catherine glanced around at the new place. In general, the case was not so bad as it seemed at first. Its customers may not have prospered, but judging by the interior of the house, at least the general was fine. Brick two-storey house, inside, that outside did not yield to Rublevsky dachas on which she often happened to happen. Parquet flooring, carpets, expensive furniture, paintings, some of which were quite expensive, original costumes and hunting trophies on the living room walls indicated that the owner had good taste and a thick wallet.

There was still a few hours left until the evening, so having built a light lunch for herself from the products found in the refrigerator, Catherine sat down by the fireplace in the living room and delved into the study of the script and program of the event. The program was uncomplicated - performances by invited musicians and artists, contests, awards for distinguished and other things that were common at such holidays. Nothing complicated. She had already conducted hundreds of such corporate events and the most tedious was to be able to keep the smile on duty until the end of the evening until the tipsy guests moved into that phase when they could no longer distinguish the leading from the stool.

At the appointed time, an acquaintance of a Mercedes already drove up to the cottage and, taking the woman, took her to the city. Passing the checkpoint, the car entered the ship repair yard and stopped at the five-story administrative building. The driver made a call, and Oleg appeared in the doorway of the building. Having met Catherine, he led her to the head office. Hearing the approaching footsteps and the thud of women's heels, Alexey Sergeevich came out to meet with open arms. It was a large man of about fifty with sparse vegetation on his head. His round glossy face broke into a smile, and his small black eyes gleamed with joy.

- Katenka, hello! Very glad to meet you! Thank you for agreeing to come to us, - embracing the woman, he pressed her for a second to his dense body.

- Come on, you can leave your outerwear in my office, - in his own way, he put his arm around her waist and brought her to him.

“Alexey Sergeevich, everything is ready with us, we are waiting for you,” came the loud voice of the secretary from behind the door.

After waiting for Catherine to undress, the man escorted her to the conference room, converted for a while ...