I look around the salon and I'm completely satisfied with how things are going here. I founded my salon two years ago with minimal capital. But it worked, I slowly expanded the range and attracted more customers. I couldn't afford many assistants, so I had to do the work myself, which didn't hurt me at all and I got to know the secrets of this job.
I currently employ six employees and I'm quite proud of myself. I do my job well and if any problems arise, I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who will help me with it.
"Sara? The goods have arrived, you have to sign the papers." Danka, one of the hairdressers, breaks me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah, sure. I'm on my way there." I would never have believed that I would enjoy such a job, and yet I do all the paperwork and paying the bills with gusto.
When I sit down in my office chair again, I fill out a few orders, sign the pay slips, and pick up the phone to call Valeria, my best friend.
"Please." She says into the phone, panting as if she's run a marathon.
"Hi, Sara. What happened that you're so out of breath?" I ask, surprised because I know her phone is right on the table.
"Hey, hi. Well, I was downstairs in the store. I'm waiting for an important call, so I got moving." She explains.
"From David, right? Well, I understand. But now I'm calling to ask you if you'd like to go to lunch with me."
"Sure, I do. So we'll meet again at U Podivína, right? I'm leaving now." She finishes talking and hangs up.
Yeah, that's all Valeria, a natural devil, and her appearance only enhances it. Her hair, which is still a messy rusty color, her eyes wide as two balls, and her figure won't convince anyone that she's not on a hunger strike.
As I approach the restaurant where we've agreed to have lunch together, I can already see her from afar, waving frantically at me so that I don't accidentally miss her.
Valerie starts spouting off sentences and questions at me, and I can barely manage to answer everything, which doesn't bother her at all and she keeps talking.
"And I haven't told you yet." She's still muttering to herself and my head is slowly starting to hurt.
"Libor is throwing a party tomorrow night and he told me to bring someone with me, so we'll go, right?" I only now realize what she said. So Libor is throwing a party...if I went there, I could get a few contacts. I'll combine business with pleasure on Friday and we'll all be happy.
"I'll be happy to go, just tell me what time you'll pick me up." I ask Val, but I already have a completely different plan in mind.
We'll sit in the restaurant for a while longer, but when I look at my watch and see what time it is, I have to quickly return to the salon, where there's still a lot of work to do. Val and I agree on tomorrow, say goodbye, and we each head to our own work.
I arrive home tired and just ripe enough to take a shower and go to bed. The only thing I still have the strength to do is listen to the messages on the answering machine, but fortunately, answering is not necessary and will wait until tomorrow. When I fall into bed, I mentally project the plan I have prepared and at that moment I fall asleep.
Friday at work is not that demanding and so I am not so rushed and can arrange my own things. I order some things for the living room, call a painter so that I can finally have the apartment finished and I am completely satisfied and I leave work in a great mood even though it is late in the afternoon. At home, I climb into the shower and start getting ready for today's party. When I stand in front of my closet, I am completely at a loss because I don't know what to wear. After many minutes of thinking and considering, I decide on a simple black strapless tight dress that reaches just below the knees. I look at myself critically in the mirror and wonder if I've overdone it. Aren't I a little more provocative? To distract attention from my dress and cover my plunging neckline, I pin a large circular talisman around my neck.
The bell rings just as I'm rubbing perfume on my wrist. I put on my shoes, slam the door, and head for another, hopefully pleasant experience.
When we arrive at the venue, Valerie introduces me to everyone present, but there are so many that I can barely remember all the names.
"I'd like to introduce you to Peter." She whispers in my ear and taps the man on the shoulder to make him turn towards us. At that moment, all I see is him and his beautiful brown eyes and mouth that's too big to bite into.
"Hello, Petr. I would like to introduce you to my great friend Sara. She owns the Zlatá perla beauty salon. Sara, this is Petr, who owns the company Omega sro," he finishes his speech, but I don't notice her at all and focus only on Petr. I stand completely frozen and can't take my eyes off him.
Petr stands opposite me and looks me straight in the eyes. He holds a glass of champagne in one palm, which is almost invisible, given his massive hands. The black suit, which is definitely tailor-made, fits him perfectly, underneath it he has a white open-necked shirt, in which his tan stands out.
He is the first to recover and extends his hand to me.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm glad to meet you." He says in his deep velvet voice and I almost go to my knees.
"Me too, of course." I spit and don't recognize my voice at all, which is full of excitement over this man and I completely forget about my plan.