Chapter 16

The next day, just before nine o’clock, the chief editor came to the office. She was surprised to see the editorial team sitting at the collegiate table on a Friday morning.

Alex and Adam came right behind her.

“Good morning, gentlemen!” She greeted them.

“Not good morning, but bad morning…” Michael began to complain about sleeplessness. In addition, regardless of the presence of the editor, he stretched as if he was still in bed in his bedroom, not at work.

“Shut up, Michael!” Thomas sitting next to him, also sleepy, tried to bring him to order. "Dude, you barely got up, you're already complaining. You were supposed to change! Shave! Brush up!”

"Shh..." Michael put a finger to his lips. “I have a headache! Don't yell behind my ears!”

“Gentlemen, I have a surprise!” The chief editor announced. "There's a package on my desk in my office. Can one of you bring it in, please?”

Hearing this, Alex reacted quickly. After a while he came back with a huge box that he put on the table and began to unpack.

“Maybe a good bottle?” Michael with hungover wondered aloud.

"Shit, calm that fool down!" Simon said straight into Thomas’ ear.

“Calm him down yourself! I had enough problems fifteen minutes ago to wake him up, I had to put him in the shower to wake him up, and now I have to calm him down? You’re joking!”

“You're the one sitting next to him!’ Simon hissed through clenched teeth.

“Sure!” Thomas replied, not hiding his agitation.

Having no choice but to look at Michael stretching again, who had clearly not yet realized he was in the editorial office, he addressed him firmly: "Dude, you're at work! Do me a favor and don’t move for five minutes! Okay? And just shut up!”

“Are you talking to me?” Michael asked, surprised, as if he didn't know what his friend was talking about.

“Yes. I'm talking to you.” Thomas hissed right in his ear.

"Dear gentleman, a very big event is happening; sports competitions of journalists are held today.” Announced the chief editor.

“Yeah... so what?” Michael became interested.            

The editor, ignoring him, continued:

“The income from the entire event will be donated to the newly created family orphanage for the purchase of equipment! A noble cause, gentlemen!”

She looked at the faces of her subordinates, but didn’t notice even a bit of enthusiasm. She guessed how they felt at that moment. Before entering the editorial office, she spoke to the guards and the concierge. She found out that they had ‘painted’ all night.

“Glorious!” Michael agreed.

“Our editorial team has been invited to participate in the competition, just like every year. We have accepted the invitation. Here are your outfits, gentlemen!” She pointed to the unwrapped package. “At a quarter to ten, we are going to the hall of the Academy of Physical Education, specifically to the swimming pool!”

“What? What pool? What competition?” Michael said, yawning. Then he felt a sharp pain under his ribs.

“Sit quietly!” This time Alex, sitting on the other side, began to silence him. “We're in enough trouble! You have to shut up!”

“I'm going home! I'm tired!” Regardless of anyone, Michael announced loudly.

“Sorry?” The chief editor asked, amused to see him acting like a kid. “Mr. Johnson, did you say something?”

“Nooo...” Michael groaned, both of whom Alex kicked in the ankle, and Thomas sitting on the other side, until he turned green with pain. Moments later, Adam stood behind his back, intending to intervene.

"Gentlemen..." Alice began handing out turquoise swimming trunks, the same towels and the same colored flip-flops. “These are our representative colors!” She proudly lifted the turquoise towel. “Let's represent our magazine with dignity!”

“In such pants?” Michael said, carefully examining the shorts that Alex had handed him a moment earlier. “What a lovely turquoise! In this… ” He sneered, but didn't finish because he felt the pain again, this time under his ribs.

Adam was standing nearby, serving him the coffee he had brought and silencing him in the process.

“What the hell?” Michael gasped as he breathed some air back into his lungs.

"Coffee, my friend!" Adam said slowly, setting a large yellow mug full of liquid in front of him, blocking the view of the chief editor.

Meanwhile, Thomas put his hand over Michael's mouth, begging him not to say anything more.

“With milk and sugar as you like, my friend.” Adam added as he made a barrier between Alice and Michael.

“Any comments, Mr. Johnson?” Seeing what was happening, the editor said. “I am listening to you? I am open to any comments and valuable suggestions.” She continued, irritated.

Michael was silent. No, he had not only a headache, but also aching ankles and ribs.

"You can swim without pants, if that's more comfortable for you, Mr. Johnson." She said ironically. "We've got forty minutes for coffee and a light breakfast!" With that, she got up and headed towards the kitchen.

Journalists, tired of the superhuman effort which turned out to be the completion of the painting and the all-night, drenched party, looked at their bathing trunks and towels.

“Michael, are you swimming today without turquoise pants?” Simon found a little humour, trying to cheer his friend up.

“Get out, Simon! I will fuck you up!” Michael threatened him.

Eventually everyone started laughing. Only in this way could they drown out a colleague who resisted and complained louder, who got up with his left foot today, and in fact, Thomas pulled him out by force from the sleeping bag, because he would have probably slept until noon or longer.

The chief editor was also in a bad mood, they saw that. They knew that another moment and she would have unscrupulously put Michael out the door.

The storm was in the air, they could feel it. If possible, they wanted to prevent it. They had already experienced the show of strength on their part on their own necks.

Since she sent Carl to Geneva without prior notice, without any preparation, and forced all of them to do hard physical work by trickery, she is so ruthless that she will do absolutely anything to get rid of them as soon as possible.

They supposed she had many more surprises up her sleeve and was just waiting for them to give her any excuse to use them.