"Impossible!" Sveta said thoughtfully.
"Sono d’accordo!" Lera replied gloomily, and the girls turned and walked harmoniously towards the "changing room".
The "changing room" was a separate tiny chamber that housed a collection of formal wear, evening gowns, cosmetics, and hair styling products. At the dawn of Hermes's existence, the boss ordered the decoration team to fence off and equip a dressing room. She motivated this decision by saying that her employees should always be ready to perform any job in an any event dressed in an appropriate fashion.
The girls giggled at the idea. Lera could not recall a single instance of anyone ever getting ready for a business meeting in the office. However, Irina Konstantinovna was adamant about not expanding other areas at the expense of the "changing room".
Despite this, no one objected, as if the employees were ashamed to take dresses without permission, it was still a privilege for the girls to prepare themselves here for a date. As a result, the supply of cosmetics was gradually dwindling, which only reinforced Irina's belief in her decision.
Lera squeezed into the "changing room" and hung her coat on the hangers, carefully pushing aside the silk dress next to it to avoid getting the expensive fabric wet from the melting snow. The Sylph glided in after her and also hung her coat. The ephemeral Sveta had an amazing quality – she didn't make the tiny "changing room" feel any smaller with her presence.
"How are you?" Sveta asked with a smile.
"Fine, thanks! What about you? Do you have any plans for the holydays?" Lera replied.
"Oh, yes! I'm going to the countryside, to a cabin in the woods. I'll wrap myself in a warm scarf and sit by the fire and just be quiet for a whole week!"
"Isn't that boring?" Lera smiled.
"Bof! It's better to get bored than get myself into the same thing that I had last time! I'm deliberately going to get as far as possible to be definitely out of cellphone range. You know, Irina Konstantinovna would find anyone of us with satellites from space if there was even the slightest chance."
"You are probably right," Lera drawled.
Sveta's indignation was understandable. Last year, during the New Year weekend, their boss dragged her out of a quiet vacation with her husband in Marseille for some work trip to Normandy. Sveta caught a terrible cold there, and then spent two weeks in bed suffering with the flu.