Ilya

Ilya was already 31. Sitting in his apartment on his birthday with a glass of whiskey in his hand, Ilya couldn't believe he was hearing that number. 31 years didn't sound like a death sentence, but it was impressive. Such a number sounded stately and mature, which meant he should live up to his age. But did he? Well...

He had his own apartment, his own car, and a high-ranking position at work. It was a regular office job; it would have been incredibly boring to delve into it, but he was the boss and earned a significant amount of money. From a material standpoint, Ilya was completely fulfilled. He just didn't have a relationship, much less a girlfriend. Why? It's hard to say, and he himself didn't know, but he didn't despair about it.

The day after his birthday, Ilya arrived at work as usual. That day, a new employee of the company was supposed to come to see him. A very young girl, Ksenia. She was 19, and she had been hired a week ago. Ilya was supposed to familiarize her with her duties.

That's how he met Ksyusha. Ksyusha captivated Ilya at first sight. He couldn't say, couldn't describe how incredible Ksyusha was. But, of course, the 12-year age difference between them did its job. Ilya didn't want to force himself on the girl and was afraid of pushing her away.

Yes, Ilya tried to hint to Ksyusha about his feelings, but all his attempts seemed terribly ridiculous and wrong to him. This couldn't continue for long, and finally, Ilya called Ksyusha into his office.

• Ksenia, come see me after lunch, please. A man's voice rang out. Ilya wanted to explain to Ksyusha what he felt for her.