Contract Marriage: Married to My Ex-Husband's Alpha Stepfather [BL]

Chapter 172: Of Vladimir and The Devil of Frolo

[FROLO]

Katya had arrived at work earlier than usual. He needed to catch up before the day opened, and frankly, there was no better way for him than to arrive before everyone.

The building was as quiet as it always was at five o’clock in the morning. It was still too early, and honestly, Katya knew the early birds would probably arrive at six o’clock or seven.

Well, until the elevator dinged on the executive floor.

And instead of the usual quiet he was always met with whenever he came to work early, Katya walked into a zombie apocalypse.

That was the easiest way to explain it.

The floor that usually had only just five people: Katya, his secretary, Sergei, his secretary, and Anya...

Now had people all over.

In full-clad suits.

They looked like they were hoping for an actual threat to take them out.

There were executives sprawled on the waiting benches, secretaries, and department heads.

Everyone had a coffee cup in their hands; you would think they were somehow in a coffee-drinking competition. Their suits were wrinkled, and they had heavy bags under their eyes like they hadn’t slept a wink in ages.

It was a horrifying sight.

Katya couldn’t believe it for a moment.

This was hell.

Certainly not his, but one altogether.

The people looked like they were one drop of glucose away from eternal slumber.

The terror on their faces, the documents in their hands. The pens that their fingers struggled to hold, along with the steaming coffee from their cups.

Surely someone was bound to complain about a long day or the endless coffee cups they had consumed, right?

Yet even then, they remained deadly quiet like that was the kind of shit that was impossible, especially in the current conditions they were in.

"What the hell happened here?" Katya mumbled slowly to himself as he tried to make out what had happened to force all these people into such silence in these conditions.

Then he saw Volkov sitting outside Sergei’s office, a coffee cup in his hand.

He looked just like the people who Katya had just walked by, creeped out by the state of things.

Volkov never sat outside Sergei’s office.

Not since the restructuring of the executive floor. He had his own section in the madman’s office, and it was a system that Katya knew worked.

So, seeing him out there was the first obvious red flag.

But at least he was the one person Katya was fairly certain should have answers for him about the walking dead on the executive floor.

"Did the stocks crash?" Katya joked, but Volkov just stared at him tiredly.

"Worse... The devil of Frolo happened," Volkov said tiredly as he poured himself more coffee.

"Vladimir?" Katya asked, confused.

Volkov raised a brow before he relaxed like the man just realized that this omega was the only person who could call the devil by his middle name and still have a functional neck and probably even the entire Moskowsky wealth.

"We’ve been here since yesterday afternoon," Volkov said, like that was supposed to make Katya understand.

Expectedly, Katya stared at him, still confused.

"The meetings haven’t stopped since last evening. Mr. Moskowsky summoned every department. The lights in this building haven’t gone off, save for the lights on the ground and first floor.

"Oh, to be a nonessential Moskowsky employee," Volkov sighed exaggeratedly like a man who had just one simple wish at the moment.

To sleep.

Or better to be a nonessential worker in this building. Because right now, people were seeing their lives flash in their eyes every three minutes, and it wasn’t comforting at all.

"Last evening?" Katya asked, horrified.

"Yup... isn’t that why you came this early too? He summoned you?" Volkov asked in surprise.

He couldn’t believe Sergei Moskowsky would interrupt his Solnyshka’s sleep because of work. Or maybe it was just punishment for the horror Sergei had witnessed yesterday, right?

"No. I just came early because I wanted to catch up on what I missed since my leave," Katya said innocently, and Volkov stared at him in disbelief.

"You woke up THIS early, voluntarily walked through those doors??? To work??" Volkov asked like he couldn’t believe this was real.

The one person who was never going to suffer in this office... was willingly suffering?

"I wanted to catch up," Katya said simply, you wouldn’t even think that a year ago he was terrified shitless of this very man he’d grown to relax around and even make small talk with.

Time really did wonders.

"Screw being a nonessential Moskowsky worker... I wanna be you when I grow up. Save for the part where I wake myself to come to work at five in the morning without hearing the devil’s bell ringing in my ears.

"I would never do such a thing to myself," Volkov said like a prayer, and Katya couldn’t even chuckle this time.

Everyone here looked like a zombie.

"Hold on... You’re actually serious that you’ve been having meetings back to back since yesterday afternoon??" Katya asked like he was finally catching up.

"You see that executive over there?" Volkov whispered as he pointed toward one of the men in a wrinkled grey suit.

"Bro had to lie that he has diabetes just so he could get a water break from his one-on-one meeting with Mr. Moskowsky," Volkov noted slowly.

"That group of men and women with red eyes? Their eyes aren’t red because of lack of sleep or exhaustion. He made them recite their entire project off head and threatened to fire them if dawn came and they still hadn’t figured it out.

"They’ve been trying, but I think today is actually going to be their last day, poor lads," Volkov added.

"That omega in a high ponytail? He had to change into a dress because the business casual attire he wore reminded the devil of a certain someone he was mad at but could never kill, ruin, or even afford to see cry," Volkov said, adding the last bit lowly.

Katya let out a soft gasp of shock as he stared at the poor male omega in an oversized dress. The man looked like he wanted to be everywhere but here.

"Oh, gods, I’m next?" Katya mumbled, the horror of his new reality potentially turning into a hell, hope like this one already scared the shits out of him.

"Huh?" Volkov asked, confused.

"If he summoned everyone... Who knows what he’ll do to me when it’s my turn," Katya said, his horror so sincere.

Oh, but Volkov had to remind himself that Katya didn’t know his boss was in a terrible mood because he saw Katya kissing the senator.

Or even that the male omega had suffered because his hair color matched Katya’s, and that was why Sergei was pissed at the unsuspecting employee.

"Well, you still have time, chairman. Go pray hard and hope the stars align for you. If every god says no, maybe try bribing one," Volkov said, and Katya just mumbled a thanks as he walked to his office.

On his way there, he saw the glass conference room.

Everyone there looked like they had suffered their entire generation, and it wasn’t even enough. They were sweaty and were trying so hard not to fall asleep while they presented what the the meeting was about to their boss.

At the head of that table was Sergei Moskowsky.

He looked like shit.

But only because Katya had seen him in many phases.

To anyone who looked at the man, he looked composed, calm, cold, and unbothered while he hosted back-to-back meetings like a maniac.

Yet even then, Katya could see it.

Something had changed.

Something had triggered the man.

For someone who was so feared even now, Katya saw a Sergei who was so tired and angry.

Maybe it was all in his head, right? So, he just hurried to his office to prepare for the day and wait for his turn with the devil of Frolo.

Only when he opened his mailbox, he was expecting so much work and emails...

But there was none.

Every task assigned to Chairman Romanov on the executive floor task flow chart was marked complete.

He looked across folders, hoping for a different outcome, but it was the same.

Every report, approved.

Every Romanov signature needed had a Sergei signature override it.

Sergei had done all of his work.

Maybe it wasn’t too late to go back and come to work at eight o’clock like everyone else, right? The only problem was that most of the people were already at work... or rather hadn’t managed to go home since yesterday.

The Moskowsky group was a hell camp, and Katya was finally seeing it for himself.

He was definitely done for... right?