Born to die

Secrets Can't Be Kept From A Boss

"Natalya!" Barked Ezra as he marched into the staff room.
"Yes boss?"
"My office now!" He demanded.
All of the staff had turned their heads to stare at the pair as Natalya walked past Ezra looking almost smug.
"All of you get back to work now!" He yelled and the leaders followed his orders swiftly.
When Natalya walked into his office he slammed the door shut and locked it.
"Tell me Natalya, what are the rules when it comes to information on the girls?"
"If you know that a student is doing something they shouldn't be then report to you immediately." She answered automatically.
"Exactly. Now Natalya you are my best employee and I am personally quite shocked you didn't tell me about Tatyana."
Natalya hoped that Ezra didn't notice her breath hitch.
"I'm not sure what you mean Ezra?"
"Don't play dumb Nat! You knew about her relationship the entire time didn't you?"
"And what if I did?" She asked.
"And what if you did? Natalya, romance isn't allowed at Khela!" Ezra snapped back.
"That didn't stop you when you came to us from Soviet Union! Why should you be allowed to have relationships but not the girls!"
"The difference in between me and the girls is that no one notices. It's painfully obvious that Tatyana is in love!"
"Shouldn't that be a good thing? Out of all the girls, can't we give TT a pass?"
"We can't give any of the girls a pass Natalya. If any of the leaders figured Tatyana and Kyoko out; which they will, then I'll be expected to punish them. Can you imagine what would happen if I refused to punish TT?"
"Ezra! How could you even suggest that?"
"You know what happens to the girls that don't follow the rules on such a major scale Natalya." Said Ezra, his voice indifferent.
"If you dare-."
"If I dare what? What can you do if I choose to do that? You have nowhere outside of Khela."
"None of us do! I don't, you don't, Claudia doesn't, Avery doesn't. Without this place we are nothing. And without this place over a thousand girls would be homeless. But I would risk it all to stop you so much as harming a single hair on Tatyana's head!" Natalya yelled.
"Look Natalya, I love her as well. She's as much of a daughter to me as she is to you. But rules are rules. I need to do it."
Natalya ran to the door to block it as Ezra turned to exit his office.
"I'm not letting you. No one else knows, why punish her and Kyoko when none of the leaders have identified it as an issue!"
"Because I have a responsibility as the boss of this whole place!" Ezra whispered harshly.
"And remind who you second in command is."
"You are."
"So if you die, I have the responsibility of boss of this whole place."
"Are you threatening me?" Questioned Ezra, his voice thick with anger and words laced with venom.
"Yes." Spat Natalya, taking a step towards Ezra.
The white haired man took a few steps backwards and fell back onto his chair with an exasperated sigh. He put his head into his hands and muttered something about how difficult she was to talk to.
"How about we make a deal?"
"A deal?"
"That's what I said was it not?" Snarled Ezra bitterly.
The blonde woman strode forward until she stood in front of her boss and knelt down until she was sat on the floor in front of him. Opposed to normal, Natalya's face gave away every single emotion that she was feeling and by a single glance, Ezra could see the curiosity, anger and desperation in her eyes.
"You did say that. I apologise."
"Thank you." Ezra muttered while he ran his fingers through Natalya's dirty blonde locks. "I don't want to hurt Tatyana just as much as you don't want me to so therefore I think we can agree on an arrangement."
A few uncomfortable seconds of silence.
"Go on." Spoke the hazel eyed mentor, sounding intrigued.
"I won't punish Tatyana unless the leaders find out about her and Kyoko. However if the leaders do find out, Kyoko shall bare the worst of the punishment. Agreed?"
"Agreed." Stated Natalya.
"Shake on it?"
Natalya offered her hand to the black eyed man who accepted and shook it calmly.
"Is there anything else you wish to discuss boss?" Natalya asked sincerely.
"Don't tell Tatyana. We show her enough favouritism as it is."
"Favouritism never seemed to bother you before. You're the one that insisted she have her own room, that she should get extra curricular training. You even suggested she get extra food for Gods sake!"
"Yeh I get it okay!"
"No I don't think you do Ezra. Since she got here we've treated her differently, don't you think that's affected her?"
Ezra removed his fingers from Natalya's hair and placed his head back into his hands.
"Do you think I was wrong?"
"I think we both were Ez. Neither of us knew the affect what we did would've had."
"You know that was the moment you were supposed to say something inspiring or some shit like that." Ezra murmured sarcastically.
The blonde woman chuckled emptily.
"I'm simply stating the truth. I don't think giving special treatment from pretty much the moment she got here was fair, to her or to the other girls."
"Do you think we should stop? Move her into the dorms, make her wait another year for any more missions?"
"No. It would only do her more harm if we stopped."
For a few minutes the two sat in silence, the only sound heard was their breathing and the tick of Ezra's clock.
Natalya turned her back to Ezra to lay her head in his lap and his hand returned to her hair without hesitation.
Hours passed and the two just sat their in a comfortable silence, a silence neither of them even considered breaking. Just sat in each other's company quietly. And for those few hours, the pair forget that in a few days they would have to send Tatyana back out on another mission.