My Sweet Punishment by Amelia Brooks (best book club books of all time .TXT) 📕

      To say I was in shock is an understatement. Why would he give me a ride?

      “Thank you, but I’ll take the subway,” I said quickly, still standing in the elevator.

       I wasn’t ready to accept this offer. Not from him, I don’t know why. It didn’t seem right to stay in the car with the man at this late hour. He may be my boss, but I don’t know anything about him. Like at all.

       Plus, after getting my address, I don’t think he’d want to drag himself halfway across town to give some assistant a ride.

       “Mia,” with a sigh, the man called me by my first name again, and I tensed. “I don’t have the energy or desire to argue with you.” The boss looked really tired.

       “I just don’t want to bother you, Mr. Collins,” I said, trying to find a normal excuse for my behavior.

       “If it bothered me, I wouldn’t have suggested it myself.” The man rolled his eyes, but there was no irony in his voice, he was serious. “It’s pouring outside, and it’s kind of easy for a young girl to run into trouble on the subway at this late hour. So don’t think too much of it. I’ll just give you a ride.” And the man headed for the parking lot, without even looking at me.

        I now, for some reason, became very ashamed of my behavior and I, having sent my doubts far away to hell, trudged towards the boss.

       We stopped at a large black-tinted jeep. After the man opened the front passenger door for me, I muttered a short “Thank you” and quickly hid inside.

       The interior of an expensive car met me with the smell of its owner’s perfume. Something tart, like bergamot and lemon. I let myself inhale this scent while the man was walking around the car to take the driver’s seat.

       During the whole time we were driving out of the parking lot, the man asked me only the address of my house and nothing else. He continued to stare at the road in silence. You didn’t think, Mia, that you were going to be having casual small talk with him right now?

       On the way out of the office, I noticed a vaguely familiar sports car, but when I saw who was sitting on its hood, it immediately became clear where I saw it. In my yard. Mike.

       What is he doing at the entrance to the company at this time of night? And I know that he definitely doesn’t work here. I hope he wasn’t waiting for me. This thought sent a cold sweat down my spine. If that’s true, then he’s definitely insane!

      I quickly checked the pepper spray in my purse. Phew, it’s here. No, I won’t stay at work that long anymore, or I’ll take a taxi next time. My boss is right. There are a lot of assholes right now. And one I know personally.

       “Is something wrong? Forgot something?” The man sitting next to me noticed my nervous fumbling in the purse.

      “No, it just seemed to me.” I quickly zipped up my purse and turned to the window, where the heavy raindrops were still falling.

      “Mia,” the man began suddenly and then stopped.

       “Yes, Mr. Collins?” I tried to calm down my shaking fingers.

       “I would like to apologize for the behavior of my employee. She had no right to set you up like this today.”

       “What do you mean, Mr. Collins?” How did he find out? Did Amanda confess it to him?

       “I see that you are a very kind girl, Mia…” Suddenly my boss paid me a compliment, and I looked at him in bewilderment. “But this quality is not enough to work for my company. If not to mention that it will cause you more trouble, and also your lack of restraint...” He will constantly remind me of that incident with the German? Good, he didn’t see my shame today in the cafe with Mike. Or he did?

       I didn’t understand what the boss was driving at. Do I need to become an emotionless robot? Or a mean bitch like Amanda? Maybe I should take some lessons with her? Fire me right away then. His words made me really angry. I didn’t answer him. If he doesn’t like something about me, why did he hire me at all?

       After half an hour of our silent ride, we were approaching my yard. My only desire was to get out of that damn car as quickly as possible, or I would lose my control and say something bad to him that I’d regret later.

      “Thanks for the ride,” I muttered in a cold voice, not looking at the man’s face as I tried to undo my seat belt. But as bad luck would have it, it jammed. Heck! What kind of cars are these? It costs like a whole apartment, but they even can’t make normal belts!

        I was still trying in vain to get out of this trap when I suddenly froze as I felt the man’s hand on my waist. I was so busy with that damn belt that I didn’t notice that the boss was moving so close to me.

     “What are you doing?” I breathed so fast, feeling my heart start to jump out of my chest. I could smell the man so clearly that I almost felt dizzy.          

       But the man didn’t respond to my outrage, and I suddenly heard the click of a seat belt and his chuckle in my ear, and then he finished me off when THIS…, I don’t even have such curse words in my vocabulary to describe such a person, …slightly bit the lobe! But I, to my shame, couldn’t even move. I felt like I was paralyzed.