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

       “I’m waiting,” Collins looked at me impatiently. He’s waiting. Pfff… The earth is waiting.

       I grabbed the piece of black cloth from his hands very abruptly, as if I was afraid to touch his skin and burn myself.

       Collins leaned back in his seat, not bothering even to turn to me. And how am I supposed to tie his damn tie? On my knees?!

        You know how, Mia. Around the neck and tighter. Infuriating! I hate his behavior, his indifference, and his coldness. How much he will torment me. But if this is such a challenge for me, then I took a dare.

       I took a deep breath and rose slightly from my seat on the unsteady legs. On top of that, I was also wearing heels. I’m sure it’s quite a sight. Surely you are enjoying your position now, Mr. Collins!

        Fortunately, I have the ability to put on ties for a long time. Ever since my first year, when my “loyal” boyfriend often asked me about it.

        The only thing I was happy about was that the car wasn’t going too fast. I deftly tied a loop on his tie, all the time trying not to look the man in the eye. But he wasn’t going to deny himself that kind of pleasure. I could almost feel his eyes boring into me.

        A minute later, I finished with the tie and was about to sit down in my seat when something I hadn’t expected happened.

        The car braked sharply, and I just fell on top of Collins. What the?! The man automatically wrapped his arms around my waist. And the world around me began to fade as I caught his warm, ragged breath against my cheek. His head-spinning smell of lemon and ... cigarettes? Does he smoke? I’ve never noticed it before.

       I was suddenly sobered by the loud voice of our driver, who was obviously arguing with someone. I guess our abrupt stop was clearly not planned.

       Collins, too, seemed to come to his senses and released me from his strong embrace.

       “I’m sorry,” I muttered under my breath as I slid back into my seat. But the man didn’t answer me. I saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. And then he just turned to the window. Angry?

       The conference was held in one of the major business centers of the city. I almost turned my head, trying to count how many floors there were in this infinitely tall building.

       The area was very different from where our hotel was located. Endless high-rises, the street is full of people in suits, hurrying somewhere, and not noticing anyone around.

       All the time I was shadowing the man, while he was communicating with his Spanish partners. They tried to ask me something a couple of times, too. But I just smiled stupidly, and the maximum that I had was a short “Si” because I didn’t know the foreign language at all.

      After Collins greeted his friends, we went into a spacious hall that resembled some kind of a lecture hall. A lot of seats, which slowly began to fill with people. The scene with the microphone and the pulpit. In the middle was a large screen with a presentation displayed on it.

      I suddenly had a not very pleasant memory of the academic conference that my supervisor had signed me up for against my will. I remember how much my hands were trembling and how terribly my voice was shaking. Public speaking is definitely not my thing. The head understands that nothing terrible is happening, but the body…

      We took our seats, not far from the stage. And soon, an endless series of presentations began. I honestly tried at first to humbly understand what was being said, and with the most intelligent look follow the graphics on the screen. But I got bored very quickly and didn’t even notice that the seat next to me was empty.

      There was a round of applause, and the conference host announced the last speaker. A moment later, my boss came on stage. The room was so quiet that I thought I could hear my own breath, which I held as he began his speech.

        I find myself admiring him again. At least now I can do it calmly, without fear of being declassified.

       His calm, confident voice penetrated every cell of my body. The way he carried himself in public, the way he answered provocative questions… Yeah, this was not even close to our “kid’s” university speaking.

       This man really wanted to listen to with an open mouth. I looked around and it seemed that the rest of the audience fully shared my opinion, because all their inquisitive eyes were now directed at the stage.

       I can say that Collins’s speech made a splash. Immediately after the conference ended, such a crowd flew up to us. At least they should line up.

      “Henry, hi, dear,” a striking blonde in a bright red suit came up to us and spoke in broken English, “It seems I haven’t seen you for ages,” and kissed Collins on the cheek, absolutely not paying any attention to me.

      “Hello, Catalina,” the man said, smiling slightly at her effusive greeting. “Yes, it seems quite a long time since we last met.”

      “But you haven’t changed at all. Look so bloody good.” The Spanish woman casually adjusted the rather deep neckline of her blouse, drawing attention to her full breasts.