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

        At the beginning of the following week, Henry really kept his word and let me go on a week off. They also paid me vacation pay.

       As for the money, a year of working for Collins as his “irreplaceable” assistant will cover the entire amount of my debt. But the biggest surprise for me was that I will still receive salaries, and not a penny less than before. But a different question suggests itself now – what’s the catch?!

        I already set myself personally find out this from the man, but I didn’t find him at the workplace. He left on business and whether he will return today is also unknown – all that I managed to hear from Amanda.

        Calling him was also not an option. Who am I to bother him with personal calls? And those his strange words that I can call him Henry in private. What did he mean by that? Damn… How many questions and how few answers there were.

        In the evening, I wanted to pack up and go home. But my mother suddenly assured me that there was no hurry, since aunt Suzy, my mother’s older sister, had arrived. And in the hospital, they won’t let us see James in until the day after tomorrow morning. And I have a whole week’s vacation ahead of me.

        So in general, from our conversation, I realized that my mother was not really waiting for me right now. And these hints of hers – a young girl needs to go out more, spend time with her peers… Does she think I have someone? I rolled my eyes. She’s probably kidding me…

        Well, knowing aunt Suzy, she really won’t let my mother get bored or get herself in a state. And probably it was her idea to give me one day for “going out”. Her daughters, my two cousins were not much older than me but already got husbands and kids. And I… don’t even have a boyfriend.

        But now I need to solve another giant problem. To speak with Olivia, finally. Almost a week had passed since she found me in the company of Collins. And all this time I tried unsuccessfully to reach out to the girl.

        I called and wrote to her every day, but if at first she just rejected the calls, then by the end of the week, the subscriber was no longer available to me at all. If Olivia changed her phone number, things are really bad.

        In all our five-year friendship, we’ve never had such a serious altercation. Though I don’t think it was an altercation at all. We didn’t even say a word to each other. If she’d yelled at me then, it would have been easier. I would have known at least what she was up to. And now…

       Anyway, I decided to go to Olivia’s apartment. And if today I have a free day, it is better not to delay it anymore.

        The area where my friend’s apartment was located was one of the most elite in the city. Therefore, when I went to the entrance of the high-rise building, I was not surprised by the security post. And since I didn’t have a resident’s pass, they consequently didn’t hurry to let me in.

        “Miss, who are you going to see?” the tall security guard asked me rather calmly.

        “Ms. Anderson, the15th floor, apartment 47,” I also answered calmly.

         I have been here many times, but it is unlikely that the man remembers every guest of the inhabitants of this huge high-rise.

        “Your ID,” the guard said again.

        “Yes, of course. Here,” I handed the documents to the man, who immediately wrote my details in his log.

        What I liked about these buildings was the level of security. No one suspicious or undesirable will pass beyond the threshold. It would be great to earn money and move my mother and James to the same house. It was almost the center of the city and the school was nearby, too. But, alas ... for now, these thoughts were just dreams for me.

        Having returned my passport, the security guard now called somewhere, apparently to the owner of the apartment. Well, and judging by the fact that I was still hovering at the exit when he finished the conversation, a miracle will not happen.

         I was ready to turn around and leave – I don’t think the girl was happy to see me. Most likely, Olivia told the guard that she didn’t know any Mia, and certainly wasn’t waiting for her. However, despite my doubts, I was allowed to pass. Hmm... Was it a good sign?

        As I rode up the elevator, I thought about what I would talk to Olivia about. Or rather, how I will justify myself. What should I guess? I’ll just tell her everything that happened.

      The only thing that I should probably keep quiet about was the kisses and the deal. I’ll tell her what happened at the club, how he saved my ass and offered me a job. Well, the fact that he was also the owner of this place was pure coincidence. I wasn’t tracking him, after all.

       I hope my arguments were strong enough to stop thinking I was a sneaky traitor. And if she asks about our relationship. Here, too, everything was quite simple. The boss and subordinate. But if she wonders about my feelings, I... I don’t fully understand them yet, but it would be stupid to deny the obvious.

     I reached the right floor and a moment later I was standing in front of the right door. But my hand remained frozen over the bell button as the door suddenly clicked open.