“Where’s your father?”
“We don’t have a father.”
Robert stared at me silently for several seconds.
“And do you need money badly?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How badly?”
I didn’t know what to say.
He simply nodded.
“I see. I think we could help each other.”
His words made me uncomfortable.
The next day, Robert summoned me to his office.
There was a thick envelope on his desk.
“If I offered you extra money, would you agree to stay after work sometimes?”
“What would I have to do?”
He smiled.
“You’ll find out when the time comes.”
I immediately refused.
But when I returned home that evening, I found my mother crying at the kitchen table.
Our landlord had sent us a final warning.
We had only ten days left to pay what we owed.
The following day, I told Robert I was willing to work extra hours if he paid me.
A strange smile appeared on his face.
“Good, Emily. Stay late on Friday. But don’t tell the others about it.”
On Friday, he kept watching me throughout my entire shift.
By nine that evening, the employees began leaving.
Linda noticed that I was still there.
“Why aren’t you going home?”
“Robert asked me to stay.”
Her expression changed.
“Emily, are you sure about this?”
Before I could answer, Robert appeared in the doorway.
“Linda, you can go. Emily and I have some business to take care of.”
A few minutes later, Robert and I were the only people left in the restaurant.
He called me into the back kitchen.
I stepped inside.
He closed the door and turned the key.
My heart began pounding.
“Why are you locking the door?”
“So nobody interrupts us.”
He slowly approached me.
