tearful eyes.
Two days later, Kate stopped coming to work.
When I asked why, nobody wanted to answer.
Only Linda, our oldest employee, quietly pulled me aside.
“Emily, listen to me. Robert likes keeping young women around him. If he ever asks to see you alone, be careful.”
“Why doesn’t anyone say anything?”
Linda looked at me for a long moment.
“Because he’s very rich, sweetheart. And everyone here needs their job.”
From that day forward, I began paying closer attention to Robert.
He often stood near the kitchen doorway, watching me work.
One afternoon, he approached me.
“Emily, do you have a boyfriend?”
I was caught off guard.
“No.”
He smiled slightly.
“And do you live alone?”
“With my mother.”
“Where’s your father?”
“We don’t have a father.”
Robert stared at me silently for several seconds.
“And do you need money badly?”
