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.
Shop Kitchenware
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?”
“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,