Forbidden Passion (Alan Rickman FF) ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 13

Rosalyn went back to the kitchen and took care of the dishes. She would use the weekend to create a small office space in her apartment. She continued to think about the situation, it wasn't going to be quite that simple, after all she now no longer had access to Alan's letters. Her employment not only involved working with his manager and him personally, but she also helped him get a handle on the other work that occasionally came up. So it had already happened that she had helped him sorting the office, although it was no longer part of her duties. Therefore, she could not yet forget his accusation of being lazy. Because if he had placed value on her activities, he would know how dedicated she had always been. She often stayed several hours longer, even though her working hours had already ended. Rosalyn tried to distance herself from the unpleasant thoughts, preferring to focus on the here and now. She glanced around her kitchen and realized that she had done enough cleaning for today. By now it was getting late and she decided to go to sleep.

The next morning she was in a better mood again and after breakfast began to clear out her penally neglected desk. She hadn't sat down there for months, as the space was actually too small for her to work there properly. But it would have to suffice in the future, since Rosalyn would certainly not return to Alan's mansion unless Mary was not present. Her apartment was quite small, living in London could hardly be afforded, certainly not alone. Regularly she looked at the housing market to find a cheaper place to stay. Several times she had noticed beautiful, small apartments further outside London, which were much cheaper and even in a nicer area. Maybe she should sign up for a viewing sometime, because she wasn't averse to moving out of here. Especially if the new arrangement with Alan didn't work out.

Meanwhile, Rosalyn had brought her future workplace up to date. Her notebook was no longer the latest thing, but it was still sufficient for the company's internal work program. She made herself a large cup of tea and lit a scented candle to make herself comfortable in front of the computer. Actually, she didn't even need to check the incoming mails; after all, she was on vacation. Nevertheless, she couldn't help browsing through the new messages, but it would have been better if she hadn't done it.

Some of them were private and really none of her business. She didn't understand why Alan didn't want to have two different e-mail addresses. After all, he knew that this would force her to have access to his private affairs as well. Whether she liked it or not, she was compelled to give every e-mail at least a quick glance. Most of the time, this was enough to make up the content so that she didn't have to read any further, after all, what was written was none of her concerns.

Sighing, she set the private mails back to unread so Alan wouldn't overlook them. As she clicked on the second-to-last message, her eyes lingered on a travel confirmation. Rosalyn forced herself not to read any further, since it was obviously a personal arrangement for him and his wife. The booking was quite recent and must have just been made. She would have liked to slap herself, but she couldn't help it and read the entire message, only to immediately set it back to unread.

Slowly, she let herself fall back into the back of the office chair to take a deep breath. Unwanted jealousy spread through her heart, which seemed to beat irregularly and heavily. Honestly, when he had talked about a vacation, she had not believed that he would realize this wish so soon. Alan had booked a short trip to Paris, with champagne tasting and luxury meals with all sorts of extras. The whole thing took place in a Premier Suite, at the Four Seasons Hotel George V. The accommodation was in the very best location and there was a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower. The two nights, which went over a weekend, cost more than 16,000€, not even including all the special requests that had been added. Of course, the whole arrangement was topped with a flight in business class, as she could see from another mail from a well-known airline, which she set back to unread, just like all the other messages.

A mixture of jealousy and sadness overtook Rosalyn and she began to cry. What was it to her anyway that Alan had booked a weekend trip with his wife? It was his right to take a vacation. It wasn't her business and yet she felt betrayed, after all she had to cancel a couple of appointments that already fell on the coming Friday. He hadn't given her any information in advance, because otherwise she would have kept that day free for him. Or maybe the trip was spontaneous? Anyway, she thought disappointedly and wiped the tears from her cheeks with a handkerchief.

With slightly shaky fingers, she took her tea and sipped it a few times. So that was how it was, she continued to think bitterly. She was curious when he planned to let her know about it, so she could put off the radio station for the interview that was actually scheduled. Fortunately, it wasn't a live broadcast as far as she remembered, surely a new date would be found for it. The other meeting would be considerably more awkward to cancel, as this one was for a current, if small, film project. Rosalyn would have preferred to send the cancellations today, but that would show Alan that she had read his private mails.

She stared sadly into the flickering flame of the scented candle, no longer noticing the delicious vanilla aroma, so absorbed was she in thinking about what she had just discovered. She would now lie down on the sofa and read a good book, so that she would get other thoughts, after all, she had a vacation.