Charity Night (english)

23

When I wake up in the morning, the side of the bed next to me is empty and I look around the room, but there is no sign of Zac. However, there is a small piece of paper on my bedside table on which he left me a message.

- Good morning darling. I'll be home shortly. Be ready at the hotel promptly at 9am. Love Zachery. -

Smiling, I turn around again and snuggle into the big, soft pillow. Every day could start like this. The view out the window shows me Central Park, bathed in the morning sun, and I decide to get ready quickly and then go for a walk around the park before Zac picks me up. I quickly jump into my running outfit and set off.

The weather is really wonderful and although it is still early, the sun is already pleasantly warm and I stretch my head up to the sky to enjoy the rays. The first few hundred meters are always the hardest for me and I'm still quite slow. But then it becomes much easier and I'm moving at a good speed when I hear my name from behind. Nobody knows me here... So I keep running, but I hear the calls again. This time the voice is much closer and I slow down, look behind me and when I see that it is Sandra I stop my run.

"Good morning. What makes you get up so early? "I thought today was problem solving with Mr. Hyde Junior?" she asks. "Hey Good morning. Yes, but I wanted to let off some steam beforehand. And the view of the park drove me out of bed." I laugh. "And you? Did you have the same plan?" "I do my rounds here every morning before I go to the office. It's wonderful at this time because there aren't that many people out and about."

"Can I ask you a question?" she asks cautiously. "Of course... What do you want to know?" "I don't know how to start... Hmm... What exactly happened between you and our junior boss? I've never seen him like that and I've been working there for 6 years now." She asks the question quite sheepishly and also looks slightly worried. I pick at my lip nervously. Can I trust her? It's not something that should be going around the company and especially not because I have no idea what IT even is. "Sandra, I don't know what to tell you. We just don't always agree and it's hard for both of us to get used to each other." I try to explain myself out of it, but I can see that she isn't happy with my explanation. "Are you sure there isn't something else? I mean, I'm not blind. Mr. Hyde is an attractive man and when you spend a lot of time together and are in the office together late into the night, a lot of things can happen." She continues to probe.

"What do you mean by that?" I pretend to be stupid and look at her in mock horror. "Don't act like that... Are you blind or something?" she laughs. "Didn't you take a good look at him? You have eyes in your head, don't you?" I smile at her statement and shake my head. "Of course I see that he is a good-looking man, but he is also my boss and I love my job very much.

That's why it wouldn't occur to me to start something with him." I swoon at her and roll my eyes to clarify what I said.

Then my curiosity gets the better of me and I just have to ask her. "Has it ever happened that he started something with employees?" I asked curiously and a little uneasily. "I'm not sure, of course, but a few years ago he had an assistant here and you would often see them leaving the building together, but after a few months she suddenly wasn't there anymore. She was fired. There were rumors going around that they were having an affair, but no one ever caught them in a situation that would confirm it," she tells me excitedly. "So you better take care of yourself. I could imagine that you fit exactly into his prey scheme." And ends her story with a wink.

I don't want to let my disbelief show, so I just wave it off. I don't really trust my voice at the moment. I realize that with his looks and his position in society, Zac is definitely an eligible bachelor, but the fact that he's already had a relationship with his former assistant caught me off guard. Maybe this is his scam?! Although we met before he became my boss.

"Oh, and once he had a thing with a young woman from the marketing department. There were even witnesses to this." Sandra suddenly remembers. It just keeps getting better. I immediately start to doubt everything. Was it all just an act tonight? Does he always do this to his employees? Did he perhaps even know who I was beforehand?

"I have to go. We'll see each other in the office tomorrow." Sandra lets me know and simply walks away without another word, leaving me alone with my thoughts. What should I do now? I definitely don't feel like running anymore and make my way back to the hotel. There I stand in the shower and turn on the water and let my tears flow.

I have no idea how long I stood under the warm water, but I startle out of my thoughts when there is a loud knock on the door.

"Charlotte, are you in there?" I hear my boss's voice. Should I open it for him? Maybe he'll just go away if I don't react. At the moment I'm just not ready to face him. This roller coaster of emotions I'm going through is just too much. "I can hear that you're there. I hear the shower!" he shouts now. Gritting my teeth, I grab the towel and the hotel bathrobe and go to the door. I hesitantly place my hand on the handle and slowly push it down after taking a breath.

"Didn't you find my note? Weren't we supposed to meet at 9 a.m. in front of the hotel?" he says and when he takes a closer look at me he asks. "Did you cry?"

I quickly try to look away, but Zac immediately grabs my arm and turns me back to face him. "So what's going on? "Has something happened?" he wants to know from me. What should I say to that? Can I ask him if there's anything to this whole thing? In order not to burst into tears again, I go back into the room and just leave him standing in the doorway.

"Charlotte, talk to me!" he comes towards me with long strides and grabs my shoulders. And suddenly it bursts out of me.

"Is it true that you already had something going on with several of your employees? What about the woman from marketing or your former assistant? Is this some sick fetish of yours?" I spit out at him the questions that are so burning on my mind. Horrified and caught, he looks down at me and I can see in his eyes that he is struggling with himself. "Let me explain, but first... Where did you get this information? And when did you hear about it? "Everything was fine last night..." I'm not sure if I even want to hear what he said, but I allow it and answer evasively because I don't want to beat Sandra into the oven.

"This morning, while I was jogging in the park, I was approached by a young woman who probably also works for the company, but she didn't give me a name and just left me there. But not before she warned me about you and asked if we were having an affair. I..." but I can't get any further because he interrupts me. "And you just believed her without talking to her about it again? All right, I admit that the two women actually existed, but what does that have to do with us? Besides, we met before I even knew you worked for us. Isn't that worth anything? You meant nothing to me! Not like you..."

The last one He only whispers a sentence.