Page 22 of Rockstar Retreat

“Well, it’s good you didn’t mean for it to happen, but it doesn’t change that it did,” he said firmly. “I’m going to let you off with a warning this time, Sharon, because you’re such a good employee. But if I hear anything, or if you so much as go near that client again, I’m afraid I can't have you working here. You know the rule when it comes to clients, Sharon; you do not have affairs with them.”

The ‘if you do, you keep it hidden,’ didn’t need to be said, but I knew he was thinking along those lines.

“Henry, you won’t have any more problems with me.”

A part of me was relieved I wasn’t going anywhere. But then, there was the part of me that felt disappointed that I wasn’t allowed to visit Jerrik again, though it should have been a good thing for me. In a way, I’d been looking for a way to get out of seeing him, and this way, I could do it with minimal guilt. Because it wasn’t just me running away, it was a direct order from Henry.

It was almost funny when I thought of my situation being something similar, if watered down, to Jerrik’s. He was at the retreat because he was forced to, and because of my job, I would be forced not to see him.

I knew it was for the best. So why did it leave a bitter taste in my mouth?

“If that’s all sir, I’ll get back to work.”

“You do that,” he said dismissively, waving me away.

I gave a sharp nod that he didn’t see, because he was looking down. “Excuse me.”

When I left his office, I went directly to my room. I had a class to attend, a lot of personal things I needed to get done, but all I could think about was Jerrik and how I’d left him.

There hadn't been shouting behind us when I left with the boss, and it was quiet outside right then, but I still wondered what happened.

After what happened yesterday and the way I found Jerrik today, I wondered if he was still okay before deciding that was a stupid thought. Of course, he wasn’t okay; he wouldn’t act that way, with anyone, if he were okay. Whatever the other staff member had done to annoy him, I knew the biggest fault probably lay with me.

It’s for the best.

If I stayed away from him, then he could do what he came to do, find some way to heal on his own. All I was doing was making him miserable and even worse than when he arrived, from what I’d seen. It really would be best, for the both of us.

You should be happy, I told myself.

I finally got what I wanted, a legitimate excuse to keep away from Jerrik, but I couldn’t help wondering if it would be that easy. After yesterday… I doubted things would be as I thought they would be.