42. Punishment

Samuel looked at Paula hopefully. He was wondering what Paula asked him to do.

"Then …," Paula's eyes roamed. She then clapped her hands, calling the old janitor who was in the middle of work.

The man stopped cleaning the empty table and came closer to his employer. "What can I do for you, ma'am?" he asked, politely smiling at Paula.

"Fred, thank you for your hard work. Starting tomorrow, you can have three days off!"

"What?" The old janitor was shocked. He wanted to decline Paula's order since he was afraid of the salary cut.

"Don't worry! There is no salary cut. I will pay a full salary as usual," said Paula in amusement.

"But… why? I didn't do anything great that deserved a reward, ma'am!" Fred, the kind old man, wanted to know the actual reason behind the reward.

Paula chuckled. Her stern face turned to light. "Because, we have a volunteer here," Paula said as she glanced at Samuel. "Just pretend you won the lottery!"