Chapter Twenty-One
Amelia
The next day was a flurry of emails and things to do. Amelia focused as long as she could before there was a knock at her office door.
She looked up and saw Stacey walk in. She bit back a frown at the sight of her coworker, wondering if this was going to be another conversation where she was pushed for information.
“Hi,” Amelia said. “What can I do for you?”
Stacey looked nervous. “Um, I just wanted to . . . talk.”
“About?”
“You and Daniel.”
Amelia immediately felt the urge to go on the defensive, but she kept her voice level. “What about me and Daniel?”
“I just thought you should know that some of the people are saying bad things about you. I know we all talk and everything, but people are going way too far.”
“I know,” Amelia admitted.
“You know?”
“I’m very quiet in the break room. I heard some of it yesterday.”
“Was it Dana?” Stacey asked.
“I . . . can’t really answer that.”
“I understand,” Stacey said. “I feel like she’s causing a hostile work environment. I mean, of course it is for you, but not everyone here wants to talk about that. I definitely don’t. Yes, it’s a surprise you two are dating, but it doesn’t involve work. Whatever else is just between you and Daniel.”
“While I agree with you, the only thing I can do is tell people to stop, and I doubt that will help.”
“I know it doesn’t work that way, and I know Cheryl was just as bad as everyone else yesterday. But I wanted you to know . . . not all of us are like that. Not all of us are that interested in your private life.” She gave her a shaky smile.
Amelia blinked, shocked at what she was saying. She hadn’t thought anyone was on her side since her promotion.
“Thank you,” she said genuinely. “It means a lot. Maybe I could try to send an email about it—especially since it’s affecting others.”
“Most of us will respect it. Maybe not Dana, though.”
Amelia couldn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes. “I’d imagine not.”
“Daniel is her boss. If I were him, I’d be livid. But you totally don’t have to tell me anything about it if you don’t want to.”
“I actually never told Daniel what Dana said.”
“Why not?”
“It seems like a personal issue.”
“Right, but it’s at work too.”
“I don’t want Daniel to get upset and retaliate.”
“I get it. I couldn’t even imagine being in your shoes. I mean, you guys just started dating and seeing all of this . . . Ugh.”
“Thank you,” Amelia said, nodding. “That means a lot.”
Stacey smiled and turned for the door. “I guess that’s all. I’ll see you around.”
After Stacey was gone, Amelia took a deep breath, feeling a little bit of tension ease, knowing that at least some people had a good sense of how to be professional.
She was able to focus until noon when she got a message from Daniel.
Daniel: Are you busy? Want to have lunch?
Intrigued, she shut off her computer and walked to his office.
Amelia knocked twice before entering. “Hey,” she said.
Daniel smiled at her and gestured to his desk, where two plates of food from the market down the road waited. “I got us food.”
“That’s really sweet of you,” she said as she shut the door. “Don’t you want to eat in the break room, though?”
“People never leave me alone if I do that.” He rolled his eyes. “Besides, here we have some privacy.”
“I think I’d like that.” She felt more of her tension melt away.
“How is your day going? Is it any better than yesterday?”
“Kind of.” She shrugged. “I was thinking about sending out an email reminding people not to gossip.”
“It’s probably needed. We really rocked the boat, didn’t we?”
Amelia laughed, but his door opened and she immediately stopped. She turned to see who had just barged in. It was Dana, holding a stack of papers.
“Hi, Daniel,” she said. “Can you sign this?”
His lips pressed together. “I’m having lunch.”
“It’s just a quick signature,” she insisted.
Amelia made a mental note that if they were going to have lunch together, then they needed to be out of the office entirely. He sighed and signed the papers, but Amelia noticed the way Dana smiled at him, which further plummeted her mood.
“Thanks!” Dana said, walking out without another word toward Amelia. It was like she was invisible.
“See what I mean about being bothered at lunch?”
She wanted to bring up Dana’s crush or suggest that they leave the office for lunch so they could continue uninterrupted, but she couldn’t manage to do either. So, she smiled and said, “Yep. I definitely do.”
“Well, she’s good at what she does, so I don’t mind.”
She felt her mood deflate more. She knew Dana was good at her job—and Daniel respected her for her effort. But just a little over a week ago, that was the exact opinion he’d had of Amelia, and look where they were now. If things were different, would he be more interested in Dana, who she’d heard say she wanted to make a move?
It wasn’t a logical thought, but once she had it, it was all she could think about.
“You know what? I think I need to answer some emails,” Amelia said, feeling oppressed by everything that was happening.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, and I don’t want to take you away from work. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Are you okay?” Daniel asked, but his office door opened again, and Dana appeared with more papers to sign. Amelia forced a smile onto her face as she left, thanking him once more for the food.
When she got to her office, she put her head down on the desk and tried not to lose it.
Things were definitely not okay.