Chapter Twenty-Two
Daniel
Daniel turned to Dana. She’d once again come to his office right after Amelia had left, giving him more refunds to sign. “You need to go to your direct manager with these. And bring all of them all at once.”
“But you’re so much easier to talk to.”
“I’m busy,” he said. “I was trying to have lunch.”
“I could always join you.”
“No, thank you. I’d rather spend it with my girlfriend.”
“But—”
“I’m sending a message to your manager to let her know you’ll be going to her.” He turned to his computer. She stood there for a few moments longer, but then she finally huffed and left.
Dana was starting to remind him of Lucinda.
He focused on his work, trying not to bother Amelia while she was busy. He stayed in his office, determined not to be disturbed again.
By five thirty, he was ready to leave and stopped by Amelia’s office to check in.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“I can be,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes. Mostly. I didn’t like the interruptions from Dana.”
“Neither did I,” he replied. “I told her to go to her manager from now on. Hopefully, it won’t be a problem again.”
“We’ll see. But it’s fine. I had an unpleasant email in my inbox that I had to deal with.”
“We both need to be done for the day,” he urged. “Let’s go home.”
As they got on the train, Amelia yawned, looking exhausted. They stopped to pick up dinner, neither of them feeling up to cooking after the long day.
Instead of relaxing, however, Amelia only seemed to move more and more. She was nervous about something.
“I can’t sit still,” she muttered. “I think I need to go to the gym to work out this energy.”
“That’s a great idea. Do you mind if I go too?”
“I should warn you that I get really red-faced when I work out. It’s not a pretty sight.”
“I think I can deal with that,” he replied.
“We’ll see. But you’re welcome to come. We could go to the gym John works at. Maybe he’ll be there.”
“That would be great.”
Amelia changed into leggings and a tank top, and Daniel made a mental note that he needed workout clothes from his apartment if he was going to be making a habit of this.
This time, they drove, but it was past rush hour, so traffic was at a minimum. The gym was busier than he expected, but John was there, working with someone else.
The moment he saw them, he waved, a smile crossing his face.
“Let’s warm up,” Amelia said. “Maybe we can talk to him after he’s done.”
They walked on the treadmill for five minutes before moving to the weights area. After they’d done a few exercises, John joined them.
“Hey, you two,” he greeted. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“We needed a good workout,” Amelia said. “Are you busy?”
“My client is going to be late, so I could give you a workout that will kick your ass.”
“I think I need it. I can’t sit still for shit. It was a rough day at the office.”
“And I’m always happy to work out,” Daniel added.
“Then let’s do this.” John gave them a list and provided a quick tutorial on how to do each of them. By the time he was working with his next client, Daniel could already tell that he’d be sore.
“He doesn’t take it easy on anyone,” Amelia huffed after finishing a set. “Not even family.”
It was hard—harder than he’d ever worked out before, but he got breaks when Amelia used the machine for her reps.
They were both dripping with sweat by the time they were done. Daniel went to the men’s locker room to splash water on his face.
“Was that enough of an ass kicking for you?”
Daniel turned, seeing John coming out of the bathroom. “Yeah,” he replied. “It was hard.”
“Good. I hope it helped Amelia.”
“I think so,” Daniel said. “Work has been hard on her.”
“It always is. Even when she was in school she struggled.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Would she have a problem with me knowing?”
“Her ex hurt her in more ways than one. She’s slow to trust, but I think you’re perfect for her. Just give her time.”
“I’ll give her all she needs.”
“And that is why I like you. Hopefully, you don’t hate me too much for the workout.”
“No, I needed it. Maybe I’ll come back in a few days when the inevitable soreness wears off.”
***
The next morning, Daniel was as sore as expected. He was slow to move, though Amelia didn’t seem to share the sentiment.
“Are you even hurting at all?” he asked with a groan.
“No. I’m guessing you are?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I think I’m dying.”
She laughed at him and dragged him out of bed.
He complained until she got a hot shower going and practically pushed him into it. Once he felt a little better, they had a quick breakfast before going to work. They went their separate ways when they got in, but she was on his mind the whole morning.
When Daniel heard a knock at his door, he hoped it was her. However, he was disappointed to find only Dana.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, resisting the urge to sigh.
“My manager is on break, so I have more refunds for you to sign,” she said. He gritted his teeth and took them from her. If he got this over with, then she’d leave him alone. “So, how are you and Amelia doing?”
Or not.
“Does this have to do with work?”
“Not every conversation has to be about work.”
“It does when you work for me.”
“But it just seems so weird . . . You know, with it being so soon.”
“I don’t know what you expect me to say, Dana. I don’t talk about my private life at work.” His voice was stern.
“But you do with Amelia,” she said.
“Amelia isn’t my employee.” He could feel his frustration building. “You are. Let this go.”
“But—”
“Dana,” he warned. “I do not want to take disciplinary action against you, but I will.”
She seemed to deflate, and she said, “Right, sorry.”
She then walked out. He let out a long breath, frustrated with her attempts to push him into an answer. He’d never seen her like this, and he didn’t want to again.
But the threat seemed to work. He was left alone for most of the day, which was needed, considering he had multiple meetings.
At five, Amelia knocked on his door.
“I’m so ready to get home,” she said, her voice tight. “I’m not focusing very well.”
“I’m done too. Sorry, I missed lunch again. I’ll take you out to dinner to make up for it.”
“That sounds perfect,” she replied.
They took the MARTA to a nearby restaurant, a nicer one that he hoped Amelia would like. Once there was food on the table, her mood got better.
When they got home, they had time to watch a little bit of TV before she fell asleep on his shoulder. He put her in bed and then tidied up the house.
He was folding a blanket when he knocked Amelia’s purse on the ground. He bent down to pick it up, only to see a pill bottle fall out, the name side facing him. The last thing he wanted to do was pry, but he’d never heard of it, and his heart sank. What if she’d been keeping a serious illness from him?
He looked it up and saw it was an ADHD medication.
For a moment, he was relieved. It made sense. She had trouble focusing and getting things done, but why would she not have told him about it?
He could have put his phone down then, but he didn’t. If Amelia was on something for it, then there had to be a reason. And maybe one day, she would need help with it. When he searched for ADHD, he found all the traditional symptoms—not being able to sit still, not being able to focus. But it was all geared for kids, not adults.
So he typed in a search for adults, and then a suggested search read ADHD in adult women.
That was what he clicked on.
And then he realized ADHD was more than he thought.
He read through everything, feeling like he had been hit by a train. ADHD came with a laundry list of things that could go wrong. Many of the symptoms were different in women. They tended to have poorer friendships, to be messier, and often treated it with self-medicated drugs. It encompassed everything, from their social life to their monetary life. It could easily get dangerous while driving and dangerous for addiction. It meant anything from vastly overeating to ignoring bodily needs.
He had no idea how much it affected a person’s everyday life.
Through his search, he found people debating the use of medication, especially those that were labeled controlled substances. Many of the comments on the forum called people using it weak or addicted.
Had this been what her ex had done?
He put the bottle back. Just how bad had Andrew hurt her? And was it tied to the reason she hadn’t told him?
For as many questions as he had, he also knew he didn’t want to push her into telling him until she was ready. She was already stressed with work, and he didn’t want to make it worse.
Hopefully, she would open up to him about it, and when she did, he would be there for her.