Chapter 16
Irace back to the office, worst-case scenarios crashing through my mind like a violent storm, each possibility more terrifying than the last. Amanda watching Jake’s video. Amanda discovering our history. Amanda using it all against us both.
Down the corridor, I hear her voice before I round the corner. My steps falter, then quicken.
“Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do, rookie?” Amanda looms over Wendy like she’s one wrong breath away from shoving her, red lips curled into a predatory sneer. “I’ve worked here way longer than you. I can do as I please. Now move out of the way before you regret it.”
Wendy doesn’t budge. “You need to go back to your office and leave Sarah alone.”
Though Wendy’s chin is held high, her complexion has paled to the color of copy paper. She resembles a rookie goalkeeper facing a championship striker—determined but terrified. I don’t blame her. Amanda’s so red in her face, I half expect steam to escape out her ears. She hasn’t seen the video yet.
Without hesitation, I stride forward. “What’s going on here?” Wendy stood up to Amanda for my sake, an act I’m grateful for and one I’ll never forget. It’s my turn to have her back.
Amanda’s gaze snaps to me, eyes narrowing. “Oh, look who decided to grace us with her presence.” I really don’t like her condescending tone. “Late again, Sarah. How shocking.”
I ignore her entirely, focusing instead on my friend. “Are you okay?”
Wendy nods, but the slight tremble in her shoulders says otherwise.
“Oh, please,” Amanda tosses her head back, “spare me the melodrama. This is none of your business.”
My arms fold across my chest as I step directly between them, creating a human barricade against Amanda’s hostility. “It is my business. You’re standing by my cubicle harassing my friend.” My voice is steel. “I suggest you go back to work.”
“Harassing?” Amanda’s laughter erupts like I’m spouting nonsense. “I was simply reminding her of her place.”
The anger in me that has diminished since watching Jake’s video flares to life, hot and uncontainable. “She doesn’t need you breathing down her neck, reminding her of some nonexistent hierarchy. You don’t get to treat people like this.”
Amanda isn’t the queen of this office, though she struts through it like royalty. That imaginary crown doesn’t give her the right to intimidate everyone she encounters. She needs to descend from her self-constructed throne and remember she’s a colleague, not our ruler.
Her smirk falters, replaced by a glare cold enough to freeze my blood. “Oh, don’t act like you’re some office hero,” she snaps at me. “Just because you’re cozy with Jake doesn’t make you untouchable. You’re as disposable as the rest of the rookies around here.”
Though her words are cruel, they don’t sting like they used to. “Picking on people doesn’t make you powerful. It just makes you a bully.” I take a half-step closer, lowering my voice. “And trust me, that won’t get you far.”
Amanda has gotten away with too much for too long, stepping out of line every time she opens her mouth. I’m done letting her bulldoze anyone—especially Wendy, who had the courage to protect me when I wasn’t even here.
Her jaw ticks, like she’s grinding her teeth. I think she might actually lunge at me.
But then, like some bizarre workplace miracle, Tim’s voice slices through the tension. “Alright, enough.” He approaches with his hands raised like a referee. “Break it up.”
Amanda straightens her spine, shoulders pulling back as she throws me one final withering glare. “This isn’t over.” Her heels strike the floor angrily as she storms away.
Tim follows behind her, and I’m left wondering who’s the boss in their relationship—whatever it may be.
Finally, Hurricane Amanda disappears, taking her toxic cloud and lightning-strike temper with her. The oxygen seems to return to the room in her absence.
My pulse still races beneath my skin as I turn to Wendy. “That was intense,” I say.
She offers me a shaky smile, relief washing over her features. “Yeah. Thanks, Sarah. I didn’t know how to make her stop.”
“What happened?” I lean against my desk, suddenly aware of how my knees quiver with adrenaline.
Wendy glances around to ensure we’re beyond eavesdropping range, then leans closer, her voice barely above a whisper. “I caught her digging through your desk earlier. When I confronted her, she snapped. That’s when she started her little power trip.”
“Thanks for sticking up for me.” If Wendy hadn’t intervened, Amanda would have discovered Jake’s video—his raw confession, his pain, his goodbye. “I owe you one.”
There’s something profoundly comforting about finding genuine friendship in unexpected places.
Someone who listens without judgment, who sees you as a person rather than competition or an obstacle.
Being the newcomer in a battlefield of established alliances isn’t easy, but having just one person in your corner transforms the landscape entirely.
It makes this place feel less like enemy territory and more like somewhere I might actually belong.
“Don’t mention it,” Wendy says, her true smile finally appearing, warm and genuine. “What are real friends for if not standing between you and workplace vultures with questionable highlights?”
I chuckle at the comment before saying, “By the way, have you heard from Jake?”
Wendy shakes her head. “He sent me an email about my assignment, but that’s about it.”
A sigh escapes me. “I think I messed up big time.”
Her eyebrow arches knowingly. “You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”
“After everything that’s happened, I’m not sure what I feel.”
“Have you talked to him since the party?”
My head shakes before words form. “He’s not answering my calls or texts. I think it’s too late.”
Wendy squeezes my hand, warmth radiating from her touch. “It’s never too late, Sarah.”
“Thanks, but it’s not just about us. I think Tim and Amanda are plotting something. I overheard them at the anniversary party—Tim basically bragged that he was going to sabotage Jake’s promotion.”
Wendy’s eyes flare wide. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “I’ve been trying to warn Jake but can’t reach him.”
“Don’t worry.” Wendy says. “If I run into him, I’ll tell him you have something important to say and that he should call you.”
It’s so good to have someone to talk to about Jake and I. “Thank you, Wendy. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
That night, standing before Jake’s door, my fist hovers momentarily before knocking twice against the painted wood. I wait, hoping for any sign of life on the other side. “Can we please talk?” I say it more to myself. Once again, he never came back home.
I press my forehead gently against the cool surface of his door, as if physical proximity might somehow make him materialize.
Texts unanswered, calls ignored, and now a closed door—each rejection builds a wall of hopelessness.
The next morning, walking to work and listening to songs I barely register, my phone chimes with a text from Wendy: Jake told us to meet him at the other branch. Are you coming?
I freeze in place. What’s this all about? No one informed we’d be going to Pineridge. I start to run.
Once inside the building, I head toward my desk as fast as I can. Amanda hovers there. She just doesn’t give up.
The closer I get the more apparent it becomes that she’s watching Jake’s video. I know I left my screen locked. How in the world does she know my password?
I’m about to place my hand on her shoulder and demand answers when she suddenly twists to face me, that arrogant sneer I detest so much plastered on her mouth like a fake tattoo.
“There you are,” she says with phony politeness.
I glance at the computer. Jake’s video has been replayed. “You had no right.”
A scoff escapes her lips. “That’s not what you should be worried about.
” She steps closer, and I have to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact.
She’s done something awful—of that I’m sure—and it most likely has to do with Jake’s team relocating to another town.
But before I can demand answers, she says, “Judy wants to see you immediately.” Her sneer turns into a more sinister smile.
“It’s the end of the line for you, rookie. ”