Chapter 11
Driving into work, I was nervous. There were a few reasons for it.
One was after yesterday, I had a whole lot on my mind.
Keir and I finished explaining to everyone that we were going to be mates.
Gal hadn’t said much. He was still in shock due to seeing Apollo.
Granddad asked me if I was sure. Keir’s friends congratulated us.
I assured everyone that I was all in for this.
As long as Keir didn’t become the asshole he’d been the previous day, I’d become and stay his mate.
Keir pledged again that he wouldn’t do that.
Apollo had all but eliminated my concerns.
It was early afternoon when we had to call a halt to the socializing so the others could make the drive back home. I hated to see them go.
The second reason was the upcoming meeting with Daniel.
I wondered if he’d write me up for not showing up for work.
I’d covered two days myself, and for yesterday, even though I was at the hotel, I’d called in to central scheduling with my call-off at eight o’clock the night before, giving him time to staff it.
I hadn’t missed a day of work in the two years I worked for Phoenix PD.
The third reason was Eithan. He’d texted, called, and left a couple of voicemails last night, demanding to speak to me and asking what the hell was happening. I texted him back, repeating that we’d talk about it at work today.
Keir wasn’t thrilled with my plan to have lunch with Eithan to tell him about us. He insisted he should be present, but I shot him down. His presence would make it worse, and I didn’t want to humiliate Eithan with his perceived rival as a witness.
“You’re driving yourself crazy with all the thinking.
It’ll work out the way it’s meant to. Just go in there and show them who you are.
If Daniel gives you shit, you know what to do.
You’re soon to be gone from here anyway.
As for Sanchez, I get why you don’t want me there, but I’ll still worry.
Tell me where you're going to lunch, when you'll be leaving, and when you’ll be back. It’s not a matter of control.
It’s a matter of safety,” Keir said as he stopped outside the front of the precinct.
I undid my belt as he did his routine for getting out and opening my door. I was taken into his arms as I got out.
“Can I have a kiss to hold me over until I see you later?” he partially pleaded.
“Yes, you may,” I replied, then our mouths sealed to each other.
It was probably too passionate for me to be doing it outside my work, but I wasn’t on the clock yet. When he was through, we said goodbye. I reminded him to be careful, and then I walked into the building in a slight daze.
“Well, I’ll be damned. I had no idea you had a boyfriend. He’s a big fella. That was a helluva kiss.” Wally’s teasing voice got my attention and made me smile.
“I like to keep everyone guessing, don’t you know that? How was your night? Are you leaving?”
“You deserve to have someone. Good for you. I don’t know what I’d do without my wife. And yes, the shift overall was pretty calm. I was about to leave when I saw the kiss of the year out the window. Whew, it steamed up the glass,” he bantered.
I was early, so he and I spent five or so minutes shooting the breeze.
He updated me on his family. I told him my mate’s name and that he worked in security.
Eventually, we had to part ways so he could go home and I could go to the lab.
I enjoyed my talks with Wally. He was a man devoted to his work and his family. He adored his wife.
I’d been in the lab for fifteen seconds when I felt all eyes on me.
I pretended not to notice. Everyone was whispering.
If I’d been a human, I wouldn’t have been able to hear what they said, but I wasn’t.
All conversation centered on the fact that I told Daniel off last week.
I’d called off three days, though I got my own coverage for two of them.
The final piece was the one I hadn’t covered yesterday, and Daniel ended up working it. It had been uncomfortable for them all.
Without saying a word, I sat and logged on to my computer.
I would check my work emails first. I could do so from home, but I hadn’t bothered.
Nothing in my emails was urgent or a surprise.
As soon as I finished with them, I accessed the main lab system to identify which tests needed immediate processing.
New stuff would come in, and we would rearrange our priority list. I sank into a familiar world, and I went with the flow.
Even when I was conducting analyses or testing whatever else was needed, the underlying tension remained.
I grew enthralled at what I found. I stayed that way until one of the few people I would’ve preferred not to see came slithering up to me. Wanda had a smirk on her face.
“Daniel wants your ass in his office, right now. I’m to escort you there.”
I straightened from my microscope. “Why in the hell would he send someone like you to tell me? You know what, never mind. I heard you. I can find my own way there.”
“You think you’re so high and mighty, but you’re not. Your ass is out of here,” Wanda said with glee.
A recklessness came over me. “How do you know? Or did Daniel tell you during one of those blow job sessions you give him? We all know about them. Don’t forget to pop a breath mint. Oh, I want you to hear this…” I paused, watching her eyes practically bug out of her head.
“Fuck you, Wanda,” I said cheerfully before walking off.
There was a few seconds of silence, then she let out an enraged, strangled scream.
As for those surrounding us, some clapped while others snickered.
I kept my head up and never glanced back.
I was done taking crap from Wanda. And I hadn’t lied.
Everyone knew she locked herself in Daniel’s office almost daily, and she came out smelling of his cum.
Others wouldn’t know that last bit, but I did.
It explained why she never got written up or fired.
I wondered what Daniel’s wife would say if she knew.
When I arrived at Daniel’s office, the door was open.
I saw him seated behind his desk. He sat there staring expectantly at the door.
His hands were linked together on the desk.
His face wore a smug expression. I stood there, not bothering to knock.
When the seconds stretched out without me saying or doing anything, his smugness dimmed. He leaned forward.
“Well, are you coming in or not?” he snapped.
“Sure,” I said as I stepped inside. I left the door open.
“Shut the door,” he ordered.
I complied, but not because he told me to. I had my own need for privacy. I had news for him. This wasn’t going to go the way he planned. And when this meeting was over, I wouldn’t be the one crying. I sat in one of the chairs across from him. I exuded a confident air.
“You were a no-call, no-show for three shifts. These absences were after I told you that you couldn’t have those days off.
That is flagrant disobedience and violation of the department’s attendance policies.
Each one counts as a separate violation.
And as your supervisor, I have the authority to write you up, place you on probation, tell you to take time off without pay, or…
terminate you,” he said in a deeply satisfied voice. His smugness was back.
“I didn’t have any no-call, no-shows, let alone three.
When you refused to cover them when I informed you I had a family emergency and needed those days off, I took the initiative to cover those shifts myself.
I managed to fill two of them. The third one, it’s true, I wasn’t here for that shift.
But I called in well before the three-hour deadline in the handbook.
Central scheduling knew of my call-off at eight p.m. the night before my ten a.m shift started.
I have confirmation of that. That was fourteen hours’ notice. ”
“You had no right to ask your coworkers to work for you! Or to call off when you knew I said no and wouldn’t be able to cover it!” he snapped.
“I have every right, and in case you’ve forgotten, I work overtime consistently every week.
All your other employees call off without permission.
They don’t ask days in advance. They come in late or leave early.
Again, I cover those. And you confirmed, with your silence, last week when I asked, that I’m the only person you bother to ask to cover shifts.
After covering my coworkers’ absences for two years, I don’t see how it was unacceptable for me to ask for coverage.
Also consider that in those two years, I’ve never called off, been late, or left early,” I fired back.
His face turned redder. His hands were clenched fists. This conversation wasn’t going as he imagined it.
“You had no goddamn right to do that! I had plans and had to ditch them to come in yesterday to do your job. I’m the supervisor.
I don’t have to do manual labor anymore.
And your past coverage doesn’t erase that you took time you hadn’t been approved to take.
I’m issuing you a formal write-up, and you’ll be expected to make up for those absences by covering any or all call-offs and early or late shift notices for the next three months, with no back talk.
Your annual performance evaluation will reflect this,” he announced, smirking.
“No, I won’t be covering anything extra. Nor will my annual evaluation reflect this,” I countered.