Chapter 0178
Dawn had pulled a fast one on everyone, and I felt particularly targeted. I had only wanted to help Maria and the others in the office who had been sexually harassed. Dawn had taken my enthusiasm and manipulated it to help push out these new rules that were so stringent; they barely made sense.
For one, two people of the opposite sex could not be behind closed doors alone together. So as I went in to greet Logan in the morning, I had to leave the door wide open.
Another rule, supervisors were no longer allowed to address their assistants by their first names. The guidebook said this would help maintain professional distance and decorum.
`That could have been true, I supposed, but it made the workplace feel much colder when Logan looked up from his desk and said, “Good morning, Miss Whitaker.”
“Good morning, Mr. Hatfield.”
The new rules had only been in place for only a day, but they already felt oppressive. Logan was always so busy that we didn’t get to see each other outside of work hardly ever. While we talked on the phone every night for a while, I missed him.
What I would have done for hug.
But that was impossible now. One wrong move, and Logan would lose his job.
Logan handed me some paperwork. “Have this ready by the end of the day, Ms. Whitaker. And I have a few reservations I need you to make. They are in the calendar.”
“Yes, sir.”
Logan’s eyes lingered on mine for a long moment. He wanted to say more, I could feel it. I wanted to say more too.
Both of us were bound by the new rules.
“That’s all, Miss Whitaker,” Logan said and looked away, returning his attention to the computer on his desk.
Dismissed, I left the office and returned to my desk to start my workday.
Around break time, I left my desk to go to the bathroom. On the way, I spotted Maria at her desk, her face buried in her hands, clearly upset. My heart ached for my friend, so, even though it was breaking the rules to speak with coworkers when not directed to by a supervisor, I swung by her desk.
We couldn’t speak long, but I couldn’t stand to see her like this.
“What happened?” I asked.
When she realized it was just me, she let her hands drop. “They fired Mike.”
“What?”
“I was texting him, and-”
“Did Logan ask you to speak with Maria, Hazel?” Dawn asked, approaching from behind me.
Chapter 0178
+25 BONUS
Not wanting her to have a clear view of my back, I turned to face her. I could have lied. I might have even gotten away with it, if Logan backed me up. But I wasn’t going to use him like that.
“Maria was upset, so I checked on her,” I said.
Dawn narrowed her eyes. “Maria should be happy. Her harasser is being escorted out of the building by security at this very moment.”
“Oh, God.” Maria stood up. “I told you, he never harassed me. He’s my boyfriend!”
“Inter–office relationships are not allowed under the new rules,” Dawn said. She crossed her arms. “He was in a higher position than you. He was using his power to take advantage of you.”
“That’s not what was happening,” Maria insisted.
Dawn shrugged. “You should be thanking me.”
Maria lifted her chin in defiance. “My actual harasser still has not been punished.”
I glanced at her supervisor’s office, where the man I had seen looking down Maria’s shirt not all that long ago, typed away happily at his computer desk.
“Show me evidence,” Dawn said to Maria. Then she turned to me. “And you should be hurrying along, Hazel. It wouldn’t do well if the champion of the new rules was seen breaking them.”
Maria gave me a sharp, accusing look. God, I was going to have a lot of explaining to do later.