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“This job is boring. We have to have some entertainment.”
“Then make up an office game or something.”
“You can’t tell us anything? Really?”
“I can tell you that I love him and I am there for him. That’s all.”
She hadn’t been sure where the word love came from. But it did the job. Andrea’s eyes went wide.
“So it’s serious?”
“Very.” Her voice was flat. “Now, can I please get my coffee?”
Andrea nodded, seemingly appeased by the morsel of knowledge she had. She ran off, presumably to tell people what she’d learned.
Amelia’s mood soured even further. While she knew the rumor mill here was strong, she had underestimated just how pushy people would be for information. She ran back to the safety of her office, not wanting to be questioned again.
She hoped Daniel was okay. He was probably busy answering emails and catching up from his time away too. Plus, he ran a tight ship. Maybe people wouldn’t question him as much as her.
At lunchtime, he sent a message through Teams to say he was too busy to leave his desk but ordered something for her. He apologized, saying he would make up for it with dinner.
And he had gone all out with lunch, getting her more than enough for two days’ worth of meals. She’d received it only thirty minutes later by delivery and couldn’t wait to eat.
It was late in the afternoon, and she hoped no one else would be eating. Thankfully, the break room was mostly empty.
She shoveled her food in her mouth, starving after a long morning.
But then a shadow crossed over her table, and she turned to see her boss, Cheryl. Amelia choked on her food. Cheryl wasn’t usually in town. She mostly worked out of a different office.
“Uh, hi,” Amelia said after she swallowed her food. “I didn’t know you were in town today.”
“Oh, I was here for something else and needed an office to come to work in,” Cheryl said, and Amelia relaxed a little. “Lots of talk about you today.”
“Oh . . . yeah. You know how office gossip is.”
“You know, I never thought you and Daniel, of all people, would end up dating.”
“There’s not a rule against it, right? I did check before all of this happened.”
“I’m not here about any rules!” Cheryl said, sitting across from her. She leaned in conspiratorially. “I’m here for information. So . . . tell me how it happened.”
“Um,” Amelia started, trying to get her wits about her. She hadn’t expected Cheryl to want to know the details. “Well, we sort of started talking and became friends outside of work. And then we started dating and went on vacation together. It’s all . . . boring, really.”
“Hm, somehow I doubt it. But I’m sure Daniel has sworn you to secrecy. He’s a tough one to crack.” Cheryl laughed, and Amelia forced herself to follow. She didn’t know how comfortable she felt with her boss pushing her for information. “I mean, if I knew he was into older women, I would have maybe given him a shot. But then again, I’m not like the young women these men go for.”
Her forced laugh died off. This was her boyfriend.
Well, fake boyfriend.
“You have some stiff competition,” Cheryl said. “I’ve heard some of the younger women in the office talking, and you know how men can be with them.”
“I . . . I’m only twenty-eight,” Amelia said.
“I mean, of course, that’s young in the business world, but the dating world? Yikes. I’m sure it’ll be fine, though. Maybe Daniel isn’t like other men.”
Amelia put down her food, suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore. “I don’t think he is.”
“After that last wife, though, he has to be looking for an upgrade,” Cheryl said. “She was beautiful . . . Not that you’re not or anything.”
