Page 35 of Not My Problem

“You should have better security at the shelter,” I snapped as soon as she answered.

She blinked in surprise at my tone. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about a man pushing his way into the lobby and hurting my… hurting our employees.” My voice was shaking.

Julia’s eyes narrowed. “Another guest let him in, but the security protocols we have in place worked just as they should. Zoe was able to press the alarm to summon the police and lock the facility down. The guy was arrested without incident.”

“Without incident?” I asked incredulously. “Zoe was pushed to the ground.”

“And she was fine. She kept her wits about her and managed to keep things from going from bad to worse.”

I was so upset I could hardly breathe. “You need to put her on day shift.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want Zoe working nights anymore. It’s too dangerous.”

“Are you telling me how to run my program, Gretchen? Or are you telling your girlfriend how to run her life?” she snapped. “Because either way, this conversation is completely inappropriate and I’m going to need to report it to my boss.”

I heaved out a sigh as it hit me that I was way out of my scope here. “I’m sorry, you’re right, I shouldn’t have called you.”

“You shouldn’t have,” she agreed. “Look, I get that it’s weird to have your significant other working at the same place as you, and God knows Chris and I had our shaky moments where the lines have blurred between work and personal. But Zoe is a strong, competent adult and she’s damned good at her job. You need to back off and respect boundaries.”

“Understood. Again, I’m sorry.”

I was miserable for the rest of the afternoon, tempted to go home and talk to Zoe to see for myself that she was all right. But after a long night shift she’d be sleeping most of the day, so I decided to wait and give myself some time to cool down. It almost worked until I went over there after work and Zoe answered her grandmother’s door with an ace bandage wrapped around her wrist.

“Were you planning on telling me what happened?” I asked, nodding at the bandage.

“Based on the phone call I had with Julia earlier, it seems like you already know what happened.” Her eyes flashed with anger. “Do you know how embarrassing it was for me to have my boss call me and say that my girlfriend was trying to get involved in my job and influence personnel matters?”

Damn Julia and her big mouth. “She shouldn’t have told you that.”

Zoe’s eyebrows winged so high they almost disappeared in her hairline. “Of course she should have. Julia said you demanded that she take me off night shifts.”

“It’s not safe for you to work there at night.”

“It’s perfectly safe. We had a security breach that happened because a newer guest wasn’t paying attention, and I handled it. The way I’ve been trained to.”

“Handled it?” I repeated incredulously. “You were knocked to the ground. You hurt your wrist. What if he had a gun?”

“We would have dealt with it.”

I just stared at her, my blood pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. I needed to keep her safe, why couldn’t she just listen to me?

“I know when I got here I was a bit of a mess, so maybe you haven’t noticed this, but I’m actually a capable adult who’s been taking care of myself for a long time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you act like you’re my caretaker more than my girlfriend. You ignore what I want if it contradicts what you think is best, and you’re always trying to swoop in and rescue me. But I don’t need rescuing, and I don’t need a partner who acts like I’m some obligation. I’m not someone who needs fixing.”

“That’s not fair,” I protested.

“Isn’t it?” she countered. “You drive me when I tell you I don’t want a ride, you slip money in my pockets and act like I just forgot it was there, when we’re going to meet someplace I haven’t been you send me directions instead of letting me look them up myself. You tried to fill out my job applications for me and research college like you thought I was too stupid to figure it out myself. And now you’re calling my boss and trying to speak for me.”

“I’m trying to protect you!”

Zoe’s face turned sad. “I don’t need a protector, I need a partner, and if you can’t see the difference, I’m not sure things are going to work out between us.”