My jaw drops before I can stop it.Janel?But she always talks so fondly of her husband. Well, maybe not fondly, but she never speaks badly of him. Not once. “Oh?” It comes out unintentionally as a question.
I’m not sure what else to say. What does one reply when their boss admits to having an affair with a client? That it’s sweet she can relate to me? Do I thank her? Ask follow-ups? I’m not sure I want to know.
“I don’t want to know,” she continues, “what happened. I don’t need to know either. I’ve seen the photos circulating, andthey can be easily explained. You and I are both trained to dispel rumors, so that’s how we’ll treat this.”
She’s really not going to fire me? Penalize me? Put me on probation? I ask one question out of the thousands I have. “Why?”
Janel’s lips tug up at the corners. “A few reasons. One, I’ve seen some of the photos even before they were broadcast. Why do you look like that? You should know I have sources. They felt the need to give me a first look. And you know what?”
I don’t answer. Because…what?
“I’ve seen the way you’ve changed. Your shoulders seem lighter. You walk with confidence. You smile more. I didn’t know what it was at first. But now I think I know exactly what brought you to life.”
All I can do is gape.
“Thomas Moskins brought something out of you that I haven’t seen before.” She shrugs casually, like I’m not on every tabloid headline right now as an adulterous whore. “I’ve always known you’ve had it in you, but he’s the one who allowed you to be…you. And I don’t know why that is, but I’m certainly not going to complain.”
I’m about to shake my head, to deny it, but she won’t let me.
She pins me with a look. “I’m not saying that this isn’t problematic, Winnie. It is. And again, I don’t want you to tell me the details because I’d rather not have to report it to HR. Ignorance is bliss, after all.”
I have to stop her before she keeps going, because none of this makes sense. “I’m grateful for everything you’ve done, Janel. Truly. But I don’t deserve this second chance.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” Isn’t it obvious? “There are policies. Rules. Rules that I—”
“Nope,” she says, eyeing me.
Right. Lie. “Rules that are in place for a reason,” I say carefully until she’s satisfied. “I broke your trust. I—”
“Winter, who are you trying to punish?” she questions suddenly. The curiosity in her tone is almost alarming to me. “Because it seems to me that you want me to fire you. Youwantto be punished for this.”
She acts as if this is a small thing. “It’s not about what I want. It’s about what I deserve.”
Janel offers me a small, warm smile. “Don’t you think that, above all else, you deserve to be happy?”
Once again, I’m staring silently at the woman who must have fallen and hit her head on the way to work this morning. Maybe this is all a dream. I’m going to wake up and realize that I’m assuming the best-case scenario for myself. When I really go to work, Janel will have security flanking her door ready to escort me to my cubicle, just like they did for Cody on his last day.
Except thisisn’ta dream. I check, pinching my arm just to be sure. I hide the wince from the stinging pain and rub the spot all while under the watchful eyes of my boss.
Thankfully, she doesn’t call me out for it.
“Why should I be happy when I’ve done inexcusable things?” I counter with a frown, feeling that weight in my stomach.
“Have you?”
“Have I what?”
“Done something inexcusable?”
She is obviously kidding me. “Janel.”
“No,” is the answer that comes from somebody at the door that I hadn’t heard open.
I spin to see two women standing there.
“Emaly?” I ask, standing as she steps in.
