Joy always had a way of speaking her mind without a filter. Back in the day, the hierarchy between her and her boss, along with the employees, kept her somewhat in check. But once she got comfortable around Austin, all bets were off.
She'd often tease him into treating her to lunch or grabbing some afternoon coffee. Whenever she eyed his sleek car, she'd concoct some plan to take it for a spin.
Austin never agreed right away, always attaching a condition to his yes. Maybe beating him at a video game or getting him to laugh with a joke.
Professionally, he remained as demanding as ever, sending Joy's proposals back for revisions more often than not.
However, every time he critiqued her work, she'd recall a certain late-night snap of him showing off his abs, and suddenly, he didn't seem so unbearable.
Her team leader and colleagues couldn't help but whisper, "How did you get so cozy with the boss?"
Joy wanted to ask if they hadn't seen Austin's ab photo floating around, but fearing his wrath if it became too public, she played it cool, "Let's just say I've got something on him."
That something accidentally got leaked during a meeting. Joy was airdropping some images to her team leader and, with her fingers misbehaving without her notice, the ab photo was among them. Neither noticed until it was too late, and when that image popped up on the screen mid-presentation, the room erupted into chaos.
All eyes turned to the team leader, bewildered and embarrassed, as he stammered, "Wait, that's not I mean..."
Joy thought of making a run for it but seeing everyone's attention focused on the team leader, she joined in the teasing glances. Austin's gaze, however, found hers.
After the meeting, as expected, Austin summoned her to his office.
Bracing for the worst and fully owning up to her mistake without waiting for him to speak, Joy launched into an apology.
Austin, leaning back in his chair, simply asked, "Why do you have that picture of me?"
Flustered, Joy tried, "Would you believe it was an accident?"
His look said it all, "So your finger accidentally zoomed in, accidentally held it for two seconds, and then accidentally saved the photo?" Joy couldn't say a word.
Then, desperate not to be
misunderstood, she quickly clarified,
"Don't worry, boss. It's just
admiration, nothing more.
phone's full of such photos, not just yours, honestly."
After a tense moment, Austin dismissed her with a flick of his pen, "You can leave now."
Joy could sense his displeasure, "How about I cheer you up with a joke?"
With a blank face, Austin flipped open a folder and said, "Get out."
And that was that.
Following the incident, Austin's demeanor towards her cooled. No more chats or invites for office jokes.
As Joy worried about her job stability, the holiday season approached.
Joy came from a deeply patriarchal family, with its share of challenges, including a preference for sons over daughters.
Despite her usual cheerfulness, the holiday season, especially Christmas, always brought a cloud of gloom. It meant going home.
She arrived on Christmas Eve, but the drama started on Christmas Day over something trivial.
The company had given out seafood
and fruit baskets as holiday gifts
Unable to lug them on the train, Joy opted for a delivery service. Her parents' disappointment at her empty-handed arrival was palpable.
The next morning, she was up at the crack of dawn helping with holiday preparations, a stark contrast to her younger brother, a college student who slept in, his rest justified by his "exhausting" studies.
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