Written by a Woman

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

ZAID

Me: HR found out about Signe’s book.

Raina: Oh no, how?

Me: I don’t know.

Salma: Did Signe get fired?

Me: No.

I paced my office back and forth, blatantly ignoring the person on the other end of the call monologuing into my earbud. I couldn’t focus anymore today. I checked my watch and saw that it was six-thirty.

This was ridiculous.

I tapped my phone and saw that Signe hadn’t ever responded to the message I texted her this morning, asking if we were still on for continuing our Marvel marathon tomorrow. Her idea, not mine.

Nothing.

Sure, she probably had work to do. I didn’t expect her to respond right away, but she hadn’t taken this long to respond before. Not since our relationship went from friends to more. Not since she’s seen my bedroom.

Not since I learned what her lips tasted like.

I finally heard words that sounded like the end of the discussion, and I forced myself to tune back into my call to make sure that it would end soon. As soon as we all agreed everyone was on the same page, I ripped my earpiece out and shoved my phone into my pocket.

I grabbed my coat off of the back of my chair, shoved my laptop in my bag, and stepped around my desk to leave right when there was a knock on my office door.

Jacqueline let herself in, her hand still on the handle, “Do you have time to talk now?”

“What?” I asked, glancing at the time on my phone again.

Fuck, why hadn’t Signe responded?

“About Signe,” Jacqueline asked, stepping in and leaving the door open a few inches, “Everyone else has gone home, but I stayed because you said we needed to talk about this later. When you were done with your meetings,” she stared pointedly at my bag and coat, “It looks like you’re done now.”

“Damnit,” I squeezed my eyes shut and demanded the headache I felt starting to pulse behind my eyes to hold off, “Can’t we talk about this another time?”

“I guess,” Jacqueline shrugged, “Though I’m going to be busy trying to find someone to replace her.”

I froze, shooting Jacqueline a look that made her eyes widen a little in shock and stop whatever tapping she was doing on her iPad, “Whose replacement?”

“…Signe’s,” Jacqueline was nervous at first, but I saw her straighten her spine as she confirmed my fear, “I need to fill her position.”

“Jacqueline,” my voice did not sound kind, but I only felt a little bad about it when Jacqueline winced at the tone, “Did you fire Signe? After I specifically told you not to mention any of this to her?”

“No,” Jacqueline glared at me, “Signe quit, told me herself that she’d send me her resignation letter later,” I felt my heart sink at the words, “Because she heard me talking to you about what she did.”

No .

She did?

I didn’t see her; I didn’t see anyone outside of my office when Jacqueline ambushed me earlier. I had just finished a call with Nikhil when Jacqueline asked if I had a moment. I nodded and invited her in, only then to be informed that Jacqueline had found Signe’s social media accounts. Her accounts that talk about her book, her book about me. Jacqueline showed me several screenshots showing just how sexualized my character was and asked if I was aware that Signe was using my appearance in such a way.

I was terrified, frozen.

Jacqueline took my silence as if I wasn’t aware.

Then she tried to tell me everything she was planning to do. Everything from relieving Signe from her position to filing paperwork disclosing the harassment Signe had caused.

My ears had started ringing from stress before I snapped at Jacqueline to stop. She seemed surprised but agreed. I told her that we would need to discuss this all later, but that she was not to approach Signe about this yet. That I wanted to talk to her first.

Clearly, that all went to shit.

“Fuck,” I scraped my hand down my face, my palms getting a little clammy.

“We’re at work,” Jacqueline scolded. I rolled my eyes at her, a movement that she was visibly surprised to see me do since I usually was more collected in the office.

“We need to fix this,” I was rubbing both hands on the sides of my neck, pacing back and forth in the small space of my office. Jacqueline stayed put, near the cracked office door as her eyes watched my movements skeptically.

“What do you mean? It looks like the problem solved itself. She quit. We don’t need to worry about severance or—”

“If she quits, she can’t finish the book!” I snapped, deflating a little when Jacqueline jumped and showed a little fear on her face from my outburst, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault. I’m just trying to figure this out.”

Jacqueline studied me, always with a calm and professional face.

“You…want Signe to finish the book?” Her voice was coated with disbelief. I gave her a desperate look before I decided that I should take a seat in one of my office chairs. Making myself smaller relaxed Jacqueline a bit more, instead of her staying glued to the wall as she watched my larger self, pacing and stressing.

“I’ve known about the book for months, Jacqueline,” I sighed, dropping my head in my hands. My glasses got in the way, so I pulled them off and tossed them on the seat next to me before digging the heels of my palms into my eyes, “I’ve always known.”

Jacqueline was silent for a few moments.

I took the time to inhale a few deep breaths and relax myself.

Signe knows that I know .

She quit .

She hasn’t responded to my texts .

Signe quit .

“You’ve…known…” Jacqueline’s voice reminded me that she was still here.

“…Why did she quit?” I asked myself, ignoring the head of HR watching me panic about what my next steps should be.

“…Why wouldn’t she quit?” Jacqueline countered. When I snapped my head up to look at her, her face softened a little bit as she took a tentative step towards me in my seat, “She heard me talking to you. She saw how you reacted…I assumed the same as she did.”

“What did you assume?” I asked, desperate for details.

“That you were upset,” Jacqueline frowned, “Upset that she crossed a line and that you wanted the situation dealt with. When I sought her out after meeting with you, she was already packing up her desk.”

I glared at Jacqueline, who immediately held my glare with one of her own, “I told you not to talk to her about this.”

“You don’t have the authority to demand that of me,” Jacqueline squared her shoulders, “I know how to do my job, even if it makes employees uncomfortable. It’s my job to ensure that the company practices safe and ethical procedures. So, when you told me to drop it, I ignored you and went to approach Signe about her behavior directly.”

“Jacqueline,” I leaned back in my seat, glaring at the ceiling, “She can’t quit.”

“She actually can,” Jacqueline lifted her shoulder, “I’m not going to stop her. She crossed a professional line, even if you knew what she was doing and seemed to be okay with it.”

“If she quits,” I gritted through clenched teeth, “She can’t finish her book. She’ll need to find a new job, which will take time away from publishing the novel, which delays accomplishing her goal of writing full time.”

The head of Human Resource’s face shifted to surprise, before relaxing into a studious expression. I swear for the first time since I’ve known her, I saw Jacqueline’s eyes soften the tiniest bit at my words.

“I didn’t say anything,” I continued, “because if Signe finished the book, solidifying her book deal, she could quit her job here. Then, I would no longer be her superior.”

Jacqueline blinked at me, and I held her gaze. I chewed on the inside of my cheek before I decided to come out with it, “I’m in love with her, Jacqueline.”

Her eyes widened, her mouth parting in bewilderment before she cleared her throat and tried to compose herself, “You’re…involved with Signe?”

“Yes,” I admitted, rubbing my jaw with my hand, “That, however, is a very new development.”

Jacqueline’s eyes narrowed at me the slightest bit, “So, when you approached me about romantic relationships in the workplace—”

“I was not involved with her then,” I cut her off, “I wasn’t planning on ever being involved with her while she was still an employee. I understand the ethics of the situation.”

“And yet…”

“And yet…” I sighed, my shoulders slumping, heaviness pulling on my body as I struggled to explain things to HR while also stressing about the fact that Signe still hadn’t texted me back , “I found out that my feelings weren’t so one-sided.”

The sound of Jacqueline’s shoes against the carpeted floor made me lift my head to watch her move my glasses to the side table and take the other chair in front of my desk, “Signe loves you, too?”

“Well,” I felt myself blushing, an insane reaction given the situation, “I have no idea if she feels that strongly for me. I was originally waiting for her to quit just to formally ask her to dinner. I wasn’t planning on kissing her at a hotel,” Jacqueline’s eyebrows rose, “I wasn’t intending to start anything while we were both still employed. But we did start something. And I’m scared as hell about what she wants to do.”

“Well,” Jacqueline said, “If she quits, you two can date.”

“This isn’t how I wanted that to happen,” I groaned, resting my forehead in my hands, “I wanted her to quit because she was following her dreams. Not because it’s unethical for her and me to be romantically involved, or because she felt like she had no other choice.”

We sat in silence for a few moments in my office.

The sound of my heartbeat and breathing was the only thing echoing off of the walls, and it took a while for me to finally lift my head from my hands and face the head of HR.

“Look,” Jacqueline spoke up first, cutting me off before I could get a word out, “This is a messy situation.” I nodded, “So I advise that you and Signe talk—outside of this office.”

I blinked at her, before nodding again, “All right.”

“Once you and Signe reach an understanding,” Jacqueline inhaled a deep breath, before closing her eyes and exhaling it through her nose, “If Signe is interested, her job is still available to her. I haven’t processed any of the paperwork for her resignation yet—but you two have to come in and disclose your relationship to me.”

I stared at Jacqueline, my lips twitching a little bit at her words, “You’re not going to lecture us about the dos and don’ts of workplace relationships?”

Jacqueline rolled her eyes before standing and heading for my office door, “It’s useless. There’s a reason it’s a word of caution and not a hard rule. I can’t control two consenting adults.” Jacqueline paused at the doorway, one of her hands resting on the doorframe as she turned to look at me, “And Signe…she’s a good person. You both are…you deserve the best.”

With that, Jacqueline left, making a smile start to tug on my lips as I realized how much of a relief it was to have HR’s blessing going forward.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket once more to check the time. It was just after seven o’clock, and Signe still hadn’t responded to my text from this morning.

Which simply wouldn’t do.