Page 30 of Doctor Frost

“Thanks,” I said and wished them both a Merry Christmas, only to turn back to see Amelia standing there with a worried look on her face.

I frowned as I made my way back over to them.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered so only she could hear.

She looked up at me, her skin a little pale, and shook her head. “Nothing, I think we should just get the car,” she said, giving me a weak smile.

I’d askedAmelia many times after we’d gotten home what was bothering her, only she refused to tell me, quickly changing the subject or focusing on the kids. She was going to head home after they’d gone to bed, but I convinced her otherwise, and she’d spent the night with me.

I’d just poured a cup of batter into the waffle maker when Amelia came into the kitchen.

“Morning,” I said, as she helped herself to a cup of coffee.

“Morning.” She softly smiled, only it barely reached her eyes.

She went to walk by me, but I stopped her, leaning in for a kiss.

“You ready to talk yet?” I whispered, not wanting the kids to think something was wrong.

She looked up at me with worried eyes and placed her hand on my chest. “I should have told you, but the day I was shopping, I ran into Connie. She was all over me, threatened…”

“What, that she was going to report us?” I questioned, looking at her.

She nodded.

“Did you do as I suggested and stand up to her?”

She nodded. “I did. I denied everything, but she was there last night. She saw us take the photo. She saw us kiss,” she whispered, fighting back tears.

As I thought about what to say, the phone rang. I grabbed the receiver and answered it. As I listened, my heart raced, and I hung up the phone without saying a word. I stood there for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts, when I finally felt Amelia’s hand on my arm and turned to look at her.

“Dalton, what is it?”

“That was human resources. They’ve asked that I attend a disciplinary meeting today at three.”

Amelia looked at me, tears in her eyes, and was about to say something when her cell phone rang. She looked at me, grabbed her phone, and listened intently, then hung up.

“Who was that?” I questioned.

“Same as you,” she whispered, giving me a worried look.

“Just remaincalm and follow my lead, okay?” I whispered into her ear as she climbed out of the car. I placed my hand on her lower back.

She looked up at me, concern in her eyes. “Dalton, do you really think it’s a good idea that we show up together?”

“Just remain calm and follow my lead. We have done nothing wrong.”

“I’m not sure they are going to see it that way. I’m your subordinate. They could constrew this as me trying to keep my job or something.” She shrugged.

“Amelia, please. They can say what they want. We know what the truth is.” I leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Do you enjoy having your head on a chopping block?” she questioned.

“My head isn’t on a chopping block. Come on, let’s go,” I said, guiding her toward the door.

Once inside, we made our way to the administrative floor and toward the Human Resources office. I wasn’t backing down, and I wasn’t putting up with any shit at this first meeting.

I allowed Amelia to walk into the room first, and then I followed to see Connie sitting in a chair across from Rose, the head of human resources.

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