Page 28 of Texting My Secret Santa

Me:How did work go today?

Her response comes right away. I think of her at home, staring at her phone, trying to distract herself but drawn back to it repeatedly, just like I’m drawn to her again and again. We can’t help it.

My Secret Santa:Me think thou are changing the subject.

My mood is in the gutter tonight, but she gets a smile out of me. She’s a miracle worker with that.

Me:Okay, Miss Shakespeare.

My Secret Santa:You need to ease up on the nicknames. I can hardly keep up!

Me:If I don’t know your real name, nicknames will have to do. You haven’t answered my question.

My Secret Santa:Work was fine,she tells me.I love my job, but nothing is perfect.

That’s where she’s wrong. She’s perfect: her smile, confidence, everything about her. The only imperfect thing about her—and it’s not her fault—is who her brother is.

Me:What happened to make it imperfect?

My Secret Santa:Nothing, she replies.

Me:Don’t get shy on me now, Snowflake.

I delete the nickname. Oops. Her Grinch doesn’t call her that. Without the nickname, I click send.

My Secret Santa:Okay. Since you want to know that desperately, this guy has been asking me on dates, being aggressive about it, and acting weird. I’ve managed to keep him at arm’s length, but I don’t think he’s going to quit it.

I grind my teeth, not feeling the cold. I’m hot with rage. Nobody has any right to make Holly’s life miserable.

Me:It sounds like you need to report him to HR. You shouldn’t be uncomfortable at work.

When she asked me if I was going to hit him after she first told me it happened, I wasn’t sure if I was. That would’ve meant throwing my career away. I wasn’t thinking straight, hence the kiss.

Maybe I would have run out there, bounced my knuckles off his face, and roared at him for daring to upset my Snowflake.

My Secret Santa:It’s not as simple as that,she replies.

Me:Why not?

My Secret Santa:It’s complicated.

Me:I can handle complicated.

My Secret Santa:Some people in my workplace think I don’t deserve my job. I can’t go into details, but I’ve had to work hard to disprove them. I’ve had to work long hours and cheerlead multiple projects. If I cause an HR storm, this guy might throw those accusations at me again. I don’t want that.

This bothers me. I know Holly deserves her job because she submitted her video anonymously. She didn’t use her connection to her brother to get ahead in the candidate process. Since then, she’s led several successful video marketing campaigns. People in my old office even remarked on their PR game taking a step up.

Me:Screw what people think. You know the truth. You know you deserve your job.

My Secret Santa:How do you know that?she replies.Maybe I don’t. Perhaps I was gifted an opportunity I didn’t deserve. You don’t know a thing about me. I think you’re building this idea of me in your head. You’re filling in the blanks with things you wish were true. For all you know, I bribed, bullied, and cheated my way to the top.

She’s getting angry, just like in my office. If I close my eyes, I can see the passionate flush creeping across her cheeks.

Me:You shouldn’t have to work in a hostile work environment. I know that much.

I wait for a few minutes, but no reply. Without her words to warm me up, I freeze my ass off. I stuff the phone in my pocketand walk through the city, thinking about grabbing Derek by his shirt and shaking him until his teeth rattle.

If I intervene, Holly will be angry at me. I know she’ll resent me for it. She’s not the type of woman who wants or needs a knight in shining armor.

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