Page 64 of Playing Flirty

“Where is my darling Shaun and that beautiful brother of his?” she asked.

I passed the phone to them, and they greeted my mom like young boys talking to a school principal.

“Goodness, you two are gorgeous,” she shouted at them.

Shaun and William blushed in response.

“Rosie,” my dad called.

I took the phone from Shaun’s outstretched hand and held it in front of me to see his face. “I’m here, Dad.”

“I want you to know, when you were eight years old and you asked me if I thought your game was good, I wasn’t lying when I said it was. You’re brilliant, baby. I wish you took a moment to admire your own brilliance the way you do for others. Not only for this game, but in the way you live your life. You’re the strongest person I know, my Rosie, and you make me proud every single day.”

My dad was a man of few words, but when he chose to use them, he used them at full impact.

And even though he had no idea what had happened at work, it was as though he knew that, tonight, I needed to hear that.

Round 21

The excitement of the board game win wore off as soon as I saw Mr. Markham. I sat in meetings and avoided his gaze. I did my work. I kept my head down. M&G was one of the top firms in California, and in a few years, my options would open up. But I needed to stick this out.

Finding a new job would be awful. Aside from the fact that having M&G on my résumé was a huge perk, I wouldn’t have Shaun, and all the other firms of the same caliber weren’t in town.

But this wasn’t okay. I wasn’t okay.

Without fully realizing what I was doing, I walked to the corner office of Louisa, the HR manager, and knocked.

“Come in,” she called.

I pushed the door open and found her sitting behind a large desk, her expression welcoming like a kindergarten teacher on the first day of school.

“Hi.” I offered her a polite smile.

“Rose. Please sit down. Would you like a cookie?” She opened the lid of the jar she kept topped up with her famous homemade cookies.

There was no reason I couldn’t file a complaint and eat a cookie at the same time. I was nothing if not a successful multitasker, and her cookies were delicious.

“Awesome job on the Socials Team, by the way. Everything’s coming together nicely. I even have my superhero costume ready.” She clapped her hands together.

“What are you going as?”

“Supergirl,” she replied. “You?”

I stifled a laugh. Neema had some competition.

“I haven’t decided yet, but I’ll figure something out. I have a box of wigs and hats and a drawer of face paints. Worst case, I’ll go green and wear purple shorts.”

She offered me an unsure laugh.

Pulling in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and searched for the fearlessness my parents believed I owned, somewhere deep within me, something I never quite recognized in myself.

“Louisa,” I said, “I’m here to make a complaint. Or, more specifically, to report someone for…” I paused as my heart rate kicked up. “… for… harassment?” I said the last word as though it were a question.

Louisa’s eyes widened, and her red-lipped smile dropped away. My throat dried at her bleak expression.

“Okay.” She enunciated both syllables. “Are you the person being harassed?”

I nodded, but I couldn’t help but think:Was I being harassed?

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