Page 40 of Daddy's Dirty Little Secret

21

XANDER

Amelia hadn’t been in since last week. At first, I thought maybe she was taking time off. It was a long weekend, after all, and she had earned the break more than most. Tuesday came and went. Nothing from her. No message. No ping on Slack. Just silence. By Wednesday, the silence had started to feel deliberate.

Now it was Thursday morning, and her office was still empty. Not just empty, but untouched. The blinds were half open like they always were. The chair tucked in. Notebooks stacked neatly. It looked less like someone on leave and more like someone who had vanished in the middle of a workday.

I stood outside her office door for a few seconds, letting the hallway traffic move past me. Phones were ringing somewhere down the corridor. A printer clicked and whirred. I could hear someone down in Records laughing too loudly about something that probably wasn’t that funny.

I stepped inside and tapped the trackpad of her computer. Still locked. No one had logged in. I checked her calendar again, though I already knew there wouldn’t be anything there. Nopersonal day request. No doctor’s appointment. No out-of-office message.

Amelia wasn’t the kind of person who just didn’t show up.

I left her office and walked the long stretch toward the south end of the building, toward the corner offices. I didn’t walk quickly, but my steps felt heavier than usual against the polished floor.

I didn’t knock when I got to Godwin’s door. He looked up from his monitor, his mouth already tightening. The desk in front of him was clean except for a mug and a stack of papers with tidy notes scribbled down the margin. He’d been doing that more lately—keeping things organized, keeping things quiet. Like if he moved slowly enough, he might avoid attention. After my verbal beating last week, I didn’t blame him.

“Amelia hasn’t been in all week,” I said, not bothering to sit. “Do you know where she is?”

Godwin kept his face even. “Maybe you should ask her that yourself.”

“I’ve tried,” I said. “She hasn’t answered. Not one message. Not even a read receipt.”

He didn’t say anything, just kept his eyes on mine like he was waiting for something.

“She’s part of this team. Disappearing without notice isn’t normal for her,” I said. “Are you covering for her?” I felt the words stick in my throat.

He leaned back in his chair. “I’m not covering for anyone. I’m respecting someone’s privacy.”

“You’ve already had a warning about this,” I said. “You want another write-up?”

There was a long pause. He didn’t move. He didn’t fidget. Just sat there like a stone.

“If you’re hiding something that affects this office, you’ll be fired.” I heard the edge in my voice and couldn’t quite softenit. “I’m not playing games here.” It was an empty threat, but he didn’t know that. I was the boss; he just took orders.

Godwin gave me a look I couldn’t quite read. Then he leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk like he was settling in. “I’ve already told you,” he said quietly, “I’m respecting her privacy.”

I stepped forward. “If she’s sick, or something’s happened, and you’re sitting on it like it’s not your problem…”

“I don’t know what you think I know,” he said, not looking at me now, eyes drifting toward the corner of his desk. “I’m not dating her or sleeping with her.” His words slapped with accusation. Had she told him about us when she promised to keep our arrangement confidential?

“You’ve already had a warning,” I snapped. “This is exactly the kind of thing that put you on thin ice in the first place—crossing lines you weren’t invited to cross.”

Godwin’s fingers tightened slightly around the edge of his mug. He still didn’t meet my eyes.

“I’m not crossing any line,” he said. “I’m staying out of it.”

“Which is funny, because you’re not out of it,” I said. “You know something. You’ve been talking to her.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

He finally looked up. “You want to help her? Then stop trying to do it through me. You’re not going to get what you’re after here.”

I took a breath and exhaled through my nose. “If she’s not back in by Monday, I’ll escalate it. I don’t care who likes it or who doesn’t. This stops being a personal matter if it starts affecting her performance—or yours.”

He nodded once, slow and silent, like he’d expected that. I stared at him another beat, waiting for anything—regret, worry, even fear—but he gave me nothing. I knew if I stayed there talking to him, I’d tear into him again and make myself look evenmore foolish, so I walked away scratching my head, worrying that what I’d said the last time I saw her really had hurt her that badly.

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