Page 39 of Dirty Politics

He studied her face for a moment.

“It’s okay to be upset,” he said. “You don’t have to be guarded in front of me.”

“You’re my boss,” she whispered. “Normally, you don’t cry in front of your boss.”

“It’s always okay to cry about people dying,” he said, still looking her in the eye.

She felt a single tear trickle down her face. She took a deep breath and turned around.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

He shuffled through the papers behind her.

Do. Not. Cry.

All of the emotion she’d been stuffing down bubbled to the surface. Her tears were flowing now; an ugly, messy cry with slurpy, sloppy noises.

God, why now?She wanted to run from the room.

Before she could move, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, wiping her face with her sleeve.

“Here,” he said, handing her some tissues. “This will help.”

She took it, wiped her face, and blew her nose.

“It’s just...I think about my sister,” she said, her voice breaking on the last word. She cleared her throat.

“I know.” he said.

“It isn’t over for her,” Liv said, the tears returning. “She’s in remission, but we don’t know if it will come back. It’s always going to hang over her.”

“It’s really fucked up,” he said.

She brought her hands to her face and began to sob. He stepped forward and placed his hand on her upper arm. It was warm and comforting. Before she realized what she was doing, she closed the space between them and buried her face in his shoulder. He stiffened slightly but placed his hand on her upper back with the lightest pressure. She felt him breathing into her hair.

Oh, God - he’s my boss.She thought.What am I doing? I’m going to have to quit tomorrow.

After a moment, she composed herself and stepped back. She noticed he took a step back as well - his hands firmly at his side.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Oh, that was so inappropriate.”

“No...no...” he said. “Don’t.”

She groaned.

“Will you still write me a reference when I resign?” she said, wiping her eyes.

He laughed. “No, because you aren’t quitting. Are you kidding me?”

He held up the folder. “This is phenomenal work. I can’t believe you did all this in such a short amount of time.”

She blushed.

“Thanks,” she said, looking at the soaking wet spot on his shoulder where she’d just been blubbering.

“Hey, Liv,” her dad called from the doorway. “We’re ready to go. Are you riding with us?”

“Yes,” she said before he could even finish the sentence. “Yes, I’ll be right there.”

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