Again, he didn’t have a good answer. “Why don’t you let me worry about that, Dawn?” That’s what he said to me.
So I said back, “It’s just a very poor managerial decision.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. But you always tell me to stand up for myself. For once, I decided to do it.
Seth didn’t like me saying that. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was definitely frowning. “Good thing you’re not the manager then,” he finally said.
It was the wrong thing to say. I shouldn’t have told him that he made a bad decision. He did make a bad decision, but he did not want to hear that. Some people only want to be told that they’re right.
My legs felt a little wobbly as I walked out of Seth’s office. I didn’t need to scrutinize his expression to know that he was angry with me. And worse, he wasn’t going to take my suggestion. I gave him advice that could save the company, and he just blew it off. For no reason.
Anyway, that was when my day went from bad to worse.
I decided to get a cup of coffee before returning to work. I don’t like to waste a lot of time in the morning, but everybody else does it, so why not? There’s a coffee machine in the break room and there’s a tub full of those little coffee pods. Seth probably wastes a fortune on those, but I’m sure he does not want to hear my advice on that.
I selected a French roast and set it brewing in the coffee machine. I reached into the cupboard to grab my turtle mug, but then I got a big surprise.
My mug was lying on the shelf above the sink, in five pieces.
I almost cried when I saw it. I couldn’t help myself. You bought me that mug! It’s one of my most prized possessions. I’ve brought it with me to every job I ever had!
I retrieved the pieces from the shelf. At first, I thought I could attempt to reassemble them, but it was too badly broken. In addition to the five pieces it had been shattered into, other shards were missing. The mug was unusable.
That’s when I noticed Natalie was standing at the entrance to the break room. Watching me. I had partially reassembled my mug, but when I released it, it fell apart immediately. One of the pieces dropped to the floor and broke in three.
“Oh no!” Natalie cried. “Your mug! How awful.”
There was a lump in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I didn’t want Natalie to see me crying over a broken cup. I didn’t want her to think I was a loser who would cry over a mug. Even the raised part with the turtle was broken in half.
“What a bummer,” she sighed. “You know what I bet happened? I bet you left it on the edge of the shelf, and then when somebody was reaching for their own mug, it just tipped right off.”
That didn’t sound right. I’m careful to never leave my mug close to the edge of the shelf for that very reason. In fact, I remember telling Natalie that when she was putting her mug back too close to the edge. I warned her that sort of thing could happen. I told her she should try not to be so careless.
But I supposed she was right. Obviously, my mug had fallen and broken, so somebody must have knocked it over.
“Next time,” she said, “you should try not to be so careless.”
With those words, she turned on her red high heels and walked out of the break room. I picked up the pieces of my mug and stashed them in my purse to take home with me. I tried to put them back together tonight, but it just wasn’t the same. I ended up having to throw them away.
I know it’s impossible, but is there any way you could let me know where you purchased the mug? I know it was years and years ago, but I feel lost without it. I’m counting on you.
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
To: Dawn Schiff
From: Mia Hodge
Subject: Re: Greetings
Oh no, that’s awful! I’m going to find you another mug ASAP. My brother is visiting at the moment though, and he’s dragging me to every tourist attraction. Maybe he can help me look for another mug. He sends his love, by the way. I know you always had a bit of a crush on him, wink wink.
XXO
Mia
To: Mia Hodge
From: Dawn Schiff
Subject: Re: Greetings
Dear Mia,
I hardly remember your brother, and I assure you that I did not have any sort of romantic infatuation with him. But if you feel he would be of assistance in finding another turtle mug, feel free to take him with you.
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
Chapter Sixteen
PRESENT DAY
NATALIE
I don’t end up leaving work after all. I can’t. It would be worse to sit at home, wondering what was going on here. Wondering what everybody was saying to that detective.
I have a view of the conference room if I stand up inside my cubicle. It seems like Santoro is interviewing every single person who works at the company. I just had the honor of being first. And the only one whose fingerprints are all over Dawn’s house.
Seth was second. Like me, he didn’t seem thrilled about the idea of being interviewed by the police. He spent a long time with them. Definitely more than half an hour. I wonder if Santoro asked him about me.
I don’t know why Santoro is so suspicious of me. I was just being a good coworker, checking up on Dawn when I was worried about her. If I did something to her, I would have gotten far away from her house. How could he possibly suspect me? And what does he think she wanted to talk to me about?
He can’t possibly know about…
No, I’m being paranoid.
Usually, I eat lunch with Kim, but I’m too anxious today. I just grab a bag of chips from the vending machine downstairs and eat it in my cubicle. I make a few sales calls to take my mind off of everything, but every twenty minutes or so, I stand up to see what’s going on in the conference room.
It’s just after lunch when Caleb sits down with the detective.
I didn’t even know Caleb was going to be at the office today. He usually doesn’t come in on Wednesdays. But there he is, sitting across from Detective Santoro. He looks nervous—his left leg keeps bouncing on the floor. Twice he scratches at his head until his hair sticks up.
Caleb hardly knew Dawn. So it’s unlikely the detective is spending a lot of time asking him about her. I have to assume the questions being fired at him are all about me.
Yesterday, he agreed to tell the detective we were together all night last night. But he wasn’t happy about it. If I had known he would be interviewed today, I would have checked in with him again and made sure we were still on the same page. Caleb is too honest. I can imagine him cracking and telling the detective the truth—we were together last night, but not the whole night.
I check my watch. How long has he been in there? For God’s sake, what could they be talking about for so long?
Finally (finally!) Caleb emerges from the conference room. As soon as he gets out, his eyes meet mine across the room. He doesn’t look away, which I consider a good sign. I raise my eyebrows at him, and he comes over to me. I nearly yank him by the arm into my cubicle.