The late afternoon sun was already dipping, casting long shadows across the company parking lot. Cars hummed past, employees scattered, but Diana stood alone beside her vehicle… trembling.
Her makeup was perfect.
Her posture was straight.
But her fingers wouldn't stop shaking.
She wasn't sure if she was shaking from fear or from the way Aec had looked at her earlier.
The disgust.
The cold.
The darkness.
She hugged herself and tried to breathe.
Then voices drifted behind her.
Two female employees walking toward their cars, whispering with the sharp excitement of fresh gossip.
"I'm serious," the first one whispered loudly. "His blinds weren't all the way closed. I saw."
"You saw what?" the second gasped.
The first woman leaned in. "I saw Beatrice in Mr. Langley's office."
Diana's heart dropped.
"I'm telling you," the girl continued, "she was standing too close to him. And he wasn't having it. He pushed her away like really pushed."
