Clover woke up holding Ember in his arms. He felt her forehead and then touched her gently in the body and realized she was feverish.
"Baby?" He gently nudged her awake while dropping little kisses on her cheek.
Ember inhaled deeply and slowly opened her eyes. Her arms stretched toward him, embraced his neck, and closed her eyes again.
She's only feverish. Her body is changing. Her breasts are getting swollen, and it hurts. She's getting occasional headaches. On a worse morning, she gets nosebleeds. Getting up in the morning is getting harder every day. Regardless of these, her work was not affected.
November came, and it's safe to say she's on her third month. She's grateful that she never got to experience the infamous morning sickness.
The country observes All Saints' and Souls' Day, which consequently fell on a weekend. So the company extended the vacation up to Monday.
Tuesday.
Ember went to the office as usual.
When she sat down, Lolly rolled her office chair and whispered.
"We have a visitor. I saw a glimpse of her when she swept a look around the office floor. I'm not sure if she was looking for someone. She was so pretty and elegant in a black and cream dress. I'm guessing it's worth my salary for a month or two.—"
"And her Jimmy Choo Classic! Whew! I wanna scream in poverty." Joven interjected.
"Hush, fellow peasant. A simple life is happier if spent in contentment. Anyway," she faced Ember again, "She went inside our Manager's office, and then there seemed to be a bit of aggressive but hushed discussion. After a while, she went straight to the President's office."
"But our President won't be in for about half an hour." The usually silent Rap suddenly spoke out.
Their President has no fixed time. But usually, he is at the office before 10 am unless a meeting is set earlier. He's a pretty chill old man in his 60s.
The four went back to work and eventually forgot the mystery of the elegant lady.
During a snack break of 15 minutes, Ember stood up to go to the pantry. She's ready to munch on her two slices of caramel crunch cake.
However, Mrs Beams seems to have been waiting for her, too, and she asked her to have her snack at her office for a chat.
Though confused, Ember followed her manager to the office.
There was a round coffee table near the window, and there were various desserts in a crystal bowl. They sat on the chairs overlooking the busy street below.
After quick pleasantries, Mrs Beam asked her in a motherly way.
"Ember, please don't be offended, and this may come off as intrusive. But, have you offended Ms Meadow Reeds?"
Ember's chewing slowed a bit, and she looked at her manager in surprise. Since her reaction cannot be hidden, she decided to tread carefully.
"I've heard of her. It is a bit personal, but please tell me, is there something I should be concerned about?"
Mrs Beam inhaled slowly and sighed heavily.
"There's no use hiding it. The woman this morning, that's her. Beautiful, imposing, elegant, and demanding. My younger sister, Mina from the HR department, is her best friend. Our families have been friends for generations."
Ember finished her first slice of cake and stopped to listen instead. She's still waiting for the final point of this conversation.
"I have absolute faith in my sister's work ethic. I don't know how Ms. Reeds got to know about your pregnancy and how it concerns her. We had a little argument this morning, and she decided to go to the President, who is her godfather. What's happening is both illogical and unethical. I'm very sorry about this and know that I am not condoning this behavior. On the other hand, can you help me understand this hostility towards you?"
In reality, when Ember heard that Meadow's best friend is one of the supervisors for Human Resources, she roughly understood what happened. Her manager may be kind, but her foremost effort to clear her sister's name is obvious. Because of this, she felt miserable.
It took her a minute before she answered.
"Ma'am, to be honest, privacy is more important to Ms. Reeds than me, and I don't want to compromise her. If it helps, I only met her once in their company lobby. If this means my employment is on the line, I am not sure what to do next. I just hope the company can have a fair, and like you said, ethical, decision on this."
Ember said this, but her face was already pitiful, and her voice sounded so weak. She felt emotional and... hungry.
Mrs Beams held her hand and told her sincerely, "I'm fighting with you if it comes to that. In fact, I have an idea why she's acting like this. Any smart person can infer. But you know what, you're legally married with a baby on the way. Our company supports pregnant employees. I don't think this will be taken seriously by the President. Let's wait and see, alright?"
Ember nodded and wiped her teary eyes.
Mrs Beams resumed eating the desserts on her plate and encouraged Ember to do the same.
They had a nice chat, and the break ended in an improved mood.
Meanwhile, the President called the HR department Manager and the Finance department Manager into his office after Meadow left.
Their Human Resources Department is divided into recruitment, timekeeping, training and development, and employee engagement and discipline. Each has two staff members under them.
Mina Beams is in Timekeeping.
"I called you both here because I know you were all aware of Ms Reed's visit this morning."
He looked at Mrs Keefer and said, "Can you remind me again of the basic principles of the company when it comes to pregnant women?"
"Mr President, our company prides itself on fair labor practices and anti-discrimination. This includes members of the LGBTQIA+, PWDs, Seniors, and pregnant women. We have detailed discussions with the concerned personnel regarding their concerns, limitations, and expectations, and vice versa. Our company assesses in terms of abilities and skills."
"Hmmm... Has Ms Willowbells shown incompetence in the past two months?" he looked at Mrs Beams.
"No, Mr President. In the two months that she's been here, she has never been late, and her work is exceptional. The quality rating is perfect, and the clientele feedback is always positive. She only had three absences, namely, the emergency doctor's appointment, her wedding, and her prenatal checkup."
"It seems we have a diamond in our hands, and it's not even in the rough. A polished one already. Who referred her?" He asked Mrs. Keefer.
"Director Zariah from the IT department, Sir."
"Monitor her progress. If she keeps this up, give her the highest-tiered bonus once she gets regularized. Add a bonus to Mr. Zariah as well."
"But, Sir, Directors are not included in the bonus scheme for referrals." Mrs. Keefer reminded the boss gently.
"Oh yeah. Heh, don't mind me. I will give him a separate bonus myself."
The meeting ended anti-climatic.
The two department heads were dumbfounded. They both prepared to defend Ms. Willowbells in case her pregnancy became an issue. But there was not even resistance, and the discussion was very casual.
Mrs Beams called Ember to her office.
She gave her a gentle smile and said, "Ms Willowbells, our President appreciates your hard work. Keep it up. Don't worry about what happened this morning. Everything's fine."
She also gave Ember a pack of desserts from a nearby pastry shop.
"Thank you, Ma'am."
Ember accepted the gift and exited the boss's office light-heartedly.
She knew from this result that her boss and the HR Manager were trustworthy.