Office Affair

Did you think I would leave?!

Anya

To say that Anya felt at home at InfiDom would be an understatement. She felt so embraced by both Michelle and Dominic, as well as some other employees with whom she often crossed path with, that she had the feeling of being a very old, valuable employee. Coffee with Michelle in the very early morning while almost nobody was in the office, and lunch with Dominic when they talked about anything but the job were regular occurrences that anchored her mornings. Even though Michelle was warm and kind, there were layers of her that were sad and guarded, and Anya responded to that with understanding and compassion. Their stories were probably extremely different, but the companionship was there, and Anya made sure that she always left Michelle in at least a slightly better state than she was before.

It had already been two weeks of feeling like she had gained a new family, when she started feeling sick. It started very early in the morning, almost immediately after she woke up, and she tried to waive it off. She felt lightheaded and had a slight chill followed by the sweats, so she took a cardigan and stuffed it into her purse, just in case. In the beginning she thought that she had caught a cold and that she could walk it off by the time she got to the office, but it didn't help. Her heart felt, for a lack of a better term, funny. She opened up a new assignment on the computer, when her head started spinning, so she immediately went to Dominic. She knew that she could trust him, and that he wouldn't judge her.

"Dominic," she knocked on the door. His mind seemed to be somewhere else, so she knocked a little louder.

"Yes? Oh, Anya! Come in," his genuine smile melted her, but she kept it hidden on the inside. She didn't want him to know how she felt about him. It would be too painful if he found out, because then they wouldn't be friends any more, with him being her boss and all. So she smiled and walked in.

"I need a favor."

"Sure! What's up?"

"I know it's probably too soon what with my contract and all, but I need a day off. I wouldn't be asking you if it's really not important."

She noticed that his eyes narrowed, and her stomach clenched even more. Did she misinterpret the friendship part? She was just about to start making excuses and apologies for even asking the question, but then he walked up to her and took her hands in his.

"Your fingers are ice-cold. What's wrong, Anya?"

"I don't know, I feel nauseous and my head is killing me. Something is wrong with my health, I know that much, and I need..." She stopped talking. Her head was hurting too much.

He rubbed her hand between his palms, trying to warm it up a bit. She relaxed, realizing that yet again, Dominic proved himself to be a true friend, rather than an evil boss. She felt guilty for ever doubting him.

"Have you eaten anything?"

She declined.

"Why?"

"Because...."

How could she tell him the truth that she only ate when Dominic invited her to his office for their lunch.

"Because?"

"It doesn't matter. It's not food poisoning. Can you please let me go? The sooner I go to bed, the better I'll feel."

„I'm not sure that that is a good idea, Anya."

She knew that he would argue with her on the food subject, and it made her head spin. In fact, the whole office started doing a weird and blurry dance. She put the palm of her hand on her forehead, but still the pressure was overwhelming. Her legs gave out, and yet somehow she didn't hit her head. What an odd thing, she thought. She was sure she would get hurt pretty bad, but her head landed on something soft. There was also a soft buzzing which became louder at some point, but she couldn't interpret it. Then she blacked out.