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congratulated Arabella on her ideas and walked off in the direction of her

office.

The silence in the hallway sounded like a roar. June’s head buzzed with it

and her veins felt like they were on fire. Her stomach roiled with nerves.

She could actually feel a bead of sweat trickling down the back of her neck

from her hairline.

The craziest thing was that Arabella seemed just as uncomfortable. She

actually swallowed loud enough for June to hear it. She looked like she

thought she was going to be fi

red.

“Can I…can I see you in my office for a second?” June asked. She

wished her tone would stay flat, the way she wanted it to.

“Yeah.” Arabella nodded, putting on a brave face. She wiped her palms

on her black pencil skirt nervously, though. June’s eyes were drawn to

Arabella’s shoes—plain black flats, not the four-inch heels she’d been

expecting. “Sure,” she said thickly, when June just stood there.

June shook herself, remembering that Arabella couldn’t know the way to

her office yet. She started off, the hairs on the backs of her arms standing up

at the sound of Arabella’s light steps behind her.

June entered her office with far more outward confidence than she felt.

She kept her posture rigid as she closed the door. There were no chairs in

front of her desk, and she didn’t want to sit down and invite Arabella to do

the same in the more comfortable conversation area to the right. Every

office was set up pretty much the same, unless someone wanted something

different. June’s wasn’t any bigger than any of the others.

Arabella stood awkwardly, cringing, waiting for the hammer of June’s

wrath to come down and squish her like a sad, helpless bug.

June cleared her throat. She wasn’t about to give in to the temptation to

give Arabella a taste of her own foul medicine. She wasn’t karma itself. She

didn’t believe in abusing one’s power, and grudges were messy and