Chapter 3

Apart from that, I also recalled Joel deliberately avoiding eye contact with me on several occasions.

The office was equipped with CCTV cameras installed everywhere. Previously, some design drafts had gone missing, and Nathan had granted temporary access to every employee to check the playback of their desk surroundings.

However, he never revoked access after that.

I logged into the system on a hunch, and to my surprise, I successfully got in.

My work desk was right in the line of sight from a CCTV camera, and so was the huge teddy bear. I replayed all the footage from a week ago and fast-forwarded until 9:00 am in the morning, when all my colleagues arrived at work one by one.

When Dave Hawkins from the sales department walked past my desk, he frowned a little and instinctively covered his nose.

I replayed that moment and enlarged the video.

He hadn't been looking at me, but rather, the teddy bear next to me.

My grip on the mouse tightened. I rubbed the edge of the mouse with my fingertips until it felt rough as I scrolled through the recordings frame by frame.

All of my colleagues who frowned, covered their noses, and took detours around my desk hadn't been staring at me after all.

They were all staring at the pink teddy bear next to me.

I jumped to my feet at once, accidentally spilling half a cup of ice water on the table. The icy-cold water splashed into my lap as well, but I didn't feel it.

I rushed over to the mirror. The woman looking back at me looked pale, sickly, and had serious dark eye circles.

It dawned on me just then—everyone hadn't been avoiding me in the past two weeks. Rather, they'd been avoiding the teddy bear.

…

Early the next morning, I sat in my seat and stared at the pink teddy bear all day.

I couldn't focus on a single task on my computer.

When my colleagues finally went out during lunch break, I went to the washroom. I crouched in a corner while hugging my shaky knees.

I couldn't stay here any longer.

At 3:00 pm that day, I opened my email and drafted my resignation letter.

"I would like to resign from my position due to personal reasons. Kindly approve my resignation. Thank you."

I also CC'ed Lola and Joel in the email.

The moment I clicked "send", I finally heaved a sigh of relief.

As long as I was gone from this position, I wouldn't have to endure those inexplicable stares from my colleagues anymore.

Joel's reply came in much quicker than I expected. Just five minutes later, he rushed over to my desk and said, "Amelia, come with me to the conference room for a bit."

There were only the two of us there. The first thing he said to me was, "Are your colleagues not treating you well or making you feel uncomfortable? I'll hold a meeting tomorrow to tell them all off. Let's not be hasty with our decisions."

I shook my head. "It's not that."

"Then, is it your salary? Let me discuss increasing your salary with the CEO. I'll propose a 30% increase, effective immediately."

I still shook my head. "It's not that either."

Joel grew anxious. He placed his hands against the table and asked in a low voice, "Then, I hope you'll reconsider your resignation. The project we're all working on is due at the end of this month, and this is a critical period. We need you. You can't leave, Amelia."

I looked at him and suddenly found it ridiculous.

I'd only just joined the company three months ago and hadn't even joined the project's core group chat. So, how could he say that he needed me on this project?

I insisted on leaving.

When I was getting off work, I packed up all my things and headed for the elevator. The doors were just about to close when Joel suddenly rushed over to me and stopped the doors from closing.

His palms were sweaty and clammy. He was literally shaking.

"Amelia," he said. "I'll give you 50 thousand dollars. Just stay at your desk for another month. Just another month."

I stared at him. "Why?"

He gulped and didn't answer me. Instead, he took out his phone and immediately transferred the money to me as though he was scared that I would change my mind.

Seconds later, my phone buzzed with a notification from the bank. I'd just received 50 thousand dollars from him. The transfer remark said, "Work from your desk."

I stared at the four words and felt the hackles in the back of my neck rising.

The look in Joel's eyes wasn't a plea for me to stay. Instead, it was fear. An immense fear. It was as though something terrible was going to happen if I left my desk.

I didn't finish processing my resignation. I didn't promise him anything either.

I went straight home that evening.