Chapter 3

All I wanted was the money I'd earned.

"Claire, what's going on?"

It was a perfectly ordinary question, yet Claire began trembling from head to toe.

So she was capable of being afraid.

I'd started to think she lived in her own world and feared no one.

She stammered for several seconds without managing a single coherent sentence.

Then, as if making a sudden decision, she yanked open the office door and bolted.

Neither Mr. Leedon nor I had expected her to run.

We instinctively chased after her.

The moment Claire reached the common area, she raised her voice and shouted, "Everyone, come listen to this! Cameron got me pregnant, and now she refuses to take responsibility!

"She even reported me to Mr. Leedon!"

At the first hint of gossip, coworkers appeared from every direction.

Mr. Leedon wiped the sweat from his forehead. He clearly hadn't expected the situation to spiral this far.

"Cameron, what exactly is going on? I thought this was about your salary. How did pregnancy get involved?

"And aren't you a woman? How could you possibly have gotten Claire pregnant?"

I had no idea how to answer him.

The entire situation was too absurd for words.

My coworkers began whispering among themselves.

"What's going on? Cameron is a woman. Is she trans or something?"

"She's a woman? I thought this was about some jerk abandoning his pregnant girlfriend."

"Two women made a baby together? That would be a medical miracle."

"Didn't Claire have a boyfriend before? What does any of this have to do with Cameron?"

Claire didn't care what they were saying.

She wiped away her tears and continued putting on a show.

"This is so unfair! She caused my pregnancy, but she won't even pay for my abortion.

"I only asked her to help me with a little work, and she made a huge fuss about that too.

"No one knows how much I've suffered because of this pregnancy!"

Every word painted me as cold and heartless.

She conveniently left out everything she had done.

Apparently, she wasn't completely irrational.

She knew exactly which details would make her look sympathetic.

I walked over and refuted her claims one by one.

"First, I didn't get you pregnant.

"Second, your pregnancy doesn't give you the right to abuse your position and steal four thousand dollars from my paycheck.

"And why should I do your work? If I do your job, do I get to take your salary too?"

The accusation that I'd gotten Claire pregnant had already been shocking enough.

The truth about my stolen paycheck was even worse.

My coworkers gasped.

"Holy crap. Did Claire seriously take Cameron's salary?"

"Forget the pregnancy nonsense. Taking someone's paycheck is enough to land her in jail."

"How can anyone steal a coworker's salary and act as if she's entitled to it? Cameron has incredible self-control. I would've lost it."

Mr. Leedon stepped forward to regain control of the situation.

He tried to lead Claire back to his office and end the spectacle.

"Claire, you broke the law by using your position to take another employee's salary.

"Stop making a scene. We'll resolve the payroll issue first. We can discuss your pregnancy afterward."

But Claire refused to move.

When she saw that no one was defending her and everyone was criticizing her instead, she cried even harder.

She couldn't go back into Mr. Leedon's office.

If she went back inside, the whole situation would become entirely her fault.

So she decided to make the situation even bigger.

If she was going down, she intended to drag me with her.

"If no one is going to stand up for me, I might as well die!"

She ran toward the stairwell leading to the roof, but several quick-thinking coworkers grabbed her before she could get far.

Her sudden suicide threat frightened everyone.

"Claire, stop this! Just tell us what happened. Cameron is a woman, so how could she have gotten you pregnant?"

"And did you take Cameron's salary or not?"

Claire deliberately ignored the question about my paycheck.

Instead, she shouted, "If Cameron hadn't told me that my ex and I looked good together, I never would've slept with him or gotten pregnant!

"How can you say she has no responsibility for this baby?

"What's wrong with asking her to take responsibility?"