Page 3 of Love Unspoken

My heart almost stopped at that. Men may not think I'm attractive. But no one had ever said I wasn't good at my job.

"I'll take care of this. We'll be on time," I tried to assure him.

He finally looked at me and his eyes were cold, unyielding. "You want to get promoted, Naya? You can't do substandard work like this."

Substandard work? Wow! The hits just kept coming.

"Yes, I understand."

"I want to see the new plan by end of day."

I picked up my laptop and walked out of Amias' office, feeling like the world around me had collapsed.

I got to my cubicle, and Mila, a colleague, immediately poked her head. "How did it go?"

"Ah, he didn't like how tight the buffer was."

She scrunched up her nose. "But he and Ethan agreed that the buffer would be kept short. I mean, you almost got into a fight with Ethan about it and he said it was Amias who said to do it like that."

I shrugged. I didn't know what to say or think. "He wants an updated project plan by EOD."

Mila looked at her watch. "It's five thirty on a Friday, Naya, and you got in at five in the morning for your call with the Berlin team."

Tell me something I don't know.

"It won't take long. But raincheck on drinks."

Mila shook her head. "Sometimes I feel like Amias has it out for you. Remember how he went after you about the code that Marcus messed up?"

That had been three months ago. Ethan had intervened on my behalf. Amias never apologized for humiliating me in front of the team. Ethan's conversation with his boss I knew had taken place in private.

Ethan assured me that he had cleared things up with Amias and that I should forget about the incident and move on. But now that I'd overhead Amias' conversation with Ann, I understood better why my company's CEO had it out for me. He'd given me a job because Nolan had asked him for a favor. He never wanted me here.

I couldn't understand why Nolan would do that. I never asked him to help me. I had been looking for a job, yes, but I was a good developer. I'd have found something on my own. Boston had plenty of tech companies.

Several recruiters contacted me when I'd put out feelers three years ago that I was looking for a new role in the Boston area. One recruiter had been from Midas. I'd been flattered. I never thought that had been because of Nolan.

It took me two hours, but I finally finished the project plan and emailed it to Amias. I thought about apologizing again in writing, but decided not to. I wasn't at fault here. If he couldn't remember the deal he made with Ethan, that was his problem. I wouldn't make it mine.

I walked to the elevator bay and had just pressed the call button when I saw Amias. He was looking through something on his phone, his backpack hanging from one shoulder. As soon as he noticed me, he went from easy to stone cold. Mila was right; the guy hated me.

"Thanks for sending the project plan," he muttered.

"Please let me know if you need anything else," I replied, staring at my shoes.

Mousy Naya didn't make a lot of eye contact. I was an introvert by personality, but I felt rawer than usual after what I had overheard coupled with Amias' reprimand in his office.

The elevator beeped, and we both stepped in. Amias pressed the button for the parking garage. I leaned over to his side and pressed the button for the lobby.

"Where's your car parked?" he asked.

"Ah…I bicycle," I told him blindly staring at the elevator doors.

"In this weather?"

It was November in Boston and I understood where he was coming from. But I liked to bicycle, and I was happy to save money on car payments.

"It's a short ride home," I mumbled.