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To Allee's concern, Charlie began to shake violently, her eyes welling with tears. Allee quickly locked her door to ensure nobody would walk in and see Charlie so vulnerable. Sitting down next to her, she took Charlie’s hands in her own.
“Whatever he has done to you, it is not your fault. Please, can't you talk to me?” Allee gently placed one hand on Charlie's shoulder, concern turning to anger as the woman flinched beneath her touch. “Show me. Show me right now. What did he do to you?”
Slowly, Charlie gingerly shrugged out of her jacket, underneath it a long-sleeved shirt hanging partially open over a t-shirt. She unbuttoned the shirt, pulling it off, and then carefully lifting the t-shirt up over her ribcage. Allee could see the bruising on Charlie's upper arm, disappearing under the sleeve, and the welts covering her ribs made Allee want to cry. She nodded to Charlie to lower her shirt and sat there thinking of a plan of action while Charlie readjusted herself.
“How long has he been like this? Was this the first time, or just one of many?
“No, it's the first time he's done anything like this. I mean, sometimes he gets upset and yells and throws things, but he's never hit me before.”
“How did you get here today? Did he drive you in? You couldn't have come in yourself; you can barely move. Besides, you ride a motorbike, don't you?”
Charlie nodded, “Yeah, I normally ride my bike in, but I can't at the moment. It's too painful to even try. He dropped me off and will pick me up later this arvo.”
“Have you been to the hospital? Have you had it checked out?”
Charlie nodded again. “He took me in on Saturday. Luckily nothing's broken, but my ribs are badly bruised, and my shoulder was jarred. Before you ask, no, I didn't tell them what happened, I said I came off my bike.”
Allee shook her head but couldn't bring herself to condemn Charlie for lying about her situation. After all, she had done the same thing herself.
“Right, you live together. Whose is it; yours or his?”
“It's mine. He's not on the mortgage or anything. It's all mine.”
“You need to kick him out. If you don't want to call the police, we'll take photos of your injuries, and if he tries anything, we'll call the cops. Agreed?”
Charlie seemed dumbfounded. “Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?”
“As I said, I've been through what you're going through. There's a lot about me you don't know, and it's only been through the help and generosity of a lot of people, including strangers, that I've made it this far. No matter what, nobody deserves to be treated like this, and right now, you need someone to have your back.”
Charlie started to cry again, this time in relief and acceptance.
“I'm sorry about how I've been treating you. I promise, from now on, things will be different.”
“That's water under the bridge now. Let's get you cleaned up, figure out what we're going to do, and how we can start making up for your absence over the weekend. First, let's get pictures of your injuries.”
Allee grabbed her mobile phone and used the camera to take photos of Charlie's bruising. She was inwardly horrified at the extent as the bruising went up her right arm, over her shoulder and down to her collarbone. There were some large bruises on her back, and the entire right side of her torso was a mess of bruising, welts and scratches. Once they were done, Charlie redressed carefully, and they talked about the bug and how the others were addressing the issue.
“You know, if we'd been given that new licensing update when I'd requested it, this wouldn't have happened,” Charlie grumbled, annoyance in her voice. “Gareth sent that bug to me, and I logged it and sent it off. There were so many different bits and pieces I was working on, I didn't realise it hadn't gone through. That upgrade would’ve meant that we'd have been notified of any transfer error, but no, we couldn't get it. No explanation, just a refusal.”
Allee found that interesting, and she decided that she would go through the paperwork that the previous Office Manager had left behind to see if she could determine why it hadn't been approved.
Before long, Charlie was once again covered, no sign of her injuries except for her careful movements and an occasional wince.
“So, what are you going to do about Parker?” Allee asked, now that Charlie seemed calmer.
Charlie heaved a deep sigh, “I guess first, I'll need to call him and let him know not to pick me up tonight, as I'll be working back late. I'll see how things go after that.”
“What about the other Leads? Are you going to let them know why you weren't here over the weekend?”
“Yes, I will,” Charlie twisted her fingers nervously. “They deserve to know why I wasn't here to help them out and why I didn't let them know earlier what the bug was or how to fix it.” She closed her eyes, an expression of dread crossing her face.
“Wait here. I'll go bring the others in. You can explain to them in private, away from the rest of the office. I'm sure once they have heard what happened, they won't be as angry with you. Then you can explain to Craig in his office.” Allee left Charlie bracing herself to face her colleagues.
Allee approached Darryl first. He noticed her waiting from the corner of his eye and looked up. Allee beckoned him without saying a word, and he nodded, checking his monitors before getting up and following her. Then Allee approached Noah and Sammy's desks, repeating her wordless requests, before stopping all three men just inside the alcove for the kitchenette. She turned and faced them all, a grim expression on her face.
“The reason I have asked the three of you to follow me is that Charlie is here, in my office. She wishes to explain to you why she was not in over the weekend, and if you are the kind of people I believe you to be, you will listen to her without saying a word. Once she's finished, I think you'll understand. But you'll need to let her speak first, without interruption.”
The three men blinked at the vehemence in Allee's voice and slowly nodded in agreement. Allee then led them into her office, where Charlie sat and looked up nervously, before shutting the door.
