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"I'd like to speak to you," came the next phrase. "Now, Miss Rafferty."
Barbara gave her a little wave and walked off down the hall.
Molly crossed over to the open door and stepped inside. "Hello, Stephanie."
"Miss Chase."
"Miss Chase." Molly wondered what had happened since she'd been at work. "You wanted to see me?"
Stephanie rose a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Have a seat."
Molly moved a few feet to the left and drew the chair that was against the wall over to the space in front of her boss' desk. When it was situated and she'd managed to catch her breath, she sat down in the chair.
"I wonder," her boss began, "since you took your sweet time to come into the office today, that you saw the press conference?"
Molly quickly wet her lips and tried to smile. "I did see it on the television."
"Really? How lovely." Scooting her chair forward, Stephanie braced her elbows on the surface of the desk and touched her chin to her folded hands. "I don't suppose you'd like to tell me why the District Attorney... or for that matter, someone at CCPD knows more than I do about your work and what files may or may not have been destroyed? Any choice bits of information you'd like to give me?"
Oh no.
With all of the anxiety and worry, about everything, had it really slipped her mind to tell her boss?
Yes, it had.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Ste- Miss Chase. I've been a little off my game since the... the incident in the hallway."
Her boss leaned back in her chair and lowered her hands into her lap. "I heard that you were at the hospital for a few hours as well."
Molly swallowed at the knot in her throat. "I blacked out for a bit and the officers felt it was best to go to the hospital for a check."
Stephanie's face eased into a softer expression. "I hope you're all better now? I won't have to worry that you won't be... fit to work?"
"No... I mean yes. I'm fine now." Molly felt her stomach drop again. It was hard enough that she was still missing that period of time in her memory, but she took pride in her work.
"Now, I'd like you to know that the files you put into the collection bin were all destroyed. I know that in the past you've been allowed to work in the evenings as you have," she flipped through a file folder on her desk, "had quite an impressive record with your work. I'm also aware that before I became your supervisor, the person who was in charge of the office treated you like the favorite child."
Molly felt a muscle pinch between her shoulder blades and she pushed her shoulders back hoping to ease it away.
It didn't work.
"I know that you've also been here for a few years, right, Molly?"
Molly wanted to answer back that she had, but it was in her personnel file, so why even ask? Molly nodded.
"While we have been allotted funds to make security in the offices tighter, I don't think that we should just allow our employees the ability to pick their own hours."
Before Molly could start to speak, her boss powered through.
"I'm afraid that you're not going to be allowed much latitude anymore. We're going to close the offices at a decent hour, for all of our employees."
Stephanie flipped to the back of Molly's personnel folder and pulled out a sheet that looked more like a spreadsheet from her vantage point.
Molly barely felt it when Stephanie put the paper in her hands.
When Stephanie had first taken the position a little under a year before, she'd met with all of the employees separately. She'd been nice and shown appreciation for her hard work. When she'd seen that Molly was also on the rotation as a court reporter, she'd also expressed a little interest in learning about her work inside the courtrooms, but apparently all of that had disappeared.
Looking down at that paper, she saw that it was an official reprimand.
