As tension filled the room, Tara seized a moment to mediate between the two, her voice calm and steady. "Jasmine, you know I'm just an intern. I don't have access to any confidential information, and as you said, you've never given me a hard time. I have no reason to betray you, nor would I have enough leverage to sway Manager Selena. Why would I do something that benefits neither of us?"
Her words were courteous, her tone warm and composed, as if unaffected by Jasmine's rough shove and accusatory tirade.
Jasmine took a sip of her coffee, regaining a bit of composure. But seeing Tara standing beside Selena made her blood boil again. To her, it was a blatant display of Tara's loyalty to Selena. With a frustrated huff, she set her porcelain cup down with a sharp clink. "Fine, Tara, let me ask you this: are you or are you not a member of my department?"
"Yes, I am," Tara replied.
"Good," Jasmine said, her voice dripping with venom as she glanced at Selena. "Then keep your distance from other departments. That's the rule."
Selena calmly adjusted her glasses, the glint of the lenses sharp as a blade. "She doesn't need to follow that rule because she's my intern now—the sales department intern under Manager Selena." Turning to Tara, she added, "I'll be submitting the paperwork to HR to make this official. I assure you, I can make it happen." With that, she took Tara's arm. "Let's go."
True to her word, Selena promptly submitted Tara's transfer paperwork to HR. No one dared stand in the way, and by that afternoon, Tara received the notice of her reassignment.
Tara hadn't been at the company long, so her belongings barely filled a small cardboard box. Only Will offered a hand as she prepared to leave, saying, "Let me help you with that, Tara."
Tara politely declined, taking a step back. The other employees remained silent, though Mara occasionally shot her thinly veiled glances filled with mockery. Tara figured she'd been spreading more rumors. Will gave her shoulder a supportive pat. "Stick with Manager Selena. You'll actually learn something useful."
An exaggerated, mocking laugh sounded from behind. Tara turned to find Mara watching her with a smug expression, making no effort to hide her disdain. She looked openly at Tara, clearly annoyed that Tara had ignored her up to this point. Now, Mara wanted attention and was determined to get a reaction.
"Oh, sure, follow Selena and learn how to 'hook' the right men," she sneered. "Maybe you'll even make it to manager someday. You certainly won't learn anything useful from us."
The thud of the box hitting a nearby cabinet punctuated Tara's response.
"And what would that be, Mara? How to make copies and gossip behind people's backs?"
Mara, who had Jasmine's backing, was used to badmouthing Selena without fear. Humiliated by Tara's retort, her face flushed, and she spat through clenched teeth, "Selena's lapdog…"
Unfazed, Tara's soft pink lips curved into a faint smile. "Thank you. I'm honored to be."
"Selena! You're shameless!" Jasmine's voice rose to a shriek. "You already stole my boyfriend, and now you're poaching my intern!"
Selena didn't bother to look back, but she heard a soft warning from behind, accompanied by the splash of liquid.
She turned just in time to see Jasmine, coffee cup in hand, standing triumphantly. The cup was empty, its contents now dripping from Tara's hair and splattered across her blouse. A line of dark coffee stained her white shirt from shoulder to chest.
The coffee had been intended for her, but Tara had stepped in just in time to take the hit.
Despite the messy state she was in, Tara took a slow breath, clenching her hands, her knuckles white. She fought to keep her expression steady and managed a small smile as she spoke. "I'll go clean up, boss."
As light brown coffee dripped down her forehead and onto her collarbone, her faint, slightly strained smile made something inside Selena tighten. She waited until Tara had disappeared into the restroom before picking up her own cup of coffee and, without hesitation, dousing Jasmine from head to toe.
Jasmine was too stunned to react, frozen in place.
Selena's chest rose and fell, each breath sharp. Her face had gone pale, and her heels clattered as she took a few steps back. Watching Selena's furious expression, Jasmine, fearing she'd gone too far, turned and fled.
Left alone, Selena leaned on a table, one hand fumbling through her bag until she found a bottle of pills. She quickly swallowed two, feeling her tension begin to ease.
In the restroom, Tara scrubbed her face and hair, trying to rinse out the coffee, but her blouse remained stained, a deep brown mark snaking from her shoulder down to her chest, a constant reminder of her humiliation. Staring at the stain, Tara felt a surge of anger rise within her. She gave up on scrubbing and slammed her hand against the sink, sending a spray of water onto her face.
Her mind flashed back to a summer day when she was fifteen.
A simple question to her mother, "Can you please respect my privacy and stop going through my things?" had been enough to spark fury. Her mother had stormed into the kitchen, grabbing the kettle from the stove and dumping its contents on her. The water hadn't boiled yet, but the burn had taken months to heal.
The physical scar was long gone, but that day had left something much deeper—a wound that hadn't fully healed.
Since then, Tara had fought to free herself, leaving home for a college far away, spending every break at odd jobs to save money, and ultimately moving to an unfamiliar city to forge her own path. She'd thought she'd escaped that darkness. But one cup of coffee had shattered that illusion.
She needed to be stronger—strong enough to protect herself.
And the people around her.
Tara stared into the sink, lost in thought, until a gentle hand brushed a damp strand of hair behind her ear. A cool, faintly fragrant handkerchief dabbed at her face, and as the scent cleared her mind, she focused, finding Selena's warm gaze.
Selena rarely smiled, and her team had come to associate her smile with impending trouble for someone. But for Tara, that smile was like sunlight, cutting through the cloud that had followed her all morning.
"Boss," Tara said softly, "I'm alright."
Selena's smile deepened, dimples appearing on her cheeks. She looked at Tara, then slowly opened her arms, tilting her head like a loyal dog waiting patiently. "Do you want a hug?"
Looking into Selena's dark, sincere eyes, her long lashes amplifying the openness in her gaze, Tara's resolve weakened. She dropped her head slightly and, with hesitant arms, wrapped them around Selena. Through the fabric of her clothes, she could feel Selena's heartbeat, each beat as clear as her own.
She didn't know if Selena could feel her own heartbeat, but in the next moment, warm breath brushed her ear. "A hug makes it better, doesn't it?"
Tara's heart gave a nervous flutter, and she was certain Selena could feel it now. It felt like standing on clouds, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yes, boss. A hug makes it better."