“Hey, is something wrong?”

  “Ryan, mind if I ask you something? What do you have against our boss?”

  “What?” He blinked, processing the question.

  He was about to ask where that question came from, but then it clicked in his brain. Ryan felt like a fool, not noticing what he thought out loud until it was too late.

  “It seems like you have nothing good to say about him and never see it from his point of view.”

  “Why should I? He treats me like dirt and expects us to work like machines. Barney clearly favors people who can do anything with no breaks, without question or complaining.”

  “Do you not know how the real world works? Even if you’re frustrated with some of his business decisions, talking badly about our boss, especially behind one’s back, is not a good idea.”

  “Honestly, why do you put up with him? It’s not fair to any of us! He’s making you do all the work, and he’s taking all the credit. I mean, shouldn’t—?”

  “You don’t know what I’m going through!” Daisy snapped, taking him aback.

  The vibrations from the voice nearly toppled the papers from her hands. Ryan’s hands shook, trying to hold his stack in place while simultaneously not having a heart attack. She calmed down but still had her blood boiling. Even though there weren’t many people, she still wanted to be considerate to those who were still working in solitude. Causing a scene in public was not acceptable in any workplace, no matter how bad things got.

  “I’m not the only employee here.” Daisy continued, speaking in a low tone. “Barry gets busy too and is just as stressed about work as you are. And no, I’m not just saying that to get on his good side.”

  “Then why is he piling all the important work onto you?” Ryan retorted right back.

  Daisy opened her mouth, but no words came out. Now that she thought about it, he had a point. She may have put too many eggs in one basket, taking on so many assignments at once. Daisy may have been one of the more experienced and favored employees in the building, but the expectations and praise could go over her head. Stress would overtake her as well, but she felt she could power through it physically and mentally better than most.

  In truth, taking so much at once was for everyone else’s sake. She wanted to relieve them of the heavy loads off their shoulders, especially for the ones with other personal problems of their own or ones that were too afraid to stand up against Barry. Stress and anxiety are the last things that should occur in a workplace like this. Nobody should have to suffer like this.

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  Daisy stayed silent and looked away. If she had told Ryan any of that, he’d probably try to take some of that work away from her. He could try that himself, in the process of complaining or straining himself for her sake. Or worse, blame it on the boss and butt in on something he wasn’t a part of. No, bringing someone else down with her or getting pitied wasn’t something she wanted either. She didn’t have many people to turn to for her troubles either, but she had to power through, regardless—anything for a promotion, for recognition, for extra cash.

  “Daisy?” Ryan’s expression softened, but he still narrowed his eyes.

  It hurt seeing her pained expression, but he also didn’t know what to say or how to help her, if she even needed it.

  “I don’t understand.” He shook his head. “If you don’t tell me what’s bothering you, how am I supposed to help—?”

  “Who said I wanted or even needed help?”

  Ryan opened his mouth but processed what she said. Now that he thought about it, Daisy had asked if he wanted help before, but couldn’t recall the last time she asked for any, herself. Still, he couldn’t understand her actions or if she hid anything confidential. Ryan’s head pounded. He had no idea how he was supposed to feel, but the headache grew imminent. It had been since the start of work, and this wasn’t helping in the slightest.

  “Are you mad at me? Was it something I said?”

  “Ryan, I—”

  “Are you serious?!” a distant voice cried out from across the halls.

  It was faint, but Ryan and Daisy heard it amidst their arguing and fell silent. They glanced at each other with worried looks. They knew where the voice came from and who it was. Whatever happened, the person sounded like they were in agonizing pain, and it couldn’t be good. The duo set the papers aside on the table, not caring if they fell to the ground, and rushed over to the source of the voice.

  Ryan and Daisy turned a corner, where they found Carl in his cubicle, shaking on the floor. He had a napkin covering his mouth as he kept coughing. Barry stood over him, with hands on his hips, like his employer had done something wrong and was being chewed out for it.

  Ryan thought about intervening, but Daisy grabbed his shoulder and shook her head, as if she read his mind. Something was up, but they had no idea what. Against their better judgment, the two hid behind a wall and watched the scene unfold.

  “You heard me,” Barry said, his voice sharp. “You need to go home now. I can’t have you risk getting the other workers here sick.”

  “But, sir, I’m not sick,” Carl insisted. His scratchy, dry voice wasn’t convincing him, though.

  “Even if you say that, you’re still disrupting the others from focusing on their tasks.”

  “My throat’s just a little itchy, but it’s nothing to sneeze at. If I drink plenty of water and work separately from everyone else, I can still...”

  He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence as he knelt down and coughed harder into his tissue. When he pulled it back, Barry gasped at the sight of blood coming out of his mouth.

  Ryan and Daisy covered their mouths and emitted small gasps, while Barry jumped back and yelled a swear.

  “Someone, call an ambulance! We have an emergency on our hands!” the boss cried out, helping Carl get on his feet as he dragged himself across the floor.

  Daisy and Ryan slumped their backs against the wall, both speechless over what they had witnessed. Eventually, after some time, they went back to work in silence.