Monday morning when Amanda arrived at work, she was asked to come to the conference room where she was met by Sam.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Not sure,” Sam said. “They haven’t told me anything yet.”
“Who are we meeting with?”
“The GM, someone from Human Resources and the VP of operations.”
“Wow. The big guns are coming out.”
“I know it wasn’t anything I did,” Sam said. “GM wouldn’t even discuss it with me.”
Amanda was about to tell him what Viktor had done when the GM, the VP and a woman filed into the room. She took a seat next to Sam as everyone else settled on the other side of the table.
“Thank you for meeting with us, Amanda. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Paul Wilson, VP of operations. This is Rosina Edwards,” he gestured towards the woman who smiled in response. “She’s from Human Resources and of course you know Bill,” he gestured at the GM who looked more nervous than everyone.
“First of all,” Paul continued. “I want to thank you for bringing your concern about Derek to our attention. We take this very seriously.”
Amanda wondered what was coming next, since she had heard this all before and still ended up being punished for reporting it.
“We received a letter from your lawyer on Friday,” Paul went on to explain. “We were a little surprised that you thought we were retaliating by moving you to another position. We didn’t consider the move to be a demotion in any way.”
Amanda clenched her jaw, making no attempt to mask her anger at his position.
Seeing her reaction, Paul decided to speed up his explanation. “But after a second review, we understand how that could have been perceived as a punishment and we would like to apologize for any undue anxiety that may have caused. It was not our intention.”
Paul glanced over at Rosina, trying to gauge how she thought it was going. She gave him an encouraging smile so he kept going. “We are going to keep you in Client Risk Assessment, under Sam. Derek will be temporarily moved to another department, starting today, while Rosina carries out an investigation. We will also pay you in full for last week and it won't count against your personal time.”
Relief washed over Amanda and she couldn’t help but smile in response.
“Again, we apologize for any distress we may have inadvertently caused. We hope that moving forward we can work together to come to a resolution. And please, if you have any further concerns about the way the matter is being handled, don’t be afraid to address them with Rosina, Bill or myself.”
“Thank you,” Amanda said, thinking this is how the first conversation should have gone and that it shouldn’t have taken the threat of a lawsuit for it to happen.
“I think Rosina would like a minute of your time, if you’re able to meet with her now?” Paul then said.
“Yes. Of course. That’s fine,” Amanda agreed.
“Great!” Paul smiled, appearing relieved.
Amanda called Viktor after finishing the interview with Rosina to share the good news. Viktor wasn’t surprised but was happy nonetheless. He offered to take her and Brenda out to dinner to celebrate before he flew home.
Chapter 35
Two weeks later, Amanda’s doctor called with the results of her biopsy. All tests reported that it was benign. They concluded it was a fibrotic cyst but wanted her to follow up with another mammogram in six months to check for any changes. She breathed a sigh of relief for herself but then focused her attention back on her mother who was having her own problems.
The doctor was concerned to hear of the pain that Brenda had been experiencing and ordered a CT scan. Amanda took the day off work to bring her mom to her appointment. They fast tracked the results and Brenda’s doctor called just hours later. It wasn’t the greatest news. After speaking with the doctor, Amanda called Viktor to update him. She stepped into the kitchen as she dialed.
“How did it go with your mother?” he asked.
“CT scan showed a tumor,” Amanda replied, trying not to let her fears take over.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“She’s scheduled for surgery in a few weeks. The doctor doesn’t think it’s cancer but they’ll check after they remove it to be sure. I guess the pain has been keeping her up at night so that might explain why she’s so tired and it could be contributing to her lack of appetite.” Amanda sat at the table and rested her head in her hand. “I hope they’re right.”
“What day is her surgery? I’ll come out there.”
“No, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.”
“Viktor, it’s only an hour surgery. She’ll be back home the same day. She’s going to be tired. It’s fine. It’s scheduled for Thursday. I’m just going to stay with her. I’ll take 2 days off and spend the weekend. By Monday she might be okay to be on her own.”
“Amanda, it’s no trouble.”
“No, it’s okay. Really. I’d rather you come when I’m able to spend time with you.”
Viktor sighed. “If I lived there, this would be easier.”
“Spring,” she reminded him.
“How is everything at work?” he changed the subject.
“Great, actually. Since management spoke to him and he apologized, Derek has been rather normal. Hasn’t bothered me once.”
“I’m really glad to hear. Are they going to put him back in your department?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think Sam wants him back, so probably not.”
“He doesn’t seem angry about that?”
“No. He’s been fine. Very friendly and polite. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
“I’m relieved.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “How’s your lawsuit going?”
“We should be settling
