Leal wiped her tears as soon as she left the office. She went ahead after getting the assurance she needed from her manager.

She’s keeping her job, thank God.

She leaned in the wall outside her manager’s office, as her knees weakened from pretending to be unaffected by his presence for too long. She tried so hard to not look at him in the eyes, not even in his direction.

While taking deep breathing exercises, she could hear the faint conversation between Axel and her manager inside. He’s ...