Chapter 4: Gifts, Games, and Boundaries

Once, Natalie went on vacation and brought back a bag of snacks for both Lillian and me.

It was one of those giant gift bags from Trader Joe’s—fancy chocolates, dried mango, and a bottle of craft soda. She placed them on our desks like a peace offering.

I was busy working, left the gift untouched on my desk.

My inbox was overflowing, and I barely had time to glance at it. The bag sat there all morning, unopened, like some kind of test.

At lunch, Natalie suddenly slapped her forehead: “Oh, I forgot to bring something for someone in HR... Hey, Jason, you like reading, right? I’ll trade you a book for your gift.”

She was already halfway across the room before I could even respond. Everyone looked up from their salads, watching the little drama unfold.

Before I could answer, she snatched up my gift and gave it to someone else, leaving me with a dusty old reference book.

I turned the book over in my hands, trying not to let my disappointment show. Lillian watched the whole thing with a little frown. For a second, I caught her eye—her look said she understood, but she wasn’t about to say anything out loud.

After Natalie left, Lillian walked over, frowning: “Jason, I’m not trying to gossip, but you definitely have something going on with Natalie.”

She kept her voice low, but her tone was serious. She crossed her arms and looked at me as if she could see straight through me.

I was speechless: “What? Where’d you get that idea?”

I honestly felt like I’d missed a memo somewhere. My brain scrambled for an explanation, but nothing made sense.

Lillian said, “Natalie’s behavior is way off. How could she take back a gift she already gave you and give it to someone else? With her social smarts, she’d never do that unless she saw you as an insider. The little things give you away.”

She was right, in a way. Natalie never did anything without a reason, and every move was calculated. I just hadn’t realized how closely Lillian was paying attention.

I hurried to explain: “Natalie’s just being disrespectful.”

I tried to brush it off, but I could see Lillian wasn’t convinced. Office politics were becoming a full-time job in themselves.

The office really is a jungle—sometimes I was just left speechless.

Between the rivalry, the rumors, and the constant second-guessing, I started to wish I’d gone to work at a bakery or something. At least there, the drama would be about who burnt the cinnamon rolls, not who was secretly flirting with whom.