It took all that she had to get dressed and stumble into work. When she did, she immediately wished that she had stayed home. “Jules, where have you been!” Michelle exclaimed, pulling Jules into her office and closing the door behind them. Their open-concept office meant that private conversations held in the main area were not really private, and from the way Michelle’s eyes were darting furiously around, it was clear that she did not want to be heard. Jules sank gingerly into her chair and winced as the shrillness in Michelle’s voice caused her head to pound even harder. “Didn’t you see the paper this morning?” Michelle asked in a shrieky, high-pitched voice that made Jules cringe. “Michelle, with the headache I have, I barely saw the road on my way in,” Jules answered, closing her eyes beneath her oversized sunglasses and rubbing her temples gently. She definitely should have stayed home. She was so groggy that she didn’t notice Michelle had left the room until the skinny woman returned and plopped a copy of the Toronto Star on Jules’s desk.
