22. Stand Up For Yourself

"Lilian, get into my office now."

She felt her shoulders slump when she'd answered her phone only to have Stella bark those orders to her.

Since she returned from the Thanksgiving break yesterday, Stella had been on a warpath and she hadn't known why.

She'd heard whispers that some were questioning Stella's performance, but since she only worked two days last week and didn't communicate with coworkers outside of work, she was left in the dark.

She wanted to reply she was coming, but Stella hung up on her before she could get a word in.

Pushing back from her desk, she made her way twenty feet to her boss's office, knocked on the door and opened it.

Stella was sitting in her chair with her arms crossed, a frown so deep on her flushed face that Lilian worried she might have to call for medical assistance.

There were doctors on their floor. It was an insurance company. Medical insurance. They employed nurses and doctors with medical backgrounds to do telemed and make approvals for coverage.

"You wanted to see me," she said when Stella didn't say a word to her.

"Shut my door," Stella snapped.

She turned and shut it. For the life of her she couldn't imagine what was wrong, but she didn't think it was something she'd done.

"What can I help you with?"

"How dare you meet with Aaron and Nate while I'm not here."

"What?" she asked. "When?"

"When I was on vacation," Stella said.

"That was over a month ago," she said. "I didn't ask to meet with them. Aaron stopped me in the hall and asked if I had a minute. He needed something you were working on and hoped I had it."

"That's right," Stella said. "What I was working on. Not you. And you shouldn't have taken credit for it."

She wasn't going to assume anything. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me," Stella said. "They asked to see some drafts and you showed them."

"I didn't know I wasn't supposed to," she said. "I'm not in the habit of telling my boss no. And though you're my boss, they are your bosses so that makes them mine too. They didn't ask anything that was unreasonable."

"Of course they didn't," Stella said. "But they not only saw it, but you also sent them a draft of it. And you said you wrote the draft."

"I always write the draft," she said. "That is my job. I don't understand."

"When they saw the final version released they didn't see anything changed at all other than some stats that were added."

She got it now. It meant Stella wasn't doing the work. She was doing it and Stella was taking the credit for it.

"I told them you read and approve everything," she argued.

"You did, but the damage was done. If you hadn't sent it to them to compare it, it wouldn't have been questioned."

Lilian wanted to ask why it was even being looked at but kept it to herself. There had to be more going on that she didn't know about.

"Again, they asked me and I found it reasonable."

Stella's shoulders stiffened as she tightened her crossed arms. "As if that wasn't bad enough, they didn't know anything at all about the survey. I was going to surprise them with the initiative that I had taken but because you told them about it, they felt they didn't know something that was being done in their department. Do you know how that makes me look?"

She wanted to say incompetent but wouldn't. "Did you tell them you were going to surprise them with it once it was completed?"

"I did," Stella said, nodding her head. "But I could tell they didn't buy it. You know why?"

She let out a sigh. "Because they saw the survey that I had created?" she asked.

"That's right," Stella said. "Why did you tell them you created it?"

"Because I did," she said. Lilian knew she should try to smooth things over, but she was too upset to think that. "If I am supposed to lie in my job, I was never informed of that and it's not on my job description that I signed."

She knew she was pushing it by saying that. "I'm not telling you to lie," Stella said.

"Then what was I supposed to say? You were on vacation and unreachable. The survey isn't a secret that only you and I knew about. How was I supposed to know you didn't at least tell Aaron?" Then it hit her. "I believe I've got an email from you to go ahead and do it, saying that Aaron approved it."

There almost appeared to be smoke coming out of Stella's ears. "I wouldn't have put that in writing if I didn't tell him."

"Exactly," she said. "Hang on." She turned and marched out, grabbed her laptop and while walking back in, she was doing a search of her emails. "Here. Right here. It says Aaron loved the idea. Go ahead and do it."

Stella grabbed her laptop out of her hand and looked at the email. "Then Aaron must have forgotten I'd told him."

Or Stella was lying to her right now, which was most likely the option.

"Sounds like a misunderstanding to me," Lilian said. "Maybe you should find your email you sent him and remind him."

"No," Stella said. "You never do that to your boss. Prove them wrong."

She knew it was a dig at her, but she wasn't going to say she was sorry.

"If it's to show you did your job, then you should stand up for yourself."

"So that is what you're doing right now?" Stella asked. "Standing up for yourself? Remember, I hired you and I can fire you."

She knew she paled, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

If she wanted to put up a big enough stink, she could go to Aaron and hope they'd listen to her.

She just hoped it didn't come to that.

"I know that," she said. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No," Stella said. "But if either Aaron or Nate come to talk to you again, I want to know right away. If I'm in the building, you tell them you want me in the meeting. If they say no for some reason, you call or text me immediately after to fill me in on exactly everything said."

"What if you're off?" she asked. "You don't like anyone bothering you when you're off."

"I don't care. That is important enough to bother me," Stella snapped. "Now leave and shut the door on the way out."

She hated being talked to like a child. It reminded her of how her mother was.

The screaming and yelling. Demeaning her and her brothers and Quinn.

As bad as foster care was at times, at least she was fed and didn't always get yelled at like that. It depended on the house she was in.

The Websters saved her. She knew that. They gave her a life she'd never seen before.

They took her in with other foster kids and treated them with respect. They gave her rules and boundaries but let them make decisions on their own.

It'd been months since she'd texted Tess and found she missed her.

She'd been so busy living her life and figured that Ronnie and Tess just moved on with theirs and other kids that she didn't bother to keep in touch.

Most times it was a text for a birthday or holiday. She didn't even text her at Thanksgiving and realized she never got one in return.

At the end of the day, she'd gone home and texted Tess and waited for a reply. When she got one quickly, she decided to call.

"Lily," Tess said. "I'm so happy to hear from you. I've been worried."

It made her realize that Tess tended to let Lily take the steps she wanted in life. One of those things that made them such good foster parents.

They had a voice there and decisions to make on their own. They tried to get the kids in their home ready for life.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I've been busy and it just occurred to me I didn't hear from you on Thanksgiving. Even if I don't reach out first, you do. Is everything okay?"

"It is," Tess said. "One of the kids we've got in the house took ill. We spent a few days in the hospital with Tyler while we were still caring for the other two. You could say it wasn't one of my favorite holidays."

"I'm sorry. I hope Tyler is okay?"

"He is now. Thank you for asking. How have you been? I hope you went home for the holiday."

"I did," she said. "I've got a boyfriend."

"You do?" Tess said. "That's wonderful. Did Quinn meet him? Did he go with you?"

She liked how Tess didn't ask too many questions in terms of who Braylon was. When she lived with the Websters, they did ask because it was their job to know. But when Lily moved out, Tess had said her job as a parent was over and she could be a friend.

Looking back, she realized that it was more than a job for them, but it wasn't a family either.

Maybe she just wanted one so badly that she thought it was one because she was cared for. But she wasn't cared about as much as when she was with Quinn.

Or even Braylon's family.

That wasn't a bad thing. She'd had plenty of foster parents who only wanted the monthly check and didn't care if she was home at night other than if a case manager was stopping in for a home visit.

Her reason for calling took on a new meaning to her right now.

"Yes, Quinn met Braylon. They like him a lot. He's a little older than me. I don't feel it when I'm with him though."

"That's good," Tess said. "You never had a father figure in your life. Not even an older brother you could fully rely on. I've never seen you as someone to have a Daddy complex or need one in your life, but I think you need some kind of male stability too. I hope he can give you that."

"Yes," she said. "He can and he does. He's the second oldest of a large family. He's very family oriented and protective, but he's not overbearing with it."

"Even better. You deserve that in your life, Lily."

"Thanks, Tess. I was calling to say thanks for everything."

"You're welcome," Tess said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she said. "It's good. It's getting there. You and Ronnie were there for me when I needed it the most. You gave me the skills and knowledge that I never got anywhere else. Anyone that ends up in a home with you is very lucky."

"Awww, sweetie, that is a wonderful thing to say. I'm so happy to hear it."

"You have a good day," she said. "I know you're still at work."

"I'm leaving soon. Keep in touch, Lily. You sound well."

"You too," she said but wondered how much longer they would.

The Websters had been fostering kids for twenty years. The number that went in and out of their house or aged out was too great for her to know.

There was no way they kept in touch with them all.

It was time to live her life and move on with the skills she'd learned in the past. Some not so great under her mother or other foster families, but better with the Websters and Quinn.

She texted Braylon asking him to let her know when he was home since she hadn't seen him yesterday or today. They hadn't even talked since he dropped her off on Sunday. Nothing more than texts.

She hoped everything was okay and would try not to worry or let any insecurities creep in.