The Coworker Chapter 29 (Chapter 28) Summary
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Natalie spends the morning making sales calls without success, wanting to distract herself with a scheduled radio interview for her cerebral-palsy 5K run. At 4:15 p.m., Rita Duke, the radio host, still hasn’t called. Natalie calls her and learns that Rita assumed Natalie would not want to proceed because Dawn’s body was found. Rita tells Natalie that #VixedBullies is trending online: people are saying that Vixed employees severely bullied Dawn. Natalie insists she and Dawn were good friends and that she protected Dawn from others. Rita suggests the climate is wrong and that Natalie’s own involvement—finding Dawn missing—has been called “suspicious.” Natalie angrily hangs up, claiming she has an alibi. She then checks Twitter and sees the hashtag is worse than she imagined.
Key Events
- Natalie fails to make any sales calls profitable.
- Rita Duke cancels the radio interview for the 5K.
- Rita reveals that #VixedBullies is trending, accusing Vixed staff of bullying Dawn.
- Natalie defends herself, saying she liked Dawn and protected her.
- Rita implies that Natalie’s discovery of Dawn’s absence looks suspicious.
- Natalie hangs up and looks at Twitter, finding the rumors more damaging than she expected.
Character Development
- Natalie Favreau: Her composure cracks under public scrutiny. She shifts from confident saleswoman to defensive victim. Her claim of protecting Dawn raises questions about her actual behavior at Vixed.
- Rita Duke: Though a minor character, she represents public opinion. She is cautious and unwilling to associate with anyone tainted by rumor, showing how quickly reputations can be damaged.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Social media as a weapon: The hashtag #VixedBullies spreads without verification, derailing Natalie’s charity work and putting her on the defensive.
- Appearance vs. reality: Natalie insists she was Dawn’s friend, but the online narrative paints a different picture. The 5K run, meant for charity, now symbolizes a contested legacy.
- The power of rumor: A single trending hashtag is enough to cancel an interview and make a person a suspect in the public eye.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter escalates the central mystery beyond Dawn’s murder. It introduces a new layer of conflict: public opinion and social media investigation. Natalie’s alibi and her past behavior now face intense scrutiny. The chapter also deepens the question of who really bullied Dawn and what role Natalie might have played, raising stakes for the remainder of the story.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Rita Duke cancel the interview?
Because she sees the trending hashtag VixedBullies and does not want to appear to take the side of Vixed employees, whom the internet claims bullied Dawn.
2. How does Natalie react to being called suspicious?
She insists she has an alibi for the night Dawn disappeared and claims she was Dawn’s friend and protector. She feels betrayed because she thought she and Rita were friends.
3. What does #VixedBullies imply about public perception of Dawn’s death?
The public believes that workplace bullying by Vixed employees may have led to Dawn’s murder or that the killer is one of them, possibly Natalie.