I meet his eyes. “Yes.”
He’s quiet for another moment, processing.
“How long?”
“Does it matter?”
“It might. If Winters tries to claim her judgment about Rodriguez was clouded by personal feelings, a timeline matters.”
“Her judgment wasn’t clouded. Rodriguez needed six to eight weeks. She documented everything. Followed every protocol. Made the right call.” My jaw clenches. “The only person whose judgment is questionable is Winters, and I have players who can prove it.”
“Roman.” Barrett’s voice drops. “If you’re going after Winters with this, you need to be absolutely certain. He’s been here fifteen years. He has relationships, institutional support. This isn’t going to be clean.”
“I’m certain. And I have everything I need.”
“Then keep me in the loop. Because when this goes down—and it will—I need to know what’s coming.” He stands. “Dr. Walker is the best thing that’s happened to our medical staff in years. If Winters wants to go after her, he’ll have to go through me too.”
After he leaves, I sit there thinking about what I’m about to do.
Winters is building his case. I’m building mine.
And somewhere in the middle, Marnie’s trying to do her job while we both prepare for war.
I pull out my phone.
Marnie
Landing soon?
Me: About an hour. Want me to come over?
Marnie
It’s late. You’re probably exhausted.
I don’t care. I want to see you.
Marnie
I want to see you too.
28
MARNIE
A few dayslater Jake finds me in the training room at 8:30 AM, and I know immediately something’s wrong from his expression.
“Barrett wants to see you,” he says. “His office. Now.”
My stomach drops. “About what?”
“Didn’t say. Just said to send you up when you got in.” He shifts his weight, drops his voice. “Marnie, Winters has been in Barrett’s office since seven. With a folder.”
The world tilts slightly.
A folder means documentation. Documentation means he’s not just complaining.
“Did Barrett sound mad?”
