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“You need to sleep a little before driving back.” She set the leftovers in the fridge and led him back to bed. An enormous relief filled her as she nestled against his side, as if it were the place she was meant to be.
“Oh, did I tell you I contacted two women I met at a conference awhile back?” She rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. “We’re getting together for lunch next week. I realized that I’ve always spent so much time working that I never really tried to make friends with women who are also working in tech. And I miss my Bliss Cove friends, so I decided to try and make some up here.”
“That’s great.” He pressed his lips to her temple. “You need a tribe.”
“I’m also having lunch with your mother the week after next.”
“Joanna Taylor may have her faults, but she probably knows every tribe in the Bay Area. She’ll be thrilled to take charge of your social life.”
“I just might let her.”
Silence fell. Rory pulled up the comforter. She had a code review on Monday and needed to work as much as she could, but not for anything would she give up a few hours of sleep with Grant.
“You good here?” He stroked his hand over her arm, though a faint tension rippled through his body.
She nodded, understanding his unspoken question. “Brenda is my supervisor, but I’m the only woman on the development team. That’s always the case, though. I’m used to it.”
“Any problems?”
She hesitated, not wanting to lie but not wanting to give him reason to worry. “I’ve learned how to pick and choose my battles, so whatever problems I’ve had, I can deal with.”
“What does that mean?” He shifted to face her, his expression darkening.
“What I said.” She put her hand on his chest. “Grant, it’s okay. The fact is that I’m a woman in a male-dominated field not known for being inclusive, but I choose to stay because I love the industry, the potential for innovation, and the work. Do I love the culture? Not always. Will it change? Maybe one day. But until then, I can deal with it.”
“What exactly isityou’re dealing with?”
“Look.” She sat up, dropping her hand away from him. “It’s nothing that would or should surprise you or anyone else. And is this really how you want to spend your few hours here?”
“You mean finding out what you haven’t told me?” Irritation edged his voice.
“There’s nothing to tell.” Rory shoved off the bed. Frustration swelled in her chest. “No one’s put his hand on my ass or propositioned me for sex or asked me to go to a strip club. One guy did make a bumbling attempt to ask me out for a drink, but he was clueless rather than predatory, and believe me, I know the difference. I’m documenting and broadcasting all my work because I know if anyone is going to be the victim of theft, it’ll be me. There’s the usual locker-room talk that I choose to ignore, and every day I challenge coworkers who try to ignore me, interrupt me, or talk over me. Can it be exhausting? Yes, but I refuse to be invisible.”
Grant’s mouth tightened. “You shouldn’t be treated as if you are.”
“I know, but it’s not going to change if womenlike medon’t challenge it.”
He dragged a hand down his face, and a heavy sigh rasped from his chest. “Why should you have to endure that crap to challenge the status quo? Why not shake it up another way, from another angle?”
“What angle, Grant?” Rory paced across the room, her throat tightening. “I already tried to start my own project, and look how that ended up.”
“You have way too much to offer to let one asshole venture capitalist stifle all your other ideas.”
“Did you come here to fight?” She whirled around and spread her arms out. “Is that what this visit is about?”
“No.” He pushed off the bed, his eyes dark. “I’m here because I miss you, and I fucking hate the idea of you being in any kind of environment where you feel evenslightlyunsafe or diminished.”
Rory smothered an intense, aching wave of emotion. “You’ve known from the beginning what my career is, Grant. You know far better than most what this industry can be like. As much as I appreciate your concern, you have no right to question my choice of work.”
“I’m just telling you that you deserve better.”
“Did you hear what I said?” Rory snapped. “I told you weeks ago that this is a great job with excellent benefits and potential for advancement. Even if I’m not offered the Principal Engineer position, I’m already on the radar.”
He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not questioning you. You’re right, I do know what this industry can be like, which is only one of the reasons I didn’t want to be part of it.”
“Well, I am part of it.” She swallowed a rising tide of tears. “Even if I wanted to leave, which I don’t, I have no idea what else I could or even would do.”
“Rory, you can doanything.”
