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“Tell me.”
She set her glass down and walked to her desk, pulling open a file drawer. She took out a wrinkled, torn piece of paper that had been taped back together and handed it to him.
One look at the crude drawing, and Grant’s anger went nuclear. “What the fuck—”
“They said it was a game. Those are the initials of five of the men on my team. I’m pretty sure it was started by John, the asshole who called mehot stuffright after I’d been hired. Apparently, the others thought it was great fun.”
Grant stared at the paper, his blood scorched. “I’m going to fuckingkillthose—”
“You cannot fix this.”Rory stepped closer. Her eyes sparked. “You can’t go to HR, to your father, to the police, to anyone. My supervisor, one of the few women in the entire company, warned me not to file a complaint because it’d backlash on me, and even worse is the fact that she was right. Another coworker knew I’d found that paper…he was the one who told me I’d been the subject of an interoffice game…and he told our other team members. You can guess how well that went over. Now they’re all thinking I have it out for them, and they want me to either quit or get fired, which means I’m taking a lot of crap. Stop.”
He kicked the desk chair backward until it hit the wall. His blood was molten with rage, every muscle locked for battle. “You are not staying there. No fucking way.”
She pulled in a heavy breath. “I’m trying to find a way to get out that won’t destroy my next job prospect or even my career. I already have a reputation fordramabecause I’ve fought back, and a shitload of good that did me.”
“Rory, quit the fucking job!” Grant flung his arms out, his breathing rapid. “To hell with anyone who won’t hire you because you stood up for yourself. Turn in your notice now. Get all your documentation together. I’ll call my lawyer, and we’ll hit those bastards with a heavy and very public lawsuit. By the time we’re done with them, there won’t be a Digicore left.”
“No.” She shook her head in defiance. “It’s not that easy. I know too many cases of women getting tied up in expensive legal battles for years before they end up losing anyway. Suing your former company is a career death sentence.”
“The tech industry is not the only place where you can use your talent and skills.” Frustration gripped him like a fist. “There are hundreds of other companies that would kill to have you on their payroll and who would value and respect you instead of treating you like garbage. Why would youwantto stay?”
Rory stepped back. Silence fell like an anvil. His pulse hammered.
“Why do you stay at the Mousehole?” A cold note infused her voice.
“What?”
“Why would youwantto stay?” She shrugged and held up her hands. “As a matter of fact, why would you want to stay in the restaurant world at all? It’s hard work, uncertain, unpredictable. It screwed up your relationship with your family. The hours are crazy. You can’t even get away long enough to see your girlfriend for more than ten hours a week. As a chef, you’re on your feet all day. You get burned constantly—stove, grill, boiling water, hot oil. It’s dangerous and physically tough. You have to deal with complaints from customers, vendors, suppliers. It’s lonely and the pay probably sucks. So why don’t you just quit, Grant? Go work at a bookstore or write about food for a magazine. Why do you stay?”
He couldn’t even form a response. His chest was so tight it hurt.
“When I…” Rory paused, pushing a lock of hair away from her forehead. “When I first learned to code, I thought it was like a magic spell. I could use it to create amazing and wonderful things. Technology was changing the world in so many different ways. Science, medicine, engineering, education. Everything. I wanted to be part of it. I wanted to change the world.”
She walked to the kitchen, her spine rigid. “Whenever one of my sisters, friends, or even my parents was working on something, I’d think about how to design a program or app to help. Like a better way for Aria to target customers when she was selling macramé art, or a system to pair her stray animals with the right families. Or I’d dream up a game that Callie could use to teach Greek mythology or a way for my mother to network with other bakers. It wasexciting, the idea that I had the knowledge and creativity to actually turn those ideas into reality.
“That’s the reason I went to school. Why I worked so hard. Why I wrote letters to women who’d made it to the upper echelons of the tech industry and asked for their advice. It’s why I made both friends and enemies, and it’s why I’ve always wanted to work for the companies that were creating the most interesting and innovative programs.
“I looked to Callie and the way she charted her own path to becoming a tenured professor. I could see myself doing the same thing. I wanted to prove myself as a lead, as a manager, and eventually as an executive who could really make a difference, like the maverick women who’ve blazed the trail before me. I thought one day I could even run my own company.”
She spun to face him, her eyes suddenly flashing. “And every time I quit a job or asked for a transfer or filed a complaint or ignored a nasty comment, it was like getting another chip knocked out of this vision I’d had since I was a kid. You know that gameChutes and Ladderswhere you can end up sliding right back down to the bottom with one spin of the wheel? That’s what it was like. I’d end up right back at the bottom again, if not literally, then in the eyes of the people in power, which was even worse.
“But when I was working with good companies and good people, it was like being in the eye of a hurricane where everything is calm and perfect. Where we could all just do what we did best and work together. Where I remembered what itcouldbe like. Twice, I thought I’d found it, the company I’d never leave, but the first one was a start-up that went under, and the second was sold and had a reorganization that pushed many of us out. I could see it, though, the way I wanted to work and be treated. I still can.”
She shook her head and compressed her mouth. “And then something likethishappens, and I’m reminded that it can be so fucking hard and, yes, I want to flip all those bastards off and walk out and never look back because, really, is it worth it? Why am I putting myself through this?
“Then I rememberI’mnot the one at fault, that no one has the right to treat anyone like they’re inferior, to demean, bully, and violate them. It’s not okay for anyone to make me the subject of a game, and why the fuck should I let them destroy me and everything I’ve worked for and wanted? So to answer your question, Grant,that’swhy I want to stay.”
She was breathing hard, her eyes hot with blue fire, her fists clenched.
Every part of him weakened—his bones, his soul, his heart. He could live a thousand years and never love a woman as much as he loved her.
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say. There were no words. “I’m a fucking idiot, Rory. I’m so sorry.”
“You stay because you love it.” Her expression softened a little, and she took a step toward him. “Because you want to make people feel good. I stay because I love it. Because while I no longer think I can change the entire world, I still believe I can change a corner of the world. Maybe even two corners.”
“What…” Something stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard and tried again. “What do you need me to do? What do you want me to do? Anything. I’ll do anything for you.”
She looked at him for a long moment before a faint smile curved her mouth. “You can do what you’ve been doing for two years, Grant. You can just beright over there.”
He crossed the room in three strides and hauled her against him, tightening his arms so hard around her that he was probably crushing her. He couldn’t let go, couldn’t loosen his grip.
“I’m not over there.” His voice was rough. “I’m right here.”
He pressed his face into her hair and struggled to calm the fire raging inside him, the black fury that anyone would dare to hurt her, the urge for violent revenge.
He pulled in a heavy breath. He’d be here for her always. But it wasn’t enough, not for him. He couldn’t just stand on the sidelines while she went into battle. He had to take action, to do something. He’d fought for the life he wanted, and with everything he had, he would fight for hers. Her war was his war.
