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“How’s Lando?”
“Sleeping,” Violet muttered, waiting for the other shoe to drop and knowing she was going to be the one to drop it.
“Think she’ll be up for the storm coming through?”
Violet shrugged. She wasn’t going to give Lando a choice, because it wasn’t a storm they were going to miss. They just had to find the right place where the tornadoes were going to hit, where they would land and touch down, and then they would be able to move on to the next one. Data was all she sought, and sorting through it, like she’d attempted to do that morning, was where her strengths were.
“She better be. I’m not paying her to sleep her days away,” Diane’s voice turned cold.
Violet’s back went up. With all the fawning, she hadn’t expected Diane to speak so harshly. The poor girl had forty-six stitches in her arm, which she’d gotten during an accident while on the job. She expected Diane to be sympathetic. They’d all been hurt at one time or another. Their job wasn’t an easy one, not one that was without risk, as much as they attempted to minimize it.
“She’ll be ready,” Violet answered, knowing she’d be sure to make Lando ready even if she wasn’t. She wouldn’t let their team flounder or let Diane do an about-face on Lando if she could prevent it.
“When is it supposed to hit?”
“Couple hours. I need to check the mapping and data since it’s come in this morning and see where it’s at.”
“You haven’t done that already?”
Violet slid her gaze to Diane, wondering just where the anger was coming from. She was used to this type of tension toward the middle of the season, not so close to the beginning of it. They were usually able to avoid it for longer. “I was a bit busy.”
“Doing what? Sleeping in?”
“It’s six in the morning, Diane. Give me a break.”
“No. We missed our opportunity two days ago. I’m not going to miss another one.”
Snorting, Violet tightened her grip on her paper cup. The conversation was rich coming from Diane, who did hardly any of the work in the grand scheme of things. Driving was not something to look down on, but Violet was the one who analyzed, who put things together, who decided where they were going. Diane just rode on her success most days.
“There will be other storms.”
“Not always, and not like that one. We were so close.”
“And it nearly cost Lando her life.” Violet tensed, her need to defend Lando overwhelming.
“That’s part of the job.” Diane’s features hardened as she stared at the parking lot.
Violet sighed. “Is it also part of the job to throw your team under the bus?”
“What are you talking about?”
Her anger hit, and Violet let it lash through her to Diane. “What makes you think it’s okay to out me to my student?”
Diane snorted. “That’s rich, like Lando didn’t already know.”
Shaking her head, Violet pushed off the wall. “That’s not the point! You don’t just tell people I’m gay. You don’t tell anyone that.”
“There was no harm done.” Diane tried to brush it off, but Violet wasn’t going to let her have this one. She was still too mad about it, too angry to let it pass. It wasn’t the first time Diane had pulled something like this, but this time she’d put Violet’s first career in jeopardy. It could cause so many problems for her at work if they knew, if they didn’t like it.
“How do you even know that?”
“Because she likes girls.”
Violet flung her hand out to the side. “It doesn’t matter if students do, Diane. If I get on the wrong side of the dean, I’m screwed. I can’t cause any more issues. It was hard enough to take this quarter off as a leave of absence without repercussions. But if they find out about this? What’s to say they won’t allow me to come back?”
“They’ll allow you back.”
“You don’t know that!” Violet’s voice rose until she was nearly screaming, and right outside the bedroom window, where she knew Lando was sleeping only feet away. If she wasn’t careful, she would be the reason Lando woke up that morning, again.
