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"Of course." He's quiet a moment. "I'm going to report the conversation to HR, but—I wanted you to know. There are rumors online that you're sneaking around with him."

It catches me off guard, that he's aware of that. "Again, not true." I reiterate. "You don't strike me as the type to believe everything you see on the internet."

"I don't, trust me." He chuckles. "My daughter saw it, actually. She follows Delmont PRIDE on Instagram. She showed me some of the chatter."

I frown. "Why?"Why do a bunch of kids care who I'm dating?

"Are you kidding? You're a huge role model to those kids. Everything you've accomplished—they notice."

"Why? I worked hard. I've earned everything I've accomplished."

I walk in the door two hours later, looking for Marin. She's in the kitchen making me a salad. "You're a sight for sore eyes," I mutter, grabbing a beer out of the fridge and sinking into a chair.

She raises an eyebrow, apparently amused. "Glad to be of service." She sprinkles some parmesan-romano cheese and some sunflower seeds over my salad and sets it in front of me.

"You can sit down and eat with me, you know." After Josie's fuss about her, it occurred to me that I do treat her more likestaff than I should. This woman knows me inside and out and waits on me hand and foot.

She shakes her head. "I ate before I got here."

"In the future, plan enough for both of us, and sit down and eat with me," I tell her.

"Of course." She starts cleaning up the kitchen while I eat.

"Did you get a hold of Josie? We need a plan."

"Besides firing Woodhouse?" she asks. "With Gwen and Jason making separate statements to HR, you shouldn't have to deal with him for much longer."

"Apparently a lot of the chatter on social media is coming from Delmont PRIDE. I was their champion one minute, traitor the next. I don't get it."

She finally sits down across from me with a glass of ice water. "Don't downplay your accomplishments, Florence. You're the first woman in charge of an academic medical center in the country. And the only openly queer person in your position. You worked your ass off. You didn't take shit from anyone. "

"I didn't know that was public knowledge." I chew on that. "I've never hidden it… but it's not like I run around with rainbows in my hair. Why does it matter?"

"Florence." She sighs. "When you set your sights on this position, did you think about the fact that no woman had ever done it?"

I shake my head. "Why should it matter? I'm capable. Hell, I'm more capable than anyone else for this job. You don't need a penis to run a hospital. Brains, yes." I roll my eyes when she snickers. "Hell, half these old CEOs have a penis that doesn't even work. As long as their brain still functions, nobody cares if they can get it up."

"I cannot believe you just said that." She stifles her laughter.

"Simple truth." I shrug.

"It matters," she says, serious again, "because you have kids everywhere looking up to you. You give them hope. Representation matters. Even if you don't think about it, they do. The possibility of a brighter future."

I sigh. "Josie said her friend was disappointed in me. Jason said the same thing about his daughter." I pause. "Speaking of Josie—did you talk to her? We need a plan."

"She's your girlfriend."

"Fiancée," I correct.

"Fake fiancée," she reminds me, "who is making you soft."

"Don't start with that," I warn her.

"Fine." She smiles. "I called her and let her know we have a situation." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath."Youhave a situation. When I summarized said situation, she said she'd be happy to discuss it with you." She hesitates. "But her relationship with you does not include me."

"Wait. What?" I frown. "Did she actually say that?"

"Yes, ma'am." Marin stands, reaching for my empty plate. "You should call her. She's making you dinner at her place. This is just to tide you over."