Still, she can’t complain. Calan buys his games and gear with his hard-earned babysitting money. Video games are a surprisingly expensive hobby—Calan wouldn’t be able to afford it on his allowance alone. Bobby makes a very nice living (not to mention the exorbitant sum sitting in his trust fund), but Gina doesn’t believe in spoiling their son. She is determined to raise an ethical child. Calan will learn the value of money. A lesson mimicked from her own upbringing. Probably the only one.
Bobby arrives home thirty-five minutes later, looking flushed. He slips off his shoes by the front door, sighing heavily. Gina watches as he removes his frameless spectacles, wiping the lenses with his monogrammed handkerchief.
“Hey, honey.” She moves in to give him a kiss. His lips are cold, too cold for September, but she feels his warmth when he pulls her into a hug. “Did something happen?”
Bobby’s forehead creases. He nods, downcast and serious.
“Is it Souliers?” There is apprehension building in her chest.
“No, nothing with them.” His gaze sweeps across the dining room to the right: green area rug, an oversized family portrait taken when Bitsy, their black Lab, had still been alive, an antique cherry wood table that had belonged to Richard Dewar. “Is Calan upstairs?”
Gina nods. “He already ate. Are you hungry?”
“Let’s talk first.”
Together, they turn left, heading to the living room. This is intentional on Gina’s part—it’s the room furthest from Calan’s. If this isn’t about Souliers, then it can only be about their son, and she doesn’t want him overhearing their conversation. Gina and Bobby agree on many things, but the one thing they disagree on—the big thing, anyway—is how to handle Calan’s bullying at school. Bobby’s approach is all no-nonsense and tough love. An ineffective policy. All it’s done is create a rift between him and Calan, leaving Gina stuck in the middle. Last week, Bobby had floated the idea of sending Calan to boarding school, possibly even military school. A preposterous plan. Gina is already struggling with the notion of Calan leaving for college in three years.
They sit beside each other on the L-shaped couch, the one Gina had spent an entire weekend assembling because Bobby had been sick with the flu. She smooths her hand along the brightly colored throw pillows. They remind her of fluffy rainbows.
Bobby rubs his eyes and leans forward. After drawing a deep breath, he finally speaks. “I’m being accused of sexual misconduct.”
Gina blinks. “I’m sorry… what?”
“Her name is Eva Stone.” There’s a tremor in Bobby’s voice. “She’s an analyst with the company. She’s saying we were… involved. It’s obviously not true.”
Gina stares, words jumbled in her mind out of order. “Involved? What does that mean?”
“She’s claiming we had an affair. She’s lying. I don’t know why she’s lying, but she is lying. HR informed me—”
“When?”
“When?” Bobby frowns.
“When did you find out? When did you have this conversation with HR?”
“I met with Goddard before lunch.”
“You’ve known about this for hours?” The pulse in her neck is throbbing. It upsets Gina, learning that Bobby has discussed this with the head of HR before she even knew about it. It doesn’t help that Goddard isn’t an Almanac—that never sat right with Gina, having an outsider as upper management.
“Gina, I—” Bobby rests his hand on hers. She pulls it away.
“You’re saying she’s making this up?”
“I’m saying I didn’t do this.” The tremor is gone. Now, his tone is firm, unwavering.
“Did you fire her?”
Bobby blinks. “I can’t fire her.”
“Why not?” Bobby is CEO. He can do whatever he wants.
“Think of the optics. She accuses me of sexual misconduct, and I fire her? Can you imagine the backlash?”
Gina opens her mouth and then closes it again.
“With all this #MeToo business,” Bobby continues, “she could sue.” Gina doesn’t give two figs about a lawsuit. She’s about to say as much to Bobby, but he continues, “There’s more.” Bobby takes a deep breath. He sounds pained. “She wants me to step down as CEO. If I do, she won’t come forward with this, officially.”
Step down? Bobby has been CEO for four years. Gina still remembers the day Charles passed the baton over to him. Bobby had been elated by his father’s endorsement. As CEO, Charles had been popular, but hard to please. And the company had been struggling. But Bobby had welcomed the challenge. It had paid off: he had turned Alma Boots around. The idea of Bobby stepping down is unthinkable. Alma Boots is like his second child. And there wouldn’t be anyone to replace him. The CEO is always a Dewar—and Nick has been working at the company for all of two minutes.
“But why would…” Gina pauses, remembering the woman’s name. Eva Stone. It sounds sexy, like a movie star’s name. “Why would Eva want you to do that?”
Bobby shakes his head. “I don’t know. I don’t understand any of it. She’s saying she doesn’t want to see Alma Boots associated with a scandal. All she wants is my resignation. But I’ll tell you what I told Goddard: she won’t come forward, not officially, because to do that you need proof and she has none.”
Gina feels her muscles relaxing. No proof.
“So… what? She has a vendetta against you?” Vendetta. The word seems silly, almost comical. Like something she’d come across in one of Calan’s comic books.
“The way I see it, it all comes down to three options.” Bobby releases a breath. He sounds calm and measured. This makes sense: Bobby’s strength is planning, strategizing. Gina pictures Bobby meeting with Goddard in one of the spacious conference rooms of the iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza building.
He goes over his theories.
Number one: Eva Stone is lying for personal gain. The most obvious reason is money. Maybe she wants a payout.
Number two: Eva Stone is lying for someone else. A third party is paying her to fabricate this story. Or coercing her. The most likely culprit would be Souliers—they’ve been circling Alma Boots like hungry sharks for months, but Bobby keeps turning them down. Perhaps they think that an interim CEO would agree to a sale.
Number three: Eva Stone is batshit crazy. She actually believes she had an affair with Bobby. There are dozens of mental illnesses that can cause hallucinations.
“That’s the most dangerous option,” he says. “I can’t go around calling a woman crazy.”
“Not even if she’s saying you had an…” Gina can’t bring herself to say the word. Affair.
“No, but someone else can do it. An unimpeachable, objective third party. Which is why I’m opening an investigation to get to the bottom of this.”
An investigation. This is good. A guilty man wouldn’t want an investigation. Gina bobs her head, slowly. She trusts her husband. Of course he didn’t have an affair.
“We’re meeting with a few firms tomorrow. Quietly. Nick called in a favor and got us an appointment early in the morning. Our hope is that by the time this gets out we’ll have a defense ready.”