Now, Alice smiles graciously. “Can I ask: why me?”
“You’re good with this sort of thing.” Gina pauses and smiles sheepishly. “And Caroline is out of town. I guess you could say I was desperate.”
Alice laughs softly. “Desperation. Got it.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s fine. I appreciate the honesty,” Alice says. “And I was happy to help. But just so you know, Kailey’s shop has some really nice dresses.”
“If I’m being completely honest, I… I’ve been having trouble, lately, talking to my friends.”
“Oh?” Alice notes the implication in Gina’s words: they’re not friends. She feels the same way, and yet it’s strange to hear Gina say it out loud. They should be friends. They’re sisters-in-law, married to twin brothers. They live on the same street.
“Everyone keeps asking me how I’m doing in this really intense way.” Gina exhales loudly. “I know it comes from a good place. They’re worried about me and I appreciate it. But lately it’s like I can’t go five minutes without hearing the words Eva Stone or divorce or affair.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Alice says, experiencing a genuine tug of sympathy toward Gina. She would feel entirely different if Gina hadn’t kicked Bobby out, but now that she has, Alice has found herself warming up toward Gina.
“I can’t even escape it inside my own home because it’s all over the news and social media. And it’s just so hard to look away.”
Alice nods. She understands the impulse: she finds herself refreshing her Twitter feed every few minutes. Social media is incensed, divided. The press release had only made it worse. Alice shudders, thinking back to the short statement. A generic corporate release stating that Bobby has never been involved with Eva Stone in any personal capacity.
The people on the #BackBobby side see it as definitive proof of Bobby’s innocence—as if a press release is something more than words on paper. Most of them are on the offensive: slut-shaming Eva, calling her a liar. The most odious, nonsensical rumors have gained traction. Eva Stone is a Russian spy tasked with taking down an all-American company. Eva Stone is a runaway from a psychiatric unit. Eva Stone is working for Souliers. They’re convinced the email is a fake, or they just don’t care—they don’t think it’s a big deal to have a man promote a woman because of her fellatio skills.
Alice had almost thrown up when she saw some of the memes that are going around, many under the guise of patriotism. The #KeepAlmaBootsAmerican campaign has gained a lot of misogynistic supporters. There are reports that Eva has received death threats, which is both heartbreaking and wholly unsurprising.
The people on the #BelieveEva camp (Alice is, naturally, one of them) see the press release for what it is: slimy corporate circumvention and gaslighting. They understand that there is an inherent imbalance of power in any relationship between a boss and an employee, which means the employee cannot reasonably offer consent. Eva reciprocated Bobby’s advances, but that does not matter. What happened was still a form of sexual harassment. Still an abuse of power. Eva’s supporters are praising her bravery, her courage to initiate a larger conversation about the nuances surrounding the cultural conditions that cause women to acquiesce to male advances and to prioritize their needs over their own.
A movement has risen giving Bobby seven days to resign—or there will be a large-scale Alma Boots boycott. Angie Aguilar has come out in support of Eva. It is also true that some have gone too far: accusing Bobby of being a rapist, for example.
“I’m proud of you,” Alice says. “For asking him for space.” That is how Gina has characterized her time apart from Bobby: a request for space.
“Yes, you’ve mentioned how you… feel about all this.”
Alice thinks back to their one-on-one in her kitchen. “I’m sorry if that got heated. I didn’t mean to add to your stress.”
“Alice Dewar apologizing?”
“What can I say? Today is a day for firsts. And if you need to talk, I’m here. I promise I won’t… share my thoughts unless you ask me to. You have enough of that.” Alice lets out a low laugh. Poor Gina. It’s not her fault her husband is a creep.
“That I do.” Gina releases a breath. “Katherine Stevens actually offered to put me in touch with the lawyer who handled her divorce.”
Alice makes a face. “You don’t want Katherine’s lawyer, trust me.” She covers her mouth. “Sorry, that counts as sharing an opinion.”
Gina lets out a low laugh. “That’s OK. I think you’ve earned it.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Is her lawyer awful?”
“I’m sure he’s fine.” Alice shrugs. “But you’ll want someone who knows their way around a prenup. A shark.”
Gina’s eyebrows lift, surprise and confusion written all over her face. She looks like she’s about to say something, but decides against it.
Could it be? Alice has to ask. “You have a prenup, right?” Her words are slow, tentative.
“No.” Gina cocks her head to the side. “Do you?”
“A postnup, but yes.” Nick had told her it was the only way to get his mother’s blessing once they moved back into town. Really, he had said parents—but, as usual, it was all Tish. “Tish never made you sign one?” That was odd. Gina and Bobby hadn’t eloped like Alice and Nick. There would’ve been plenty of time to draft the papers.
“She did at first, but then she changed her mind.”
“Bobby stood up to Tish?” Alice says, her mouth slacking. “And won?”
“Sort of. They got into this huge argument over it. Bobby even threatened to quit the company and Tish being Tish called his bluff. I couldn’t let him do that—you know how much he loves Alma Boots—so I
