Bobby crosses his arms. “What circumstances are those, Missy?”
Gina can feel her muscles tensing. She appreciates Bobby’s intention—he is defending her, defending their marriage. And if Missy was the only one in town acting this way—issuing pitying remarks that only serve to remind Gina of the scandal—then Gina would gladly let him do just that. But she isn’t.
“Missy, it was lovely to see you,” Gina notes, before Missy can say anything else. Her face is crimson. “Bobby and I were just leaving.” She turns to Ewan. “I’ll be back.”
Bobby gets the message and links arms with her. Gina is feeling so frustrated that she swings the shop’s door with a bit more force than is called for. She’ll apologize to Ewan later.
“That woman is spiteful.” Bobby shakes his head.
“Unhappy people love to make others feel unhappy, too.” Gina shrugs. She tries to distract herself by admiring the window display at Greaves Jams & Marmalades, owned by Louise Martin. But not even the amusing tableau of ghosts having a tea party can cheer her up.
“I’m sorry.” Bobby looks at Gina with his big green eyes. “I’m not good at turning the other cheek. You’re a better person than I am.”
“It’s not about being a good person,” she says. And she means it. She’s never thought of herself as a good person, anyway. “It’s more about letting go.”
“I thought it would be over by now.” Bobby squeezes her hand.
“I did, too,” Gina admits. “At least in town.” It’s been a little over a week since Bobby came home. She hadn’t expected the rest of the country to stop talking about the scandal, but she had expected Alma to move on. In retrospect, that had been naive. The scandal is still all over the media. Almanacs can’t be expected to live in a bubble, not when every few days there’s a new opinion piece or Twitter thread gone viral.
It’s why Gina thinks they should sue Eva Stone.
“Have you given any more thought to what we talked about with Caroline?”
“I have.” Bobby’s shoulders drop. “And I’m sorry, but Doug and I don’t think it’s a good idea, long-term.”
Gina bites the insides of her cheek. It might be vindictive and spiteful, but suing Eva Stone is, in Gina’s opinion, the best thing they could do. To prepare, Gina has been reading a couple of the books Alice gave her. She wants to be familiar with the specific language used in sexual harassment cases. If they go to court, Eva is likely to use arguments similar to the ones presented by the authors—though, of course, in the books she’s reading the claims are real.
“Nick said it’s what he would do in your position,” Gina offers.
“That’s because Nick only thinks about Nick.” Bobby clenches his jaw. “I, on the other hand, have to think about what’s best for Alma Boots.”
“Is this because of the report?” Gina asks.
Bobby had mentioned the report as a point of concern when Gina first talked to him about suing. Apparently, the firm that was hired to conduct an investigation into Eva’s claims has looked into a lot more than they should have. Bobby had been under the impression that they’d focus on whether or not he had an affair with Eva, but instead they’d presented a detailed breakdown of company practices and personnel, pointing out potential biases and alleged discriminatory policies as it pertains to gender inequality.
“It is,” Bobby says. “A lawsuit would leave us vulnerable.”
While Bobby is certain that Eva Stone would never be able to come forward with evidence of an affair (“She can’t prove what didn’t happen.”), he does fear that a lawsuit will force Eva Stone to go on the offensive against the company. Specifically, against the lack of women in senior management positions. The report hasn’t uncovered any evidence of an affair on Bobby’s part—or on the part of any senior manager. But its results did shed light on two chief concerning matters: the lack of women in leadership roles within Alma Boots’ ranks and the embarrassingly disparate gender pay gap.
“Sometimes I wish you’d never hired that firm,” Gina says. “Is that awful?”
“No, I feel the same way,” Bobby says. “And we have Nick to thank for that, too. He’s the one who referred them.”
Bobby had given her a copy of the report. There were five, maybe six pages on Eva Stone: personal information, copies of the emails she sent HR, a screenshot of the text message she’d sent Bobby in early September, a transcript of the video she posted on social media, and, of course, the blow job email. But there were dozens of pages on Alma Boots’ past and present practices. Gina is no expert on business, but even she had been able to appreciate the disturbing nature of the numbers. Women occupy less than 18% of non-senior managers roles and less than 10% of senior manager roles at Alma Boots. Apparently, the country’s average—already considered to be low—is 41.9% and 34.9%, respectively. All of the department heads are men.
In all fairness, this is mostly because management positions are occupied by Almanacs, and the vast majority of the families who move to Alma do so because they’re looking for a simpler, quieter life, one that typically involves a stay-at-home mother, a working father, and children who get to grow up in a clean, safe place with great public schools and a friendly community. Naturally, Gina sees nothing wrong with this model. Each family should live however they please. But it isn’t an explanation that will appease the rest of the country.
Bobby doesn’t intend to disclose the report, but if he sues Eva Stone, then he might have to. And all it will do is fan the flames. According to him, Alma Boots can’t afford another public scandal. Months ago, she would’ve shooed away his
