I laughed a little. “’Cause I wanted to do it on my own. But looking back, it wouldn’t have mattered either way.”

Jamie’s brow furrowed.

I turned my head and pressed it back against the cushion, staring up at the sky above the railing. “I was hired for the position in senior management, which was crazy, but given my degree and the experience I had interning, Walt was confident I was fit for the position. My dad agreed after he found out. He was really proud of me.”

“I bet. That’s fuckin’ awesome.”

“He was also pissed I didn’t come to him about a job, but I didn’t want that, you know?” I turned to look at Jamie again. “I didn’t want anybody thinking that I used my name to get where I was. That was important to me. I wanted to earn it.”

“Sounds like you did,” Jamie offered. “Hired you for a reason, babe.”

“Yeah, well, not everyone thought that.” I looked away again and drew my knees up, staring at the tops of them while I picked at my cuticle. “I was brand-new and fresh out of business school, and all of a sudden I was a boss. I had people under me. People who had to report to me and answer to me. Who were older than me. They hated it. These women who had bachelor’s degrees or who were working toward graduating, they looked at me as if I’d done terrible things to them. They hated me. And when women hate women, it’s bad, Jamie. It’s really bad.”

I glanced over at movement. Jamie was sitting up and throwing one leg over the cushion and planting his feet on the wood between our chairs. Then he leaned forward and dropped his elbows to his knees.

“How bad?” he asked. His voice was sharper. Jamie was getting tense. He was growing worried and I didn’t want that. He had enough on his mind.

“It wasn’t like I was getting beat up or anything,” I explained, hoping to quickly settle him. “They would just … talk.” I shrugged. “Say things behind my back. Sometimes not behind my back. They didn’t think I earned the position I had. They said I wasn’t qualified.”

“They were talkin’ shit,” he threw out.

I nodded.

Jamie leaned closer, adding, “They were cunts, babe.”

I pulled in a breath. That word was like nails on a chalkboard to me. It was tough to hear.

Jamie was right, though. Those women were … that word, but still. Tough to hear. I couldn’t help but react to it.

“Jealous ’cause you were younger, smarter, probably hotter,” he continued, staying pitched forward. “Couldn’t handle the fact you had all that goin’ on plus everything else you got goin’ on, which is a fuckin’ lot, babe, so they dogged you for it.”

“They dogged me all right,” I echoed, laughing a little at that expression.

Jamie didn’t laugh watching me. He didn’t smile. He didn’t lose that tense, worried look in his eyes either. If anything, it grew thicker.

“Babe,” he mumbled, and I knew his next words before he even asked them. “Tell me you did not let those bitches run you out of there. That’s fucked up.”

“I did not let them run me out of there,” I told him, watching his head jerk and his eyes lower. “Me leaving was my decision. They might’ve influenced it, but they did not make that choice for me. I did.”

Jamie’s eyes lifted again. They narrowed and his mouth got tight.

I sat up then, swinging my legs over the side of the cushion to join him in his position. Reaching out and taking one of his hands between both of mine, I planted my feet so they staggered with his and slid forward, putting our knees together.

“I am very protective of my family, Jamie,” I started, holding his eyes. “I don’t ever want anything touching them that could hurt them in any way. Not even if that thing is me. Those women were talking and they weren’t being shy about it. The things they were saying got around and eventually got back to me, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before they spread further. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want anyone thinking badly about my father. I didn’t want people saying he was the type of man who didn’t care about his business because he was letting family work there who weren’t qualified to run it into the ground. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want his character getting tarnished.”

“Why would that happen?” Jamie questioned. “That shit wasn’t true. You were qualified.”

“Rumors about John Rivera’s daughter being qualified and earning the position she got aren’t juicy. They don’t travel,” I explained. “But rumors about how John Rivera’s daughter got her position by begging her much older boss, from her knees …”

Jamie jerked back. White-hot anger flashed in his eyes. “Fuck. Are you serious? They were sayin’ that about you?” he asked gruffly.

“They were saying a lot of things about me. That was one,” I confirmed.

“Jesus,” Jamie mumbled. He shook his head and twisted his hand inside mine, taking hold of me as he got closer. His other hand reached out and cupped my face. “Legs, straight up, they should’ve been fired for that,” he said, staring into my eyes. “You should’ve taken that shit straight to your boss and let him handle it. You should not have been dealin’ with that.”

“I agree with you,” I told him. “They deserved to be fired, but I didn’t want to draw more attention to it and I really didn’t want Walt knowing what all they were saying. He’s the nicest man. Always close with my family. He was like my grandfather. I didn’t want him hearing that ugly. Firing four women over one quitting would’ve drawn attention and spread it wide. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want him finding out. Or my dad. That could’ve reflected on him if people believed it.”