I wanted to punch that grin right off his face. "I don't think your mind is capable of thinking anything."
"Watch yourself." The humor fled from his expression. "You might be my mate, but there are limits-"
"No thank you." I fought back a shiver. Ac...
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Gloria
"Mr. Abernathy tells me that you have quite an impressive background." Chief Conner, a graying man of medium stature and portly build, had launched right to business after pleasantries had been exchanged. He sat, professionally established behind his brass nameplate and rich desk, while he judged my own qualifications.
I was breathless with nervousness, and some worry. My eyes flickered in the direction where I knew Michael remained, but he stood out of sight. He was a presence in the room, but not imposing on the conversation in any way.
At the sound of rustling, my attention was pulled back towards Chief Conner.
He was thumbing through a small collection of papers—my resume.
"I see that you're the top of your class," he said. "Which confirms Mr. Abernathy's claims. And that you've shown initiative while on campus within the leadership of several clubs. You know your martial arts." He paused, his eyes resting on the last page. He was silent a moment, then his eyes slowly rose to meet mine.
"It's impressive," he repeated. "In that case, why is it that six months after graduation, you have yet to gain employment?"
My face heated and my mouth went dry. Clearly he knew why, but was asking anyway.
I was so humiliated.
Still, did he want me to lie? To make up some excuse to make it seem like the fault was mine?
I wasn't about to do that. I'd call out the entire system first.
Forcing myself to collect my overwhelming emotions—anger and shame that gathered in my stomach—I breathed. In deeply, and then out slowly. A way to gain focus, and to not say something that I'd regret later.
Finally, when my racing heart calmed, I spoke. "I've been unemployed because no one wants to hire a woman to join their active forces. There's a bias against female officers, and we live in an area where change is not readily embraced."
