Unsuitable

“And there’s that.”

“Do you do police checks on these guys?” said Joe.

“Yes, I do. And he checks out completely, and I feel like the biggest fraud for even having doubts about him.”

“But squicky,” said Merrill.

“But discrimination, Merry. If he turns out to be the best candidate and I don’t hire him because he’s male, I’m doing what every guy in authority does when they hire or promote a less qualified man over a woman. I’m doing what was done to me when I came back from maternity leave. I’m making assumptions and I’m sidelining someone incredibly unfairly.”

“Well, that sucks,” said Merrill.

Joe leaned forward, elbows on the table. “But there are some jobs that women are—”

Merrill slapped his arm again. “If you expect to put your thing inside my thing again, don’t finish that sentence.”

“Bu—”

“Ever again, Joe. You will die without ever grunting ‘oh God, merry hell, babes’ again if you so much as utter another syllable.”

Joe put his forehead on the table with a thump.

Audrey laughed. “He doesn’t—?”

“He does.”

“It’s kind of sweet.”

Merrill laughed. “The first hundred times.”

Joe’s shoulders were shaking. “Stop picking on me.”

Merrill rubbed her knuckles across his bald head. “Poor baby. Tomorrow I’m going to teach you how to use a paper towel to c

lean up spills.”

“What do I do tomorrow? Do I call Reece and let him down nicely, or do I let him stay in the mix until after the second round?”

Joe sat upright. “This Reece character has the right quals, good experience, and his references check out?”

“Yes.”

“And Mia took to him?”

“Duck. Water.”

Joe’s bottom lip protruded, his mouth mushing as he considered. “Put gender aside, he’d still be on the list.”

“He would, but I can’t put it aside, even though I know I should.”

“Squicky.”

Joe turned to Merrill. “You keep saying that, by which I assume you mean you don’t trust a man to take care of small kids, which means, jokes aside, you don’t trust me to be a good father.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“How is it not the same thing?”

Merrill sucked her lips into her mouth. Audrey knew exactly what she was hesitant to say. Joe said it for her.