He was quiet for a moment, the silence between them lengthening. “I think you’re going to take this transfer with grace or we’re going to be the ones who need a break.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Roxie asked, though she knew the answer. Hadn’t she been waiting for this for a year now? After everything that had happened in the last year, hadn’t she known Joel would leave her behind? At least careerwise. This ultimatum had been coming for a long time.
“It means it’s time for us to decide if we’re going to move forward. I want a family.”
“We agreed to wait until my career was solid.” She’d bargained with him.
He shook his head. “Your career is never going to be solid. You complain too much. You don’t fit in, and that’s a real surprise given who your father is. I expected you would play the game far better than you do.”
“It’s not a game at all.” That’s what he’d never understood. Joel had moved up the ranks quickly because he didn’t mind playing politics. In the beginning, she’d thought she could learn a lot from him. Now she saw his politics for what they truly were—selfishness. He didn’t think about doing the best job he could for the people around him. They were supposed to live up to the motto Protect and Serve. There was no real “serve” when it came to the people. Joel only served himself.
He nodded as though he’d known that would be her answer. “Everything is a game. I’m beginning to think I miscalculated my play. You’ve become more of a liability than an asset. I want you to take some time on this new assignment and decide if this is really the career for you. You might do better to emulate your mother.”
Her mother was a traditional stay-at-home mom, and there was nothing wrong with that, but since she’d been a kid, she’d known it wasn’t for her. “I’m a cop. It’s what I’ve always wanted to be. And I’m a good one.”
A low, humorless chuckle filled the office. “Not according to your last review you’re not.”
“Because Stephens has it in for me.” Frustration welled and the need to fight was right there.
“Or because you refuse to get along with anyone.”
Because she refused to shut up and take insults and innuendoes? Because she was supposed to accept humiliation from her boss? “I get along quite nicely with most of the guys. You read my complaint. They back me up.”
“A few of them do, but most of them will keep their mouths shut because they know how powerful Stephens is,” Joel pointed out. “His uncle has the mayor’s ear. His father is a circuit court judge, and his mother holds a high position with brass. Big brass. She works right here at One Police Plaza. She’s a cop, too. You can’t claim misogyny here.”
Oh, but she’d met many women who hated other women. “Has she read the complaint?”
“I never let it get to her. If you think she’ll be surprised and horrified, you’re wrong. She knows her son.” Joel looked at her with nauseating sympathy. “She’ll protect him. They’ll all protect him. Sweetheart, you tried. You got further than most. That’s going to have to be good enough. It’s time to think about your future.”
“This isn’t about my future. This is about yours.” She wasn’t a complete fool. She was well aware that he would see any gossip about her as a reflection on him and his potential. But she’d thought those marriage vows they’d taken had meant something.
“Of course it is. I have to think of my career, but this is for our future. We should talk about that, too.” He looked down at his watch. “But it will have to wait. I have a lunch date with our FBI liaison. There’s something going on at StratCast and I want our boys in on it.”
So the FBI was working a high-profile case and Joel wanted his face on camera making an arrest he hadn’t really worked for. “I’m not going to go to Staten Island.”
“Then you can choose to quit the force altogether,” Joel said without any sympathy. “I told you not to file those complaints. I believe I advised you not to join ESU. I told you that you wouldn’t fit in. You ignored my advice and the advice of your father.”
Her father had asked her to consider staying at the Precinct she’d served for five years. He’d asked her if working