BumpnGrind by Sam Cheever Read Free Book Online Page B

inclined his head by way of a greeting. “Felicia. Can you
come to my office with me please?”
    Her smile died on her lips. She’d known Ben Miller for
twenty years. He’d never failed to greet her warmly when they passed. Whatever
he wanted to talk to her about, Felicia knew in her gut it wasn’t good. “Sure.”
    When they were seated in Ben’s large, cluttered office he
looked at her sadly. “I’m sorry to say, Felicia, that I need to let you go.”
    “What are you talking about, Ben? I’m a volunteer. You’re
firing a volunteer? Why?”
    His expressive, brown eyes darted around the room, refusing
to look her in the face. The hands he’d placed on his desk in front of him
twitched and fluttered, showing his discomfort. “I’m under pressure from one of
the board members to get rid of you. He says you’re indulging in decadent
behavior that, if discovered, will reflect badly on the hospital.”
    She flew to her feet, nearly toppling the chair over. “What!
Are you crazy? What decadent behavior?”
    He shook his head, finally meeting her eyes. “I’ve known you
for years, Felicia. I would no more believe that you were involved in anything
seedy than I would of myself.”
    The starch went out of her knees and she dropped back into
her chair. “Then why are you firing me, Ben? I love working with the kids. I’ve
been doing it for ten years. I don’t want to leave.”
    His face turned red. He walked over to the room’s only
window, his back to her. “I have to do what I’m told, Felicia. Surely you
understand that. Competition for patients is stiff and protecting the
hospital’s reputation is very important. The pressure to fire you has been…intense.”
    She stood up again, really angry now. “It was Dave Foust,
wasn’t it?”
    Ben didn’t turn but his shoulders jerked in surprise.
    “I saw him leaving a few minutes ago. I should have known…”
Her voice trailed off.
    Ben turned. “Dave’s a powerful and respected member of the
board, Felicia. If I went against him…” He walked back to his desk but didn’t
sit down. He leaned on his desk, fixing his sad eyes on her again. “Why would
Dave say such a thing about you, Felicia?”
    She sighed. “I think he was in love with me.”
    “Was?”
    “I can’t return his feelings. And a couple of days ago…” She
glanced up, feeling guilt coloring her face as the words choked in her throat.
Then she realized she was doing it again, worrying about breaking a double
standard, an unfair prejudice, and she squared her shoulders and lifted her
chin. “I recently started seeing a younger man…”
    Ben’s eyebrows lifted before she could finish the sentence.
    “He’s twenty-seven, Ben!”
    Unfortunately Ben didn’t look any less shocked. She might as
well have told him Garrett was ten years old. “Oh Felicia.” He shook his head
and dropped into his chair, looking for all the world like someone had punched
him in the gut. “No wonder.”
    She placed both hands flat on Ben’s desk and leaned over it
with fire in her eye. “Now you listen to me, Ben Miller. Men have been dating
younger women since the dawn of time. Sometimes much younger women. Nobody
seems to have a problem with that.”
    “That’s different.”
    “Oh, it is? Why is that, Ben? Because men make the rules and
men enjoy that particular rule? That’s a horrible double standard and you know
it.”
    “I don’t make the rules, Felicia.”
    “Yes you do, Ben. Don’t you see? Every time you frown upon a
healthy, vibrant woman dating someone who happens to be younger than she is and
finds her attractive, you’re bolstering that stupid rule. And by supporting it
you’re helping it live. You don’t have the right to judge me, Ben. For God’s
sake, how old is Katie?”
    His entire body stiffened in shock and anger. He stood up.
“My private life is none of your business!”
    She straightened too so she could reach across the desk and
poke him on the chest. “But mine is up