“It’s okay,” Julian assured him. “I’m fascinated to hear what she has to say. She’s … delightful.”
“Yeah, only to a certain point,” Galen replied. “She can be a real pain in the ass if she decides to fully commit to an idea.”
“I still want to hear her.” Julian smiled. “It’s okay.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Galen muttered before he reached for his beer.
I ignored him. “Your head of security is male.” I pointed to Flip. “He’s a giant. He’s meant to intimidate people before he even opens his mouth.”
“He’s very good at his job,” Julian said.
“And that’s fine, but you have Taylor in an administrative position,” I continued. “That’s a traditionally female role.”
“I don’t think she would like being on the security team,” Julian said. He said he wanted to hear what I had to say but it was obvious he was leery.
“Are there any females on your security team?”
To me, it was a reasonable question. Julian didn’t seem to like it. “I’ve never had one apply,” he hedged.
“Would you consider her — be honest — if she did?”
He opened his mouth, then shut it. That was all I needed to see.
“It’s not your fault,” I assured him. “The pack is mired in machismo. Galen can’t help himself from trying to protect me for the same reason. He doesn’t spend a lot of time with the pack, but it was the ‘normal’ he was raised with.”
“There was nothing normal about the way I was raised,” Galen replied.
“I’m just saying that you are who you are. You and Booker treat your competitions like games. The others on the island see them as something else.”
“Very interesting.” Julian grinned at me. “There’s just one thing wrong with your hypothesis.” He pointed at Lucinda. “She’s in a position of power in my cabinet. How do you explain that?”
The fact that he called it a cabinet was interesting. I filed that tidbit away. I flicked my eyes to Lucinda and considered her.
“You’re a smart pack leader above all else,” I replied. “You believe men are stronger than women physically. You don’t use that to your advantage but you do believe it.”
Julian merely stared.
“Lucinda is powerful and she can get you what you want,” I said. “She is not on your security team but she is a different form of security. You’re comfortable with it because she uses magic, not muscle, to obtain her goals.
“If she needed to use a dagger or sword to offer you the same protection, you would treat her differently,” I continued. “You respect her but you keep her in a neat little box because that’s easier for you.”
“Interesting,” Julian mused, his eyes going to Lucinda. “Is she right? Do I keep you in a box?”
“She’s intuitive,” Lucinda replied. “I don’t know that I would say she got every detail right, but she’s not wrong.”
“I guess I’ll have to work on that.” Julian tilted his head as he regarded me. “Does Galen keep you in a box?”
I shook my head. “Galen recognizes my inherent worth to his cause,” I replied. “He wants me to help. He wants to see me as an equal.”
“Hey,” Galen protested. “I do see you as an equal. In fact, there are times I elevate you well above myself because of what you can do.”
That was true. I didn’t want to slight him. “Galen only falters when fear takes over,” I explained. “Love is his primary motivation. When he thinks he might lose his love — whether it be me or his friends — he reacts from a place of fear. He can become overbearing in those moments. Thankfully, they don’t last long.”
“I’m never overbearing,” Galen growled.
Multiple snorts erupted around the table.
“I'm not,” he insisted. “I also don’t react from a place of fear when Booker is threatened. You need to take that back.”
