“I am listening,” I said, pretending to be flowing with their meaningless visual summons.

“The affair that you denied countless times before the board has gone viral.” The woman continued. “That is not a good thing for our image.”

I straightened a little, though every bone in my body ached. “I will explain clearly.” I started, opting to take the bull by the horns. “Leylla and I are both adults. Our relationship began outside the bounds of our work responsibilities. We kept everything professional while on duty. Our records will show that neither of us was ever late, distracted, or irresponsible.”

“Still,” another voice came through, “you were her supervisor....