"I'm telling you right now, she won't do it."

Selina sighed, beyond annoyed at this point. "Then can I get someone to post it on her fucking twitter account?"

"Does she even have one of those?"

"Yes," Selina confirmed, standing now so that she could pace behind her desk. "She basically just tweets youtube links to Vine compilations, but she's amassed quite the following."

Frowning, Pam said, "She never took much of an interest in gardening when she lived with me…"

"Jesus," Selina stopped to look at her in utter disbelief. "How are you younger than me and still the oldest woman I know? It's an internet thing, Pamela. What did you and Harley even talk about when you were together?"

Pamela shrugged. "We stayed in our lanes."

"Your lanes?"

"Yes, our lanes," Pam repeated. "I didn't attempt to bounce my working theory on actionable plant-animal hybridization off of her and she didn't ask me to be in any of her Tik Tok videos. We did our best to play to each other's strengths."

"OK, whatever," Selina resumed her pacing. "Just promise me you'll wait until this all blows over before moving to whoever is next on your list."

"I don't…I don't really want to be with anyone else," Pamela admitted. "If it was up to me, we'd still be together."

Stopping again, Selina asked, "Have you told her that?"

"I have."

"And what did she say?"

"She said she'd be back for the rest of her stuff later…and then she said I was out of toothpaste."

"Alright, well when she comes back for her shit, ask her again, but with your tits out this time," Selina suggested. "Much higher success rate that way."

Pamela rolled her eyes. "I wish you'd take my relationship more seriously."

Her phrasing seemed to intrigue Selina. "Your relationship? Were you and Harley in a relationship, Pamela?"

"Yes, you asshole," Pam stood, she couldn't spend any more time on that goddamn couch. All week she'd been in meeting after meeting trying to determine the best way to not be fired and it was taking literal years off of Pamela's life, she could feel it. "She was living with me! I introduced her to Barbara Ann, I introduced her to my mother, how else could I have communicated to you that we were in a relationship?"

"Maybe by telling me?" Selina offered. "Like, with your words? It's too late now, but you actually vocalizing this one was important to you could have saved us all a lot of headache."

Pam began pacing now that Selina had stopped. "It wouldn't have made a difference, wouldn't have changed Kate's plan or Jared's."

"Sure, but I could have had our useless HR department draft a memo so at least we'd have a fucking paper trail," Selina countered. "Instead it looks like your impropriety caught us off guard, meaning you could have been pulling the strings while our backs were turned."

Pam groaned, staring blankly up at the ceiling. "This is so silly. I cannot believe Kate convinced Renee to go along with all of this.

"This is her last title match," Selina said, sitting down again, just as exhausted as Pamela was, it seemed. "She may as well retire after she wins, quit while she's ahead and invest in some more real estate or something."

"You're forcing her out?" Pam was surprised.

Selina scoffed. "Hardly. Five titles is enough. You were right at the beginning of the season, it's time to see some new faces, embrace some new talent…Kate is the most prolific super lightweight WBA has ever seen, there's no reason for her to keep going until she's suing us for her CTE diagnosis. I told her we were seeing a downward trend in her support, and so we were going to begin phasing her out. Besides, what people really wanted to see for the title this year was a Harley vs Dinah rematch after that disqualification disaster. Instead, we're getting this weird lesbian grudge match because you couldn't keep it in your pants and Kate couldn't keep her mouth shut."

Pam supposed that partially explained Kate's state of mind. "Harley isn't a lesbian," she felt the need to correct. "She's bisexual with far superior taste in women."

"Awesome," Selina laughed. "I'll have her tweet that too. Kill two very insistent birds with one stone."

"Great, well, if we're done here, I'd like to get back to my actual job," Pam said, taking her script from Selina's desk. "Thanks for the pep talk."

Selina sighed, watching Pam leave. "I'm sorry about all of this, Pam." The redhead stalled in the doorway to let her finish. "I'm sorry about Harley."

Pam nodded, though she remained silent.

"Luke will be in your office at 2pm, let's do ourselves a favor and try to be likeable."

/

Luke Fox was punctual, and Pamela respected that in a man. For whatever reason, Pam had noticed that, traditionally, men seemed to think their time was more important than hers. From her father to college professors, to professional colleagues, to Harley's dumpster fire of an ex-boyfriend, Pamela found men were always either 20 minutes early and expecting her to be ready, or 20 minutes late and wondering what the rush was all about. The only man Pamela had ever known to consistently be on time was Bruce Wayne. And now Luke Fox could be added to that short list, how nice for him.

Barbara showed him into Pamela's office, knocking before she did and announcing that "Mr. Fox is here." Pam found Barbara's at this point over-the-top professionalism rather endearing. She knew they were dating, that had been established and re-established more times than Barbara could be confused with Pam's ex-fiancé, but she still offered him their verbal menu of refreshment options.

"I'll just take a water," Luke said with a smile, that same kind, quietly charming smile Pamela had been appreciative of during their first meeting.

"Two of those, please," Pam instructed. "Thank you, Barbara."

Barbara nodded, offering a smile of her own before shutting the door behind her, leaving Luke and Pamela alone.

"Please, take a seat," Pam said, holding her hand out to indicate one of the leather chairs that sat in front of her desk. He obliged her, and Pam circled around her desk to sit down. "I appreciate you coming to me, I'm always very busy before title week."

"I can imagine." Luke pulled his book bag onto his lap, producing his tape recorder and setting it on the arm of his chair. "Thanks for giving me the exclusive."

"Of course, of course. You are the one who fucked me over, after all, you deserve it," Pam's smile and tone were cloying.

Luke raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair to size her up. "You think I fucked you over?"

"What else would you call torpedoing someone's career by offering a newly repentant adulterer a platform for their nonsense?"

Luke chuckled at that, holding his chin in his hand, his index finger quietly tapping his lips as he considered her version of events. "I read up on you a little bit before coming here today."

"You're a journalist, right? Isn't that part of your job description?"

"It is, yeah," Luke said, not letting her escape his scrutiny. "You've led a pretty interesting life, as far as rich white lady lives go."

Pamela scoffed, though she didn't have time to respond before Barbara was re-entering the room to deliver she and Luke their bottled water. Pam thanked her with a nod, and by the time they were alone again, Luke had moved on.

"I actually called your mom to get some background, she's a real piece of work," he divulged. "Sorry to hear about your dad, by the way, but your mom told me Harley was at the funeral with you."

"I never gave you permission to call my mother."

"I don't need your permission," Luke reminded her. "It doesn't seem like you introduce many of your partners to your mother."

"I wouldn't introduce anyone to my mother if I had the choice."

"Right," Luke smiled again, making sure that he was recording. "Seems like things between you and Harley were a little different than they were between you and Kate, so let's start with Kate. When did the affair begin?"

Pam sighed. "Selina made it clear we'll be reviewing your piece before you publish, right?" He nodded, and so, reluctantly, she answered, "It started over a year ago now and ended at the beginning of this season."

"That's the timeline of your physical relationship?"

"We didn't have a relationship outside of our physical one, besides our professional relationship which we kept separate."

"Meaning you never had sex in here?" he referred to Pam's office.

"No," Pam lied.

"And not in your testing lab?"

"No," she doubled down.

"So where did your affair take place, then?"

"At her home, mostly."

"At her home she shares with her wife?"

"The very same."

"And you acknowledge that was wrong?"

"Sure," Pam answered, before remembering her script. "I mean, yes, of course. I never meant to destroy a marriage, that was not my intention. I was just getting out of a serious relationship; she was having problems in hers…we were united by unfortunate circumstances and both lacked the judgement to stop things sooner. I apologize for my moral failing in that regard, but our sexual relationship was completely consensual, and it never interfered with my professional responsibilities."

Luke nodded, appearing to accept that answer. "And you started that physical relationship with Kate before or after you broke off your engagement to Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva?"

Oh, come on. "Barbara Ann isn't a part of this. She wasn't a subject I agreed to discuss, and she never once set foot in this building or gave a second thought to my work life. I'd appreciate it if we moved on."

"Just trying to clarify the timeline," Luke said, dropping his hand from his chin to tap his fingers rhythmically on the arm of his chair for a moment. "Why are you here?"

"In my office?"

"In this job," Luke clarified. "I'm all caught up on your resume, your credentials are very impressive. Why aren't you still helping to rehabilitate retired nuclear testing sites or disrupting the agriculture industry or some other noble pursuit? Why are you here in Gotham City?"

Pamela pursed her lips, not feeling like that question should be on the docket either. "I found myself fascinated by the regulation and enhancement of natural human ability and Bruce and Selina won me over with their passion for the sport, I promise this is by no means a fascinating origin story."

"With the added bonus of getting to fully vet an impressive list of women who are interested in sleeping with you."

Pam laughed. "I'm not going to dignify that with an answer."

"So, Harley," Luke smiled back at her, a certain knowing in his expression. "She wasn't like Kate; she wasn't some emotionless rebound affair."

"Well, I sort of resent that description, but you're right, Harley was not like Kate," Pam acknowledged. "Harley was in a destructive, abusive relationship that my colleagues and I helped free her from. I know she already used some rather colorful language to describe Jared's various toxic behaviors, so I won't get into it, but their separation left Harley homeless and so I welcomed her into my home."

"How gracious of you," his words dripped with satire.

Pamela rolled her eyes. "I'm not trying to convince you I'm Mother Teresa, I'm just trying to explain the circumstances. I helped stop her reliance on opioids, I made sure she had adequate medical care, and I introduced her to her coach Slade Wilson."

"And is that the typical role of the doctor in charge of drug and steroid screening at WBA?"

"No," Pam admitted. "I wanted to help her succeed."

"And did you? Help her succeed?"

"Not in any way that compromised my integrity. Like I said, I helped her get clean, I helped her get healthy, and I introduced her to a coach who could mold her into a competitor," Pamela crossed one leg over the other. "Bruce and Selina preach a family dynamic here at WBA and it's something I try to keep in mind with every athlete I work with. I didn't expect Harley to be any different, it's just…she was."

"How so?" Luke wondered.

Pamela's smile was warmer than before. "Well, firstly, she's the most ridiculous person you'll ever meet. For the most part, I didn't interact with the Harley everyone sees in the ring. She's not like that at home, really, she's…kind, and always hungry and sometimes overly energetic. She's playful and rather funny and genuinely interested in how I spent my day. I wish everyone could know her; I really do. I think about her all the time, especially when we're apart but even when she's laying in bed next to me…I wonder what she's thinking or how she's coping…she's a very special person. So yes, we've been dating for a few months now, but her living with me means I'm able to monitor everything she ingests, so, really, she's the most scrutinized boxer in the league from an eligibility standpoint."

Luke chuckled. "I guess that's one way to spin it. So you don't feel like your relationship with her is inappropriate, then?"

"No," Pam shook her head. "No, I don't. Though, to be honest, we don't have much of a relationship anymore."

"Oh?" Luke sat forward slightly, maintaining a hint of sarcasm when he said, "Trouble in paradise?"

"This has all been rather stressful, and while training for the title fight, it's a distraction we decided she didn't need. It's been difficult, but I'm committed to building Harley up, not tearing her down. So if the press wants to vilify me for my romantic choices, so be it, but we'd like to respectfully request Harley get the space she needs to properly prepare." Laying it on a little thick there...

"I'm sorry to hear that," Luke offered, sounding mostly genuine. "It seems like you two are really in love."

"Yes, well, if you love something, you have to set it free, right?"

"So I've been told…" Luke let that hang there for a moment before moving on. "What would you say to those who believe that your position automatically renders your relationship inappropriate?"

Pamela cleared her throat, doing her best to remember the exact verbiage Selina had laid out for her. "I would say that it was never my intention to create a conflict of interest and I still don't believe one exists. I have turned over my reporting for every stage of testing on each athlete, Kate and Harley included, to my superiors and, to my understanding, they've launched an internal investigation. I trust their handling of the situation and will defer to their judgment. The last thing I want to be is a liability this organization or to the sport, and I hate that it took a deep dive into my personal life for the national sports media to begin highlighting the incredible accomplishments of the women competing in this league. I hope the attention doesn't dwindle once the drama has dissipated, and I wonder if I'd be subject to the same scrutiny had my affairs been with the men I screen."

"Alright, come on, off the record," Luke paused his recording. "I gave both Harley and Kate in depth profiles in primetime slots this year."

"Right," Pam nodded. "And then you aired their matches on ESPN 2 and played their highlights after you showed the men's.

"Those aren't my decisions."

"Oh, I know. But you can put that on the record, maybe after all this blows over, we can have a deeper conversation."

"It's a conversation I've been trying to have for a while," Luke said, putting his equipment back into his bag. "I wouldn't start holding your breath now."

"Is that it?" Pam wondered. "Don't tell me you're letting me off that easily."

Luke stood, draping his bag over his shoulder. "I'll take care of this side of things for you if you can hold up your end of the bargain."

"And what end is that?"

"The one where you make sure not to waste her talent." He had his hand on the door. "I'll forward this over to Ms. Kyle before I publish, but I can't imagine she'll have a problem with it. You're welcome. Now, don't mess this up."