Barring Complications

Victoria Willoughby's arrival on the Supreme Court places her sexuality under scrutiny she has not chosen to invite. A forthcoming marriage-equality case makes that attention impossible to separate from her work. She needs to navigate the press, persuade colleagues and decide how publicly to acknowledge her own life. Learning that Genevieve Fornier will argue the case introduces another difficulty. Genevieve is an accomplished, openly gay lawyer whose presence affects Victoria well beyond the legal questions before the Court. For Genevieve, preparing the argument also means anticipating the woman who will hear it. Their mutual attraction develops within professional roles that make acting on it consequential for more than the two of them.