“Come on, you know we had to have an eye on you. Made sure things were progressing. Now, we’ve been more than patient. It’s been months of this waiting game but the time has come. You need to let this renovation move forward. No more bureaucratic bullshit.”
“This has all been a setup from the beginning?” Ford asked with no emotion.
“Here’s the thing. This is the real world. Sometimes you have to do some ethically questionable things to get what you want. You were being too self-righteous. Occum saw that. Suzie was too damn stubborn, too. You both needed to think you were saving the other, feel okay about it all. Fine. We get it. Now you can sleep at night.”
“He never agreed to sign,” I said. I wanted to shout. “He said he’d work with Occum, but he never said he’d sign.”
Ted’s gaze settled on me and he looked at me like he just realized I was there. “You saying Occum lied? He told me this gentleman agreed to sign off in exchange for having you three months.”
“No. I—” I grabbed Ford’s hands, shook them until he looked at me. He blinked slowly as though trying to reconcile all the information being thrown at him.
“Why did he think that?” This came from Ted.
“Occum must’ve lied to him. I never promised any of that.” Ford looked at me without really seeing. I wanted to scream that it was me. He knew me now. I wanted to remind him of the last few weeks and all that we shared and were.
“We might have alluded to it. I—I thought we’d cross that bridge when we got there. I wanted Occum off your case.” I grabbed his ice-cold hands and squeezed, but he remained unmoved. “I thought we’d have more time.”
“Time’s up.” Ford closed his eyes and it was like the air went out of him.
“No!” I stood up. “You aren’t doing anything for Occum. This is just a misunderstanding. I’ll get us out of it.” I put my back to Ford and pointed a finger at Ted. “He needs that money. People are counting on it. You promised him.”
“And you promised Occum a signature. We are at an impasse.”
I was in the other man's face now, panting, I was so worked up. He chewed his lip as I spoke, not even remotely ruffled by the situation. There was no way I was letting Ford sign off now, not after everything he shared with me. I was stuck with Occum anyway, so I’d make it right.
I held my arms out like I could keep Ford safe. “I’ll go to Occum. If I have to work double shifts for a year, I’ll do it. He’ll listen to me.” He started to talk but I went on. “I make more money than any of the other girls. I’ll strip. I’ll do what he wants. I don’t care. I thought we had more time. I thought I could—”
“Suzie—”
“No. Please. You don’t understand what this money means. Just give him the check.”
Ted leaned back and crossed his arms. “Looks like it’s a little too late.” He gestured his chin behind me. Everything moved in slow motion as I turned around. I knew what I’d see but I was desperate to be wrong.
Ford was gone.
“Where did he go?” I asked, feeling my heart shatter into a thousand pieces.
He shook his head once and tore up the check. “You better find that man before Occum does, or there’ll be hell to pay.”
* * *
Clifford
Get away. Get away before you do something stupid. You can’t go to jail. These were my only thoughts. I moved without thinking, bumping people.
“Excuse me,” I half mumbled without caring. A few outraged gasps followed me but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about any of these people. I just needed to think.
“UT Professor Jailed After Attacking Alum.”
It was a setup. All along I’d been playing right into that man’s hands. I couldn’t stand there and listen anymore. I had been conned. I was losing my mind.
I needed to be alone, needed to clear my thoughts. Then, I could go back and explain. Explain what? Do what? Take the money? All this had been a waste of time. A joke. They had been laughing behind our backs. Playing us. And I’d been desperate enough to buy it all.
I pushed my way through the crowd until I found an empty bedroom. I closed the door behind me and took deep breaths. Followed by more counting. My vision was still blurred. I couldn't go back there. The darkness edged in. I thought of my perfect place. A lonely cabin in the woods. Nobody for miles. Soothing thoughts that typically calmed me weren't working. The silence was deafening and Suzie wasn't there. Instead, Suzie flashed through my mind. Her stupid cockney accent and goofball antics. Her startling beauty. Her athletic ability. All of her, like snapshots, they consumed.
“Fuck.” I punched the air. And calmed my breathing. No. No. I gripped my hair. No, focus. This wasn’t about Suzie. This was …
The money. It had been right there, literally inches from my grasp. My whole future secured. Tenure. Success. All the things I had always strived for. I fell forward, gripping a chair in front of me. What the fuck would I do now?
