Page 112 of Teach Me Your Ways

45

GRADY

Ilooked at my choices lying on my bed. Blue. Blue was the color an honest man wore. But I didn’t want to look honest. I honestly didn’t care. There was no denying I had slept with Cece. I wasn’t going to try and lie about it. Oddly enough, it felt like it was disrespectful to Cece. I wasn’t ashamed. Yes, I probably could have made better choices, but I didn’t regret anything.

I reached for the red tie. “Fuck it.”

I was going for bold. Unapologetic. The red tie was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. I was the matador and Dean Carver was the fucking bull. She wanted me and I refused to let Cece get hit in the crossfire. Whatever Carver had against me was between me and her. It was fucked up she dragged Cece into it at all.

It had been a few days since Carver busted us. I had not talked to Cece and I was currently on leave from my classes. That wasn’t a surprise. I had gotten the email late Sunday night. And today I had a meeting in front of the board to decide on disciplinary action. Felix wanted to go with me but I refused his offer of moral support. No more innocent victims were going to suffer from the fallout.

I arrived ten minutes early for the meeting and was immediately told to take a seat at a small table that sat in front of a long table with six chairs. The board members would all be sitting in front of me and judging me. My stomach churned with preemptive dread. It was execution day. The six people that would be sitting in those seats were about to decide my future. All the work I had put in to build my career was about to vanish. It wouldn’t totally ruin me, but I wasn’t going to be the big shot on any explorations. I would be the grunt. That was assuming anyone would let me tag along.

With time, the scandal would fade. I had spent the last couple of days thinking about what I would do with my downtime. I decided to write a book because there weren’t enough books about old shit.

One by one, the gallery behind me filled. I didn’t bother looking over my shoulder to see who had come to see my downfall. I had a plan. A mission. I would protect Cece. No way would I let Carver destroy the future Cece deserved.

A door at the side of the room opened. Dean Carver led the parade of board members. The excited smile on her face made my skin crawl. But I refused to give her a reaction.

I studied the board members. Some were friendly and some looked like they belonged on Mount Rushmore. I met Seraphina Reese’s gaze, her poker face unreadable. My heart twisted. Would she throw me under the bus for her daughter’s stupid choice? It seemed pretty unfair that I was the one getting fired or destroyed. If Lina hadn’t been such a stupid kid, the dean wouldn’t have shown up and busted us.

But in the back of my mind, I wondered if Lina heard us that night. She was pissed and embarrassed and it was clear there was no love lost between her and Cece. Add in the fact I had been shutting down all of Lina’s advances, she had an ax to grind as well. If she did hear me and Cece, she probably got pissed that I was fucking Cece and not her. For all I knew, Lina was a fucking trap as well. Pretty wild to think about two young women being sacrificed in an attempt to bust me. I didn’t know what I did to the dean, but the woman had it out for me.

There was a brief call to order. Seraphina Reese gave a prepared speech about what we were all there for. As if the people behind me didn’t know. I knew the gossip had spread across campus. Everyone had taken liberties with the rumors. Last I heard, I had a stable full of women. All innocent students that had been ravished by me in temples around the world. They painted me as some kind of sex pharaoh. I would be offended if I wasn’t impressed with my apparent ability to fuck twenty women a day. Or a week. Shit, if the archeology thing didn’t work out, I could work as a gigolo.

“Professor Stone, would you like to say something before we get started with our inquiry?” Dean Carver’s voice was worse than nails on a chalkboard. I would rather hear metal scraping against metal than have to listen to her.

I had thought about what I wanted to say. I didn’t write it down because that would feel too practiced. I was used to talking in front of people straight from my heart. That’s what I was going to do for this. It was my future on the line. That deserved honesty. Not some polished speech that highlighted all my accomplishments—and there were a lot. I wasn’t going to remind the people sitting in front of me of how much I had fattened the university’s coffers with the success of my many projects. I brought attention to the university. We were one of the top departments in the country because of my expertise in the field.

While all of that would be true, it would be self-serving. It would make me sound like the arrogant pig they all thought I was. So, I was going to keep it simple.

“Thank you for granting me this time. I want to be completely transparent. I made a serious personal mistake with Ms. Monroe. I stepped across a professional boundary, and I accept full responsibility. I deeply regret my lapse in judgment. I understand if this constitutes a breach of policy and potentially warrants disciplinary action.”

I swallowed, seeing surprise but also respect. Not on the dean’s face. She looked like she was chewing glass mixed with acid the way her face was puckered up. But some of the board members.

“Ms. Monroe is a capable, intelligent woman who will be an asset to the historical community. I’m here to ensure she does not suffer consequences for my actions.”

I paused, scanning their faces. I could hear shuffling behind me and soft murmurs. I knew there was a chance my speech could backfire. It might look like I was falling on my sword to protect a woman, which would only remind them of why I was sitting in the hot seat. But I didn’t care. I wanted the whole room to hear the truth and know Cece didn’t deserve to take any of the heat.

“I am prepared to do whatever it takes, including resigning from my position, if it means Ms. Monroe can stay in the program. She should get the chance to finish her degree. Please do not let her academic standing or future be collateral damage in what I can only describe as a personal vendetta.”

“What do you mean by that?” the old guy at the end with white bushy eyebrows and a face that reminded me of a Shar Pei asked.

I turned to look at the dean. “Since the changes in our department, it’s become very clear Dean Carver has an issue with me.”

“That is not true,” Carver snapped. “Do not accuse me of being unfair. I’m committed to doing what’s best for the department. It is not personal.”

That was bullshit and we both knew it.

“Why do you believe that?” another board member asked.

I looked at the woman and made a snap judgment. She was not on my side. “I believe that because Dean Carver has made it her mission to undermine my work and reputation since she took over this department.” I heard a few gasps and the dean opened her mouth to argue, but one look from Bushy Brows and she snapped her mouth shut. “She’s questioned my methods, my leadership, and even my integrity at every turn. And now, she’s using a personal mistake that I fully admit to as an excuse to destroy not just me, but a promising student who had nothing to do with Dean Carver’s grudge against me.”

The room fell silent, my words hanging in the air. I could feel the eyes of the board members on me, some skeptical, others curious. Dean Carver’s face was a mask of barely contained fury; her lips pressed into a thin line.

“That’s a serious accusation, Professor Stone,” Seraphina Reese said. “Do you have any evidence to support your claim?”

I hesitated. Evidence? It wasn’t like I had a paper trail of Carver’s bullshit. “No. And honestly, that is not an excuse. I did what I did. I gave the dean the ammunition to come after me. But all of that should be directed at me and me alone.”