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“What’s happened?” Beth put her arm around Megan’s shoulder. “What was it all about?”

Tony shook his head. “Not now. Beth. Not here.” He glared over at Nancy who was watching them with the same smug smile on her face. “We have to go to Megan’s office now and get her stuff and then we’ll all go for a coffee and work this ridiculous situation out.”

Reality intruded on Megan’s distress and she tried to look at her watch but couldn’t see the digital screen through her tears. Her whole body was shaking and she dug in her pocket for a tissue and dabbed at her eyes with shaking fingers.

“What time is it?” Her voice appeared to be coming from someone else. Cotton wool fuzziness filled her head and her lips were moving but she had trouble finding the words she wanted. “The…taxi is…getting…picking me up for the airport…soon… at two thirty.”

“I’ll cancel it. I’ll drive you over. Kath was meeting you there to see you off, wasn’t she?” Beth said.

“But I can’t go now. I’ll have to cancel the trip. I have to stay and fight this. I have to.” Megan’s stomach clenched, and disappointment flooded through her as the prospect of her trip disappeared. “I’m not going. Just take me home.”

Tony spoke to her quietly as the security guard led them towards the Social Sciences building. “No Meg, you can’t cancel your trip. I’ll get this sorted out while you’re away.”

“But I’ve only got seven days to appeal.” Megan swallowed another sob. “I got so bloody emotional it looked like I was guilty. You know it’s not true, don’t you, Tony?”

Tony stopped in front of her and tipped her face up to meet his serious gaze. The feel of his firm fingers on her chin grounded her and her confusion dissipated a little. His brown eyes always exuded calm and serenity. He was a great partner for Kath; he provided a steady counter to her personality. Megan still wondered how they’d ended up together but they seemed so happy, and Tony had slotted into the family well. And now he was going to be a father too.

“Of course I do. Anyone who knows you can see it’s a setup. But if you don’t appeal and have it overturned, you’ll never get a job in another university and no one else will take you on as a doctoral student.”

“That’s why I can’t get on the plane.” Megan shook her head as her voice caught. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. “But if I don’t go on this trip, I’ll never have the opportunity again. The Stones are playing at Glastonbury next week and I’ve waited for the opportunity to do a Glastonbury Festival for years.”

Anger overtook her confused thoughts as determination filled her.

She set off again with long angry strides towards her office. “It’s all bullshit and I can prove that Greg Cannon is behind every malicious allegation. I’m going to front him right now.”

Beth raised her eyebrows. Megan rarely swore, or raised her voice.

Tony hurried along behind her and caught her arm. “Calm down, Megan. I know how you’re feeling but you have to step back and let the process happen.”

“You can’t know. I’m the one who’s been accused. I knew Greg was up to something. That bloody man weaseled his way into my bed, and he was way too interested in everything I was doing at work.” Megan gritted her teeth as her suspicions fell into place. “He wanted that promotion and I was a certainty over him.”

“So why do you think Greg’s responsible?”

“I thought it was strange a few weeks ago when my log-in and password wouldn’t work. They’ve been fine for three years. He obviously got hold of them and logged in as me and changed marks or something.”

“I’ll ask the IT department for a login audit.” Tony’s voice held the first shred of hope she’d heard so far.

“He’s smart enough to have covered his tracks, but I suppose it’s worth a try if you think they’ll do one.”

“Whatever we do, we have to follow the procedures for you to have any chance for an appeal.” His voice was quiet and calm.

“Huh, and look what that ‘process’ has done so far? I didn’t know anything about it and I’ve been tried and found guilty without any procedural fairness. I got no letter.” Megan kept walking despite Tony taking her arm.

Beth and Tony flanked her on either side as she strode through the building to her office, the security man hurrying to keep up with them. By the time she’d retrieved her suitcase, her bag and her laptop and the few personal possessions the security man would allow her to take from the top drawer of her desk, a small measure of calm had stolen over her.

It’s all lies and I can prove that with little trouble.

It was hard to believe that someone would go to such lengths to discredit her. She’d gotten through the tragedy of losing her parents last year and this situation was nowhere near as bad. It was all malicious lies, paperwork and bureaucratic bullshit and she would deal with it. It was a job, but it wasn’t the end of the world. She had to deal with it.

And I will.

If there was one thing it was going to do, it was going to make her take a bit more notice of what was happening around her. Megan knew she buried herself away; she was more than happy in her own company. Losing herself in her music as she worked had helped her get through the horror of last year.

As the security man locked the office door behind her, she stood in the corridor and bit her lip.

She could trust Tony to do the appeal. She could keep in touch by Skype, and if she was required at any further meetings, she could Skype that too. Hopefully by the time she came back from her month in the United Kingdom it would be sorted. She squared her shoulders; she wasn’t going to let this impact on her trip. She would catch her flight this afternoon. The research on the sociological aspects of the Glastonbury music event over thirty years was the final step towards her doctorate.

It would all get sorted.