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To Jamie’s surprise, it was the donor who spoke first.
“Never, in all my days, have I seen such an egregious display,” he said.
“I could not agree more,” Ronny said with a nod.
The donor stared at him like he was an idiot. “I was talking about you, Ronald.”
Ronny’s smug look dropped, and he went from grinning at Jamie to gaping at the donor. “I beg your pardon? I am not the one engaged in an unethical relationship with a student.”
“There’s nothing unethical about it,” the donor argued. “They met outside of the university. Where is the problem in that?”
“I—” Ronny started to protest, but the donor wasn’t finished.
“You are the one attempting to air dirty laundry in a public setting and cornering Professor Croft with your supposedly scandalous revelations,” he went on. “You did it at supper, and you’re insisting on continuing your childish behavior now. Shame on you.”
Despite everything, Jamie had a difficult time not smiling. The donor sounded like a grandfather scolding his errant grandchild. It was perfect.
Ronny flushed dark red and appealed to Epstein and Franklin. “Aren’t you going to do something about this?” He gestured to Jamie and Aled, who had shifted to stand by Jamie’s side. Dawn had moved to his other side as well.
“Well, um….” Franklin was at a complete loss.
“No,” Epstein said, narrowing his eyes at Ronny. “It is not university policy to involve itself in the personal lives of its faculty or students when nothing illegal or inappropriate is going on.”
“But—”
“Mr. Pulsiver,” Epstein cut him off. “I suggest you cease your ridiculous prattling this instant. I further suggest that you do as Professor Croft has suggested and leave him the hell alone.”
As much as Jamie loathed having his colleague take any part in his personal battles, there was some satisfaction in seeing Ronny’s antics cut short.
“Fine,” Ronny said, tilting his head up, still not ready to let it go. “If you refuse to see sense and reason, then not only will I recommend that my parents withdraw all financial support from this university, I will take my concerns to the press and see what they have to make of it.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Jamie hissed. He darted a sideways look to Dawn, who was pale and quiet as she watched the confrontation with wide eyes. “These good people have been through more than enough already.”
“Then you’ll cut off all contact with them to spare them from more,” Ronny said, grasping at the ultimatum as if he’d found an argument Jamie couldn’t refute.
As much as it bothered him, that argument did give Jamie pause. But before he could reconsider possibility of self-sacrifice, Aled stepped in and said, “No. Jamie and I are not breaking up.” He turned to Epstein and said, “If it solves the ethical issue for me to drop out of university and apply elsewhere, then I’m willing to do that. The university has been kind to me and my sister, and I really don’t want to be the cause of you losing out on millions of pounds.”
“Millions of pounds?” The donor laughed. “Is that what you think Pulsiver’s parents donate to the university?” He glanced down his nose at Ronny and said, “It’s more like a measly few hundred thousand.”
Jamie was tempted to laugh again. The wealthy were in a class by themselves in more ways than socially. But then, that was where so much of Ronny’s warped way of looking at the world came from and how they had all gotten into this mess in the first place.
And on top of that, Ronny actually looked embarrassed that the donor would call him out for not having quite the financial chops behind him as he’d made out to have.
“No one is withdrawing from the university,” Epstein broke the awkward silence, holding up a hand. He glanced to Aled. “You are a welcome and valued member of the student body, Mr. Keal,” he said. “You’ll stay right where you are. Your charming sister, too.” He nodded respectfully to Dawn, which made Dawn blink in surprise at suddenly being the center of focus.
“You, however, Mr. Pulsiver,” Epstein went on, “are no longer required for RUL’s fundraising committee. And seeing as it was your parents who attended the university and not you, I would feel no compunctions at all in suggesting to campus security that you be banned from our premises. Oh, and if Professor Croft should decide to pursue your overzealous attention to him with the police, the university will stand behind whatever claims he should choose to make. He is a valued member of our faculty, after all.”
Again, Jamie was left with a sense of embarrassment at having Epstein swoop in to handle his personal problems. At the same time, he was ashamed he’d let things go unchecked for so long that he needed that outside help.
But more than that, hearing Dr. Epstein deliberately refer to him as a valued member of the faculty lifted a weight from his shoulders.
“Thank you, Dr. Epstein,” he said, wanting to acknowledge the step that the man didn’t have to take, but that might end up being the last push Ronny needed to truly back off, once and for all. To drive that point home, he met Ronny’s eyes one last time and said, “We’re finished.”
Surprisingly, Ronny didn’t fire back some sort of reply about how fragile and lost Jamie had once been. He gripped his hands into fists at his sides, looking as though he were having difficulty getting his emotions in check, then he turned abruptly and marched away from the conversation.
“And that,” the donor said, full of his own sort of self-satisfaction, “should be the end of that.”
Jamie winced. “I wouldn’t count on it,” he said with a sigh.
