Chapter 35
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
MILES
"I'm not sure this is ethical," Professor MacNamara mutters as we stand on opposite sides of her desk, my phone lying on the desk between us.
The phone is still muted so we're hearing every word between Professor Parks and Annie—albeit slightly muffled since the phone is in her pocket—but they can't hear us. I got to MacNamara's office as quickly as I could once Annie went back to Professor Parks' office.
So far, all we're hearing is Professor Parks droning on about Annie turning in subpar work in his class.
"Lying isn't ethical either, which Professor Parks is doing plenty of." I've been preparing for an opportunity like this. "I turned all of Annie Kirkpatrick's assignments for Literature & Mythology in on your online submission site a couple of days ago."
Her eyebrows go up. "Kirkpatrick? I wondered how I got those essays by mistake. That's the student he's talking with right now?"
I nod.
"I read a couple of the essays out of curiosity." She looks perplexed. Exactly how I felt after reading them while believing Annie was floundering in Parks' class.
We both stop talking as Professor Parks picks up steam.
"I tried to warn you that you needed one-on-one help, Annie. Why didn't you come to me sooner?" His voice is smooth as butter, the snarky tone he used to speak down to her gone in an instant. Like Jekyll and Hyde.
"I went to the tutoring center for assistance."
Professor Parks scoffs. "Well, that doesn't seem to have done you any good. Your performance is getting worse instead of better. You would have to take drastic action to pass my class at this point in the semester, and it's too late to withdraw."
"I'm the tutor they assigned her."
MacNamara grimaces. She knows I'm smart as hell and a bit of an asshole. She can draw her conclusions from there.
"I went to tutoring. I used your notes from previous essays to inform my work. I even tried doing essay exchanges with my classmates for feedback, but both of the students I attempted to exchange with failed to come up with any additional notes for me. I believe I've exhausted all efforts at this point, Professor Parks."
That's my girl. She's standing up for herself and not letting him pull that same bullshit on her again. He rattled her confidence once, he'll be hard-pressed to pull off a second attempt.
"There are better ways to exhaust yourself than re-writing essays over and over." The innuendo is thick in his voice even before he adds, "Though I do appreciate the mental image of you bending over backward to please me."
"Shit," MacNamara breathes out, throwing proper academic behavior out the window as she stares wide-eyed down at my phone. Her heels click urgently across the floor as she rushes to grab the cell phone sitting on a nearby filing cabinet. She types a message out on her phone with speedy fingers.
My hands are balled up in fists at my sides as I continue to listen, fighting the urge to run down the hall and let Professor Parks face off with someone he doesn't feel a sense of power over. I didn't think I would ever want to hit anyone as much as I wanted to hit Cameron Hartford. Turns out I was wrong.
"I'm not comfortable with the direction of this conversation." Annie's voice sounds robotic like she's shutting down emotionally. I can't say I blame her. The sound makes an ache build in my chest.
I hate that she's in there. I know though that this is the best way to ensure he gets nailed. Professor MacNamara is big on ethics. She won't let something like this slide or get swept under the rug. Especially considering her family's name is on the side of more than one campus building.
"And I'm not comfortable with how tight you make my pants during lectures."
"This is disgusting," MacNamara bites out. She paces the floor of her office as Annie lets Professor Parks' statement hang in the air with no immediate response. The uncomfortable tension is clear even across the phone line.
There's a rapid knock at MacNamara's door.
"Come in," she calls out.
I glance back to see the dean of Arts & Sciences enter red-faced with gray hair sticking up in disarray. He tugs at his tie as he slams the office door shut behind him and strides over to us with purposeful steps. There's no surprise in his expression, only his lips pressed in a thin line and wrinkles of resignation forming at the corner of his eyes. Without so much as a nod of greeting, the dean holds his cell phone out toward mine. I peek at the screen to see his audio recording app open. He presses record and then looks between MacNamara and me, eyebrows rising when there's no immediate sound besides the hum of the call still running.
"Just listen," MacNamara tells him with a deep frown. I can't tell if she trusts him or not but this is who she chose to contact so I have to trust her.
"Don't you know the only way to become a talented writer is through lived experience? Tell me, Annie, how experienced are you? What do you know of quivering flesh and warm-blooded men?"
I cringe. At this point, I'm not sure if he genuinely believes his words could be seductive or if he's simply trying to get any reaction out of her, even a negative one. Her continued silence must be getting to him. I wish I could see into the room to know what kind of expression is on her face.
"I can help you pass my class and make you a better writer. You could be writing vampire smut in no time with my help. I could... inspire you."
Vampire smut? Condescending asshole.
"Don't you want to pass my class, Annie?"
Finally, Annie responds again, still in the same monotone voice she's adopted. "Of course, I want to pass your class, Professor Parks. That's why I'm working so hard on my assignments."
He laughs at her. "You don't have to work so hard. All you have to do is get down on your knees and crawl over here to me. Look up at me with those pretty doe eyes of yours and beg me for the privilege of sucking my dick."
"I've heard more than enough." The dean squeezes his eyes shut, his jaw moving back and forth and he takes several shallow breaths. "This young woman is in his office right now?"
"Yes," MacNamara answers.
"I would like to formally request my essays be reviewed by another professor in the department ." Annie's voice wavers. I don't know what Professor Parks has said to her previously but he seems to be pushing things further this time if he's pushing her to a breaking point. She needs out of there.
The dean is already headed for the door again. "Call campus security and then the police." He yanks the door open so hard I'm surprised the whole thing doesn't come off the hinges. He pauses in the doorway to add, "Another young woman is waiting in my office. Guess who she just walked in to report for sexual misconduct?"
I'm pretty sure he shouldn't be sharing that in front of me.
I look at MacNamara as the dean's heavy footsteps echo down the hall. For a large man, he's moving fast. "You call campus security," I tell her, knowing she's more likely to get an urgent response from them and those will be the closest responders. "I'll have Kip call the police."
I grab my phone off the desk, half-listening as Professor Parks rants about all the reasons another professor won't grade her any differently. He's spewing bullshit and I don't trust things not to escalate when he realizes his bullshit won't work.
I'm not hanging up this phone until I know Blue is safe.
"Miles," MacNamara calls out to me just as I'm about to walk out. "Don't do anything stupid. Let the dean and the police handle this."
I wave her off. As much as I want to confront this fucking predator myself, I know getting more involved would only risk giving Professor Parks a window of opportunity to avoid facing what he's done. Snakes like him always know how to play the system to try to come out victims. I'll be damned if I help him do that.
Kip is watching for me when I reach reception. He sits up taller in his chair when he sees me.
"Call the police, tell them to come now ."
He spins in his chair to the phone and dials. I pace the open space in front of the reception desk as the phone line falls silent. The hair on the back of my neck stands at attention when Annie gasps.
"I think you need to be taught what kind of respect I'm due, " Professor Parks snarls.
He sounds much closer to the phone all of a sudden. I'm already turning toward the hall where his office is located but I stop short when I hear a loud banging sound from across the phone line and in person coming from down the hall.
"Professor Parks, what in the hell do you think you're doing?" The dean's harsh voice carries out to the lobby. "Back away from the student."
I'm flooded with relief as the dean takes control of the situation. My phone beeps, warning me that my battery is low. Now that I know Annie is safe under the dean's watch, I hang up and slide my phone into my pocket. I want her to be able to get ahold of me after all of this if she needs to.
I walk closer to the desk to ask Kip quietly, "Are they sending someone?"
Kip meets my eyes and nods. On their way already, he mouths.
I release a huge sigh of relief and let my head tip back so I can stare up at the ceiling. All of this came together better than I could have planned for. Professor Parks won't be able to walk back anything he said with three additional witnesses ready to talk. Not to mention the recording the dean took of part of the conversation.
At that moment, two members of campus security come rushing in. "Where?—?"
"That way," Kip and I say simultaneously, both pointing in the direction of Parks' office. He hangs up the phone as he tells them, "There are officers on campus now, heading over from the parking lot. They should be joining us any second."
Looks like Literature & Mythology is going to need a new professor.
As campus security heads down the hall, I walk around to the cabinet that houses our stuff when we're doing work study and grab my backpack. I don't want to be in the way while everything gets sorted out here. I also need space to breathe so that I can be calm before I see Annie again.
If she even wants to see me after everything she just went through.
"Thanks for your help, Kip."
His ears are red as he shrugs, glancing down at the desk. "All I did was make a call."
"You did a hell of a lot more than that." I laugh under my breath. I'm not sure Professor Parks could have been handled so neatly if it weren't for the information from Kip. He's the reason I knew without a doubt that someone should be on hand to witness Annie's one-on-one with the professor. "Thank you," I tell him again in earnest.
He shrugs one shoulder, still diminishing his role. He's a good guy.
I mumble goodbye to him and head for the door, already mentally weighing my book options for what I can read to decompress and get lost in a little escapism. The introvert in me needs to shut down for a bit.
"Hey, Miles?"
I turn back and study Kip as he stares down at his hands. He takes a few moments to himself before he's able to get out what he wants to say. "When Annie is ready, I think my sister would like to meet her." He closes the distance between us, not looking up until he's directly in front of me. His eyes are watery as he puts his hand out to shake mine. " Thank you . And thank Annie for me too, please. Going home to tell my sister what happened today... I couldn't ask for a greater gift."
As reluctant as I usually am to give the appearance of bonding with my peers, I clap Kip on the shoulder. He's a good guy who opened my eyes to something huge.
I sound more earnest than I ever have in my entire life when I tell him, "I hope the news helps her start to find peace."
"Thanks, man." Kip steps back, giving me space to leave before this can get any mushier.
Look at that , turns out I'm not always an asshole after all. Uncle Luca would be proud.