Chapter 33
Hadley
Everyone lay low for three days.
Dante and Noah weren’t speaking. At all.
Savvy had two black eyes, and her father lost it when he saw her.
He wasn’t convinced that his daughter had accidentally fallen down the stairs.
When she told me, I groaned — it was the worst excuse to give.
Unless there are witnesses to say “she fell down the stairs,” a woman should never claim “I fell down the stairs” when their loved ones already dislike the woman’s partner.
Spring training had picked up on Saturday, and from what Savannah told me afterward, Dante had been sacked twice by Noah and the two of them had needed Dustin to step in and separate them — twice.
She also told me that Head Coach Sutherland looked delighted that they were fighting.
The social media PR girl was also miraculously absent.
Her chance of being innocent was decreasing the longer she stayed away.
Which left me blissfully free to do a little hunting on my own.
Savvy was lying low, thanks to the fact that makeup made her look worse.
Noah wasn’t in the apartment the two times I’d been there pretending to see my ‘boyfriend,’ and Dante was avoiding everything like an ostrich with its head in the sand.
Which left me all alone. And unsupervised.
I’d slept in this morning. Milly was lying curled on my chest, having befriended me again after abandoning her, and I was making plans. Dean-shaped plans.
I still wanted to go find Tiffany, but I grudgingly conceded that I liked Savannah and I would be sad if we weren’t friends anymore. If I went to Chattanooga on the hunt for Tiffany or Mason alone . . . she’d shut me out. But I hadn’t promised her that I wouldn’t pursue her dad for answers.
And that was exactly what I wanted to do today.
I spent some time with my cat, then I went in search of Dean Cole. The man was a workaholic. Savannah didn’t mention her relationship with her mom or dad much, but I got the impression they weren’t close. Which was good. Because if I pissed him off, she wouldn’t pull a Dante on me and blank me.
She was also pissed at both Noah and Dante for being idiots, and I kind of agreed with her. If anyone should be pissed that Savannah had two black eyes, it should be Savannah. Savannah, who immediately hugged Noah, told him to stop freaking out, and said it wasn’t his fault.
See? How could I risk that girl’s friendship? She was hardcore loyal.
I made my way to the admin building, which wasn’t far from the Den, and heard distant shouting from the stadium.
One thing I definitely appreciated about Coach Sutherland’s disdain for me was that I didn’t need to watch them play.
I could do my own thing, knowing I was doing it without being under their watchful eyes.
“Hey, Hadley.”
I turned to look at the two girls who had just spoken to me. “Hi?”
“You’re not in the stadium watching training.”
I looked between them, both blonde, both pretty, both wearing less clothes than I would on a Saturday afternoon in March. “Um, no. Obviously.” Because I’m standing right here.
“How are you?”
What was happening? I looked around. “I’m sorry, do I know you? Either of you?”
“We’re friends of Dustin’s.”
Of course they were.
“Okay.” I started to walk away.
“Tell us how you did it?”
I turned back. “Did what?”
“Get him to date you?” the slightly taller one asked. “He never dated either of us.”
Yikes, this was awkward. “I don’t know,” I said with a polite smile. “Maybe ask him?” They looked like they had more questions, and I needed a reason to leave and could think of nothing that wasn’t downright rude. I turned to the admin building and back at them. “I need to go, see you around.”
I really hoped I didn’t see them around.
Was this going to be my day? Dustin’s exes asking me how I ended up dating him when they’d tried and failed before?
Because that was just icky. Also, the guy had a big dick and a big ego, but he wasn’t the best man to ever walk the earth.
He was a guy who slept around and obviously didn’t treat women very well.
I sniffed. That was harsh. He did treat women well; that’s probably why they pined after him. He told them what he wanted; they were grown-ups. If they wanted more than a one-night stand, then they needed to tell him that before they let him into their beds.
How did I ‘snag’ Dustin Slater? I got caught acting like a total ho in the street with him, and now I was saving both of our reputations by kissing him in public whenever I got the chance.
With a shake of my head at how topsy-turvy my life was, I headed into the admin building. It was quiet, and a lot of it was in darkness, because it was Saturday. I kept going.
The dean’s office door was open, and Dean Cole was, as I hoped, behind his desk, behind a large stack of folders, wearing a shirt, open at the neck, and a V-neck sleeveless sweater. It was the most casual I’d ever seen him. If he were wearing jeans, I’d faint.
He looked up as I loitered in his doorway.
He sighed.
Not a good start.
“It’s my day off, Hadley.”
“But you’re working,” I told him, walking into his office and sitting across from him.
He sat back in his chair and took off his glasses. “If I ask nicely, will you leave?”
“Can I ask questions first?” I fought a smile.
His look became calculating. “Why does my daughter have two black eyes?” He leaned forward. “Answer that honestly, and I’ll answer your questions.”
“How would I know?” I bluffed.
There was that look that both he and Savannah had mastered flawlessly. “Because you are ‘dating’ Slater, she is dating Spence, and . . .” He gave a smug smile. “I just know you know.”
“Why do I get air quotes for dating Slater, and Savvy doesn’t?”
His expression said, ‘Are you seriously asking me that?’ I gave up.
“She screamed in Noah’s ear when he was sleeping because she thought it was funny, he woke up startled, and swung first before common sense kicked in.”
Dean Cole winced. “Ouch.” He let out a sigh. “Well, at least he pulled the punch when he realized it was Savannah.”
I hadn’t thought of that. Her nose should be broken. I don’t think anyone had realized that except maybe Noah. I felt bad for him.
“My turn?” I asked eagerly, taking out my notepad and pen.
“I am not going on record with anything, Hadley. You can put that away.” He got up and crossed his office to close the door. I saw, with disappointment, that he was wearing stone-colored chinos. He returned to his desk. “What do you want to know?”
“When you took my blog down, Coach Sutherland asked for my laptop, and you said no. Is it usual practice for laptops to be handed over?”
“No.”
“Did you think it was weird he asked for it?”
“No.”
“Why did you not think it was weird for him to ask for a student laptop?”
Dean Cole held my stare. He said nothing, just watched me. Then he sat back and sighed. “Did she tell you everything?”
I licked my lips. “I don’t know what you mean, sir.”
There was that ‘don’t pull shit with me, young lady’ stare. “Hadley, please never think that I’m an idiot and not smarter than you.”
“Sir.”
He smiled briefly. “I asked you not to look into this,” he reminded me. “I asked you for the sake of your education, and what is no doubt going to be a very bright career.”
“Sir.” It’s funny how the inflection on one word can mean so many things. The first one, naive innocence. The second one is an acknowledgment of a reprimand. The third was an acknowledgment that I had disobeyed his request.
“What have you learned?” he asked me quietly.
“That this establishment was run in a very different way before you got here, Dean Cole.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s breaking news, Hadley.”
“And that there may be certain departments that haven’t yet accepted that there were changes made.”
He let out a light laugh. “Diplomacy? You’ve definitely been spending time with Savannah.”
“She’s a good influence,” I murmured, looking down at my hands. “Did you know the other time he asked for a laptop and was given it?” I probed. I looked up at him and saw the wariness in his face.
“I’m not going to answer that, Miss Peterson. I am going to go back to my papers and ask you to close the door on your way out.”
I got to my feet. He didn’t blink. “How many other times has he covered this up?” I asked him.
“Good day, Miss Peterson.”
I walked to the door, frustrated.
“Hadley?”
I turned around. “Be very careful how you proceed with this.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but he looked away. “Proceed with caution, and keep it close, don’t overshare.”
I hesitated. “Will I tell you?” I asked, feeling the fragile bond of trust between us waver.
“Yes.”
I swallowed. “Can I trust you?”
Dean Cole looked at me, and I saw his daughter’s integrity reflected in his eyes. “Yes.”
I left his office feeling that our fragile bond had just gotten a little stronger.
I went to the coffee shop and thought about our short but interesting conversation.
Dean Cole knew what Coach Sutherland had done to Mary’s computer.
He would have learned that it was probably commonplace for him, and he would probably have learned by being told by Coach Sutherland, who had no problem throwing his dick around like it made him important.
Dean Cole had stopped the practice. Which was good, but did that mean since he got here, the allegations or the acts, whatever they were, had also stopped?
I knew he was a good dean, but I didn’t think he was that good.
Which meant . . . Coach Sutherland got smarter?
Or Dean Cole knew. I instantly knew it wasn’t the latter.
I thought he was harsh last semester, but for the little Savvy said about her dad, he genuinely was a decent guy.
He knew I was snooping. He knew I was getting closer to finding out what happened, and he probably knew I’d dragged Savannah into it with me.