Chapter 45
GRADY
I looked 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.”
“This is absurd,” Carver snapped.
“You’re willing to sacrifice your career to protect a student?” It was the same woman I knew without a doubt was not on my side.
I nodded. “In a heartbeat.”
There was another moment of low whispering.
“That’s commendable, Professor Stone,” Seraphina said. “Your actions, while misguided, show integrity in protecting a student. I see that.”
I dared to let hope filter but knew it could be a double-edged sword.
“We have someone who’d like to speak on this,” Seraphina said with a soft smile.
That was unexpected. Was it going to be one of my many hypothetical concubines?
“Lina, please stand,” Seraphina said.
My head jerked around. Lina was wearing a pretty and very conservative outfit, nothing like what she normally wore.
The dress looked like something Princess Catherine would wear or Audrey Hepburn.
She looked nervous. Was she about to throw me under the bus?
I stared at her, willing her to look my way, but she wouldn’t.
That told me everything I needed to know.
Lina was one of those people who would lie like a dog to get what she wanted. She was going to claim I had seduced her or some shit. I sighed and rested my elbows on the table. Being a bartender wasn’t the worst thing in the world. It might even be fun.
“Thank you,” Lina said softly. “I wanted to say that Professor Stone isn’t some reckless rule breaker. He’s a professional. He’s very serious about his job and protecting his students. He saved my life.”
She paused for a moment, overcome with emotion. He mother watched on sympathetically. “Go on, Lina.”
“I made a mistake on a recent dive. Went into a shipwreck I had been told to stay away from. I got turned around. Lost. My oxygen ran low and I couldn’t find my way out. Professor Stone came and rescued me, with some help from my fellow TA, Cecily Monroe. He saved me.”
Her voice cracked. She glanced at me.
Well, fuck me. That’s not what I expected.
“He’s not just an academic. He cares . He taught me how to dive.
He made time for me. I know this isn’t just a career.
He gave me a second chance at life. And trust me when I say he would have had every right to leave me in there.
I was horrible to him. I threw myself at him and he wouldn’t even look at me. He was the consummate gentleman.”
She offered me a small smile that looked like an apology. I smiled back as she sat down. At least I had made a good impression on one of the Reeses.
“Professor Stone, I appreciate everything you did for Lina, and I’m grateful she’s safe,” Seraphina’s voice cut through the room.
Her tone said she wasn’t persuaded. I wasn’t surprised.
“But my obligations are first to the integrity of this university. A student-professor relationship undermines everything. I can’t vote against consequences. ”
Was this it? Was I about to lose everything?
The room felt claustrophobic. I regretted the tie.
Why the hell had I worn the damn thing? A tie wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind.
I started making a mental checklist of the things I needed to collect from my office, assuming they gave me the chance to clear it out before they threw my ass off the campus.
Then I saw Cece stand in the crowd. I didn’t know she was in the room. She wouldn’t look at me. Again, I couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.
“I’d like to say something too,” Cece said.
Seraphina motioned for her to speak. Everyone shut their mouths and all eyes were on Cece.
Including my own. I couldn’t look away. She was beautiful.
Her hair was in a braid down her back. She wore a blue sweater that made her eyes pop.
She had on a skirt that flowed mid-length and wore boots with a small heel.
I hadn’t seen her in almost a week. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I missed her.
And then she looked at me.
Oh shit. Don’t do it.